Q: How to delete raw files imported in photos?

When I import RAW+JPEG pairs to my Photos library, Photos will show the pair as a single photo. When I delete this single photo, both the RAW and the JPEG are removed from the Masters folder in the Photos library after I empty the Recently Deleted album.

(in my photos app i dont have the Recently Deleted album)

The Recenty Deleted album should appear in the sidebar with the list albums, as soon as you delete a photo.

The album will be hidden, if it is empty.  Are you using El Capitan or Yosemite?  In Yosemity you have to reveal the Recently Deleted album from the View Menu.

I an see i this album, that Photos has trashed the pair: The photo is clearly showing the "J" badge.

If you reimport a RAW photo without emptying Recently Deleted, the Master folder in the library will still be holding the previously imported pair and pair the single RAW file with these versions.

Is there a reason why you do not upgrade to El Capitan?  The Photos for Mac application has been considerable improved in El Capitan, more features, important bug fixes. You cannot get the improved Photos without updating MacOS X.

We are now at El Capitan version 10.11.2. - the second update since the first release.

if you are a serious user of Photos, this improvements might interest you:

• More sorting options for bug fixes
• It is possible to add locations to photos and to edit locations.
• You can batch edit several titles and descriptions at once.
• You can use photo editing extensions for external edits in Affinity, Dx0, or MacPhun extensions:

<Edited by Host>

Hi,

I have exactly the same problem (and so far no solution):

- I have previously imported RAW+JPEG pairs to Photos (Macbook Pro 2015, Yosemite), where they appear stacked

- To save space, I now wish to keep only the JPEGs

- I delete the photos completely (both formats)

- I empty the album "Recently deleted"

- I isolate the JPEGs on a separate, external harddisk that I use only for importing (to be sure the program has no possible access to the previously imported/attached RAW files)

- I check that the total disk space used for photos on my harddisk has actually decreased, after deleting

- I even check in iCloud that the pictures I have deleted have disappeared

- I now re-import the same photos, this time only as JPEGs (once again, from an external harddisk with no possible access to the previous RAW files)

- Result: At first glance, it looks like the photos have in fact been imported as simple JPEGs, but after 10-15 seconds, the RAW files appear too, stacked just like before, taking up in fact the same disk space as before.

I have talked twice to Apple Support, and their final answer is that they can not resolve the problem: It must be something that happens during the transfer, literally that my Macbook creates RAW files when I import JPEGs, and for a reason they cannot explain.

It is important to make clear:

- After deleting the pictures, they do not appear in the Masters folder either (which I have checked thanks to Apple Support)

- This problem does only occur for pictures that I have previously imported to Photos and then deleted again; it does not occur for new pictures (i.e. if I shoot a new picture in RAW+JPEG, or just in JPEG, I have no problems importing just the JPEG)

- I do have an iCloud account / backup but I have no other Apple units (no iPhone, no iPad) that I sync with

- I have not yet upgraded to El Capitan, for exactly the same reasons: due to the extraordinarily high rate of bad reviews/experiences, also concerning new machines like mine (2015).

I am very interested in following this thread, hoping to find a solution.

Best regards,

Ture T.

Hi Andrea,

Thank you for this update concerning your situation. I would like to share the following two experiences:

A.

I first tried out the solution you propose, i.e. deleting the files directly in the appropriate folders under Masters. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me:

- I deleted the RAW file

- I emptied my trash, even executing "Secure Empty Trash"

- I re-opened my Photos library

- The picture still appeared with a "J" (for JPEG), but: when I tried to switch to "R" (for RAW), the program actually couldn't find the file. So far so good. Even though, having such a "ghost" file in my library, making it look as if there were an underlying RAW file behind the "J", would not have been ideal; it would have been difficult to distinguish these pictures from the real/intact RAW/JPEG pairs still in my library; but well, at least it seemed to work. But once again, only at first glance:

- After a few moments, the RAW showed up again, and this time not just as a "ghost" file; it was now possible to edit it and it also took up its usual disk space.

What this means to me is that there is no difference between 1) deleting a picture and afterwards removing it from the "Recently deleted" album, and 2) deleting the picture directly in the appropriate Masters folder. (When the - thoroughly deleted and removed - RAW file re-appeared in my Photos library, it was also possible to find it again in the Masters folder.)

B.

After this experience, I concluded that the only explanation was that the (previously attached/stacked) RAW file is being re-imported due to the syncing with iCloud. So, I decided to make this very simple exercise:

- I paused the syncing with iCloud ("Pause one day")

- I deleted some pictures (RAW+JPEG)

- I removed the pictures from the "Recently deleted" album

- I now re-imported the same pictures as JPEGs only

- And, finally: It worked! No RAW files were created this time. Conclusion: the explanation is to be found in the syncing with iCloud, though Apple Support had claimed this could not be the reason. To double check, I re-connected to iCloud a few hours later, and, as expected, once again after a few minutes, the RAW files re-appeared.

Solution? Well, one solution seems to be to give up the syncing with iCloud. Then it becomes possible to delete RAW files (or JPEGs) and re-import the format one wants to keep (which means to have a normal, logical workflow). But this would be a sad solution, since I would like to make use of as many Apple services as possible, also when it comes to integration of the different programs (like iCloud photo sharing).

One important thing: The deleted files are not visible anywhere on iCloud.com, also not under "Advanced/Restore files". But they must be there, somewhere hidden; at least I see no other explanation to my two experiences described above.

I see two options: 1) iCloud keeps the deleted files as an extra extra security (i.e. in addition to the security solution thanks to the "Restore files" option), for a certain period of time (how long?); 2) iCloud keeps the deleted files forever.

I need a confirmation from Apple concerning this in order to resolve the problem and decide how to proceed with Photos in relation to iCloud. As soon as I obtain such a confirmation, I'll post the answer here. But this is where I am right now.

Best regards,

Ture T.

Let me suggest the best and very simple solution - if you do not want RAW files in Photos shoot only JPEG - or use Image Capture to import your photos to disk, separate the RAW from the JPEG and import only the JPEG

and another suggestion - NEVER use the finder to make any changes to the contents of the Photos library - doing so can cause library corruption and dataloss

LN

Hi,

Thank you for these considerations.

Yes, it is also my impression that one should not make changes to the Masters folder directly - I only did it to test out the advice apparently given by Apple Support (please see above).

My conclusion is still that the RAW files are stored (and re-imported) from iCloud, and I hope it is possible to obtain information about how long time the files are stored there (outside the visible/accessible folders).

Best regards,

Ture T.

If you are using iCloud Photo Library then the RAW originals are there - to remove them you must export the JPEG to a desktop folder, delete the image from Photos, delete from the recently deleted album and give it time to stabilize and then import the version you want

But again the answer is to not shoot both if you do not want both - you are creating totally unnecessary work for your self adn there is a really simple solution - if it hurts when you do something then stop going it

LN