With an iPhone 14 Pro, it’s never been easier to not just take pictures at a moment’s notice but to also take great pictures at a moment’s notice. However, sharing those photos with others is the tricky part. It’s not terribly hard, but it sure could be a lot easier to share photos with other people.
Apple has made it easier to share your photos with your devices using the new iCloud Shared Photo Library, which is now available in iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura. A shared photo collection is simply a collection of photos that you can add, delete, and edit with others in the Photos App. It requires some setup and there are some limitations, but it gets us a lot closer to the “it just works” ideal that we all want.
Before we get into the instructions, let’s cover the requirements and restrictions of the service.
Requirements & restrictions for iCloud Shared Photos Library
iCloud Shared Photo Library allows you to share any part of your photo collection in the Photos app. All photos in the Shared Foto Library are available to anyone who has been granted access. These are the most important points to remember.
What version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS is required?All users (the person sharing a library and those granted access) must have a Mac running macOS Ventura or an iPhone with iOS 16 and an iPad with iPadOS 16.
Photos will collect data from your Apple ID during setup and notify you which devices must be updated. Older operating systems won’t have access.
Is iCloud required?As the name suggests, iCloud is required to use iCloud Shared Photo Library.
How much iCloud storage do you need?You can only afford as much. These shared photos are saved to iCloud, so the more photos you want to share, the more storage you will need, especially if you don’t want to deal with managing the photos.
Who can access the iCloud shared photo library?You can invite up to five people to use an iPhone, iPad or Mac with the most recent operating systems.
What are the possibilities for people to do with an iCloud Shared Photo Library People who have access to photos can edit, delete, or add them.
What photos can I choose to share? Yes, and you can also unshare photos after they’ve already been shared.
What number of share libraries can I access simultaneously? One. That’s it. If you wish to join a new library, you will need to either delete your shared library (if hosting one) or leave the one that you already joined.
How to setup iCloud Shared Photo Library for macOS Ventura
Tools needed: Internet access Materials required: macOS Ventura, iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, iCloud
Photo settings: Shared Library
The Get StartedFor a brief time, the button might appear dimmed or inactive. Once it is available, click it.
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Open the Photos app on macOS Ventura. Click on Next Photos > SettingsClick on the menubar. Click on the third tab in the window that opens. A Shared Library. In iOS 16 (or iPadOS 16), tap A Shared LibraryIn the Photos settings.
Click on the Learn MoreLink if you would like to learn more about iCloud Shared Photo Library. The Get StartedFor a brief time, the button might appear dimmed or inactive. Once it is available, click it.
Before you get started
The Photos app checks your Apple ID linked devices and informs you which devices need to be upgraded for iCloud Shared Photo Library.
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Click the button to continue Get StartedClick the button and Photos on your Mac scans all devices that are linked to your Apple ID to determine if they need to be updated. Access to older operating systems is not possible for incompatible devices. Click ContinueTo continue.
Add participants
An iCloud Shared Photo Library can be invited up to five times.
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It’s time to add the people who should have access to the Shared Photo Library. Click on “Add Participants” in the window. Add ParticipantsSlot to add up to 5 people to your Contacts. Click Continue when you’re done.
Upload photos to the shared Library
Apple gives you three choices when it comes to selecting photos for your iCloud Shared Photo Library.
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Create the shared library. Apple allows you to choose from three different options when choosing the shared photos.
- All My Videos and Photos: All items in your personal library will move to the shared library.
- Choose from Dates or People: These are the criteria that allow you to filter your photos.
- Select ManuallyYou can also hand-pick your photos.
There are many options Move Photos LaterIf you wish to explore more options, or if you prefer to start from a blank library. You can also make a selection and click Next. (All My Videos and Photos(The rest of the instructions were selected by him.
On iPhones and iPads, you’ll also see an option to Share from Camera, which lets you automatically add photos and videos to your shared library with the Library button in the Camera app. Additionally, you can opt to automatically share with participants over Bluetooth when they’re within range.
Check out the library before you share
Before sharing the iCloud Shared Photo Library with others, you can review the contents.
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Here’s a helpful step–you get to see what the shared library looks like before the other users are given access. At the top of the window, you’ll see how many photos and videos will be in the library and the dates that will be covered.
Click the SkipIf you wish to skip the preview, click this button. Click here to continue Preview.
A preview of the shared library
You can sort photos based off shared or not-shared status by previewing your iCloud Shared Photo Library.
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The shared library will be created using photos, and could take several minutes depending on how many items you have.
You can scroll through the shared library to see what’s in it. To help you find your items, the Photos app has a popup menu located in the upper left corner of the control panel. Click the menu and you’ll have three options:
- Both LibrariesItems that you have in your shared and personal libraries. You will see a people icon above the thumbnail for items that are shared.
- Personal Library: Items that are not being shared. This section will be empty if you share all of your library.
- A Shared Library: No items shared.
Under the top control bar is an alert for “Previewing the Shared Library” to inform you that the shared library is not yet set up. Click ContinueClick on the right-hand side of this alert for instructions.
Invite others to join the shared library
A link is sent to the recipient when you send an invitation for your iCloud Shared Photo Library.
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Click on the to invite others to your shared library. Invite by MessagesClick the button and the person will receive a link to join by instant message. If the person you want to invite isn’t reachable via Messages, you can click the Copy this linkClick the button to copy the link to your clipboard.
However, these choices are all or nothing–you can’t Message some invites and use Copy Link to email others. If you click Invite via Messages and an invitee is not reachable via Messages, you’ll get a “Message Failed to Send” notification. If you click either button, you’ll move to the next step.
We’ll cover how to invite people after the shared library has been set up or how to resend an invite later in this tutorial.
Your shared library has been created
You can view your shared library in the Photos app once it is complete.
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Your library is now ready to go. Click the DoneTo exit the setup, click on this button
Additional settings for iCloud’s Shared Photo Library
You can modify the settings of your iCloud shared photo library after it is up and running. Go to Photos > Settings >A Shared Library on your Mac or Settings > Photos on your iPhone or Mac to adjust the following:
- Participants: You may add or remove participants. There is a limit of five participants. Although you can resend an invite, it defaults at sending the link via SMS. The Messages window will open, and you can then copy the link to be sent through another method.
- Suggestions for Shared LibrariesPhotos app uses AI for suggesting photos and videos of people to be added to your shared library.
- Notifications for deletionYou can opt to be notified when someone deletes items.
- Sharing via CameraYou can disable this setting on your iPhone or iPad.
- Remove Shared LibraryEnd the shared library You can keep everything, or just the items that you contributed. These items will be added to your personal library.
You can adjust the settings for your iCloud Shared Photo Library as well as manage participants.
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