To transfer photos from your digital camera, the first step is to choose how you want the computer to be able to access your picture files. Depending on your camera, you may be able to use one or all of the following methods:
See Import photos from a camera or phone. From storage media: Import photos or videos saved on a hard disk or other storage device. See Import photos from hard disks, DVDs, and other devices. From other apps: Import photos and videos sent to you in an email or text message, or downloaded from Safari. See Import photos from Mail, Safari,. Transfer Photos From Android Phone to Mac Using Photos App. Perhaps the easiest way to transfer Photos From Android Phone or Tablet to Mac is to use the Native Photos App as available on your Mac. Connect Android Phone to Mac using its lightning to USB cable. Note: This should automatically open the Photos App on your Mac. This video is about how to import pictures from a DSLR camera to a macbook. Don't forget to like and subscribe for more!
- Connect the camera to the computer via USB. USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, which is a technology developed for connecting printers, cameras, and other devices to a computer. A USB port is a slot on the computer where you can plug in a USB cable. Here’s a close-up look at a USB plug and ports, which are typically marked with the symbol you see below.
- Use a card reader. A card reader is a device that enables a computer to access data directly from a memory card — no camera or battery power required. You just take the card out of the camera and slip it into the card reader when you want to download photos.
- Transfer wirelessly. Cellphones and other smart devices can connect to your computer wirelessly, assuming that your computer itself is part of a Wi-Fi network. You also may be able to use Bluetooth, another wireless data-transfer technology, to connect your smart device to your computer.
What happens after you establish a connection between a camera or card reader and the computer depends on your computer’s operating system and the software you installed. Here are some possibilities:
- You see an icon representing your camera or memory card on your computer desktop or in the file-management window. For example, here is a card reader which shows up as a drive on the desktop on a Mac computer. In some cases, the camera brand name appears along with or instead of a drive letter. (The drive letter will vary depending on how many other drives are on your system.)
- On a computer running Windows, a Windows message box similar to this one appears. The figure shows the dialog box as it may appear in Windows 7 (the box changes depending on your computer settings). From this window, you can choose from programs that the system believes can handle image file transfers.
- An installed photo program automatically displays a photo-download wizard. For example, the downloader associated with your camera software (assuming that you installed that program), Adobe Lightroom, iPhoto, or another photo program may leap to the forefront. Usually, the downloader that appears is associated with the software you most recently installed.
If you’re using photo-download software, you should be able to view all your photos, select the ones you want to transfer, and specify downloading options such as the name of the folder where you want to store the images. Check the program’s Help system for how-tos.
But if you prefer, you can just stick with Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder and use the same drag-and-drop technique that you use to copy files from a CD, DVD, or another removable storage device to your computer. Normally, you have to open a folder or two to get to the actual image files:
They’re typically housed inside a main folder named DCIM (for digital camera images) and then within a subfolder that uses the camera manufacturer’s name or folder-naming structure. After you open the folder, you may see thumbnails of the images or simply the names of the files.
After opening the folder that contains the images, select the ones you want to transfer and then just drag them to the folder on your hard drive where you want to store them. Although it’s not visible in the figure, you should see a little plus sign next to the cursor when you drag. The plus sign indicates that you’re placing a copy of the picture files on the computer; your originals remain on the card.
A few final downloading tips apply no matter which method you use:
- You don’t have to use the same program to edit photos that you use to download them. You can download using your camera’s photo browser, for example, and then open and edit the transferred photos in Adobe Photoshop. In some cases, you first need to import or catalog the transferred photos into the program, which simply tells the program to build thumbnails for the picture files.
- Watch out for the erase-after-download option. Many photo downloading tools offer to automatically erase the original images on your card after you transfer them to the computer. Disable that option just in case something goes haywire. It’s not a good idea to erase the images on your card until you’re confident that they’re safely stored on your hard drive.
- Also disable automatic red-eye correction. Many downloaders also attempt to try to remove red-eye during the download process. This option can cause your downloads to take forever as the program tries to locate and fix areas that it thinks may be red-eye. It’s better to do the job yourself after downloading.
- You may be able to copy photos to a backup drive at the same time you copy them to your main storage drive. This feature, found on some photo downloaders, is a great timesaver, for obvious reasons. The initial download may take a bit longer because files are being written to two locations, but you don’t have to take the time to select and copy photos to your backup drive later.
Choose where to keep your photos and videos
Make your photos and videos available on all your devices with iCloud Photos. Or store them locally only on your Mac or PC.
iCloud Photos
iCloud Photos keeps your photos and videos safe, up to date, and available automatically on all of your Apple devices, on iCloud.com, and even your PC. iCloud Photos always uploads and stores your original, full-resolution photos. You can keep full-resolution originals on each of your devices, or save space with device-optimized versions instead. Either way, you can download your originals whenever you need them. Any organizational changes or edits you make are always kept up to date across all your devices.
The photos and videos that you keep in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage. Before you turn on iCloud Photos, make sure that you have enough space in iCloud to store your entire collection. You can see how much space you need and then upgrade your storage plan if necessary.
Import to your Mac
You can use the Photos app to import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac.
- Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac with a USB cable.
- Open the Photos app.
- The Photos app shows an Import screen with all the photos and videos that are on your connected device. If the Import screen doesn't automatically appear, click the device's name in the Photos sidebar.
- If asked, unlock your iOS device using your passcode. If you see a prompt on your iOS device asking you to Trust This Computer, tap Trust to continue.
- Either select the photos you want to import and click Import Selected, or click Import All New Photos.
- Wait for the process to finish, then disconnect your device from your Mac.
Learn what to do if you can't import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer.
Import to your PC
You can import photos to your PC by connecting your device to your computer and using the Windows Photos app:
- Make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes on your PC. Importing photos to your PC requires iTunes 12.5.1 or later.
- Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your PC with a USB cable.
- If asked, unlock your iOS device using your passcode.
- If you see a prompt on your iOS device asking you to Trust This Computer, tap Trust or Allow to continue.
Then, visit Microsoft's website to learn how to import photos to the Windows Photos app in Windows 10.
If you have iCloud Photos turned on, you need to download the original, full resolution versions of your photos to your iPhone before you import to your PC. Find out how.
When you import videos from your iOS device to your PC, some might be rotated incorrectly in the Windows Photos app. You can add these videos to iTunes to play them in the correct orientation.
How To Download Photos From Camera To Mac Pro
Learn what to do if you can't import photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer.
Learn more
How To Download Photos To Mac From Camera Card
- Use Time Machine to back up all of your files, including your photos and videos, to an external hard drive.
- Import photos and video from storage media, like a hard disk or SD card, to Photos for macOS.
- Use a scanner and Image Capture to import photos that were taken with a film camera.
- Import your images directly to a folder on your Mac with Image Capture.