- Exploring the Photos views (user interface)
- Editing basics - Cropping
- Marking Favorite images
- Creating an Album to sequence photos into a storyline
- Sharing via Email - change to smaller sizes
- Sharing via Shared Album
- Pic Collage app - crop with scissors to outline a shape
- Change your Lock Screen Wallpaper
- iCloud Sync to all devices
- Stylus for drawing on iPad and iPhone
- Using Apple Mail app to read gmail account (instead of Safari browser)
- Camera tricks (exposure lock, panorama, etc)
- Photo Stream vs iCloud - youtube video commentary
- Stylize photos with Waterlogue app
- Blend two images with Image Blender app
Please open the iBooks app and then download the iPhone User Guide or iPad User Guide. Refer to the Photos and Camera chapters.
Exploring the Photos views
A computer or mobile device has a "user interface" that benefits both the app designers and end users ("us"). So it will be helpful to explore all the buttons and menus for every app. Photos is a great place to start. I will describe the iPhone Photos user interface, the iPad has the same features, but the layout (position of buttons) could be different.
- Start by looking at the bottom of the screen for three tabs: Photos, Shared and Albums. The blue color will indicate the active tab. Each tab has different options at the top of the screen.
- Photos tab > current view label is in the center top, under the time.
- At the big picture view the location where the picture was taken with the date and time displayed. The left top corner is a button to open the Moments view. The right top corner shows Share, Trash and Edit buttons. At the bottom of the screen is a line of skinny thumbnails and left bottom is the Share button, center is the Heart ("Favorite") and right is Trash button.
- The Moments view ("Moments" is now shown center top of screen) has a left top corner is a button to open the Collections view. The right top corner show Search and Select button. There is also a Share link for groups of photos taken at a location on a date. At the bottom are the Photos, Shared and Albums tabs.
- The Collections view ("Collections" is now shown center top of screen) has a left top corner to open the Years view. At the bottom are the Photos, Shared and Albums tabs.
- The Years view ("Years" is now shown center top of screen) has only Search button in the right top corner.
- At Moments and Collections views you see the location and date of the photo groups. To see the images on a map, touch the location text. Pinch to zoom in or out to see exactly where the photos were taken. (Location must be enabled for photos for this to work.)
- At the Collections and Years views the image thumbnails are very small. Touch, hold and slide your fingertip to see a pop-up enlargement of each image.
- Touch the Search button and try Nearby. In the Search field, type December 2014 (or another date) and touch the listed grouping to show all photos. Try this, type October 201 and see the results from 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Editing basics
In the big picture view, touch the Edit button to reveal the edit options. The right top corner has a magic wand that might improve your photo. Buttons at the bottom include Cancel, Crop, Filter, Exposure, app extensions and Done.
Cropping
- Many photos can be improved by cropping to the subject.
- Touch the Crop button to rotate the image, or to level the horizon.
- The Crop options include to set the framing (aspect ratio) from Square and more.
- Improve the horizon by rotating the dial.
Non-Destructive Edits
Your iPhone, iPad and Mac keep the original photograph and give you the option to recover the original. View an image you have edited and touch the Edit button to open the tools. Now look at the right bottom corner to see the Revert option in red. Touch Revert and read the details on this action, if you want to start over, touch Revert to Original.
Favorites
Apple has given us automatic Albums, Favorites is an album where we select photos. There are many other automatic albums: Camera Roll, Panoramas, Videos, Bursts, and Recently Deleted to name a few.) When viewing an image in the big picture view, at the bottom center of the screen is a Heart button. This is a "toggle" that is on or off. Touch the Heart to fill it with blue, this is the ON mode and this photo is marked as a Favorite. Touch it to just show the Heart as a blue outline and this image is just a regular photo. The photos in the Camera Roll and in Favorites are automatically sequenced by the date and time stamp. You cannot change their order.
Albums
We need to transition from the Photos tab to the Albums tab. In the Moments or Collections view in the Photos tab look at the bottom of your screen to see the Photos tab highlighted in blue and the Albums on the right. Touch Albums to see it highlight in blue.
Review the user interface of Albums, in the left top corner is the + button for creating new albums, and in the right top corner is search and Edit.
