With so many people taking photos on iPhones, photo management is essential. You can upload images from any Apple device to Apple’s Cloud service which is called ‘iCloud’. You get 5GB free and after that, you must choose a monthly payment plan if you want to increase your storage.
Easily sync photos across devices
If you want your entire photo library to stay synchronized across all your devices, the iCloud Photo Library is a good option for you. When you turn on the iCloud Library and take a photo on your iPhone, you can see the photo on your other Apple devices such as your Mac and your iPad.
If you use multiple devices to upload to iCloud you may not have a complete collection on all devices. In this case, it is useful to know how to download iCloud photos to your iPhone.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Go to Photos.
- Select Download and Keep Originals under iCloud.
Optimize iPhone storage capacity
You can optimize the storage capacity of your iPhone. Save space on your iPhone by keeping full-resolution images in the cloud. You will only display low-resolution copes on your phone. You will still have access to the high-resolution photos but your phone storage will not fill up so quickly.
To turn on iCloud Photos:
- Go to Settings>[your name]>iCloud>Photos.
- Enable iCloud Photos.
- Choose Optimize iPhone Storage.
Note that for this option to appear, you must enable Sync this iPhone first.
If you reach your free storage limit on iCloud, you can either start deleting stuff like photo duplicates and similar photos or you will have to pay for more storage. There are third-party duplicate photo finders that help you to delete duplicates so you can save space.
Use editing tools
Editing tools are available through the Photos app on your iOS device or Photos app on your Mac. You can start editing an image on your iPhone and give it some final touch-ups on your Mac. There is a full range of tools and adjustment sliders on the Photo apps. You can also experiment with a range of filters. It is not a full editing solution like Photoshop but it helps with making quick adjustments to your photos.
Organize photos
Apple offers integrated solutions for arranging photos. It is possible to filter them based on the date, location, and objects in the image. It also uses media types, such as a video, screenshot, or selfie. You can sort images into custom albums. There’s a ‘favorites’ functionality for highlighting individual photos.
Smart search
Search is not available through the iCloud web interface. You can make use of Apple’s search tool with your iOS or Mac device. Apple uses AI to enable smart search. In the photos app, keywords are added automatically. You can search on your iPhone or Mac for keywords that describe something in the photo. A search for ‘hiking’ will turn up hiking photos.
Apple automatically identifies faces in images and will look for others of the same person. To add names:
- Open a photo and tap on the circled i at the bottom.
- Identified faces show up in a tiny circle at the bottom with a question mark.
- Tap the question mark and add the person’s name.
Useful sharing options
There are useful sharing options for sending photos to family and friends. On an iPhone or iPad, you can share individual images through many different third-party apps. Other owners of iOS devices can contribute to shared albums in Photos.
Backup
The goal of the iCloud Photo Library is to back up your photos. If a device malfunctions or you lose it, you can retrieve your photos easily by signing in to your iCloud account. Saving your travel snaps on the cloud keeps them safe from the risks of hardware failure, loss, or theft. You can also have easy access to your whole library from anywhere.
Conclusion
Using iCloud Photo Library enables you to access your images across all your Apple devices. Apple’s Photos apps offer great functionality. You can upload, download, edit, optimize storage, and share your travel photos with ease.
