What is a good replacement for Photos for Mac.

I had my photos arranged by year and month in iPhoto, The Photos app destroyed that. What is a good replacement for Photos for Mac. I had digital photos back to 1999. It will take me months to recover. So what's a good replacement, I don't need the editing, just logical organized storage. Is there a product that I can export from Photos to? The Photos application is too slow and freezes; its just an all around poor product.

Posted on Dec 28, 2015 10:18 AM

Reply
12 replies

Dec 28, 2015 10:53 AM in response to Canadian User

Migrating from iPHoto to Photos does not "destroy" anything - it keeps your albums and converts events into albums - Photos 2.0 vs iPhoto 9.6.1: Features and Capabilities - How Photos handles content and metadata from iPhoto and Aperture - Apple Support


and of course iPhotos 9.6.1 still works just fine - if you do not keep your system up to date see Can't Update iPhoto because it is not available in the App Store


You can export from Photos keeping the moments organization - you can export from iPhotos keeping the event organization Exporting From iPhoto


As to products - that is for you to choose - you can use the finder to organize in folders and preview to view photos - or you can use any of the many programs available ranging from free to very expensive


I use Photos so am not up on the various options and I suspect most volunteers here are the same and the answer is going to be personal anyway - no one but yo can make it


LN

Dec 28, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Canadian User

Moments in Photos are the new Events, i.e. groupings of photos sorted by date taken.


When the iPhoto Library was first migrated to Photos there is a folder created in the sidebar titled iPhoto Events and all migrated iPhoto Events (which are now Moments) are represented by an album in that folder. To open the sidebar if it's not already open use the Option+Command+S key combination.


NOTE: It's been reported by several users that if the Event albums are moved out of the iPhoto Library folder in the sidebar they may disappear. It's not widespread but several users have reported that issue. Therefore, if you want to assure that you keep those Event albums don't move them outside the iPhoto Events folder.


There's a way to simulate events in Photos.

When new photos are imported into the Photos library go to the Last Import smart album, select all the photos and use the File New Album menu option or use the key combination Command+N. Name it as desired. It will appear just above the iPhoto Events folder where you can drag it into the iPhoto Events folder


When you click on the iPhoto Events folder you'll get a simulated iPhoto Events window.

Albums and smart albums can be sorted by Title, by Date with oldest first and by Date with newest first.


Tell Apple what missing features you'd like restored or new features added in Photos via Apple-Photos Feedback.

User uploaded file

Jan 4, 2016 7:41 PM in response to Canadian User

I have issues with Photos and you need to be aware of them before changing as they are affecting a number of users according to Apple (and my friends with same issue). I also trialled Lightroom and it had multiple crashes and it didnt have a clean enough interface for my liking.

One of the dreadful issues with Photos at the moment is that it is creating broken pathways to the master photos. To explain what I mean ....you will probably find in your library images that come up at white squares or black squares when you click the get info they may advise the file size to be Zero KB. Sometimes the thumbnail still displays and its only when you click on the image that the full size comes up as white.

This has been an issue for many months and is affecting a number of users but apple dont seem to be doing anything about it. The worst parts of this issue are

A) Photos that were working may suddenly change to not working.

B) If you use the Get Info then search for the file name you can see the correct original image which is still in the masters library BUT if you see the blank white or black square think its a camera fail and delete it the original file is GONE, so when Apple finally sort this issue (being hopeful) then you can only restore what still exists.

C) trying to export your images is problematic if you have these 'broken pathways' in your chosen photos it can cause it to hang and not export and it wont export the broken images from the "zero KB" links which means moving to something like Lightroom or Picasa (which an Apple tech support suggested!) is going to mean copying out the original Masters File and reindexing EVERYTHING from the original image including any locations faces etc.


I have a 45000 image library and I am one of many many people experiencing this problem if anyone knows how to get this sorted so we can at least export successfully to Lightroom etc then please share.

