How to Create a Smart Album on Your Mac

Smart Albums can be very helpful for organizing your Mac photos. Just as you can create Smart Playlists in iTunes, you can sire Smart Albums in Photos based on specific criteria, such as keywords, photos you’ve rated highly, pictures taken with a particular camera, or the shutter speed. To create a Smart Album, follow these steps:

1. Choose File → New Smart Album.
2. In the dialog that appears, type a name, just as you do for a regular album.
3. Select the conditions that must be met for pictures to be included in the Smart Album. Click the + button to add criteria or the – button to remove criteria. As new pictures are imported into your library, those that match these conditions are added to the Smart Album automatically.

Below, a Smart Album has been set up seeking pictures taken without a flash at the beach since early 2012. The pictures in the album had to be taken with one of two designated camera models, in this case a Canon or a Sony. The criteria were apparently too taxing, because not one photo in this particular collection matched up.