How do I import photos into my current Mac from a Time Machine backup?

Create a folder within your pictures folder to receive the restored library

Enter time machine.

Navigate to the library you want to restore and the date you want to restore it from. Right click (or ctrl click) the library, and choose "restore xxx to..."

Then choose the folder you've just created and it will be restored back to that empty folder.

Hi

If these photos are in a photos library, you have to restore the whole library from timemachine, and then open the restored library by holding down the option key when starting photos.

I would restore each separate library into a subfolder in your pictures folder.

So this drive has a time machine backup on it which is different from the backup set you are using now. Correct?

If so, go to time machine perferences, click "select disk" and then choose the disk with the backup set on it. Also turn off "backup automatically" if you don't want to make any further backups to this disk while you have it selected - I'd suggest you don't want that.

Then when entering time machine, you should be able to browse the backups made to that disk.

After restoring the library you want to recover, go back to preferences and select your normal time machine drive, and re-enable "backup automatically"

Try it this way:

Or you have simply copied the library to an external drive using finder, not using time machine?

In which case simply drag it back to your pictures folder using finder.