iMovie does not list photos library only iPhoto library. How can I add photo library. Using El Capitan

You need to make your Photos library the system library. See: Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support

Geoff.

Glad to have helped.

Geoff.

I have the exact same problem and the same setup. Tried following this thread about the designated library. Tried reinstalling iMovie. Tried google everything but still can't see the Photos medias.

Help. The suggested fix did not work. my terribly painful situation is my kids have made special slide show videos in iMovie that are made with photos dropped into them. videos have voiceovers and are the type of videos you want to save for life! iMovie is now showing black screen in all places where photos were previously (you can see the photos in the project layout, but Photos don't show in the Play mode -- and they used to work perfectly). This happened after the OS X El Capitan version 10.11.

-I'm thinking iMovie must somehow be referencing iPhoto, which of course is no longer functional w/El Cap. Help...

I'm afraid to upgrade to the new version of iMovie, but maybe i should?

Since I have never used iPhoto or Photos (and don't intend to) my ability to help is limited. However a workaround would be to locate the Photos files in the Finder then drag and drop (or import) from there. Information on how to do this is here: http://osxdaily.com/2015/04/22/show-original-file-from-photos-app-mac-finder-osx /

There seems to be an option of either storing the actual photos within a library or only having references in the library to photos stored elsewhere. This may explain the different experiences people are having in accessing their Photos libraries within iMovie.

The symptom of photos appearing black in iMovie under El Capitan is being frequently reported, whichever version of iMovie is being used, which suggests that it is connected with El Capitan and something unusual (and yet to be identified) in the affected person's software configuration.

In such cases it may be worth creating a new login account and seeing if this behaviour in iMovie persists.

Geoff.

Tried the steps (which worked last year when I upgraded) but not the same steps don't work. I also tried creating a new library and importing media, still didn't work. When I try either option, the libraries are greyed out and can't be selected. Screen shots of both below.

Note: When I first upgraded to El Capitan, my Photos Library was duplicated for some reason. I was able to get Photos to point to the newer, correct Photos Library 2 per the steps mentions. Just can't get them to be available via iMovie.

Please, I would love to know why this is not happening. I followed Geoff (GeeD) instructions, but it still didn't appear in iMovie. I quit both after doing this, and still not. Please, I need to bring my photos into a project I am making.

Liz