Q: iPhoto to Photos

Thanks for asking for specificity. 

Part of it is simply loss of - or disappearance of - functionality.  I took a Photos training course at my local Apple store, and still can't capture the ease of use I experienced with iPhoto.  Of course, Apple forced the switch.  There was not choice.

More specifically, as a start, for example: e-mailing a photo.  iPhoto offered many e-mail / browser options: pick and chose, click and send, as many as you like.  Photos restricts me to one system (Mail) which I have never used and in my hands is non-functional.  Attempts to use lead me down a dark technical path, which asks questions of me I cannot answer, and also produces warnings from my e-mail providers.  A complete dead end.  The forums conflate Photos and iPhotos producing confusion in the solutions, e.g. just go to Mail Preferences and add the e-mail providers you want .... not an option with Mail / Photos.  Others say it's easy to click and drag a photo into an e-mail. OK, but that conflates easy with clumsy.  I can copy to my desktop, and send as an attachment: also easy but clumsy.  Both a step backwards.  That's my first issue.  Overriding all is where can you view video of how to use Photos compared to iPhoto, before I get drastic and try to move over to Google photos?  As I said, in-store training for this product did not work for me, perhaps because I did not try using it first and coming up with all my questions.

I will look into this as a long term solution, although with changes coming soon for the OS including Photos, I'm not sure exactly what "longer term" is.  After all, every OS change brings risk, e.g. for peripherals such as scanners and printers (HP for example from 3 or 4 years ago). 

Meanwhile, I've made a Genius Bar appointment for Saturday on a hardware issue on my Macbook Pro, and I'll try to work in the above questions I have on Mail functionality.  If I get any answers, I'll detail the problem/solution here.

Thanks for the suggestions.

iPhoto cannot connect to the new photos downloaded into Photos, so that's not practical unless there's work-around.

Re. Mail, I'm somewhat familiar with what you are suggesting and have tried it, but I have not been able to get Apple's Mail to work (I think I got Mail to work only one time perhaps a year ago), and I'm unable to add to Preferences other e-mail options.  I don't consider myself a neophyte since I've have had my own web site (Wordpress) for years, and I have five e-mail accounts including one associated with my web site, but I use Apple products to avoid these kinds of issues.

I'll try to get some answers at the Apple store during a coincidental hardware Genius Bar appointment.

GB,

That's good information re. iCloud.  It would explain how the photos have shifted into Photos.  I'm not specifically using iCloud, but I know Apple has me connected since some of my photos show up via my Apple TV when it's idle.  I don't use Aperture, which I gather went the same way as iPhoto.  In any event, my goal is to understand how to use Photos.

I download photos from my Canon camera via the removable memory card inserted into my Macbook Pro.

Re. Mail / Add an account:  Per your suggestion, I went through that process for two of my e-mail providers, but I get a message that those accounts already exist.

When I hit the "send" button for a message/photo, I get this error message on my computer screen:

________________________________________________________

"This message could not be sent because your account does not have a preferred outgoing mail server. Select an outgoing mail server from the list below." [there's only one choice: Mail]

Also, as always, I immediately get an e-mail from the e-mail provider I'm trying to use:

_______________________________________________________

:Someone attempted to sign in to your Yahoo account from an app that doesn't meet Yahoo's security standards. We blocked this sign in attempt, which was made on:......."

If you were trying to sign in, then please take one of these actions:

Option 1 (recommended): Use mail.yahoo.com or the Yahoo Mail app for Android and iOS to more securely access your account.

Option 2 (not recommended): If you still want to use an app that uses less secure sign in to your Yahoo account:

1.  Click here: https://login.yahoo.com/account/security#other-apps

2. Turn on "Allow apps that use less secure sign in"

________________________________________________________________________________ ______________

I have the some problem when I use Google mail. 

I will try to troubleshoot further based on these messages.  The likely solution will be: find the one dumb thing that I haven't noticed yet.  I'm going to pause this message to try more.

Jimbo from California

Explanation/solution to the problem:

This is apparently a problem with Photos due to the Yosemite operating system.  I did not have this problem with iPhoto and Yosemite.  I'm told that when I update to the current system, El Capitan, the problem of adding e-mail systems to Mail in order to send out photos directly with go away.  Until then, with Yosemite and Photos, you are confined to drag and drop, or to use the attachment function in your e-mail system.  I suspect the latter is problematic since you must troll through all your photos to find the one(s) you want when of course you already have it open on your screen.

I did not update to El Capitan when it came out because of the problems I had to work through that were created when I had updated to Yosemite, e.g. scanning / printing documents on HP printer/scanners.  I can't afford the possibility of the creation of new difficulties during the semester as I use my Macbook Pro 24/7.  To confirm the fix, I will proceed to update to El Capitan in a couple of weeks when I return from vacation, although it's a temptation to wait until the next OS [which is currently in beta] to come out.

Thanks.  I completely agree.  I realized my inconsistency when I hit the "reply" button.  I definitely don't want to load Sierra when it first comes out.  I always think of the first public launch as "Beta 2", or is it Gamma?

However, my grumbling about the handling of photos on the Mac system continues, this time on the e-mail workarounds.  I just downloaded some vacation photos from my camera, and naturally wanted to share.  There are the photos of the beaches of Maui in my Photos album peering out at me.  If I try to "attach" a photo downloaded today (about an hour or so previously), the photos do not display to click on; only the last photos from several days ago are accessible through the "attachment" route.  What's up with that?  This again makes no sense. 

I can still go the drag and drop to desktop route.  That seems to work, but not as an attachment to an e-mail.  Excuse me while I tear out some hair.  Time to download El Capitan.

Old Toad,

Thanks for your comments.

I did close/reopen Photos without effect, much to my surprise. 

I did not immediately reboot.  I should have.  I had a Genius Bar appointment for a service later that day. It was rebooted twice before trying the attachment process just now and indeed it does now work.  I suspect it would have if I had immediately rebooted.

Thank you for the links.  I'm on vacation next two weeks but will likely start on them when the opportunity and a decent wifi allows longer access.