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Matt13 Author

Level 2

432 points

Turn off PHOTOS.

How do you turn off 'Photos'. Every time I plug my camera in, I don't need a prompt from the new 'Photos'.

I'm a pro user. I don't need to know how great 'photos' is.

I just want to know how to make sure it never happens when I plug a camera or media card in.

VIA firewire, thunderbolt. USB 2, USB 3 or any other matter. I do not want 'Photos' nor do I care about it.

Please tell me how to turn it off... like I asked in another 'thread' but was thrown out because 'I didn't contribute to the knowledge base' or, apparently, hurt someone's feelings at Apple.

I'm running the new El Capitain or whatever the new greatest thing is.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Nov 7, 2015 12:50 AM

Best reply

pinkstones

Level 5

4,228 points

Posted on Nov 7, 2015 9:48 AM

If you were "thrown out" of another thread for asking this question, it was probably because you hijacked someone else's question thread, rather than starting your own. It had nothing to do with hurting anyone's fee-fees at Apple. None of us here are that special.

If you don't want it, get rid of it. Open Applications, click on Photos, drag it to your trash, then empty your trash. You can't undo that, so don't decide six months from now that you actually really loved Photos, because now you're SOL.

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27 replies

GeeD

Level 6

9,173 points

Nov 7, 2015 11:21 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks for clarifying. Now I understand why I didn't have this problem in the past.

"For those of us who don't use the app and don't need it this is a regular PITA. The solution is mind-bogglingly simple - restore the universal option. Works for everybody - those who want Photos and those who don't."

Agree entirely. I keep my photo and video files in my own directory structure on external drives and use external media with FCP X. Guess we should send feedback to Apple.

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,414 points

Nov 7, 2015 11:56 AM in response to GeeD

Have done and by all means you should too.

Matt13 Author

Level 2

432 points

Nov 9, 2015 1:01 AM in response to GeeD

Geoff's solution worked! At least for my workflow... that did the trick. Whether I'll have to do that every time I update my system remains to be seen. But for now, I'm a happy camper.

Thank you!

Matt13 Author

Level 2

432 points

Nov 9, 2015 1:28 AM in response to Matt13

Well, I jumped the gun. Geoff's solution didn't work after all. Like another poster pointed out (and I overlooked), you'd have to go into image capture for each device/card you're using. Since I use 12 devices and 4 different computers, that's not ideal... lol.

Guess we simply have to live with it.

GeeD

Level 6

9,173 points

Nov 9, 2015 2:21 AM in response to Matt13

Terence Devlin is the one who most clarified the issue. With a card in an SD card reader you have have to 'turn off' Photos again after reformatting the card. There are still 2 questions that occur to me which Terence can maybe already answer. Depending on the answers the situation may not be so bad:

1. In the case of an SD card in a crd reader: Does wiping an SD card in the camera to make room for more photos actually reformat it and so create a different UUID? (in a normal volume you can wipe info without re-formatting)

2. In the case of a connected camera: Is it the camera hardware that is recognised or is it the storage inside as above?

Maybe you would be willing to experiment with some of your equipment? (I only have one camera and am in the middle of writing to a 64 GB card which I don't want to disturb.

Geoff.

Matt13 Author

Level 2

432 points

Nov 9, 2015 2:26 AM in response to GeeD

Absolutely. I'll do a test today and see if after reformatting/wiping the flash memory in a camera if the Photo's app will reopen.

In any event... even if it doesn't, it really won't make too much sense for me to to set 12 different cameras on 4 different computers.

Hopefully Apple will take into consideration that not everyone wants or needs to use their 'photos' app. Especially pro users. I mean, I'm using Final Cut Pro. Why does 'Photos' have to open every time I plug in one of my video cameras?

Weird to say the least.

GeeD

Level 6

9,173 points

Nov 9, 2015 3:08 AM in response to Matt13

Surely it would be bearable if you only had to do it once for each camera and/or each card on each computer (that is until Apple changes something again).

I look forward to seeing your findings. (I fear that cameras do reformat - on my SONY NEX5N the command is 'FORMAT" - logical since it has to handle the case of a card with the wrong file system being inserted. In case of connected cameras I am more hopeful)

Matt13 Author

Level 2

432 points

Nov 9, 2015 3:38 AM in response to GeeD

Okay... I literally dumped some footage from a wedding shoot that I filmed yesterday a few hours ago (I know... can't sleep tonight for some reason). I backed it all up and imported it into a FCP library to make sure it's all there and transferred property. So I was able to confidently trash all of the files from one of those cameras. Now... my Canon XA series cameras give me the option to 'Delete All Footage' vs. reformatting. That's what I've always done for years now. And after doing that, I plugged the camera back into my mac. Mind you this was a camera where I already went into Image Capture and chose 'No Application' to launch when it's hooked up. And... viola. Photo's didn't open.

So on a camera-by-camera basis by DELETING the files vs. reformatting, the solution will work! But if you're a guy like me with 12 cameras and four different computers, it's not a task worth undertaking.

GeeD

Level 6

9,173 points

Nov 9, 2015 4:03 AM in response to Matt13

Probably only Pro cameras have the delete footage in addition to the format option. Was this result obtained by putting the card in a reader or connecting the camera directly?

If you now reformat your card in the camera and connect the camera directly to the computer does it bring up Photos?

Can you boot any of your computers into Yosemite or earlier? If yes you could try deleting Photos altogether on one of your computer El Capitan boot drives/partitions then see what happens when you connect a camera. Alternatively there is the terminal route described for example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqaWFDAykMg

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,414 points

Nov 9, 2015 5:21 AM in response to GeeD

There is no difference between the card in a camera or a card reader. All the Mac sees is the Card.

If you don't reformat then you can set the option for each device and forget about ti. But then, if you have a problem with a card...

Matt13 Author

Level 2

432 points

Nov 9, 2015 6:08 AM in response to GeeD

Okay... did another test. Just so everyone knows, my cameras have BUILT IN flash memory. No cards.

By reformatting the camera's memory, it causes photos to reopen. I guess when you reformat it gives the memory/card new identifiers.

So, if you can simply delete the footage, this solution will work. If you reformat, probably not.

GeeD

Level 6

9,173 points

Nov 9, 2015 6:26 AM in response to Matt13

OK. This is in line with Terence's last post. He deserves the points. All is clear now.

Turn off PHOTOS.