iOS and iPod: Syncing photos using iTunes

You can sync photos to your device from iPhoto, Aperture, or from a folder on your hard drive. Additionally, if you have:

• A Mac and iPhoto (version 4.0.3 or later) or Aperture, you can add iPhoto or Aperture albums.
• iPhoto version 6.0.6 or later, you can sync videos directly to your device's Photos application. (Requires iOS 3.0 or later.)
• iPhoto ’09 or later, you can also add your Faces, Places, and Events to your iOS device.
• Windows PC and Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or later, or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 or later, you can sync photo collections.

To sync photos from a Mac or Windows PC to your device using photo applications

1. Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed.
2. In iTunes, select your device's icon in the Devices list on the left.
3. Click the Photos tab.
4. Choose "Sync photos from."
   • On a Mac, choose iPhoto or Aperture from the pop-up menu.
   • On a Windows PC, choose Photoshop Album or Photoshop Elements from the pop-up menu.

   Note: Some versions of Photoshop Album and Photoshop Elements don't support collections. You can still use them to sync all your photos.

5. If you want to sync all your photos, enable the option for "All photos, albums, events, and faces." If you want to sync photos from only some albums, events, or faces, enable the option for "Selected albums, events, and faces" and then select the albums you want. If syncing on a Mac with iPhoto version 6.0.6 or later, you may enable the option to "Include videos" to sync videos directly from iPhoto to your device. (Requires iOS 3.0 or later).

   

6. Click Apply.

To sync photos from a folder on your hard disk to your device

1. Drag the images you want into a folder on your computer. If you want images to appear in separate photo albums on your device, create folders inside the main folder and drag images into the new folders.
2. In iTunes, select the device icon in the Devices list on the left.
3. Choose "Sync photos from."
4. Select Choose Folder from the pop-up menu and choose your main image folder.

   

5. Click Apply.

1. In iTunes, select the device icon in the Devices list on the left. Click the Photos tab in the resulting window.
2. Choose "Sync photos from."
   • On a Mac, choose iPhoto or Aperture from the pop-up menu.
   • On a Windows PC, choose Photoshop Album or Photoshop Elements from the pop-up menu.
3. Choose "Selected albums" and deselect the albums or collections you want to delete.
4. Click Apply.

Pictures and videos you take with your iPhone are saved in the iPhone's Camera Roll. (For iPod touch and iPad, saved images are stored in Saved Photos). Items in the Camera Roll or the Saved Photos album of your device can be imported to your computer for safe keeping. If you want, you can then sync these pictures back to your device. Learn more about importing your device's photos and videos in Copying personal photos and videos from iOS devices to your computer. If you use an iPod nano (5th generation), import recorded videos using this article for Windows or this article for Mac.

Open the Photos application on your device to view the photos once they are synced. You can view your photos individually or as a photo slideshow. If using iPhoto ’09 or later, you can also view photos organized by Faces, Places, or Events.

For information about using Photo Stream to import your photos to your computer, see Photo Stream FAQ.