How to Use Your Mac as a Digital Photo Frame

Any Mac on macOS 12 Monterey or later can be a digital photo frame: install Digital Photo Frame App, pick an album, and play it in a window, on a second display or full screen. Turn on Prevent Mac Screen Saver and the slideshow keeps going for as long as you like.

I make Digital Photo Frame App, and most people know it from iPads. The Mac version is the same app with the same slideshows, plus a few things that only make sense on a desktop. Here is how to set it up.

What you need

• A Mac on macOS 12 Monterey or later. Intel and Apple silicon both work, so an older iMac is a good candidate for a dedicated frame.
• Digital Photo Frame App from the Mac App Store. It's free to download; Premium is $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $69.99 once (US prices).
• Your photos, wherever they are. You don't need to move them.

Step 1: Pick your photos

Allow access to your photos and your albums and iCloud shared albums from the Photos app appear on the home screen. To use photos from somewhere else, open Add Source: you can connect Google Photos (you pick photos in Google's own picker), an Immich server, a NAS or WebDAV server, or add folders through the Files source.

If your photos live on a home server, Immich as a digital photo frame walks through that setup.

Step 2: Choose where it plays

This is where the Mac differs from an iPad. The app runs in its own window, so you can:

• Keep it small beside your work, like a photo frame on your desk.
• Drag it to a second display and let that screen be the frame while you work on the main one.
• Go full screen when you step away, or on a Mac that only shows photos.

While a slideshow plays, Space pauses it, the arrow keys go back and forward, Return shows the controls and Esc closes it.

Step 3: Make it look right

The slideshow settings are the same as on iPad: how long each photo stays, the transition, whether photos repeat or shuffle, Live Photos and videos, and how photos fill the screen.

A wide Mac screen leaves a lot of empty space around a single portrait photo. Combine Photos (Collage) shows two portrait photos side by side instead, so the whole screen is used.

You can also show the weather, the date and time, and upcoming calendar events over your photos. To see how much of each photo a widescreen display crops, try the aspect ratio calculator.

Step 4: Keep the screen on

By default your Mac starts the screen saver or turns the display off after a while. Open Settings > Advanced in the app and turn on Prevent Mac Screen Saver. While a slideshow is playing, macOS then leaves the screen on. When the slideshow stops, your normal settings apply again.

On a MacBook used as a frame, keep it plugged in.

Add music

Slideshows can play background music: pick from the Curated Tracks or your own Apple Music Library. The Mac app has its own music picker where you can search and browse by artist, album or playlist, and add a whole album or playlist at once. More in photo slideshows with music.

Good to know

• Slideshows don't sync between devices. A slideshow you build on the Mac stays on the Mac; your iCloud photos and shared albums are available everywhere, though.
• Google Photos works through Google's picker. Since Google's 2025 changes, new photos in a Google album don't appear on their own. For a frame that updates itself, use an iCloud shared album or a folder.
• A Mac is a big, power-hungry frame. For a frame that sits on a shelf all day, an old iPad uses far less power. See how to turn your iPad into a digital photo frame.

Everything the Mac app does is also on the Mac page.

Frequently asked questions

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