iCloud vs external HD for storage and editing of photos

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Level 1

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iCloud vs external HD for storage and editing of photos

I have run out of storage on my laptop. I currently have almost 30k original photos on my laptop. I still have lots of organizing and editing to do on these photos.

My question is, which is better? Optimize my Mac photos to keep the originals in iCloud and thumbnail prints on my Mac, or move my whole photos library onto an external HD?

My concern with iCloud is: I read that if storing originals on iCloud then I can't backup my HD pics onto an external HD because it won't recognize the thumbnails pics. I also won't be able to download the originals from iCloud directly onto an external HD at a later time, if I wish. What if I want to do editing on my pics? Can that still be done on my laptop? or do I do it on iCloud? Can I download an original pic one at a time to edit it?

What about moving my entire photos library onto an external HD? How do I sync my photos between all devices using iCloud with an external HD? Is it possible to save edited pics and backup to iCloud from the external HD? I'm guessing once I move my entire photos library onto an external HD then I won't see any photos library on my laptop unless I plug in the external HD? Sorry I don't have much experience with external HD, other than time machine backup.

Note, we also have an iMac and all of my originals are stored on that iMac, it is currently backing up on time machine as I write. I much prefer to use my laptop to edit photos etc.

please advise which route is better for saving and editing my pics, the simpler the better :)

Posted on Sep 4, 2023 9:00 AM

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Answer 1

muguy

Level 10

92,282 points

Sep 4, 2023 12:21 PM in response to Kjc2124

Your system library can be enabled to sync with iCloud. That can be the library stored in an external drive, yes. In this scenario, you’re not backing up the library, the library being used is just external.

you would still need to backup to Time Machine and be sure that the external drive holding your photo library is included. So, you would have two external drives connected to your Mac. One for the library and any other files and one that only contains your Time Machine backup. By default, an external drive will automatically back up to Time Machine but you can check your Time Machine settings.

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Answer 2

muguy

Level 10

92,282 points

Sep 4, 2023 7:42 PM in response to Kjc2124

It all makes sense, except, why would the photos library (stored on an external HD) need to be backed up on Time Machine?

If you wish to maintain a backup of your data (which is a good idea), you'll need to backup the photo library which is now stored on the external drive. If that data is backed up elsewhere (on the iMac), then you need not back up the laptop.

All of my devices, iPhone, MacBook, iMac, are linked together and sync to iCloud. My iMac has photos on it with originals, not optimized. So if I sync my external HD to iCloud, then iCloud syncs with my iMac, and iMac is backed up to Time Machine, then all the photos will be saved on Time machine as well as my external HD? Is that correct?

Correct. As long as you have space on your iMac, yes.

If you only prefer editing on the MacBook, you could keep the laptop optimized. When you edit a photo, the original is downloaded in the background for editing. Depending on how much space you have available, and whether you have a internet connection, this might be the simplest solution as it happens in the background.

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Answer 3

muguy

Level 10

92,282 points

Sep 4, 2023 11:18 AM in response to Kjc2124

I’d move the library to an external drive. You can then back that up to your Time Machine drive too. Otherwise, you’ll only have reduced quality images on your Mac. Correct, if the drive is not plugged in you will not have access to your library. but a library on the external drive can still sync to iCloud.

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Answer 4

muguy

Level 10

92,282 points

Sep 4, 2023 9:14 AM in response to Kjc2124

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 5

muguy

Level 10

92,282 points

Sep 5, 2023 6:32 AM in response to Kjc2124

If you elect to optimize but then perform some function, say an edit, the computer will download the original version from the cloud. If you're exporting to another app, you'll want to download the original first. In theory, when you export the original version should download too. But, if you're selecting from a menu to upload (say from online where it allows you to choose an image) it will grab the optimized version.

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Answer 6

Kjc2124 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 4, 2023 11:34 AM in response to muguy

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. If I do backup onto an external HD, and I have it plugged in and photos library open on my laptop, will the syncing to iCloud happen automatically, or do I need to prompt it to do so?

The photos library with full version of all photos is also stored on my iMac (desktop) and backed up periodically to time machine. It is also set to automatically sync with iCloud. Would I still need to back up my external HD (for laptop) with photos only also to time machine? It would be a different external HD that I use for photos (laptop) vs the one I use just for time machine (desktop). Is there Time Machine on a laptop? I don't see it on the dash.

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Answer 7

Kjc2124 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 4, 2023 4:01 PM in response to muguy

Thank you for explaining all of that. It all makes sense, except, why would the photos library (stored on an external HD) need to be backed up on Time Machine? All of my devices, iPhone, MacBook, iMac, are linked together and sync to iCloud. My iMac has photos on it with originals, not optimized. So if I sync my external HD to iCloud, then iCloud syncs with my iMac, and iMac is backed up to Time Machine, then all the photos will be saved on Time machine as well as my external HD? Is that correct?

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Answer 8

Kjc2124 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 4, 2023 9:01 PM in response to muguy

your last paragraph brought up a question...so if I optimize my photos on the laptop and want to go in and edit, it's done one photo at a time, correct? After it's edited, does it stay optimized on the laptop and the edited full version is saved in iCloud?

What if I want to upload a bunch of photos from laptop, like 50-60 into Shutterfly to make an album? Do the optimized photos get uploaded or do the full version photos from iCloud get uploaded?

I have a better understanding of iCloud vs external HD, thanks to you. I need to decide what will work and be better for me in the long run :/

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Answer 9

Kjc2124 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 6, 2023 8:18 AM in response to muguy

Thank you for that info.

I'm still trying to decide which option will work the best for me. We had an old ext HD sitting around and I just tried to plug it in to erase all the old data on it. Unfortunately, if is 32bit and is not compatible with my OS. So that would mean buying a new ext HD if I go that route.

Suppose I optimize my laptop and then decide I don't like working with it that way I can always redownload all the originals again and go with the ext HD option? and visa versa, If I don't like having my system photos library on an ext HD I can move back onto my laptop and then optimize?

I really appreciate all the information you have given me :)

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Answer 10

Kjc2124 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 4, 2023 11:09 AM in response to muguy

That is a very vague answer to my very detailed question re: pros/cons to iCloud vs external HD. Did you even read my question??

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iCloud vs external HD for storage and editing of photos

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