How do I change order of photos in Photos app?

When I select 'photos' they display old at top, new at bottom. When I want to upload to FB for example, they display new at top, old at bottom.......can I change the 'upload' view to old at top?



[Edited by Moderator]

Original Title: Photos - how to change order

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.7

Posted on Jul 24, 2025 12:27 AM

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Posted on Jul 25, 2025 11:10 AM

I would avoid the media picker, if an app does not support it well:

  • For apps, that have an own sharing extension for Photos, like Mail, I would select the photos directly in Photos and then use the Share menu to call the sharing extension.
  • For other apps I would export the items I want to share to a folder on the Desktop and then call the app and import the photos.


Exporting the photos would have the added bonus that we can specify the resolution and quality of the shared items.


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Jul 25, 2025 11:10 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

I would avoid the media picker, if an app does not support it well:

  • For apps, that have an own sharing extension for Photos, like Mail, I would select the photos directly in Photos and then use the Share menu to call the sharing extension.
  • For other apps I would export the items I want to share to a folder on the Desktop and then call the app and import the photos.


Exporting the photos would have the added bonus that we can specify the resolution and quality of the shared items.


Jul 25, 2025 06:59 AM in response to Colin-J-S

Colin-J-S wrote: … upload a photo to FB for eg the order is reversed as shown in the 2 photos I attached.

I get that. But in either case, for me, the newest are first, whether that's on top or bottom. From your screenshots, it looks like that's exactly the case for you.

Like this example of an upload in Safai, the most recent pictures appear first, and they are at the top. So the only change is that you have to scroll a different direction to get to old pictures, is that right? That can't be changed.


As a side note, I dont use 'albums' to store any photos...the photos I have are almost all regularly deleted and replaced with new...

Frankly, one of the most powerful features of Photos is its organization features, like albums, folders, searches, and so forth. But I see that you have no use for those. In that case, you could just put picture files in Finder folders and use an app like Preview to handle them. For that kind of stuff, like editing and arranging example screenshots like above, I actually use the app GraphicConverter ($40,) because it's very versatile, and I've used it for thirty years! But anything you do that's different requires practice, of course, so it may not be worth it to switch. So this is more example than suggestion!

Jul 25, 2025 11:48 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Richard.Taylor wrote:


Old Toad wrote: … If you want to see all of your items in the library with newest on top or on the bottom create a smart album
Good idea, but the problem is with the media picker like in Safari, and that doesn't work with albums-- it just uses the Library.

Than do what I used to do: add a unique keyword to the photos I want to upload. Then use the search field to search for that for that keyword. It worked like a charm n Ventura. However, running Sequoia, I just tried to add an image to this post with the Image Insertion button and it would not let me access my Photos library. ♬The times they are a changing.♪

Jul 24, 2025 07:18 AM in response to Colin-J-S

As far as I can tell, in both cases the most recent pictures are in the place you see first. In Photo's Library view we have to scroll up to see the older ones, and in Safari's media picker we have to scroll down to see the older ones. I'd think that almost everybody wants to see the most recent first, and that happens either way.


Are you really wanting the oldest pictures first so that you have to scroll all the way through old pictures your grandparents made to get to the new ones? I doubt that's going to happen, but you can make suggestions to Apple here:

Feedback - Photos - Apple

Jul 24, 2025 12:49 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

Hi Richard, thank you for your reply. I am not very computer savvy and not brilliant at explaining. I have had 2 iMac's before and whether going straight to 'photo's' to view, upload or edit the most recent have always displayed at the bottom of the list...which is where it takes me to...I have to scroll to see the oldest photos. The same was true when I accessed photos when I wanted to upload to FB for eg.....straight to most recent which appear at the bottom and the need to scroll up to see old. ....I have only yesterday got a new (2nd hand refurbed) iMac ...and the view is old at top, new at bottom same as its always been on previous imacs ....it's only when I want to upload a photo to FB for eg the order is reversed as shown in the 2 photos I attached. (hope I'm making sense) ......It is not the biggest inconvenience, I'm just not used to it and was hoping for a way to change it so it's the same as on my old iMacs. ...As a side note, I dont use 'albums' to store any photos...the photos I have are almost all regularly deleted and replaced with new....I run several FB groups and almost all my photos are quizzes/ memes etc that get edited and passed on .....Newest photos first is how they present, and scroll to see older, which is what I want, I'm just used to both panels presenting the same way...

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How do I change order of photos in Photos app?

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