Q: Photos Storage on MacBook
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Jan 14, 2016 7:34 AMby Nubz N.,Hello MariluRE,
It sounds like you are using iCloud Photo Library as your pictures are syncing with iCloud. With that enabled deleting photos on one device deletes it from everywhere.
From Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support
How do I delete photos and videos from a device using iCloud Photo Library?
If you want to remove photos and videos from all your iOS devices, Mac, and iCloud.com, you can delete them in the Photos app.
When you delete a photo or video from your Photos app, it will also delete from your iCloud Photo Library and iCloud storage. You can recover your photos and videos from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days.
also from iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support
Can I use iCloud Photo Library to save space on my device?
iCloud Photo Library automatically keeps all your photos and videos in the original, high-resolution version. Follow these steps to choose how you store your photos and videos on your device:
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap Settings > iCloud > Photos or Settings > Photos & Camera, then select a storage setting.
- On your Mac, click Photos > Preferences > iCloud, then select a storage setting.
If you turn on Optimize [device] Storage, iCloud Photo Library will automatically manage the size of your library on your device, so you can make the most of your device's storage and access more photos than ever. All of your original, full-resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud while device-size versions are kept on your device. You can download the original photos and videos over Wi-Fi or cellular when you need them.
If you turn on Download Originals, iCloud Photo Library will keep your original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and on your device. Download Originals is the default setting for iOS devices with the free 5 GB storage plan and for all Mac devices.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
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Jan 14, 2016 10:08 AMby Old Toad,How big is your Photos library on your iMac. The optimize feature won't kick in until a certain level of free space is reached and then will continue. As long as you can maintain a minimum of 10-15 GB of free space on your MBA drive you should be fine.
However, the following procedure was posted by léonie on how to stop using the iCPL:
léonie: stop using icloud Photo Library and get all orignal files on Mac
Proceed, like described on this Help page: https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.0/?lang=en#/phtf5e48489c under Stop Using iPhoto Library.
Basically, enable “Download Originals to this Mac” in your iCloud Preferences, and wait, untill all photos have been downloaded to your Photos Library. Then copy your Photos LIbrary to your external drive. The external drive needs to be formatted "MacOS Extended (Journaled).
Now delete all photos in your original Photos library, empty the "Recently deleted" album, wait, until all photos have been deleted from the iCloud photo Library. Then disable iCloud Photo library as described below.
Stop using iCloud Photo Library
Important: If you decide to turn off iCloud Photo Library, first be sure to select “Download Originals to this Mac” in the iCloud pane of Photos preferences, so all your original photos can be downloaded from iCloud to your Mac. Be sure to allow time for your originals to download before turning off iCloud Photo Library completely.
- Choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud.
- Deselect the iCloud Photo Library checkbox to turn it off.
After you turn off iCloud Photo Library, the Photos app on your Mac can’t access your iCloud library, and any edits you make to photos on your Mac won’t appear on your other devices. Your library remains in iCloud and available to other devices that use iCloud Photo Library. To turn off iCloud Photo Library on all your devices, open the iCloud pane of System Preferences, click the Manage button, then click Photo Library. Click “Disable and delete.” Your photos and videos will be deleted from iCloud Photo Library in 30 days, unless you click Undo Delete before that time.
- Choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud.
