Deleting photos

Deleting Photos from a Photos Library

1 - regardless of where you are in the library, i.e. Photos, Memories, Favorites, People, Recents, Imports, albums or smart albums, select the photo(s) you want to delete and use the key combination of Command+Delete to move the photos to the Recently Deleted smart album.    Without the Command key held down you'll be presented with a confirmation Yes/No window regarding the deletion. 

2 - click on the Recently Deleted smart albums in the sidebar.

NOTE 1: If you're using Photos 1.2 or earlier use the File  ➙ Show Recently Deleted menu option.

3 - in the Recently Deleted album you can opt to let the photo automatically delete after the 30 day waiting period is up, delete them immediately or restore them to the library.

NOTE 2: deleting a photo from an album, slideshow, book, etc., with the Delete key only deletes the photo from that item. There is no key combination that will delete a photo from a project and move it directly to the Recently Deleted smart album.

NOTE 3: deleting a photo from a Moment or Collection (the Photos window) or the All Photos window deletes ALL occurences of that photo in the library.

That being said as a test launch Photos with the Option key held down and create a new, test library.  Import some photos and test to see if the same problem persists. Does it? (This tells us if the problem is limited to your current library or is more wide spread). Then open your current library and test again.