Ever since I began using iCloud, some of my photos are missing from my MacBook

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Level 1

4 points

Ever since I began using iCloud, some of my photos are missing from my MacBook

My MacBook hard drive was getting full, so I began using iCloud, assured by the documentation that all of my photos would still be accessible on my MacBook whenever I needed them.

Since then, not all of my photos in Photo appear:

Sometimes, some are missing from the Photo app itself (entire months' worth).
I can not access all of my photos from other apps, like Facebook or Twitter, when I try to select a photo - all of them are missing from some years, except for ones that I recently opened up in Photo.
Now, after restarting my MacBook today, my photo library does not show up in System Preferences under Desktop & Screen Saver - only a few photos from each year.

I need to be able to access my entire Photo library (I am doing other things to free up space on my hard drive).

I want to use iCloud but only if my photos remain accessible on my MacBook. I do a lot of work with photos, so this is essential. I also make back-ups using Time Machine to an external hard drive.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 18, 2021 1:48 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

TonyCollinet

Level 7

23,861 points

Mar 18, 2021 5:48 PM in response to suzanjackson

Using iCloud doesn't stop your library taking space on your mac, and they still need to be stored on your mac to be viewable on your mac. If you mac drive is full, then it all bets are off as to exactly what photos will do.

Have you turned on "optimise mac storage"? At least in this case, Photos will manage your files between your mac and icloud to minimise the space taken on your mac while still allowing you to view them.

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Answer 2

May 2, 2021 12:08 AM in response to suzanjackson

iCloud will not delete photos that have been uploaded from your Mac UNLESS you actually choose "Delete" on your Mac. Choosing that will delete the file(s) from every device connected to your iCloud account. As long as you haven't done that, you can web browse to icloud.com anytime from any computer, locate your media, and choose the option to download the "Unmodified Original".

But to protect from accidental deletion (or photo library corruption), it's always a good idea to archive all your photos/videos in an offline location somewhere, just in case. Hard drive storage is pretty cheap these days. You can buy 8TB external USB 3.0 drives for well under $200 now.

This article may also help explain some of the options you have in more detail:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264

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Answer 3

Mar 21, 2021 1:15 AM in response to suzanjackson

As stated - optimise mac storage will remove the originals from your mac, and store them only in iCloud.

Please do not go exploring inside the library package. Nothing in there is intended for user access, and if you accidentally change anything you can stop your library working. (This is why the contents are hidden by default)

If you want to access full quality versions of your images, the best way to do it is to export them from photos to a folder. Select them in photos then file>export. Choose size / quality settings, then the folder you want to put them in. This process will download the full quality file from iCloud for the export. Here is a screenshot showing full size/max quality options.

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Answer 4

suzanjackson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2021 6:53 AM in response to TonyCollinet

Yes, I did click on "Optimize Storage" when it popped up (just yesterday).

Now, my concern is: How will I access the full-size high-quality versions of the photos when I need them? I'm a freelance writer and sometimes an assignment will include photos - magazines need very high-quality images.

Thanks -

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Mar 20, 2021 7:08 AM in response to suzanjackson

If you are using "Optimise Mac Storage" for your Photos Library, you can no longer access all photos from your Photos Library in the Media browser from other applications. The Media Browser will only show you the items that have been downloaded from iCloud. You have to force the download from iCloud by viewing the photos enlarged in Photos, before they will appear in other applications, like a web browser.

What is the file format of your photos? Are they JPEGs or in another format?

Since the Big Sur upgrade we are having the added complication, that the Media Browser will only show you the JPEGs, not image files in another format, like HEIC.

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Answer 6

suzanjackson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 20, 2021 1:28 PM in response to léonie

Ah, so that's what's going on with my photos not showing up in the Media Browser.

I have Mojave and my photos are JPEGs. I did just get an iPhone recently and noticed the photos I transfer from there (via AirDrop) are HEIC, so then I have to import them into the Photos Library. I was pretty annoyed when my transferred photos stopped going directly into Photos and instead went into the Download folder and HEIC format!

So, if I need to include some older photos (transferred direct from my camera years ago) for an assignment, and they need to be high-quality for print publication, how do I access them? I just tried right-clicking on Photos Library (in the Pictures folder) and choosing Show Package Contents, and I see very few of my photos are there anymore! This is alarming. I also tried right-clicking on iPhoto-Migrated Photo Library, and I get an error code that they can not be accessed.

This is getting more and more scary! Did I mess up by starting to use iCloud? Are they all on iCloud? If so, how do I access them? My decades-old photo library is part of my career.

Thanks for the help -

Sue

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Mar 21, 2021 2:19 AM in response to suzanjackson

Which system version do you have installed, Sue?

if your Mac is now running macOS 10.15 Catalina or macOS 11 Big Sur, it is really futile to look for your photos directly in the Photos Library by opening it in the Finder.

The structure of the Photos Library has changed considerably after the Catalina upgrade. It is no longer human readable. Photos is no longer storing the original image files unchanged in the Photos Library in a folder Masters, organised by the date of import. All original image files will now be stored in a folder "originals" with sixteen subfolders, named "0" to "F". It is hard to predict in which of these folders we will have to look, and the files are renamed with unique hexadecimal image numbers, like 0A0E4E59-31A8-4C20-A035-18B852024D1F.heic. we can no longer search for our photos by the original filename. Only the Photos.app can find our photos there. You should prepare for the worst case that you ever find yourself unable to run Photos at all. If you cannot run Photos at all, for example because of system trouble, or because you downgraded to an earlier system version, or have no longer a Mac, you will only have a renamed mess of image files, without the original file creation or content created dates. It will be very difficult to rebuild a photo library from this mess. I am keeping a backup of my photos by exporting the originals to an external volume with an XMP sidecar file with the metadata, and exporting them into folders with subfolder preset "Moment name". All photos taken at the same day at the sam e location will be grouped into a folder with the name of the Moment and easy to find.

And, as Tony pointed out, if you are using "Optimise Mac Storage", you will not even have all renamed originals in your Photos Library. Without an internet access or without being able to run Photos, you will not be able to access your photos at all. You need to keep a local copy of all your original photos on an external volume. And make regular backups of this copy on another external volume.

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Answer 8

suzanjackson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 21, 2021 6:48 AM in response to léonie

Oh, wow, now you really have me terrified!! I can't believe Apple has made this so complicated and user-unfriendly.

I am running Mojave 10.14.6.

I use Time Machine to back up all of my files to an external hard drive, but I don't understand how to do what you're describing to store my photo files externally. XMP sidecar file? Metadata? (I do have a vague idea of what metadata is but not the process you're describing).

So, by saying I need to export my photo files to an external volume, would that mean EVERY photo file, one at a time? I began using a digital camera in 2005 so have many thousands of photo files from the past 16 years. It would take years to save them one at a time!

Finally, should I turn off "optimize Mac storage"? Is that even possible after turning it on earlier this week? Should I stop using iCloud entirely and find other ways to free up space on my MacBook? I did delete a bunch of files this week, but I'm still short on space.

Sorry - one other question re: deleting files and freeing up space: If I delete a photo in the Photos app, does that delete the original files (and therefore free up space on my hard drive) or does it only remove the photos from the Photos app? I've been wondering this for a while - how to permanently and thoroughly delete photos from the Photo app (like duplicates, photos I no longer need, etc.).

Thank you so much for your help - I had no idea Apple had made such vast changes behind the scenes nor that I could no longer access my originals through the Finder nor that using iCloud would create such a mess!

I greatly appreciate the help -

Sue

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Ever since I began using iCloud, some of my photos are missing from my MacBook

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