You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How can I migrate my photos from the Photos App into a Finder-type file management?

I want to manage my photos as files. All of them are currently managed thorugh the Photos App and I want to stop using it but can't find the original files. Is there a way to take that library from the app into simple Finder file management?

iMac Pro

Posted on May 28, 2019 11:23 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 28, 2019 1:10 PM

You can use the command "File > Export > Export Unmodified Original ..." to export several selected images at once.

Select the folder as the export destination that you want to use. I would enable the option "Export IPTC as XMP" to write sidecar files with the metadata. Other applications can use this sidecar files to restore the IPTC metadata with the titles and keywords.


You can also ctrl-click the Photos Library in your Pictures folder, then select the option "Show Package Contents". all your original image files should be in the folder M"Masters", sorted into subfolders by the date of import.

But it is much more convenient to use the "File > Export" option. Tis way you can select all photos from an album together into one folder.


1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 28, 2019 1:10 PM in response to Zarzam

You can use the command "File > Export > Export Unmodified Original ..." to export several selected images at once.

Select the folder as the export destination that you want to use. I would enable the option "Export IPTC as XMP" to write sidecar files with the metadata. Other applications can use this sidecar files to restore the IPTC metadata with the titles and keywords.


You can also ctrl-click the Photos Library in your Pictures folder, then select the option "Show Package Contents". all your original image files should be in the folder M"Masters", sorted into subfolders by the date of import.

But it is much more convenient to use the "File > Export" option. Tis way you can select all photos from an album together into one folder.


How can I migrate my photos from the Photos App into a Finder-type file management?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.