photos not syncing on new macbook pro

I've not seen my albums empty when trying to add a photo to a contact but have had problems locating the image I wanted to use. I found it quicker to find the image in the library, drag it to the Desktop and add from there to Contacts.

That being said boot into Safe Mode (How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support) by booting with the Shift key held down and check there to see if the problem persists.  Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing some system cache cleaning, volume verifying and directory repairing. 

If still present as a test launch Photos with the Option key held down and create a new, test library.  Import some photos, make it the System Photo Library and test to see if the same problem persists with Contacts. Does it? (This tells us if the problem is limited to your current library or is more wide spread)

If it does log into another admin user account, Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac,  and and repeat the test above. (This tells us if the problem is limited to your user account or is system wide).

What do you mean by "not available"? Make sure your Photos library is designated the System Photo Library in Photos' General preference pane.