My cousin ran to me last week and said “I know that AirDrop is quite useful to assist users to share files wirelessly among Mac and iOS devices, but I don’t know how to use it to airdrop photos from iPhone to Mac, can you tell me the specific steps?” Therefore, I gave him some advice and I decided to write this guidance to help you in case you need. Actually, I gave my cousin 3 methods to solve the problem of how to airdrop photos from iPhone to iMac. Read the content below.

There are many other ways to make iOS mobile devices to Mac transfer, you can have a look:
How to Transfer Photos from Mac to iPad
5 Ways to Transfer Movies from Mac to iPad

Part 1: How to Airdrop Photos from iPhone to Mac with AirDrop

AirDrop is actually a useful tool to transfer files from iPhone to Mac. This tool can be taken advantage to share almost all kinds of files by communicating with other devices over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You could also send a link to a webpage to a colleague, or share a location on a map. This guidance will let you know what AirDrop is and how to airdrop photos from iPhone to Mac. Follow these steps to start airdropping photos from iPhone to Mac.

1. On the iPhone:

a) Swipe upwards to open the “Control Centre” and then tap on “AirDrop”. Then you can choose “Contacts Only” or “Everyone”.

b) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will automatically turn on. Then you need to select the photos and tap on the “Share” icon. In the AirDrop row, find the Mac you want to share with and tap on the name. Wait for the recipient to approve the transfer.

tap on AirDrop Then choose Contacts Only or Everyone

2. On the Mac:

a) Open a “Finder” window and select “AirDrop” from the left hand column. Then you need to turn on Wi-Fi on your Mac. If you are sharing your Wi-Fi connection from the Mac to your iPhone, you only need to log both devices onto the same Wi-Fi network.

b) In the “Finder” window, you will see the option “Allow me to be discovered by” and the choice of “Everyone”, “Contacts Only”, or “No One”. To increase the chances of your Mac seeing your devices and vice versa, I suggest making sure you can be seen by “Everyone”.

c) When the photos are ready to be sent, you should receive an alert on the Mac asking you to approve that a file is being shared. Then you can approve the transfer and the photos should appear in your “Downloads” folder. If it’s your Mac, using the same Apple ID as the iPhone, you won’t see an alert but the file will automatically transfer to your “Downloads” folder.

Part 2: How to Airdrop Photos from iPhone to Mac with AirDrop Alternative - Leawo iTransfer Mac

Leawo iTransfer for Mac can be taken advantage by users to airdrop photos from iPhone to Mac. Among all the iOS transfer programs, Leawo iTransfer has a say. You can use it to transfer many types of files without iTunes. The following guidance will show you how to airdrop photos from iPhone to iMac.

iTransfer

Leawo iTransfer for Mac 

☉ copy files among iOS devices, iTunes and PCs with ease.
☉ copy up to 14 kinds of data and files without iTunes.
☉ Support the latest iOS devices like iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, etc.
☉ Play back, view, and delete data and files on iOS devices.

1. Run Leawo iTransfer and Connect iPhone to Mac

Launch Leawo iTransfer and plug iPhone into Mac with the USB cable. Leawo iTransfer will detect your iPhone automatically.

Run Leawo iTransfer and Connect iPhone to Mac

2. Click on “Photos” Library

Tap the icon of your iPhone and select “Photos” under the menu of “Challenger > LIBRARY” in the left sidebar. The photos in your iPhone will show in the right interface.

Click on Photos Library

3. Select Photos to Transfer

You can hold “Command/Shift” key to choose the pictures you would like to airdrop from iPhone to Mac, and tap on the “Transfer” button at the right bottom of the window. You can also right-click one picture that you have chosen and tap “Transfer to > My Computer”.

Select Photos to Transfer

4. Airdrop Photos from iPhone to Mac

Then a panel will pop up to allow you to set the output path. You need to put a checkmark before “Save to Folder”, and then tap on “Change” to decide which folder on Mac you want to save the photos in. Finally, you can click on “Transfer Now” to enable the transfer process. Wait until the procedure is finished.

Airdrop Photos from iPhone to Mac

With this method, you will get the photos in target folder on Mac. As for how to airdrop photos from Mac to iPhone, you can also use this software. The transfer functions of this program are powerful, and you can download this program to have a try. You will know it is worthy of learning how to airdrop photos from iPhone to iMac in this guidance.

Part 3: How to Airdrop Photos from iPhone to Mac with AirDrop Alternative - Photos App

You can use Photos app to solve the problem of “how to airdrop photos from iPhone to Mac” easily. Photos app on Mac is developed by Apple Company. Go on to read the detailed steps to see how to airdrop photos from iPhone to iMac with Photos app.

1. Connect your iPhone to Mac with a USB cable. If the Photos app on your Mac hasn’t open automatically, you can launch it. Photos app will detect your iPhone, and you will see the name of your iPhone in the left sidebar. Select your iPhone and the images should appear in the window. Then you can choose the pictures you want to transfer by tapping on the photos in the interface.

2. Then tap on the “Import” button and click “Import Selected”. If you want to transfer all photos on your iPhone to Mac, you can click on “Import All New Items”.

3. Click on “Albums” at the top of the interface. The pictures you have exported will display in the “Last Import” album.

Click on Albums

These solutions are all useful for you to airdrop photos from iPhone to Mac, and you can handle these methods quite easily. Check them out in case you are in need.