The Photos app on your iPhone just got a major new feature that lets you edit multiple photos and videos at the same time. This means you no longer have to remember all the adjustments you made to one image or video to try and achieve the same result on another photo or video.
This magical tool comes with iOS 16, an update that brings other handy editing tools such as a background remover and undo/redo buttons.
When you make adjustments to a photo or video, or just want to use the same adjustments from an already edited photo or video, you copy the changes, select the photo or video you want to apply them to, and paste them. This alone is truly amazing, but what’s even more impressive is that you can apply these edits to a group of photos and videos at the same time, saving a lot of time in post-processing.
What edits can be copied and pasted?
Most of the changes, such as filters, lighting intensity, adjustments and depth changes, can be copied and pasted between photos. However, you cannot copy and paste clippings, markups, and keyframes from Live Photos.
Step 1: Find the edited photo or video
If you have an already edited photo or video that you want to copy settings from, locate it and proceed to step 2 below. Otherwise, open the image or video you want to edit, click Edit, and make any necessary changes. You can then stay in the editor, or click Done to close it.
Step 2: Copy the photo or video edits
In the editor or when viewing an edited photo or video, tap the ellipsis button (•••) and select Copy Changes from the menu. If you’re viewing a photo or video in the album view grid, you can tap and hold on it and then tap Copy Changes.
Step 3: Paste photo or video edits
If you’re still in the photo or video editor, click Done to exit. Now you can paste your edits into any other photo or video, or bulk edit a group of photos and videos.
To paste changes to a single image or video, view it or open its editor, tap the ellipsis button (•••) and select Paste Changes from the menu. You can also tap and hold on a photo or video in the album view grid and tap Paste Changes. When it’s done, you’ll see a confirmation message saying “Changes pasted”.
To paste edits to multiple images or videos, open the album that contains them all and click “Select”in the grid view. Tap each item you want to change to select it, or swipe to select multiple items in a row. When everything is selected, click the ellipsis button (•••) and select Paste Changes.
When it’s done, you’ll see a confirmation message saying “Changes pasted”. However, you may notice a progress bar if you’re pasting changes to a lot of items at the same time, so give your iPhone a few seconds to finish.
How to undo pasted edits to photos and videos
If you ever want to undo pasted changes, you can go to the editor of the respective photo or video and click “Revert”. You can also press and hold an item in the grid view of the album and select Revert to Original. You can even use the Select tool to select multiple items, and use Revert to Original from the ellipsis menu (•••) to revert them all at once.