How to create and work with photo albums on iPad

Use albums in the Photos app to view and organize your photos and videos. You can also rename, rearrange, and delete albums and create folders to contain multiple albums.

If you use iCloud Photos, albums are stored in iCloud, so they’re up to date on devices signed in to the same Apple Account. See Back up and sync your photos and videos with iCloud. You can also sort and filter albums, change the format of the albums list, and share photos from an album.

Create a new album

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Albums in the library sidebar. Tap All Albums (or tap Collections, then tap Albums).
3. Tap the Add button and then tap New Album.
4. Enter a name for the album, add photos, and choose a key photo to represent the album.
5. Tap Create.

For an album you can collaborate on with other people, check out our guide, Create shared albums.

Sort and filter albums

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Albums in the library sidebar. Tap All Albums (or tap Collections, then tap Albums).
3. Tap the More button, then choose a sort option.

   If you choose Sort by Custom Order, touch and hold an album, then drag it to a new position.

4. To show only albums or only folders, tap the More button, tap Filter, and tap Albums or Folders.

To change the format of the albums list, tap the More button, then select List View or Album Cover.

Update an album

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections and tap Albums.
3. Tap the album to open it, then tap the More button.
4. Tap the current title and then do any of the following:
   • Change the name: Enter a new name in the text field.
   • Change the key photo: Tap the photo icon in the bottom-right corner of the current key photo. Then select a new photo in the photo grid.
   • Add or remove photos: Tap Add Photos and then tap the photos you want to add (tap All to see your entire library), or deselect photos to remove them from the album. Tap the Done button to save your changes.
5. Tap the Done button to close the album.

Share photos from an album

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections and tap Albums.
3. Tap an album to open it.
4. Tap Select, then tap the items you want to share. Or tap Select, then tap Select All to share everything in the album.
5. Tap the Share button. Choose a sharing option such as AirDrop, Messages, or Mail.

Create a shared album from a personal album

To share an existing album with friends and family, move copies of all its photos and videos into a new shared album.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections and tap Albums.
3. Tap the album to open it, then tap the More button.
4. Tap Create Shared Album, then tap the Done button.

For inviting and managing participants, read our article, Add and remove people in a shared album.

Delete an album

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections and tap Albums.
3. Touch and hold the album you want to delete.
4. Tap Delete Album.

Note: If you delete an album, its photos and videos remain in your photo library and in any other album they were added to.

Organize albums in folders

To organize your albums, create folders. Each folder you create appears in the Albums collection.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Albums in the library sidebar. Tap All Albums (or tap Collections, then tap Albums).
3. Tap the Add button, then tap New Folder.
4. Name the folder in the text field, tap Add Albums, select the albums you want to add and tap the Done button.
5. Tap the Done button to save and close the folder.

To remove an album from a folder, tap the folder to open it, touch and hold an album, then tap Remove from Folder.

See also

• Add, delete, and find photos and videos in albums on iPad
• Filter and sort photos and videos in albums on iPad
• Create shared albums in Photos on iPad