Adding keywords to images in Photos from iPad or iPhone

It used to be different Richard. Do you remember iPhoto iOS? My very first iPad has been great for editing photos. An iPad 3 with iPhoto 2.0 on iOS 7. In iPhoto2 on the iPad I could add titles and tags (the iPhoto iOS version of keywords), could create web journals and save slideshows to the web. And the best feature has been, that I could apply local adjustments by brushing them in with my fingertips or the light pen on the touch screen. At that time I have done a lot of photo editing on the iPad. The update to iOS8 killed iPhoto iOS in 2014. Apple did not announce that iPhoto would no longer run on iOS8, or I would not have updated my iPad to that version. All web journals were gone, all slideshows, and I found my photos in Photos iOS. I could no longer add titles or captions, no more keywords, no more brushes for local adjustments. I stopped using the iPad for editing my photos, and have been waiting now for ten years for the keywords and brushed adjustments to came back to Photos iOS/ iPadOS.

Over the last 10-15 years iPhoto the predecessor now referred to as “Photos” on OS (OSX) and iOS, does not work neither seamlessly or cross-platform and there are many functions Apple has removed from its original capabilities, basically dumbing down the software rather then making improvements.

For example some 15 years ago I could take a photo in “iPhoto” and icon shortcut rotate it 90 degrees in either direction, meaning to left or to the right but Apple removed that feature over a decade ago and now photos can only be rotated to the left in one direction with the rotate icon and you must go through “crop”. I would prefer “crop” and “rotate” each have an equal hierarchy and root rather than being packaged. In any case I do most of my work on an iPad but because iOS won’t allow me to use “keywords” to organize my photos…I have to work on my desktop or my laptop.

Honestly, I don’t understand why Apple has made a field for a “caption” and “add a location” in iOS but failed to add “keywords” as is built into OS.

The only improvement I’m seeing in the Apple “Photo’s” app, over the last 15 years, is that there is some type of A.I. now in the program, wherein, it can help you “SEARCH” for types of photos, so for example, if you just type in the word “cars” into the search window on an OS computer, it is able to find all the photo’s in your library with cars 🚗! That is very helpful for me! So I first conduct a search in Photos, so I can identify photo’s into categories, and then bulk edit with add keywords.

People here are users like yourself and really can't speculate any better than you can about why Apple may do what it does. I, too, would like access to keywords on my iPad-- I'd like titles, too. That's why I left a comment here:

Feedback - Photos - Apple

You should, too.

Having to tap 3 times on a button instead of once to get a right turn is quite a hardship! Maybe they should add a third button for upside down. Please leave your suggestions for Apple here:

Feedback - Photos - Apple

My solution is to take the MacBook Air with me when travelling and to leave the iPad behind, if I can only take one of them. I am doing all tagging and cataloging of my photos on a Mac and use iCloud to sync the metadata to the iPhone and iPad.

It would be different, if I could add titles and keywords on my iPad and the iPad would support smart albums. Currently I am using the iPad only, when I want to show my photos to someone. Or to weed out boring or technically bad photos.

At least we can now add captions to the photos on an iPad, so can add some information to the photos while we still remember what the photo is about.

I remember when iPhoto went away-- iPhoto Library Manager stopped working and there was no replacement. I was devastated-- I had so many hierarchical keywords! I was beginning to use Aperture and moving stuff over, and then that went belly up! There was an unfortunate hard drive crash around then, too, which left me with either totally disorganized originals, or low-resolution edited versions. I was depressed by the whole thing, and I kind of gave up doing much with Photos until I accidentally found out that PowerPhotos had re-emerged. I, too, don't get why iOS gets so neglected by Photos.

léonie wrote: Currently I am using the iPad only, when I want to show my photos to someone. Or to weed out boring or technically bad photos.

The iPad is pretty much the ideal device to show pictures to others. The screen is beautiful and the right size, and it shares pictures readily with the Mac. I use mine for reading, listening, and all sorts of stuff, but NOT for editing pictures except, as you say, for choosing which ones to save.

It has been a relieve, when we finally could add captions to the photos on the iPhone and iPad. Now I can use my iPad again during field experiments to add comments to photos, when I want to document the setup on-site, when I still remember the details. It took a very long time to get this ability back. By now I am retired.

But I have a lot of hope for the iPad - now that the iPad and the Mac can share the code and iPad apps cn run on a Mac, I hope the iPad can become as powerful as a Mac.