Time to Check In With Your Camera. The Real One.
WHY DATE & TIME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CAMERA SETTING FOR YOUR PHOTO COLLECTION
iPhone photographers are spoiled.
A nifty feature of the iPhone is that it automatically synchronizes its clock with the official time of wherever it happens to be. Anyone who’s flown from New York to San Francisco has seen that. You turn off Airplane Mode on landing and your iPhone instantly switches from Eastern Time to Pacific Time.
That’s important to photographers because the iPhone clock is what generates the time/date stamp on all the photos we take. And we want the time stamp to reflect our experience in the place it was taken. That breakfast on Fisherman’s Wharf should reflect 8:42 AM (Pacific Time) not 11:42 AM Eastern. Or the late Friday night cable car ride at 9:30 PM that would show up as a 12:30 AM event on the next day.
Sharing photos among fellow travelers would get more challenging if the combined collection had various time stamps from different iPhones and cameras. Once in Photos, the imports might show different viewpoints of the same moment, but be dozens of images apart. A hodgepodge of moments.
The auto time sync avoids that possibility and ensures that all iPhones are set to the exact same time and date for where the pictures were taken. To the second. And a lot can happen in a few seconds.
The Camera Challenge
But more and more I’m seeing people who discovered a love of photography through their iPhones, go out and buy a camera to take their art to a higher level.
Most ‘real’ cameras, though, don’t connect to the internet and can’t auto sync with the official international clock. Setting the Time and Date manually is a task that both amateur and professional photographers have had to deal with since the birth of digital cameras. Accurate time stamps are the foundation of digital photo management and a wrong or overlooked time setting can cost a professional photographer hours of extra work.
For amateurs the frustration comes when merging their camera shots with their iPhone photos. You come back from a milestone vacation overseas and find that the timing is wildly different. Maybe the camera was set to the hotel clock. Maybe it was never set to local time at all. It’s an easy thing to overlook in the excitement of travel.
Daylight Savings and Time Zones
In most of the U.S., Sunday, November 2nd, was the changeover from Daylight Time to Standard Time which makes now the perfect moment to pull out your camera(s), check the batteries, and turn off the Daylight Time adjustment in your camera settings while you’re at it.
Here’s how it works:
Most DSLR’s and Mirrorless cameras will have a wrench icon that gets you to the Time/Date setup.
Open up World Clock on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac for the correct time callout.
On your camera, make sure the time zone is set correctly
Adjust your Date
Adjust your Time to the next whole minute from Apple device time
When the Apple device time flips to that minute, lock in the time
Check that the camera time matches your Apple device
Wherever you live, getting in the habit of updating your camera’s Daylight/Standard Time setting when it changes will ensure those next shots will merge nicely with your iPhone pictures. If you live somewhere that doesn’t observe Daylight Time, you can use the Spring and Fall Equinox’s as reminders. Then if you grab your camera for a few shots, you can add them to your Photos Library or other photo database and they will sort correctly.
For traveling, get in the habit of checking your camera date/time against your iPhone every time you change locations.
The time stamp seems like a minor, fussy thing to worry about, and you may even think that your ‘real’ camera photos and iPhone photos will never play together anyway. Why worry about the syncing issue. But over time, often in the interest of simplicity, I guarantee you that your photo collection will become a mix of images from your iPhone, your camera, and many shared sources. It’s essential that they all have a common time frame to stay properly organized.
So whether merging your own photos or sharing your pictures with others, having accurate Date/Time data on every image is a simple way to streamline your photo management and save you hours of frustration.
Online Photo Book Workshop
🎄 Let’s Make a Photo Book for the Holidays
Every year around this time, I look at my camera roll and think: I really should make a photo book.
A year’s worth of memories - birthdays, travel, family, quiet moments - all sitting in my Photos Library, waiting for a little attention.
If that sounds familiar, this might be just what you need.
Starting November 7, I’m hosting a 2-week Online Photo Book Workshop - a friendly, guided experience that will help you actually finish a photo book in time for the holidays.
Together, we’ll turn that “someday” project into something real - a beautiful, printed book you can hold in your hands, share with family, or wrap up as a heartfelt gift.
Here’s what’s included:
📘 Kickoff Lesson (Live & Recorded) – A one-hour overview of the full process: collecting photos, choosing layouts, and placing your order.
💬 Two Q&A Sessions – Get personal help and inspiration as you design your book.
🎓 Graduation Session – We’ll celebrate your progress and make sure your book is ready to send to print.
📺 Session recordings available for 60 days – Perfect if you can’t attend live or want to revisit later.
No fancy tech skills required — just your photos, your story, and a willingness to start.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll be ready to order that printed photo book — something you can gift, display, or cherish for years to come.
You’ll receive full details and pricing in a few couple days. No obligation — just first dibs on a spot.
Let’s make this the year your memories make it out of your Photos Library and under the tree. 🎁
P.S. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by photo book software or stuck choosing “which photos,” don’t worry — I’ll walk you through each step. You’ll be amazed at how easy (and fun!) it can be once you start.