How To Get Photos From Iphone To Macbook

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac in 6 Ways

Get 6 ways to transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to your Mac in this article!

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As photo collections grow, you may find Photos & Camera takes up most of your iPhone storage. For me, in iPhone storage, it shows that photos occupy 48 GB of my 128GB iPhone XR. At this moment, moving all pictures and videos to the computer for backup and then deleting them is a good option to free up the iPhone storage space.

Here in the following guide, we will focus on how to transfer photos and videos from iPhone to Mac computers, like iMac, MacBook Pro/Air, Mac Mini, Mac Pro in some simple ways. Just keep reading!

Import Photos from iPhone to Mac with Photos/iPhoto

On Mac OS X Yosemite or later, you can use the Photos app to import iPhone photos, which replaces the old iPhoto and Aperture with a simpler photo editor and library manager. It also can be used to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac, and here we'll show you how to make it:

Connect your iPhone to your computer with the USB cable.
The Photos app on your Mac will automatically launch. If not, go to the launchpad and select the Photos app.
Click the Import tab and select the photos you want to transfer to Mac.
You can click Import XX Selected or Import All New Items to transfer photos to Mac.

Import iPhone Photos with Mac Photos

For Mac OS X Yosemite earlier, you can use theiPhoto feature on Mac to move Camera Roll photos from iPhone to Mac.

Connect your iPhone to Mac with a USB cable and then launch iPhoto on your Mac if it doesn't open automatically.
Select your iPhone photos and click Import to import photos.
You can import all the iPhone photos or import some of them by picking up some photos and clicking Import Selected. You can add an Event Name for the imported photos before or after importing.

How to Import Photos from iPhone to Mac with iPhoto

If you want to delete iPhone photos after import to your Mac, you can check the "Delete items after import", which will automatically remove your iPhone photos after importing to your Mac, as the picture below shows.

Delete iPhone Photos After Import

Bonus Tip: Move Photos from Mac to an External Hard Drive

After importing iPhone photos, you can also move your photos from your Mac to an external hard drive to make a copy, or free up Mac's space. Here is how:

Connect your external hard drive to your Mac.
In the Finder, find your external drive.
Open another Finder window, find and open Pictures.
Drag your library to the external drive.

To get more info please read on How to Transfer iPhone Photos to Flash Drive with or without Computer >

Selectively Transfer All or Some Photos from iPhone to Mac

If the method above didn't work, you can have a try on the professional tool – iMobie AnyTrans. With this tool, you can do far more than transfer photos. For instance, you can move other data across iDevices like contacts, call history, WhatsApp messages, etc. AnyTrans offers you the choice to transfer all photos or just some of the photos, you can do it your way.

Except for transfer data, AnyTrans can also make a complete backup for your iPhone, restore the backup when you need it, and manage iCloud/iTunes data, etc. And below are its outstanding features for uploading iPhone photos, take a look at them before using AnyTrans.

AnyTrans – iPhone Photo Transfer

1-click to transfer photos & videos iPhone to computer (Mac & PC).
Keep photos of original quality and well-organized in albums.
Fast transferring speed quite saves your time.
Get photos from PC/Mac to your iPhone without erasing.

If you prefer this way, just Free Download AnyTrans on your computer firstly, and then follow the steps below to import iPhone photos to your Mac quickly.

Option 1: Import All Photos from iPhone to Mac at Once

If you want to copy all the photos on your iPhone, like Camera Roll photos, Photo Stream photos, iTunes synced photos, iCloud sharing photos, and album photos, or some other specific albums to Mac, here's how to do it.

Step 1: Download AnyTrans on your Mac > Run it > Connect your iPhone to Mac via USB cable > Click on "Device Manager" mode, and then choose the "Content to Mac" option.

Go to Device Manager and Choose Photos

Step 2: Uncheck the "Select All" box > Check the photos albums containing the photos you need > Click on the "Next" button to start transferring the selected photos to your Mac.

Check All the Albums that Contain Photos

Step 3: After the process completes, you can click the "View Files" button to check the transferred photos on your Mac.

