How to Backup Photos from iPhone to Mac in 7 Ways [Complete Guide]

Is your iPhone full of storage space? Generally speaking, this is due to the large number of photos and large files with multiple apps on your phone. You are not allowed to move a mobile app to a computer, but you can move your various photos from your iPhone to your Mac.

In this article, we will focus on how to backup photos from iPhone to Mac. Here are 7 reliable solutions to back up photos from iPhone to Mac, including:

Now let's explore how to use these methods to back up photos from iPhone to Mac step by step.

Solution 1. How to Backup Photos from iPhone to Mac via an iPhone Data Transfer Tool

First of all, we would like to introduce a piece of third-party iPhone data transfer software - EaseUS MobiMover Pro. It is able to transfer data from iPhone to Mac. In addition to photos, you can back up contacts from iPhone to Mac, or move other content from iPhone to Mac. Not only data transfer from iPhone to Mac, but you can also back up files from Mac to iPhone, from iPhone to iPhone, or from Mac to Mac.

It offers free with 2 paid options. Click below to download the trial version of the EaseUS MobiMover (Pro).👇

Step 1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac. Start EaseUS MobiMover and go to "Content Management" > "Pictures" > "Albums."

Step 2. Select the albums you'd like to copy from your iPhone/iPad to Mac. You can select specific items or select all, depending on your needs. You can choose "Original" and "JPG" as the format of the transferred photos in "Preference".

Step 3. Click the "Transfer" button, and MobiMover will start transferring albums from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac automatically. When it has completed, go to the destination to check the files.

That's all it takes to use this EaseUS software for photo backup. If you are also thinking about how to transfer photos from Mac to iPhone, click here to learn more information:

Solution 2. How to Sync Photos from iPhone to Mac via Finder

Apart from a third-party photo transfer tool, you can also back up photos from iPhone to Mac via the Finder app on your Mac directly. If your Mac is running macOS Catalina or earlier, update your MacOS system to the latest version. Because iTunes is gradually replaced by Finder, we do not recommend using iTunes to transfer data between iPhone and Mac.

Here's how to use the Finder app to back up photos from iPhone to Mac seamlessly:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac via a USB cable.

Step 2. Open Finder and click your iPhone device in the left sidebar.

Step 3. Under Photos, tick the checkbox of "Sync photos to your device from."

Step 4. Choose the app to sync your photos from.

Step 5. Then you can sync all the photos or select albums.

Step 6. When you're done, click Apply.

Solution 3. How to Import Photos from iPhone to Mac via the Photos app

To transfer photos from iPhone to Mac without third-party software, you can also use the Photos app that comes bundled with the Mac computer to import photos from iPhone to Mac directly. Make sure your Mac is Mac OS X Yosemite or later. And you can also use this method to transfer videos from iPhone to Mac.

Follow the steps below to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac via the Photos app:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac via a USB cable.

Step 2. Open Photos on your Mac and the Import screen will show up automatically.

Step 3. You can click Import Selected to transfer specific photos or click Import All New Photos to import all the photos on your iPhone.

Solution 4. How to Backup Photos from iPhone to Mac via iCloud Photos

You must have used iCloud - the cloud storage service developed by Apple Inc. It's a good option to use iCloud Photos to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac. You can just turn on the toggle of iCloud Photos to sync photos to iCloud and open it on your Mac to download them.

Now let's see how to back up photos from iPhone to Mac:

Step 1. On your iPhone, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos.

Step 2. Enable iCloud Photos by turning on the toggle of it.

Step 3. On your Mac, open the Photos app.

Step 4. Click Photos in the menu bar.

Step 5. Then select Photos > Preferences > iCloud.

Step 6. Tick the checkbox of iCloud Photos.

Solution 5. How to AirDrop Photos from iPhone to Mac

AirDrop is a wireless ad hoc service developed by Apple Inc. You can transfer files using AirDrop among Apple devices. But notify that your Mac and your iPhone are required to be Mac OS X and iOS 8 at least respectively.

Here's how to AirDrop photos from iPhone to Mac wirelessly:

Step 1. Once you turn on AirDrop on iPhone and Mac, select the photos that you want to AirDrop.

Step 2. Tap the Share button and then select AirDrop.

Step 3. Select your Mac from the menu.

Step 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the transfer process.

Click below to see how to AirDrop data from iPhone to iPhone if you're interested:

Solution 6. How to Backup Photos from iPhone to Mac via Image Capture

In this section, you will learn how to use Image Capture to back up photos from iPhone to Mac. This method is quite easy and a little similar to the Photos app. Let's see how to back up photos from iPhone to Mac through Image Capture:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac computer using a USB cable.

Step 2. Open Image Capture on your Mac.

Step 3. Under Devices, select your iPhone.

Step 4. Click the down arrow next to "Import To" to select a path you want to import the photos to.

Step 5. When you're done, select Download All to import all Photos from iPhone to Mac. Or you can select Download to back up the photos selectively.

Solution 7. How to Backup Photos from iPhone to Mac via Email Chat

Here we come to the last resort. To be honest, using Email to transfer data is quite common but
not very conventional. It is advisable to transfer a small number of photos that is vitally important from iPhone to Mac. This is because the size of files has an impact on the transfer speed. Try not to move more than 1GB of data through email.

Follow the steps below to learn how to backup photos from iPhone to Mac with email:

Step 1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone and select the photos you want to back up.

Step 2. Tap the Share button and then select Mail.

Step 3. In the email screen, fill out the proper information. (You can transfer photos by emailing yourself.)

Step 4. Tap Send.

Step 5. You will be prompted to select the size you want to the photos to be.

Conclusion

In this article, we have covered seven effective solutions to help you back up photos from iPhone to Mac. You can select one of them according to your situation. And we recommend EaseUS MobiMover mostly to transfer data including photos from iPhone to Mac, from iPhone to iPhone, or from Mac to iPhone.

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FAQs on How to Backup Photos from iPhone to Mac

For more information on how to backup photos from iPhone to Mac, check the commonly asked questions below.

1. Can I transfer photos from iPhone directly to a Windows PC?

You can transfer photos from your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable. But the photos stored on the iPhone are in HEIC format which is not supported by Windows. It is recommended to use EaseUS MobiMover to transfer photos from iPhone to PC. This iPhone data transfer tool is also able to convert HEIC to JPG.

2. What happens if iPhone storage is full?

You won't be able to do anything that requires space, including installing new apps, taking pictures, syncing media files, updating your operating system, or anything else. You need to delete or transfer some less essential content. It is recommended to transfer files to iTunes or EaseUS MobiMover for backup.

3. Can I Merge Photos from 2 iCloud Accounts?

Yes, you can merge photos from 2 iCloud accounts. When you turn off sync, you can save photos on your iPhone. Next, you can merge the photos on your iPhone to a new iCloud account.