Quoted from cabuford:Image Capture is a laptop app that lets you plug your phone in and choose what photos you want to download.
It's a beautiful thing. It's essentially a requirement to get anything done regarding image management, when plugging and iPhone or iPad in to the Mac.
I agree with others about maintaining a backup outside of iCloud. iCloud is for the lazy Mac user, not for the savy one. 
Also, having an up to date version of iTunes is key. It is not just "a bad way to play music" any more, it's a required backup, diagnostic, and recovery tool for any iPad/iPhone user. I've managed a network of Macs/iPhones/iPads for quite a few years and am happy to make additional suggestions for any Mac users up against the wall on Pinside.
