Browse the library in the Photos app to view your entire collection of photos and videos.

You can go to a specific time in your library by years or months, or go back to your most recent photos. You can also change the size and appearance of the thumbnails in your library grid and view each one in the dimension it was captured in. And you can manage the content displayed in your library, such as screenshots and photos shared with you in Messages.

Here’s how to browse your photo library on iPad.

View your library

1. Start the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Library.
3. Swipe down to see more photos, or tap Years or Months to go to a specific time in your library.
4. Tap Library or All to go back to your most recent photos.

To focus on the images in your library, tap the Hide Sidebar button to close the sidebar, then use the Years, Months, and All buttons to navigate. To show the sidebar again, tap the Toggle Sidebar button.

Change the library display

You can change the size and appearance of photo thumbnails in the library photo grid and manage what your library displays.

Quick tip: As you view the library, pinch the screen to zoom in or out.

1. Start the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap the More button, then tap View Options.
3. Do any of the following:
   • Enlarge the size of the photo and video thumbnails: Tap Zoom In.
   • Reduce the size of the photo and video thumbnails, to see more at the same time: Tap Zoom Out.
   • View each photo or video thumbnail in the dimension it was captured in: Tap Aspect Ratio Grid. To return to square thumbnails, tap Square Photo Grid.
   • Hide screenshots: Tap Screenshots.
   • Hide the shared library badge on thumbnails: Tap Shared Library Badge.
   • Hide photos and videos shared with you in Messages: Tap Shared with You.
   • Hide photos and videos you manually added from your Mac: Tap From My Mac.

For more ways to customize the content shown in your photo library, check out our guide, Filter and sort the photo library.

See also

• Search for photos and videos on iPad

Find photos and videos in your photo library faster by sorting, filtering, or hiding certain items. You can sort the library by the date items were added or the date they were taken, and filter it by category, such as Edited, Favorites, or Captured by Me.

The Media Types filter can show only photos, videos, or screenshots, and you can apply multiple filters at the same time. Screenshots and photos and videos synced from your Mac or shared with you in Messages appear there by default, but you can hide them to reduce clutter.

Sort the library

Sort your photo library, and items appear by the date they were added or the date they were taken.

1. Start the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Sort and Filter button and tap one of the following options at the top of the list:
   • Added: Photos and videos you added most recently appear at the bottom of the library.
   • Captured: Photos and videos are sorted by the date they were taken, instead of the date they were added to the library.

Filter the library

Filters display items in your photo library by category, such as Edited, Favorites, or Captured by Me, and the Media Types filter displays only photos, videos, or screenshots.

Quick tip: You can apply multiple filters at the same time.

1. Start the Photos app on your iPad.

   

2. Tap the Sort and Filter button and then tap the filter you want to apply.
3. To remove the filters and return to the full library, tap Remove Filters.

Hide screenshots, items from your Mac, and items shared with you

By default, photos and videos shared with you in the Messages app, photos and videos synced from your Mac, and screenshots automatically appear in your photo library. To reduce clutter, you can hide these items.

1. Start the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Library.
3. Tap the Sort and Filter button and then tap View Options.
4. Tap Screenshots, From My Mac, or Shared with You to hide these items in your library. To stop hiding them, tap the option again.

See also

• Filter and sort photos and videos in albums on iPad

On supported iPhone models, Cinematic mode in Camera applies a depth-of-field effect that keeps the subject of your video sharp while blurring the foreground and background. After capturing the video, you can adjust or remove the Cinematic mode effects in the Photos app on iPad.

Camera identifies where to focus while you record and can change focus automatically, and you can change the focus subject later. You can even adjust the depth of field or turn off the Cinematic effect.

Cinematic mode videos can be edited on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (all generations), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), and iPad mini (A17 Pro).

Turn off the Cinematic effect

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a video you recorded in Cinematic mode. Tap the Edit button.
3. Tap Cinematic at the top of the screen and then tap Done.

To turn Cinematic mode back on, repeat these steps.

Change the focus subject in a Cinematic mode video

When you record in Cinematic mode, Camera automatically works out where to focus and can change focus automatically if it identifies a new subject. You’re also free to change the focus subject manually.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a video you recorded in Cinematic mode. Tap the Edit button.

   White dots under the frame viewer indicate where Camera automatically changed the focus while recording. Yellow dots indicate where the focus was manually changed.

3. Play the video, or slide the white vertical bar in the frame viewer, to the point where you want to change the focus.
4. Tap the new subject, outlined in yellow, on the screen to change the focus; double-tap to set automatic focus tracking on the subject.

   A yellow dot appears under the frame viewer to indicate the focus was changed.

   Note: You can also touch and hold the screen to lock the focus at a specific distance from the camera.

5. Repeat the steps above to change focus points throughout the video.

   To remove a manual focus change, tap the yellow dot under the frame viewer, then tap the Delete button.

