Photos 10.10.5 not saving faces

Question

daisyfromok Author

Level 1

8 points

Photos 10.10.5 not saving faces

Hardware/Software Summary:

iMac: 21.5, Mid 2011 (2.5 GHZ i5), 20 GB RAM

OSX: Yosemite, Version 10.10.5

Photos: Version 1.0.1 (215.65.0)

Problem:

Cannot consistently save faces before (Last Import) or after importing into an album. When I attempt to identify the face in an image, it will recognize the name, but will not save it - it reverts back to "unnamed."

Troubleshooting:

I have attempted to enter the recognized "face name" by

Using the mouse to graphically select it when prompted by the pop-up list of recognized faces
By pressing the "Return" key
By pressing the "Enter" key on the keyboard.
I have even rebooted my iMac.

Questions/Concerns:

Is there a limit to the number of images associated with a given "face?"

This is really frustrating! Using the Mac used to be more simple than it is now. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Rob

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Photos 10.10.5

Posted on Apr 11, 2016 7:53 AM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Apr 11, 2016 8:16 AM in response to daisyfromok

There is no limit to the number of images associated with a face

this is a local issue with your system (note that there are no other posts here about this) not a design change or feature

You may have a permissions problem

and you should update as you are 4 updates behind - the current software is OS X 10.11.4 and Photos 1.5 - there is a good chance that updating will resolve your local issue

LN

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

200,705 points

Apr 11, 2016 8:49 AM in response to daisyfromok

Rob, how many new photos did you import? Could it be, that Photos is still scanning the newly imported photos for faces thumbnails? I'd wait a bit after importing a large amount of photos, to be sure, that all faces have been found. This way you will not label manually a face, that Photos will replace later by a new thumbnail it detected.

But the faces names you enter into the name fields below the faces thumbnails should stay. There may be a problem with your Photos Library. Try if repairing the library will help. See this Help page: https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.0/?lang=en#/pht6be18f93

If you experience problems with photos in a library, Photos can try to repair it. If problems persist, you can also restore your library from a Time Machine backup.

Important: You should back up your photo library before repairing your library.

If Photos is open, choose Photos > Quit Photos.

Press Option-Command and double-click the Photos icon in the Applications folder (or click the Photos icon in the Dock).The Repair Library window opens.

Click Repair to rebuild your photo library.

A caution. If you are using iCloud Photo Library, repairing the library will result in uploading it again to iCloud.

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Answer 3

daisyfromok Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 11, 2016 9:29 AM in response to léonie

I imported 282 images. I did completely reboot my Mac, but I think you are probably correct in saying that Photos was still scanning the newly imported photos for face thumbnails. I only moved a small number of images from my Last Import to a "Project Album" to see if the face "labels" would be retained. Before waiting (for scan completion?), the labels would not save, but now they seem to be saving properly. You were also correct that some images were incorrectly labeled after the scanning was completed. Fortunately, I attempted to label only a few images before this issue was resolved and have corrected the small number of images.

I had delayed updating to the newest OS version to ensure that it was stable - I don't have time to be Apple's guinea pig for new releases! 😉 I think enough time has passed and will update to the new OS 10.11.4, which includes Photos 1.5 as LarryHN suggested earlier. Thank you to both of you!

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