Photos on Mac stores and organizes pictures and videos from your Apple devices. It can browse by date, create albums, search image content, sync through iCloud Photos, edit non-destructively, and detect duplicates.
This guide applies to recent macOS versions with or without iCloud Photos enabled.
Does This Affect You?
Use this if your photo library has grown large and you need a better way to browse, organize, search, back up, or reduce duplicates.
Browse and View Your Library
- Open Photos.
- Use the sidebar to switch between Library, Years, Months, Days, Favorites, Albums, and Utilities.
- Double-click a photo to view it full size.
- Use left and right arrow keys to move through nearby photos.
- Click the heart icon or press the period key to mark a photo as a favorite.
- Use the thumbnail-size slider to show more photos or larger previews.
Organize Photos into Albums
- Select photos with Command-click for individual items or Shift-click for a range.
- Choose File > New Album, or right-click and add the selection to a new album.
- Name the album and press Return.
- Drag more photos onto the album later.
- Remove photos from an album with Delete while inside the album; this removes them from the album, not the library.
Photos Features to Know
Search by Content
Use the search field for people, places, dates, objects, pets, activities, or descriptive words. Photos can match image content, not just file names.
iCloud Photos
Turn on iCloud Photos in Photos settings to sync photos and videos across Apple devices signed in with the same Apple Account.
Optimize Storage
Choose Optimize Mac Storage if local space is limited. Choose Download Originals to this Mac if you want full-resolution originals stored locally.
Non-Destructive Editing
Open a photo, click Edit, and adjust light, color, crop, straighten, filters, or Auto. You can revert to the original later.
Merge Duplicates
The Duplicates section appears under Utilities when Photos detects identical or near-identical images. Merge keeps the best-quality version and removes extras.
Sources
- Apple Support: Get started with Photos on Mac
- Apple Support: Use albums in Photos on Mac
- Apple Support: Set up iCloud Photos on your Mac