View Files on Your Mac

Option 2: Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac Selectively

If you just want to transfer some specific photos of some album to Mac instead of all the iPhone photos or the whole album, you can follow the steps below.

Step 1: Download AnyTrans on your Mac > Connect your iPhone to the computer via USB cable > Click on "Device Manager" mode, and then choose the "Photos" option.

Go to Device Manager to Transfer Selected or Multiple Photos from iPhone

Step 2: Choose the album that contains the photos you need > Select photos you want to transfer > Click on the "To Mac" button at the top-right corner to transfer the selected photos to your Mac.

Select Multiple Photos from iPhone to Mac

Bonus Part. How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac Wirelessly

If there is no USB cable available or your iPhone cannot be recognized by your computer, then you can try the AnyTrans app to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac wirelessly.

Now connect your iPhone with Wi-Fi and do the following steps:

Step 1. Install the AnyTrans app on your iPhone. You can download it by clicking the below button or directly search AnyTrans on App Store.

Step 2. On your computer, enter anytrans.io in your browser, and you'll see a QR code.

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac Wirelessly - Step 2

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac Wirelessly – Step 2

Step 3. On your iPhone, open the AnyTrans app you just installed and tap on the Scan button to scan the QR code on your computer.

Step 4. Then all your iPhone photos will show up on the computer. Select the photos you want to transfer and click the "Download" button to start transferring photos from iPhone to Mac. After the process completes, you can check them by going to Finder on your Mac > Downloads.

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac Wirelessly - Step 4

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac Wirelessly – Step 4

For iPhone 7 or later users who want to convert HEIC to JPG, please click the settings button to set it or use a hassle-free HEIC to JPG converter to change these photos to JPG format on your computer.
When syncing photos from iPhone to Mac with AnyTrans, you won't lose any previous photos on your iPhone.

Here is a video tutorial to show you how to easily transfer photos from iPhone to Mac with AnyTrans:

How to AirDrop Photos from iPhone to Mac

How do I AirDrop from iPhone to Mac? On your iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the Control Center, and then tap the "AirDrop" button. You can also turn on AirDrop from the Settings app > General > AirDrop. Select either "Contacts Only" or "Everyone," depending on who you want to be able to send the photos to.

Here is how to transfer iPhone photos to Mac with AirDrop:

On your iPhone, open the Photos app and find the photos you want to transfer to your Mac.
Ensure you're viewing the photos in thumbnail view and tap Select in the top right corner.
Choose the photos you want to send to your Mac (selected photos appear with a blue checkmark).
Then tap the Share icon (a square with an up arrow).
In the AirDrop section, tap the name of your Mac.
Accept the photos on your Mac and they will be saved into the Downloads folder on your Mac.

Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac via AirDrop

How to Sync Photos from iPhone to Mac with iCloud

iCloud Photos is Apple's online photo storage service. When you activate iCloud Photos, all your iPhone photos get stored in iCloud so you can view and download them from your Mac. Note that you must be signed in with the same Apple ID on your iPhone and Mac. Here is how to sync iPhone photos to Mac with iCloud:

On your Mac, click the Apple icon at the top left of the screen, then go to System Preferences > Choose iCloud.
Check the box next to the iCloud Photo Library (iCloud Photos in macOS Mojave).
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Photos > Ensure iCloud Photos is on.

Sync iPhone Photos to Mac via iCloud

How to Import Photos from iPhone to Mac with Image Capture

Follow the steps on how to using Image Capture on Mac to import photos from iPhone:

Connect your iPhone to Mac with USB cable > Run Image Capture on your Mac.
Select your iPhone from the device list if it is not selected > Set the output folder for your iPhone photos.
Click Import or Import all to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac.

Sync Photos from iPhone to Mac with Image Capture

How to Send Photos from iPhone to Mac with Email

If you just want to transfer several photos from iPhone to Mac and your Mac is not in your hand, Email becomes a wonderful choice. Here is how to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac with Email:

Run Photos App on your iPhone > Tap on Albums to open Albums Page > Choose the target album.
Tap on the Edit button > Pick up the photos you want to transfer > Tap on the Share button and choose Email.
Type your Email address and complete the Email > Tap on Send > Sign in your Email on Mac and download those pictures and store them on Mac.

