I have been a Mac user for 25 years and have simply dumped photos and videos into the Photos app.
There are around 10,000 items which need to be sorted into albums.
I have no problem creating an album but is there any way to "hide" the photos in the main library which I have already put into albums so that I can see what is left?
Mac mini, macOS 26.2
Ian R. Brown wrote: … is there any way to "hide" the photos in the main library which I have already put into albums so that I can see what is left?
Certainly. At the top of Photos in the Library view there is a little funnel shaped icon that filters the view:
With that you can choose "Not in an Album" to see only pictures that are not in an album.
You can also use a Smart Albumt to set up the criterion Album is not Any:
If you have 25 years of pictures, you would probably gain a lot from organizing your albums into folders. And remember, you can put a picture into several different folders, without using any extra storage space, so that they are easier to find. Here's some ideas:
Organizing photos with Folders & Albums
Let us know how it goes…
Ian R. Brown wrote: … is there any way to "hide" the photos in the main library which I have already put into albums so that I can see what is left?
Certainly. At the top of Photos in the Library view there is a little funnel shaped icon that filters the view:
With that you can choose "Not in an Album" to see only pictures that are not in an album.
You can also use a Smart Albumt to set up the criterion Album is not Any:
If you have 25 years of pictures, you would probably gain a lot from organizing your albums into folders. And remember, you can put a picture into several different folders, without using any extra storage space, so that they are easier to find. Here's some ideas:
Organizing photos with Folders & Albums
Let us know how it goes…
Ian R. Brown wrote: … "Not in an album" sounds a tad simpler . . . would you advise me to go with that one?
Pretty much the same. I have lots of Smart Albums! The one I showed is named Temp 3 because I leave those set up so I don't need to make a new Smart Album every time I need a special search.
Keywords are really important to use with the Filters and Smart Albums. You can set a keyword for Family that you use with family pictures, and the Filter can get you just those. And you can do more with a Smart Album-- you can ask for all pictures that aren't family.
I also use keywords and Smart Albums to rate pictures.
Choosing Favorites using Keywords in Mac Photos
Ratings are very useful. If I'm looking at pictures from last month, I may look at "Favorites." If it's from last year, maybe just the ones rated 4 or 5. If from last decade, maybe only 5s. That sort of thing.
suggestion about folders etc.
That line should have been
"You can put a picture into several different albums, without using any extra storage space"
OK I have done a bit of self help and discovered that I can create a Smart Album from which the photos will "disappear" as I put them into their own albums.
The instructions (below) tell me to set the following condition . . . "Photo is not in any album".
This choice is not available, the closest being "Photo is not a Favourite" which appears to reveal all my items.
Will this work OK?
Create a "Culling" Smart Album
To organize, create a Smart Album that acts as a "To-Do" folder.
Thanks Richard, our messages seem to have crossed!
As you can see I had just discovered Smart Albums but was stuck on the wording of the conditions.
I think your first suggestion, "Not in an album" sounds a tad simpler . . . would you advise me to go with that one?
Thanks also for the suggestion about folders etc.
Thanks Richard. To begin with I am just bunging them into large groups (albums) of maybe a thousand or so and then I will further refine things . . . bit by bit.
Photos app: Hide photos already in albums