Apple gives us automatic albums: Camera Roll, Favorites, Panoramas, Bursts, Videos, Slo-Mo and more. Automatic albums are also created by 3rd Party Camera apps as well. The sequence of automatic albums cannot be changed from the date and time the photos were taken.
The Recently Deleted automatic album will be important to you. Someday. When you select and Trash photos they are moved to this album and removed from Camera Roll. This is a holding bin for 30 days since you deleted the photo. Look inside this album to see each image is marked with the number of days before it completely disappears. Touch a photo to see the Recover button in the right lower corner.
In the next few steps we will add photos to our own albums and then delete a photo from an album. This only removes it from the album, the photo is not deleted from the Camera Roll.
Quantity and Meaningful Names
You might think about creating albums of 5 to 20 photos. Consider making your album names meaningful, Grandkids and Pets are big categories. Great Dogs, Water Dogs, and Dogs at Play might be one example of splitting up photos. How might you split up grandkid photos?
Albums can be renamed.
Albums
We need to transition from the Photos tab to the Albums tab. In the Moments or Collections view in the Photos tab look at the bottom of your screen to see the Photos tab highlighted in blue and the Albums on the right. Touch Albums to see it highlight in blue.
Review the user interface of Albums, in the left top corner is the + button for creating new albums, and in the right top corner is search and Edit.
Apple gives us automatic albums: Camera Roll, Favorites, Panoramas, Bursts, Videos, Slo-Mo and more. Automatic albums are also created by 3rd Party Camera apps as well. The sequence of automatic albums cannot be changed from the date and time the photos were taken.
The Recently Deleted automatic album will be important to you. Someday. When you select and Trash photos they are moved to this album and removed from Camera Roll. This is a holding bin for 30 days since you deleted the photo. Look inside this album to see each image is marked with the number of days before it completely disappears. Touch a photo to see the Recover button in the right lower corner.
In the next few steps we will add photos to our own albums and then delete a photo from an album. This only removes it from the album, the photo is not deleted from the Camera Roll.
Quantity and Meaningful Names
You might think about creating albums of 5 to 20 photos. Consider making your album names meaningful, Grandkids and Pets are big categories. Great Dogs, Water Dogs, and Dogs at Play might be one example of splitting up photos. How might you split up grandkid photos?
Albums can be renamed.
Creating an Album
Don't you love having a camera with you at all times? It is so easy to capture great shots of family, friends, pets and our beautiful world. But showing these pictures from the Camera Roll is challenging. Your best photos are not organized together. You could use the Favorites button but if you want to show your garden to family and your grandkids to friends,.. well there is a better way! Make albums for your best shots and sequence the photos to tell the best story.
It won't be a surprise that there are two ways to make your own Albums. Let's cover just one way and leave the other to be discovered on your own.
It won't be a surprise that there are two ways to make your own Albums. Let's cover just one way and leave the other to be discovered on your own.
- Open up Photos to the Moments view.
- Touch the Select button in the right top corner. Notice the center bottom of your screen includes a new option - the Add To button.
- Swipe up/down the photo thumbnails and touch 4 different photos. As you touch each one, a blue checkbox will appear on the thumbnail.
- After you have selected several images, touch the Add To button. The list of existing albums appears. Swipe up to view the last option listed: New Album... Type a name for the album and touch the Save button. Your selected photos are now in your new album!
Hint: this is a great way to add additional photos to existing images.
Sequence Photos into a Storyline
But you are not done yet. The order of photos is still based on the date. Roll up your sleeves, you are about to tell the story your way!
- Find your new album on the list, touch to open it.
- In the left top corner is the Select button, in the center is a search field and the Cancel button is in the right top corner. Touch Select to get into the adjust mode.
- You will select one image at a time and MOVE it to sequence the photos to tell the best story.
- Touch the Select button. Touch and hold on one photo (it will pop) and then drag to a new position. Other images will slide aside and lift your finger let the photo drop into position.
- When you are finished, touch the Done button in the left top corner.
Try these activities on your own:
- Add More Photos
- Delete a Photo from an Album
Email Photos
The Share button is the secret to sending photos by email or iMessage.
The Share button is the secret to sending photos by email or iMessage.