Send Photos from iPhone to Mac with Email

Transfer Photos from iPhone to Windows PC

There are also many ways to transfer iPhone photos to PC, and using the Windows default Photos app is one of the good ways. Here are steps on how to transfer iPhone photos to a computer via Photos (windows 10/8):

Connect your iPhone with your computer with the USB cable.
The Photos app should automatically launch. If it doesn't, launch it from the Windows Start menu.
Click the Import icon in the upper right corner of the Photos app.
Click on From a USB device and it will start searching for photos on your iPhone.
After that, choose photos to import to your computer.

Transfer iPhone Photos with Windows Photos

To get more ways and details on how to transfer iPhone photos to Windows PC, you can move to this guide: How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer (Windows).

In addition, if you want to transfer photos from Mac back to your iPhone, just refer to How to Transfer Photo from Mac to iPhone >

Since iOS 11, iPhone has taken HEIC as the default format of its photos, as this new format is more efficient in terms of storage space. However, HEIC is not widely compatible, especially on Windows PC. If you have trouble opening HEIC photos on your computer and want to convert HEIC photos into other formats such as JPG, PNG, JPEG, etc, you can try a free tool – iMobie HEIC Converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where Are Photos Stored on My Mac?

When you copy photos to your Mac with the Photos app, they are stored in the Photos library folder. Also, you can change the location to somewhere else like in a folder on your Mac or on an external drive, and still view them in Photos.

Here is where to find photos stored in the Photos app: On your Mac, Go to Finder > Choose Pictures > Right Click Photo Library > Choose Show Package Contents > In a folder named Masters, you will find photos in different folders.

Where are Photos Stored on Mac

2. What If My Computer Doesn't Recognize the iPhone?

Some of our users report that the iPhone cannot connect to the computer, here are some fixes for How to Fix Computer Not Recognizing iPhone Issues >

3. What to Do If Photos Not Showing up on Mac?

Any pictures in iCloud will not show when you import photos with Photos or Image Capture. You can download it all from iCloud then try again.

Camera Roll only has the photos you took with the cameras on that iPhone or images captured from the screen.

If your images still don't show on the Photos/Image Capture app on your Mac, you can try tips in this article: How to Fix Photos Not Showing up on Computer Issue >

4. iPhone Keeps Connecting and Disconnecting from Mac

Check USB cable > Try using a different cable > Try unplugging and then replugging.
Check the charging port on the bottom of your iPhone and remove any debris.
Avoid a defective, damaged, or non-Apple-certified cable, you may see the "Accessory Not Supported" error.
Restart your iPhone and restart your Mac.
Ensure that you have the latest version of iOS 14.
Disconnect your iPhone from your Mac and on your iPhone tap: Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Location & Privacy.

5. The MacBook Air/Pro doesn't Have USB-A Ports?

Some MacBook Air/Pro doesn't have USB-A Ports. As Apple said: "You can connect a USB-C power adapter and cable to charge your notebook computer. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you might be able to use an adapter to connect it."

MacBook with USB-C Ports

These Mac models don't have USB-A ports and have USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) ports:

MacBook Pro introduced in 2016 or later
MacBook Air introduced in 2018 or later
iMac introduced in 2017 or later
iMac Pro (all models)
Mac mini introduced in 2018
Mac Pro introduced in 2019

The Bottom Line

Although you can get 7 or even more ways to transfer photos from iPhone to your Mac, most of them only support exporting Camera Roll photos. If you want to transfer photos stored in other albums, AnyTrans can be the best choice.

Except for transferring photos, it also can transfer other iOS contents, like Messages, Contacts, Videos, Movies, Notes, etc., and also supports transferring data from one iPhone to another Apple device directly. Why not download AnyTrans and try now?

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Member of iMobie team as well as an Apple fan, love to help more users solve various types of iOS & Android related issues.