How do I import my iPhone photos onto my macbook pro
I've been having problems importing ALL of my iPhone photos onto my new Macbook Pro, I think it may be something to do with iCloud. I would like to entirely stop using iCloud just because it doesn't make very much sense to me. I think my Mac is registering that is has all of my iPhone photos on it because they are uploaded to iCloud, but I don't have any of them saved into Photos or iPhoto. When I attempt to import my iPhone photos to my Macbook (via USB port), it only detects 837 out of my 1,408 photos. Why is this and what can I do to fix it/get rid of iCloud? Very stressful and irritating problem, please help! I'm worried about losing all of my photos if I attempt to disconnect from iCloud on my iPhone.
MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), iOS 8.3