6. Tap Done to save your changes.

Tap the Manual Tracking button to switch between automatic focus tracking and the manually selected focus points.

After you save your changes, you can revert a Cinematic mode video to the original version if you don’t like your edits. Open the video, then tap Revert.

Adjust the depth of field in a Cinematic mode video

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a video you recorded in Cinematic mode. Tap the Edit button.
3. Tap the Depth Control button at the top of the screen.

   A slider appears below the video.

4. Drag the slider left or right to adjust the depth of field effect. Then tap Done.

To undo your edits after you save, open the video, then tap Revert.

Export Cinematic mode videos to your Mac

To edit Cinematic mode videos in other apps, transfer them from your iPhone to your Mac, complete with depth and focus metadata.

Note: Your Mac has to be using macOS 13 or later to edit Cinematic mode videos from an iPhone with iOS 16 or later.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a Cinematic mode video. Then tap the Share button.
3. Tap Options at the top of the screen and turn on All Photos Data. Then tap the Done button.
4. Tap AirDrop. Tap the device you want to share with (make sure the device you’re sharing with has AirDrop turned on).

Export Cinematic mode videos to an external storage device

You can export Cinematic mode videos directly to an external drive, a memory card, or other storage device.

Note: Photos and videos that have been edited will be exported as the unmodified original version.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Select the video you want to export.
3. Tap the Share button and then tap Export Unmodified Original.
4. Tap your storage device (below Locations) and then tap the Done button.

See also

• Edit photos and videos on iPad
• Undo and revert photo edits on iPad

In the Photos app, you can trim a video you recorded on your iPad to change where it starts and stops. You can also adjust the playback speed, and change the portion of a video that appears in slow motion when you record in Slo-mo mode.

When you capture a video on any iPhone 16 model or later (except iPhone 16e), you can edit Spatial Audio in the Photos app, like reducing background noise to focus on the person speaking. You can save a trimmed video as a new clip, too, though a new clip can’t be reverted to the original.

Trim a video

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a video and then tap the Edit button.
3. Drag either end of the frame viewer to adjust the start and stop time. Then tap Done.
4. Tap Save Video to save only the trimmed video, or Save Video as New Clip to save both versions of the video.

To undo the trim after you save, open the video, tap the Edit button, then tap Revert.

Note: You can’t revert a video saved as a new clip to the original.

Edit the video playback speed

Slowing down videos captured at a high frame rate creates a dramatic effect.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a video, tap the Edit button, and then tap Video.
3. Tap the Playback Speed button and then tap a playback speed.

   Note: The playback options available depend on the format of the video you captured. The larger the format you capture, the more options are available.

Edit slow-motion sections of a video shot in Slo-mo mode

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a video shot in Slo-mo mode and then tap the Edit button.
3. Drag the white vertical bars beneath the frame viewer to set where the video is played in slow motion.
4. Tap Done to save your edits, or if you don’t like your changes, tap Cancel.

Edit sound with Audio Mix

Video you capture on iPhone 16 or later, except iPhone 16e, is recorded in multiple formats like Spatial Audio and Stereo, allowing more audio customization. With Spatial Audio turned on while recording, you can edit the video sound on your iPad later, reducing background noise to focus on the person speaking, for instance.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.

   

2. Open a video and then tap the Edit button.
3. Tap Audio Mix and then choose one of the following:
   • Standard: Play the original audio you recorded.
   • In-Frame: Reduce sounds and voices from sources not visible in the video frame.
   • Studio: Reduce background sounds and reverb, to make it sound more like you’re recording in a professional studio.
   • Cinematic: Put all the voices onto a front-facing track and leave environmental noises in surround, like the audio in movies.
4. Drag the slider next to the mix options to increase or decrease the effect and background noise levels.
5. Tap Done.

See also

• Edit photos and videos on iPad
• Edit Cinematic mode videos on iPad
• Undo and revert photo edits on iPad

While you edit a photo or video, you can undo and redo changes. After saving, if you don’t like how your changes look, you can revert back to the original.

When you use iCloud Photos, any edits you make to your photos and videos are saved across all your devices. As you edit, you can also compare the edited version to the original.

Here’s how to undo and revert photo edits on iPad.

Undo and redo as you edit

As you edit a photo or video, tap the Undo button and the Redo button at the top of the screen to undo and redo multiple edit steps.

Quick tip: If you’d like to compare the edited version to the original, tap the photo or video.

Revert an edited photo or video

You can revert to the original even after you’ve edited a photo or video and saved your changes.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open the edited photo or video and tap the More button.
3. Tap Revert to Original.

See also

• Crop, rotate, flip, or straighten photos and videos on iPad
• Edit Portrait mode photos on iPad
• Edit photos and videos on iPad