Jan 5, 2016 8:23 AM in response to Megabite47

As for the broken links to the Master image files try repairing the library according to the instructions in this Apple document: Repair Your Library.

Warning: If you use iCloud Photo Library with Photos, this action will cause Photos to upload all your pictures again (from Fix missing or incorrect thumbnails in Photos - Apple Support).

Then check to see if the broken links are still a problem.


If they are as a test launch Photos with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and test to see if the same problem persists. Does it?

May 12, 2016 3:05 PM in response to Old Toad

Apple removed my post/replay because I pointed out that their product was sub pair at best and most likely made on windows Longhorn.


One issue is, I cant find a replacement for this app. Some others are, Facebook plugin dose not let you manage Albums uploaded or more importantly; wish to upload. It only shows you can put on the TimeLine.


Importing a small iphoto library has also suffered. Putting albums in a sub album called iphoto albums but not all of them. Some remain on the same main screen. ???? Also missing photos as well. I compared from time machine backup.

One of the vary few times I'm not impress with their software.... 😠

May 12, 2016 11:36 PM in response to Canadian User

I guess not available to every user, but I bought a new MacBook Air to replace my 2012 MacBook Pro/El Capitan this week. I already have an iMac/El Capitan, and I have remained using iPhoto on that. I had done the same for the MacBook, though on trips abroad, I have trialled using Photos for the pictures taken at the time, later importing them to iPhoto on my iMac. It's okay for casual use, but I have 45,000 pictures in my iPhoto library and the collection - including scanned documents, spans 120 years. While I have Aperture, and Lightroom, for the vast majority of the time iPhoto is perfect for my needs.


I have bought Intensify and Tonality in an attempt to make Photos more flexible, but the advantage with iPhoto was that it came as the whole deal with the OS and was one of the reasons I originally switched to Apple.


My intention with the new MacBook Air was to use only Photos from the start to see whether it is any more usable - for me - than it has so far appeared.


That lasted all of two hours. I then downloaded iPhoto from the App Store (I had it previously, which is how I could do that), and will continue using it.


It's all down to personal preferences and needs.

Oct 25, 2016 11:35 PM in response to digt

Have you tried Photos 2, in Sierra? Many of the issues have been addressed now and I'm close to moving from iPhoto to Photos 2.


It still isn't as good, but it is a huge improvement on the early iterations of Photos. It is also much faster than iPhoto, certainly for large libraries. Some of the add-on applications are helpful. I still believe that iPhoto is still a more effective option for the editing I do, but I will probably bite the bullet in the next 12 months.


I did consider moving to Lightroom but the sheer convenience of the linkable nature of Apple products has held me back.

Nov 13, 2016 1:34 PM in response to LarryHN

You can export from Photos keeping the moments organization


Hi,

I'm planning to move to Photos app. But I had bad memories from iPhoto, back in 2008, when I left iPhoto organising my pictures.

When I wanted to do an export, to give to my dad, it was a mess in the photo library.


Since then I am using my own folders, to order the photos. (yyyy/MM/ photos of the month)


I would like to know, for those with 50 000 or more pictures, do you copy all into the Photos app?

If one day, you need to copy all to another computer running Linux or Windows, how could you do? Is there a good functionality to export, or you would loose a lot?

Nov 13, 2016 11:49 PM in response to Thierry.

I'm still running iPhoto as my principal application, while I explore Photos 2 to get more confidence with it. At the same time I'm adding function with software like Luminar (soon).


So I am organising the pictures using iPhoto and will continue to do so prior to making the final move over. I have 48,000 pictures and for me, it will simply be a case of using the iPhoto library in Photos in the first instance.


It will be a regretful move as iPhoto, perhaps through familiarity, gives me just what I need, along with Aperture.


Living in the functional past sadly, but it all needs to be simplified for the newer users, apparently.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

What is a good replacement for Photos for Mac.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.