How to organize photos and videos into albums on your iPhone or iPad

The Photos app on iPhone and iPad gives you quick and easy access to all your pictures and videos. Camera Roll/All Photos, My Photos Stream, Panoramas, Videos, and even Selfies all have their own, dedicated albums. While you can't change or delete any of those, you can add and manage albums of your own. That way, the photos you want are exactly where you want them.

How to create new albums with the Photos app for iPhone and iPad

  1. Launch the Photos app from your Home screen.

  2. Tap on Albums in the far-right bottom navigation (if you aren't there already).

  3. Tap on the Add button (looks like a "+") in the upper left hand corner.

  4. Name the new album

  5. Tap Save.
  6. Tap on all the photos or videos you'd like to add to that album.
  7. Tap on Done in the upper right hand corner.

Your new album will now appear in the Albums tab.

How to create new albums in the Photos app on iOS 13 and iPadOS 13

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac (sadly, no public beta for the Apple Watch). While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

  1. Open Photoson your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Albums.

  3. Tap the + button in the upper-left corner.

    Open Photos, tap Albums, tap +

  4. Tap New Album.
  5. Name the album.

  6. Tap Save.

    Tap New Album, name album, tap Save

  7. Tap photos that you want to add to the album.

  8. Tap Done.

    Tap on photos, tap Done

How to create new shared albums in the Photos app on iOS 13 and iPadOS 13

  1. Open Photoson your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Albums.

  3. Tap the + button in the upper-left corner.

    Open Photos, tap Albums, tap +

  4. Tap New Shared Album.
  5. Enter a name for your album.

  6. Tap Next.

    Tap New Shared Album, name album, tap Next

  7. Enter the names of the people with whom you'd like to share your album.
  8. Tap Create.

  9. Tap the shared album.

    Enter names, tap Create, tap album

  10. Tap the + button.
  11. Tap any photos that you want to add to the album.

  12. Tap Done.

    Tap +, tap photos, tap Done

How to add photos and videos to existing albums with the Photos app for iPhone and iPad

  1. Launch the Photos app from your home screen.
  2. Tap an album to view its contents.

  3. Tap Select at the top right.

  4. Tap on all the photos or videos you'd like to add.

  5. Tap the album you want to add the photos or videos to, or choose New Album to create a new album.

You can create albums or anything, temporary or permanent, based on people, places, trips, types, and more!

How to add photos and videos to existing albums with the Photos app on iOS 13 and iPadOS 13

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac (sadly, no public beta for the Apple Watch). While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

  1. Open Photos on your iPhone and iPad.
  2. Tap the Photos tab.

  3. Tap Days or All Photos.

    Open Photos, tap Photos, tap Days or All Photos

  4. Tap Select.
  5. Tap on photos that you want to add to an album.

  6. Tap the share button.

    Tap Select, select photos, tap share

  7. Tap Add to Album or Add to Shared Album.

  8. Tap on the album to which you'd like to add your photos.

    Tap Add to Album, tap album

Your photos will then be added to your chosen album.

How do you keep your photos organized?

Is there a particular way you like to keep your images neat and tidy? Let us know how you keep your memories, videos, and photos in order in the comments down below!

Updated July 2019: Added instructions for iOS 13 beta.

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