How to Create an Album on Your iPhone & iPad (iOS 16)

Apple’s iOS Photos app has a few default photo albums that automatically organize the photos on your iPhone. But what if you’d like to create a new photo album? The Photos app allows users to organize pictures into albums they create. Here’s how to make an album from photos and videos on an iPhone.

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How to Make Photo Albums on an iPhone & iPad

If you want to organize photos on your iPhone or iPad, it's time to create photo albums! Here's how to make photo albums in the Photos app. For more great photo organization tutorials, check out our free Tip of the Day

  1. Open the Photos app.

    Open the Photos app.
  2. Tap the Albums tab.

    Tap the Albums tab.
  3. Tap the plus symbol.

    Tap the plus symbol.
  4. Tap either New Album or New Shared Album.

    Tap either New Album or New Shared Album.
  5. Give your new album a title and tap Save.

    Give your new album a title and tap Save.
  6. Tap photos to add to the new album, the selected photos will have circles with blue check marks in the bottom right corners.

    Tap photos to add to the new album, the selected photos will have circles with blue check marks in the bottom right corners.
  7. If you want to double check what you've selected, tap Show Selected (number of selected photos). This is useful if you've scrolled a lot or gone through several albums to select a variety of photos.

    If you want to double check what you've selected, tap Show Selected
  8. Here you can swipe to see them all in full size.

    Here you can swipe to see them all in full size.
  9. Tap the blue check mark if you wish to deselect the photo you are currently looking at.

    Tap the blue check mark if you wish to deselect the photo
  10. Or tap Deselect All to restart the selection process.

    Or tap Deselect All to restart the selection process.
  11. Tap Done to stop viewing your selected photos.

    Tap Done to stop viewing your selected photos.
  12. Tap Add when you're finished. Or Cancel to return to your Photos app, if you do this, your progress will be lost.

    Tap Add when you're finished.

Your new album will now appear in the Albums tab in the Photos app! If you want to learn how to delete a photo album, read this.

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Related: How to Create a Group Photo Album on iPhone

How to Add Photos to Albums on an iPhone & iPad

Now that you’ve made an album, you may be wondering how to organize iPhone photos and videos by moving them into individual albums. There are several ways to do this: from your general photo library, by looking up photos using the search field, and directly from the album using the plus icon.

How to Move Photos to Albums on an iPhone from the Photos App Library

You can add videos and pictures to albums you’ve already created by following these steps:

  1. Open the Photos app, then tap the Library tab, then Select

    Open the Photos app, then tap the Library tab, then Select. 
  2. Tap the video or photo thumbnails you want to add; you'll see the circles with blue checkmarks in the bottom right corner of the selected images. Next, tap the Share icon

    Next, tap the Share icon.
  3. Tap Add to Album or Add to Shared Album. You may need to scroll down to see these options.

    Tap Add to Album or Add to Shared Album.
  4. Tap the album you want to add your photos and videos to.

    Tap the album you want to add your photos and videos to.
  5. If you want to create a new album for these photos, tap New Album, name it, then tap Save.

    to create a new album for these photos, tap New Album, name it, then tap Save.

How to Look Up Photos Using the Search Field to Add Photos to an Album on iPhone & iPad

An even faster way to find and add content to an album is to use the Search field. To do this: 

  1. Tap the Search tab and enter your specifications. This can be a subject, location, date, caption, or all of the above. 

    Tap the Search tab and enter your specifications.
  2. Tap See All.

    Tap See All.
  3. Tap Select

    Tap Select. 
  4. Tap to select photos, then tap and hold one of the selected photos until a menu pops up. Tap Add to Album.

    Tap Add to Album.
  5. Tap the album you want the photos in, or create a new album.

    Tap the album you want the photos in, or create a new album.

Add Photos Using the Plus Icon Directly from Your Apple Album Photo

You can also use this method: 

  1. Tap the album you'd like to add photos to, then tap the Plus icon.

    Tap the album you'd like to add photos to, then tap the Plus icon.
  2. Tap the photos and videos you’d like to include, then tap Add

    Tap the photos and videos you’d like to include, then tap Add. 

Now you know how to organize photos in the Photos app on your iPhone and iPad! Next, learn more ways to organize photos on your iPhone and manage your memories.

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Rheanne Taylor's picture

Author Details

Rheanne Taylor

Rheanne Taylor is the Video Production Manager of iPhone Life. In her 10+ years at the company, she has produced hundreds of educational videos showing people how to get the most out of their iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Macs. Rheanne holds a bachelor’s degree in Literature & Writing and has 11+ years of experience in photography and video work, which she enjoys utilizing in her how-to videos.

When she isn’t overseeing video content, Rheanne loves drinking tea, taking lots of photos, and hanging out with her Instagram famous cat Wesley (IG: wesley_the_pirate_cat)