I want to stop using Apple Photos and use another program (not Lightroom) for organizing/editing. How do I import photos from my camera into another program? Also, how do I get photos out of Apple Photos Library for use by another program without going through Photos? I have over 50,000 images in Photos, so doing this in any way other than through a mass move is untenable. Suggestions please.
I have Luminar and DxO both installed on my computer
Neither of these apps have a library as such. To work with them you store the files in the Finder, and browse the folders from the app in question. Luminar is full of presets and tricks, but rather better as a marketing concept than an actual editor. They have a long history of over-promising. DxO is an excellent Raw processor, arguably the best. But it has no Library as such, it just surfs folders in the Finder.
I get that you don't want to use Lightroom but LR Classic is an excellent cataloging tool and can use both DXO and Luminar (and lots of other things) as plug-ins.
To get files from your camera or device to folders in the Finder simply use Image Capture (in the Applications Folder). This completely by-passes Photos. Neither DxO or Luminar have an "Import" command, as neither has a library.
Using Image Capture you can put the files wherever you want.
The only way to get the files out of Photos is to use the File -> Export -> Export Unmodified Originals command.
I have Luminar and DxO both installed on my computer
Neither of these apps have a library as such. To work with them you store the files in the Finder, and browse the folders from the app in question. Luminar is full of presets and tricks, but rather better as a marketing concept than an actual editor. They have a long history of over-promising. DxO is an excellent Raw processor, arguably the best. But it has no Library as such, it just surfs folders in the Finder.
I get that you don't want to use Lightroom but LR Classic is an excellent cataloging tool and can use both DXO and Luminar (and lots of other things) as plug-ins.
To get files from your camera or device to folders in the Finder simply use Image Capture (in the Applications Folder). This completely by-passes Photos. Neither DxO or Luminar have an "Import" command, as neither has a library.
Using Image Capture you can put the files wherever you want.
The only way to get the files out of Photos is to use the File -> Export -> Export Unmodified Originals command.
What system and Photos versions are you using? With Photos 5.0 the only way to get the original files out of the library with the original file name intact or the Title you added as the file name is to export them.
You could export all of the Photos in the library as originals out of the library via the File ➙ Export ➙ Export Unmodified Originals menu option:
In the Export window select the following criteria:
This will give you folders based on the Moment the photo is in and named for the Moment. Those photos that had no title added will have the original file name. The XMP file will include all of the IPTC metadata that you added like titles, descriptions and keywords. Other app that can read IPTC fields and use XML files in import both at the same time. If you don't plan on using an app that can read and import XML files then don't check that checkbox.
Note: the above only works in Photos V 5.0.
Terence Devlin answered your questions and solved your problem: use Image Capture. You have complete control over where to download the image files to.
Okay. I am using the Photos version in Catalina on a MacBook Pro. I am finding Photos increasingly frustrating. I have my Photos Library on an external hard drive, and every time I try to eject it, I get an error message saying it is in use with another program and won't eject. So I have to log out and log in again in order to eject it. Pain in the you know what. Also, Photos does not support RAW files for my new Olympus camera, so I now have to shoot everything in RAW plus JPEG, another pain in the you know what. Finally, Photos does not allow easy rating of photos. Yes, you can do it with keywords, but that is much harder than clicking on stars. So, bottom line is that I think I should use something else to import my images on to my computer and organize/catalogue them. I do not want to use Lightroom at all. I have Luminar and DxO both installed on my computer, as well as Olympus Workspace (which does not catalogue), but I don't know how to import raw files from my camera on to a Library in an external hard drive that can be accessed by either of those. Both Luminar and DxO appear to be able to access all Picture files, but I want all those files to be housed on an external drive to save space. Can you help? B.
Again what system version and Photos versions are you using?
How is the external HD formatted and connected to your Mac?
A workaround until your camera is supported by OS X is to convert the RAW files with Adobe Digital Negative Converter - Adobe Support and inport the resulting .dng files.
Mac system version is 10.15.4; Photos version is 5.0. The external HD is connected via USB3 port. It's not a problem with the HD, as I have been using this system for years. I don't need a work around to convert, since I can export the JPEG file out of Photos, and the RAW file comes with it. I can then access the RAW file using various post-processing software. What I need to know is how to transfer image files from my camera to the external hard drive I use for storing images without going through Apple Photos. I cannot seem to find an easy answer to this question and am feeling trapped by Apple Photos, which is increasingly frustrating to use for the reasons stated above.
Okay, this is helpful. I agree about Luminar, but it now has a DAM function, so you can use it to catalogue as well as edit. I have been using Affinity Photo, which does not have a DAM, but which I like far better than Luminar, as it is more nuanced for editing. Last fall I added the NIK collection, which came with DxO PhotoLab 2, which I have not used. But with my frustration with Photos, I am thinking of upgrading that to PhotoLab 3 and using that with NIK as my primary post-processing programs. Years ago I tried Lightroom and hated it. It is not user friendly and very cumbersome, and I don't like the subscription model. So I have two last questions: 1) can Image Capture put image files in a Folder on an external HD instead of in the Pictures Folder on the Mac itself, so that HD Folder can be accessed by DxO? and 2) do you know why my external HD keeps not ejecting? It seems this is a common problem and has something to do with the Photos indexing function. BTW I did add the Photos Library to the Privacy setting in Spotlight, so that doesn't solve the problem. Thanks.
but it now has a DAM function, so you can use it to catalogue as well as edit.
Yes, well this is where you learn about how the makers radically overpromise.
Thanks, Terence. This is helpful. I will go ahead and try without Photos and see if I can get the importing/editing process to do what I want. B
How do I import photos into program other than Apple photos
