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User profile for user: Dessie7057
Dessie7057 Author
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Catalina Issues with Edited Photos Low Resolution

Since updating to macOS Catalina, I've had major problems with my Photos app.

All photos that I’ve edited at some point only display in low resolution, even if I export they are small file size. Have waited for an update to fix but nothing so far.


I know there is a setting on Preferences so you can save the high resolution to the iCloud and have low resolution on the Mac, however this is turned off as my library is too large and I prefer back-ups to a time machine locally rather than pay for iCloud storage. This was set prior to the Catalina upgrade.


Last night I relented and bought Adobe Elements 2020 and thought right, will import my Photos library. Was surprised that my library of 12,000 photos created an Adobe catalogue of over 37,000 images. Each edited photo appeared numerous times, one original high quality, then blurred images where I had either rotated, cropped or edited.  


What the heck is going on, it is so so so frustrating when something that has always worked perfectly suddenly has problems that are not of my making. Don’t they actually test the software before they release onto the world!!!!!


iMac 21.5" 4K, macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 16, 2019 1:48 AM

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User profile for user: Yer_Man
Yer_Man
User level: Level 10
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Posted on Nov 16, 2019 2:47 AM 

Surely when I have edited a Photo on the Mac and pressed Done, I don't want any version history, I want the edited photo to be the new and only photo in my library at the full resolution.


Then you don't want to be using Photos. It is designed as a non-destructive photo management system, or Digital Asset Manager. It's entire purpose is to preserve the original file - treating it like a negative, in film terms - so that you can revert to it at any point. So, when you edit a photo in Photos the actual file is not edited at all, but rather your decisions are recorded in the database. So, your 'edited' version is actually the result of an equation: Original file plus recorded decisions. If you want full quality versions then export the, using the File - Export command.


For convenience the app also makes a lower quality preview, that's used for sharing. So when you attach an image from Photos to an email say, it's this preview that is attached. It's a 'good enough for most things' version.


The other advantage is that it is trivial to have multiple versions of the same shot, for any reason you may have, and very efficient in terms of storage space.


But if that is not what you want, then you do not want Photos (or smiliar apps like Lightroom, CaptureOne, Mylio et al). If you want all your edits applied to the original file, and see no point in preserving that. then stick to a basic editor like Elements.

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User profile for user: Yer_Man
Yer_Man
User level: Level 10
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Nov 16, 2019 2:47 AM in response to Dessie7057 

Surely when I have edited a Photo on the Mac and pressed Done, I don't want any version history, I want the edited photo to be the new and only photo in my library at the full resolution.


Then you don't want to be using Photos. It is designed as a non-destructive photo management system, or Digital Asset Manager. It's entire purpose is to preserve the original file - treating it like a negative, in film terms - so that you can revert to it at any point. So, when you edit a photo in Photos the actual file is not edited at all, but rather your decisions are recorded in the database. So, your 'edited' version is actually the result of an equation: Original file plus recorded decisions. If you want full quality versions then export the, using the File - Export command.


For convenience the app also makes a lower quality preview, that's used for sharing. So when you attach an image from Photos to an email say, it's this preview that is attached. It's a 'good enough for most things' version.


The other advantage is that it is trivial to have multiple versions of the same shot, for any reason you may have, and very efficient in terms of storage space.


But if that is not what you want, then you do not want Photos (or smiliar apps like Lightroom, CaptureOne, Mylio et al). If you want all your edits applied to the original file, and see no point in preserving that. then stick to a basic editor like Elements.

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User profile for user: Dessie7057
Dessie7057 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Nov 16, 2019 2:33 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks Terence, appreciate the reply on Elements which explains the exploded catalogue, will start again.


However my big question is to do with Photos and what it is doing with edited photos and why the low resolution. Surely when I have edited a Photo on the Mac and pressed Done, I don't want any version history, I want the edited photo to be the new and only photo in my library at the full resolution.


I'd rather use the Mac and Mac software as never had a problem before.

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User profile for user: Dessie7057
Dessie7057 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Nov 16, 2019 6:09 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks you Terence that makes a lot of sense and thank you for coming back so quickly today.


I am currently taking a back-up on Time Machine, then plan to delete the catalogue from Elements Organizer, then start again using the File - Export command from Photos this time. Hoping this will export a full resolution version of my edited library from photos. If not will revert back again and export the originals from Photos and then repeat the editing in Elements. A pain to do again but at least will be good training in Elements 2020.


Best regards

Steve

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Catalina Issues with Edited Photos Low Resolution

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