Unified photo library for all of family

You can share shared albums (Share photo albums with iCloud) with selected photos, but a Photos Library cannot be shared on a network. The problem is that the Photos Library has been implemented as a single user database, it can only be accessed by one user at a time, and needs to be on a locally mounted volume. The only way I know of to share a complete library between different users is putting it on a sneaker drive (a small portable drive, that each family member can plug into their computer in turn).

You could try the following setup:

• Each family member would keep an own Photos Library with the personal photos, organised like the like it.
• Create an additional library on an external volume, where each family member can add the photos, that other family members may want to see and copy to their own library.

The library needs to be on local volume where the "Ignore ownership on this volume can be set. Otherwise you would be getting problems with the ownership of the internal database files, whenever a different person has opened the library. Prepare the external volume as described here: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

Or, if you create an additional Apple ID (different from all AppleIDs used by the family members), where all family members will know the password, you could set up a Photos Library fro this AppleID in iCloud Photos and all family members can view it at www.icloud.com , see:

Photos on iCloud.com overview

But sharing a local library on a sneaker drive would be easier, as you could use the full power of Photos for Mac and would not be limited to by the very basic user interface at www.icloud.com

CONVERT_TO_MAC wrote:

agree if everyone uses the same AppleID. May try it but it defeats the purpose of family sharing etc.

On no account should you share the AppleID for your main use - everyone would still use the own AppleID and an own Photos Library. To share a joint photo library you would invent an additional fake family member with a separate AppleID, only for the purpose of setting up a joint iCloud Photos Library from a different user account. Every family member would know the password of this virtual family member and could access the joint iCloud Photos Library in the web browser to upload photos or download photos, while still using the own AppleID in the own account.

I wouldn't hold your breath on this. It's been requested before but it does a creates serious and significant issues to resolve when it comes to editing (who gets to edit which image? What of someone undoes someone else's edits etc) and ownership of the files. There are apps that will do this but a: they have no editing capability and b: are expensive. How expensive? Well most simply don't give a price, you have to apply for one from them and the one I've found that does costs about $150 per month for a max of 10 users.

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O yes. And it requires all family members to agree on which photos to keep and which to remove and how much edits and which edits are allowed. It is a matter of the personal taste and interests, and of being very considerate. I would not want to share the photo library with someone who would dump thousands of photos into my library, without bothering to remove redundant shots.