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qsch1

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 30, 2013
44
1
Hi, I usually spend time editing photos and selecting the best and putting them into my favourite folder on my iPhone. Unfortunately when I connect my iPhone to my MacBook pro via lightening cable and import the images, the favourite folder also empties. I have it set so that the images are deleted after the import to free up space on my iPhone. What can I do to alway keep my favourite photos on my iPhone (so that it would not delete these images) with me still being able to import the other images and delete the ones I don't need on my phone (ie. the ones in the other folders except for the selected ones in Favourites). Thank you
 
There’s no folder system on iOS. Those are just album tags. So you need to have the pictures on the device to mark it as favourite and keep it there.

Maybe create a separate album and manually choose which albums to delete rather than automatically done every time you connect to your laptop.
 
There must be a way of keeping favourites on iPhone while deleting all the other photos after importing them to my mac. Not sure what works best, but it kind of defeats the purpose favouriting my best images, after which I have to copy them over to another folder before I delete them in the favourites folder? If you do copy them to another folder, I assume they will delete on the phone when I import all photos to my laptop and delete those on my phone? Not sure what is best here, I have been using photos app for years however have now gotten tired in loosing all my best photos on my phone (having to search for them on my laptop, what's the point). I do not have iCloud photos turned out as I find I have more control importing them into my computer manually. Am I missing something?
 
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The main thing you’re missing is the “folder” mindset. When you create an album or favourite a picture the OS just tags those pictures to be displayed alongside pictures with similar tags. There is no change in the physical storage of them.

That’s why for your requirements it’s better to manage it manually.
 
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Copy the images in your Favorites folder to another app, then sync to your Mac which will delete them as you prefer, then copy the favorite images you stored in the other app back to the Photos app, then mark them as favorites.
The joys of managing iOS photos.

The "Favorites" album is not a good choice to organize your favorite photos. Many apps can't see the Favorites album. To them it doesn't exist.
Better to create your own favorites album (just a regular album). You'll lose the convenience of using the heart icon to tag them though.
 
Copy the images in your Favorites folder to another app, then sync to your Mac which will delete them as you prefer, then copy the favorite images you stored in the other app back to the Photos app, then mark them as favorites.
The joys of managing iOS photos.

The "Favorites" album is not a good choice to organize your favorite photos. Many apps can't see the Favorites album. To them it doesn't exist.
Better to create your own favorites album (just a regular album). You'll lose the convenience of using the heart icon to tag them though.

If I copy them into a custom album folder, for eg. I name it Favourites 2020, and I download all new images to the MacBook pro with the setting to delete the originals once this is completed, would the photos still be in that uniquely created album? Thank you
 
I always thought it was a nitch idea to say "Only photos taken with the iOS camera can stay, but any transferred ones must always syc, even a blank folder your delete pictures from" iTunes, and any sync'ed photos cannot be directly deleted from iOS.. Why not .

If the two were seperate, then leave them on ya phone, and transfer to new mac, but Apple doesn't wants to even wreck havoc on your own photos you took... The only other way i know is not use iTunes,, use third party software (or use "Image Capture" (Applications folder) app on Mac if only going in one direction.. And i use that to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac. over iTunes anyday... which works fine.. You can import and selectively delete iPhone photos directly from the app. That to me, is a huge bonus over all sync via itunes.
 
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I see if I open a new album, and before transferring I put the edited images (the ones I want to stay on iPhone into this folder) then although the option says delete originals then the photos remain in that specific new folder on my iPhone (unlike favourited photos, which are not in a folder). This is what I was looking for...
 
The Camera Roll is the place where all photos and videos reside. The albums just contain links to those files. An image or video can't only reside in an album. It has to be in the camera roll too.
 
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