iCloud Photos - full size vs. optimized

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Level 1

9 points

iCloud Photos - full size vs. optimized

We both now have family sharing for iCloud Photo. My wife has 40gig of photos on her Mini and has uploaded them to the iCloud Photos. I have 15gig of photos on my MBA but have not yet uploaded to iCloud. When I do upload, I assume that we will both have full access to the total 55g of pictures?? And, since my wife has lots of storage available, she could have the 55g of full sized photos on her hard drive? And finally, since I have pretty limited space on my MBA, I'll only get optimized versions of the 55g of photos on my MBA? One more thought, if all of this is accurate, would I be able to selectively ask for full sized versions to be downloaded to my MBA?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Nov 29, 2021 1:50 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

léonie

Level 10

195,019 points

Nov 29, 2021 9:18 PM in response to mbanovice

The Shared Family album (or any shared album) will only have downsized photos with many metadata stripped. Shared albums are a free service and do not count against the iCloud storage subscription, so the photos and videos will be reduced in size - photos to 2048 pixel at the longest edge, videos to 720p.

Shared Albums suffice to browse the photos, but to transfer selected full resolution photos send them by Mail or Airdrop, or export them to a thumbs drive.

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Answer 2

muguy

Level 9

76,177 points

Nov 29, 2021 1:54 PM in response to mbanovice

You'll only have each others photos if you share them in the family album:

When you set up your family, a shared album is created automatically in the Photos app on all family members’ devices. Everyone can add photos, videos, and comments to the album whenever they like and get notified when something new is added. Family Sharing also sets up a family calendar where everyone can view, add, or change events and appointments, and get an alert when something changes. And anyone can use the Reminders app to send time or location reminders to the family. So when it’s picture day, pizza night, or just a trip to the beach, everyone’s in the know.

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iCloud Photos - full size vs. optimized

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