Can't Import photos from an iPhone to the Mac?

This has happened to me every once in a while over the last ten years. What I've found is that there is one photo or video that must be corrupted in some way and it will not import. When the mac tries to import that file, the process fails and the phone gets kicked out. So everything is working fine, photo have been importing, and suddenly the process stops and the icon for the phone disappears. The next time I try to import photos, that one bad file is the very first one the computer tries to import, the process fails immediately and there goes the phone icon again.

Queue helpless rage. I don't know why it takes me so long to remember what worked last time. I am answering this question mostly so that when I google the problem in two years, I can read it and remember quicker.

Plug your phone into the computer

Open Photos, etc, etc.

Click on your phone's image and you should see your photos ready to be imported.

Do not click the button to Import All New Photos.

Instead select the SECOND photo in the row.

Then click on the button that says Import Selected Photos and see if that photo imports.

If it does, then you know that first photo or video is causing the problem. Usually for me it's a video that has turned to evil. If you have a string of videos, maybe skip them and try to import a photo from further down. Then decide how much love that image or video that won't import and is screwing up the whole process.

You can just delete the bad file and move on.

Or you can select ALL the photos/video EXCEPT the bad one and import them.

I've only ever had one file at a time go bad at a time. So far. Knock wood.

I can't get comfortable with iCloud. I like storing my photos on my laptop with lots of backups and no fear that I will accidentally delete something on my phone, forgetting in the moment that I am deleting it from everywhere.