5 iPhone Shortcuts to Automate Your Photo Workflow

Before You Start

• Ensure you’re running iOS 16 or later
• Open the Shortcuts app (pre-installed on all iPhones)
• For best results, familiarize yourself with basic Shortcuts actions

1. Batch Watermark Your Images

What it does: Applies your custom watermark to multiple photos at once with consistent positioning

Why you need it: Manual watermarking takes 30-60 seconds per image. Processing 50 client proofs manually wastes 45 minutes. This shortcut does it in under a minute.

How to Build It

1. Open Shortcuts app → tap “+” to create new shortcut
2. Add action: “Select Photos” (allows multiple selection)
3. Add action: “Text” → enter your watermark text (e.g., “© Your Name 2026”)
4. Add action: “Overlay Image” → connect watermark text as overlay
5. Configure position: Choose from Top Left, Bottom Right, Center, etc.
6. Adjust offset values to control distance from edges (recommended: 20-50 pixels)
7. Add action: “Save to Photo Album” → select destination (create “Watermarked” album)

Customization Tips

• Change watermark text: Edit the “Text” action with your name/logo URL
• Adjust positioning: Modify X/Y offset values for precise placement
• Add opacity control: Insert “Adjust Image” action and set transparency (70-80% works well)
• Use logo instead: Replace “Text” with “Select Photos” to choose a PNG logo file

Pro Tip

Add the shortcut to your home screen for one-tap access: Open shortcut → Share icon → “Add to Home Screen”

2. Quickly Resize for Social Media

What it does: Batch resizes photos to web-friendly dimensions while preserving aspect ratio

Why you need it: Full-resolution iPhone photos (12-48MP) are massive. Uploading them to Instagram or blogs wastes time and triggers aggressive platform compression. This creates optimized copies in seconds.

How to Build It

1. Add action: “Select Photos”
2. Add action: “Resize Image”
3. Configure: Set “Width” to ask each time (or hardcode 2048px for Instagram)
4. Enable: “Preserve aspect ratio”
5. Add action: “Save to Photo Album” → create “Social Media” album

Recommended Sizes

• Instagram feed: 1080px or 2048px
• Blog posts: 1920px or 2048px
• Email attachments: 1200px
• Website headers: 2560px

Advanced Option

Create multiple shortcuts with preset sizes (Instagram, Blog, Email) instead of asking each time. This eliminates the decision step for frequently-used dimensions.

3. Strip Metadata for Privacy

What it does: Removes GPS coordinates, camera data, and other EXIF information from photos

Why you need it: Every iPhone photo contains hidden data including your exact location. Sharing unstripped photos publicly reveals where you live, work, or shoot. This is a privacy risk.

How to Build It

1. Add action: “Select Photos”
2. Add action: “Remove Metadata from Images”
3. Add action: “Save to Photo Album” → create “Privacy Safe” album
4. Optional: Add “Share” action to send directly to social media

What Gets Removed

• GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude)
• Camera make and model
• Lens information and focal length
• ISO, shutter speed, aperture settings
• Date and time photo was taken
• Software used for editing

Learn more about hidden photo data in this EXIF data guide.

When to Use It

• Before posting photos of your home
• When sharing location-sensitive work (client properties, events)
• For any public social media posts
• Before sending photos to unknown recipients

4. Calculate Golden Hour

What it does: Calculates optimal shooting times based on your current location

Why you need it: Golden hour provides soft, warm light that’s ideal for portraits and landscapes. Manually checking sunrise/sunset times and doing math wastes time. This gives you exact windows instantly.

How to Build It

1. Add action: “Get Current Location”
2. Add action: “Get Sunrise Time” → use current location
3. Add action: “Get Sunset Time” → use current location
4. Add action: “Adjust Date” → add 1 hour to sunrise (morning golden hour start)
5. Add action: “Adjust Date” → subtract 1 hour from sunset (evening golden hour start)
6. Add action: “Show Result” → format output with times

Output Format Example

Morning Golden Hour: 7:23 AM - 8:23 AM
Evening Golden Hour: 5:47 PM - 6:47 PM

Automation Ideas

• Daily reminder: Set automation to notify you every morning at 6 AM
• Location-based: Trigger when you arrive at favorite shooting locations
• Add calendar event: Automatically create calendar reminders for golden hour

Enhanced Version

Add weather forecast integration to warn if clouds will obstruct golden hour light. Use “Get Current Weather” action and check conditions.

5. Daily Photo Library Cleanup

What it does: Shows all photos taken “on this day” in previous years for easy review and deletion

Why you need it: Photo libraries grow to 50,000+ images. Bulk cleanup is overwhelming. This turns maintenance into a 5-minute daily habit by surfacing old memories for quick review.

How to Build It

1. Add action: “Get Current Date”
2. Add action: “Format Date” → set to “MM-dd” (month and day only)
3. Add action: “Find Photos” → filter by “Creation Date” contains formatted date
4. Add action: “Show Result” → displays all matching photos
5. Manually review and delete unwanted images

What to Delete During Review

• Duplicate shots from burst mode
• Blurry or out-of-focus images
• Screenshots you no longer need
• Test shots and mistakes
• Photos of temporary info (parking spots, shopping lists)

Make It a Habit

Set this as a daily automation:

1. Open Shortcuts → Automation tab → “+”
2. Choose “Time of Day” → set to 8 PM daily
3. Add “Run Shortcut” action → select this shortcut
4. Disable “Ask Before Running” for automatic execution

Processing 5-10 photos daily is far easier than facing 50,000 images once per year.

Advanced Tips for Power Users

Combine Multiple Shortcuts

Create a master “Prep for Social Media” shortcut that:

1. Resizes images (Shortcut #2)
2. Strips metadata (Shortcut #3)
3. Applies watermark (Shortcut #1)
4. Shares directly to Instagram

Use Shortcut Folders

Organize shortcuts into folders: “Photography,” “Privacy,” “Automation.” This keeps your library manageable as you create more workflows.

Share Shortcuts with Your Team

Export shortcuts as iCloud links to share with photography assistants or team members. They can import with one tap.

Hardware Requirements

Most shortcuts work on any iPhone running iOS 16+. However, AI-powered features (like automated caption generation) require:

• iPhone 15 Pro or later
• Neural Engine support
• Minimum 6GB RAM

Getting More from iOS Shortcuts

These five shortcuts solve common photography pain points, but they’re just starting points. As you become comfortable with the Shortcuts app, you can:

• Build custom workflows for your specific shooting style
• Combine actions in creative ways
• Automate client delivery processes
• Create location-based triggers for different workflows

Customization is the key to making Shortcuts truly powerful. Start with these templates, then modify them as you discover what works for your workflow.