Places overview

With the Places feature, you can view and organize photos based on where they were taken.

Click to select Places in the Source list to see your photo locations appear marked with red pins on the Places map. To see Places in full-screen view, click to select Places, and then click the Full Screen button in the toolbar along the bottom of the window.

Image of Places view

If your digital camera, such as iPhone, has global positioning system (GPS) capability or you’ve added GPS information using a third-party application, iPhoto automatically maps your photos using that information.

If your camera doesn’t have GPS capability, you can still use Places by adding a location to a photo or an entire Event. You can enter location information such as “San Francisco,” and you can change the name of a location to something personal, such as “Mom’s house.”

After your photos have locations assigned, you can quickly find all the photos taken at specific places. You can also use the location information to include maps of your travels when you create a slideshow (using the Places theme) or a photo book.

To get started with Places:

Click to select Places in the Source list to see the marker pins that show where your photos were taken.
If you’re in full-screen view, click the Places button in the toolbar. If you don’t see the Places button, click the button in the top-left corner of the window one or more times, until you see the toolbar change to the right one. Learn more about using the toolbar in full-screen view.
If you see a note instead of marker pins on the Places map, do one of the following:
- If you know your photos contain GPS information, make sure iPhoto is set to look up locations.
- If your photos don’t have GPS information, you can add locations to your photos.
To view the photos at a certain location, move your pointer over the red marker pin on the map to show the location tag, and then click the right angle bracket (>) on the tag.
When you’re done viewing those photos, click the Map button in the top-left corner of the window to return to the Places map.