How to Import Photos from Your SD Card to Mac

By Jenefey Aaron

2025-02-27 / OS X

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You're on vacation and you take a ton of great photos with your camera. Upon returning home, your SD card is full and you're itching to share your photos with your friends. Luckily, Apple's Photos app makes importing your photos to the Mac easy; all you need to do is plug your SD card into your computer and follow a few simple steps.

In this tutorial we'll show you how to import photos from your camera's SD card to your Mac including macOS High Sierra using the Photos app. This tutorial does not require any additional software, but does require a Mac with an SD card slot or a USB SD card reader.

Importing Photos from Your SD Card to Mac

iCareFone – Best iPhone to Mac Transfer Tool

Importing Photos from Your SD Card to Mac

Insert your SD card into the SD card reader on your Mac.
Open the Photos app on your Mac.
Look at the sidebar on the left-hand side of the screen. Locate the Import heading at the top of the sidebar. Underneath this heading will be your SD card's name; click on it.
If your SD card doesn't show up in the sidebar, look at the upper left-hand corner of your Mac's screen. Click File from the toolbar and Import from the drop-down menu. A Finder pop-up window will appear. Find your SD card and select the images you want to import by clicking on them.
All of the photos on your SD card will now appear at the center of your Photos window. Take a look at the upper right-hand corner of the screen where you will see three buttons: Import All New Items, Import Selected, and Delete After Import.

Like its name suggests, the Import All New Items button will import all photos on your SD card that haven't already been imported to your computer. The second option—Import Selected—will import only the photos you've selected; you can select images by clicking on them.

Finally, to clear up space on your SD card, check the box next to the Delete After Import option. When turned on, your photos will be erased from your SD card after being imported to your Mac.

Tip: If you're signed into iCloud on your Mac, your photos will be automatically uploaded to iCloud with no further interaction on your end. They will appear on all devices linked with your iCloud account.

View Video on How to Transfer Photos from SD Card to Mac

iCareFone – Best iPhone to Mac Transfer Tool

If you're an iPhone or iPad user, chances are you know how limited iTunes is. It's great for managing music, but it will wipe all current music files in your device after syncing. I will recommend an iPhone to Mac transfer – iCareFone for Mac. It enables you to transfer 9 types of data from iPhone to/from Mac without replacing current data.

Run iCareFone on Mac, there are 6 function sections, please select File Manager and you'll see the 9 types of data. Select Photos to start moving photos from iPhone to Mac.
This program will display all photos in your iPhone. And you can click Import to add photos from Mac to iPhone, or click Export to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac. More tips can click here.