syncphotosforitunes.sh

#!/bin/bash

# The intent of this script is to search for photos you've tagged and create optimized versions
# of them in a particular folder (with subfolders for each tag). You can then set iTunes to sync
# your phone's Photos app to this folder, allowing you to easily carry around some albums
# (separate from your camera roll, Photostream, or other cloud folders). I created this as a way
# to ensure that both my phone and my wife's have consistent, offline copies of our favorite family
# photos. We use different Mac computers but have a shared drive with family photos, so I needed a
# solution that allows either of us to flag photos. Once set up, adding photos to your phone is as
# simple as adding a tag to the photo in Finder and re-running the script (which can be set to run
# periodically).
#
# This could also be useful if you have a non-Apple device (phone, tablet, digital picture frame,
# web site, etc.) that you want to synchronize with some favorite photos.

# This script does the following:
# -- Searches for files in SOURCEPATH with particular Tags using Spotlight (mdfind)
# -- Copies them to DESTPATH into subfolders named for each Tag
# -- Resizes the photos down (sips) for phone display

# It does not currently:
# -- Remove files no longer bearing a particular tag
# -- Overwrite photos already copied (for performance)
# -- Have any special consideration for sidecar files (AAE, etc.)

# Version: 2016-07-31
# License: MIT
# Requirements: OS X
# Author: Richard Tallent, www.tallent.us
# Comments and suggestions welcome.

# List of tags to look for. "Double Quote" any that contain spaces
tags=( Family Friends House )

# Full path to your family photos, with the trailing "/"
sourcepath="/Volumes/foo/Family Photos/"

# Full path of the folder you want to sync to your device (in iTunes, etc.), with trailing "/"
destpath="/Volumes/foo/iPhone Sync Photos/"

# Loop through tags
for tag in "${tags[@]}"
do
	favorites=$(mdfind -onlyin "$sourcepath" tag:$tag)
	destfolder="$destpath$tag/"
	mkdir -p "${destfolder}"
	echo "Syncing to ${destfolder}"
	while IFS= read -r favorite
	do
		echo "copying ${favorite} to ${destfolder}"
		cp -n "${favorite}" "${destfolder}"
	done <<< "$favorites"
	echo "Shrinking photos in ${destfolder}"
	sips -Z 2000 "${destfolder}"*.jpg
done