How to Rearrange Photos in an iPad Photo Album

Last Updated: November 7, 2020 Tested

If you need to rearrange the pictures in one of your iPad's photo albums, you can quickly do so by dragging them to new locations. If you've synced the photos from iTunes, you'll have to move the photos to a new album on the iPad before you can rearrange them.

Steps

1
Open the iPad Photos app.
2
Select the album that you want to rearrange. Tap the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen to see all your albums.

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3
Move photos synced from iTunes into a new album. If the album you want to arrange was synced from iTunes, you will need to move the photos to a new album first. Photos synced from iTunes cannot be rearranged until they are moved to a new album.
- Open the album synced from iTunes and tap "Select".
- Tap each of the pictures that you want to move.
- Tap "Add To" in the upper-left corner.
- Select "New Album" and give the album a name.
- Open the new album.
4
Tap the "Select" button in the upper-right corner. This button appears after selecting an album.
5
Touch and hold the picture you want to move. It will become slightly larger when it is active.
- If the "Copy/Hide" menu appears when you press and hold an image, it means you forgot to press "Select" first.
- If nothing appears when you press and hold an image, and you can't drag it, then those pictures were synced from iTunes and will need to be moved to a new album first.
6
Drag the picture to its new location. As you drag the picture around, you'll notice that the other pictures shift as you move over them. Drag the picture until it's in the location you want it in.
- You'll have more success rearranging your images if you drag the picture "through" other images instead of "around" them.
7
Release the image to set it in its new spot. If it snaps back to it's original location, it means you choose an invalid spot, such as after the last picture.
8
Repeat for each image you want to rearrange.
9
Tap "Done" in the upper-right corner when you're finished rearranging.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I change the date on my photos on my iPad?

Community Answer

Not at this time. Apple wants you remember when you took your photos so you don't get confused. They may add this in the next update.
Question

If I have the same photo in more than one album, will it take more memory to store it?

Community Answer

Yes, it will take more memory.
Question

Can I move more than one picture at a time on an iPad photo album?

Community Answer

Yes. Just tap the 'Select' option and tap the collection of images you wish to move. Then, tap 'Add to' to move these to a specific album.