Picnicmetoo

Q: Are Photostream photos automatically saved to Photos on Mac/El Capitan

I've used IOS since iPad One, bought Macbook Pro last Fall (and actually use Lightroom and PS for photos) but like to keep some photos IN Photos on Mac.  I have no problem with photo stream on iPad (Pro recently-)-I may shoot some with iPhone 6sPlus, the photos appear in Photostream on iPad and I select and save image to Camera Roll on iPad and delete from Photostream.  I DO NOT have iCloud Photo Library checked on any device so I choose what photos are saved on what device.  I found that all my Photostream photos appear to be saved to All Photos on the Mac.  This just seems counter intuitive to me as opposed to IOS--and I do realize that OSx doesn't necessarily work the same as IOS. 

 

So, my question is--without having the "copy imports to Photos" checked, do the PHotostream photos just automatically add to Photos?  If so, doesn't make much sense.

 

To test all of this, I have taken several photos on iPhone, waited until they were uploaded into PHotostream  Then I select the photo, add to an album (test album) and then delete the Photostream photo--and it sometimes deletes from the album and sometimes not.  So--I want to know how do you make sure the photo is actually ON the Mac and not just in PHotostream. 

Posted on Apr 18, 2016 9:20 AM

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Q: Are Photostream photos automatically saved to Photos on Mac/El Capitan

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  • by LarryHN,Helpful

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 18, 2016 9:39 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (84,617 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 9:39 AM in response to Picnicmetoo

    Yes on the Mac if MyPhotoStream is on all photos imported to Photos are uploaded to MPS adn all photos coming from other devices o=in MPS are imported to the Mac

     

    My Photo Stream FAQ - Apple Support

     

    LM

  • by Picnicmetoo,

    Picnicmetoo Picnicmetoo Apr 18, 2016 9:37 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 9:37 AM in response to LarryHN

    Thanks very much for your reply. My question is why then have Photos AND Photostream on the Mac if they are the same basically.  I had already read the Photostream FAQs and that didn't seem to help in actual use.  On the iPad (I know, I know--not comparable) PHotostream does not automatically upload to Camera Roll.  I must save the image, either by adding it to an album or using saving icon and choose to 'save image'.  I find no way to do the same on the Mac.  I'd much rather manage my photos on the iPad than the Mac--for what I want to appear in Photos--though I am a long time user of Lightroom and Photoshop.  Now I have to delete in PHotostream and Photos--annoying, unless I'm just to understanding how it works on Mac.

     

    I have found that if I add to an album I'm assuming the photo is saved to the Mac--but then if I delete the Photostream photo, sometimes it also deletes from the album.

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Apr 18, 2016 10:09 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (141,095 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 18, 2016 10:09 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    I have found that if I add to an album I'm assuming the photo is saved to the Mac--but then if I delete the Photostream photo, sometimes it also deletes from the album.

    My Photo Stream is a syncing feature to show the last 30 day's worth of photos taken by the iPhone or added to the Photos library on the Mac. They are stored temporarily on the iCloud servers so all devices with MPS can view them.  As more than 1000 photos are added to the stream the oldest photos taken will be removed from the stream.  If you delete a photo from the stream it will be deleted from the Photos library on the Mac but not from the iPhone.  If you want to delete photos from the iPhone and not from the Photos library on the Mac delete it from the Camera Roll on the iPhone.

    OTsig.png

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Apr 18, 2016 10:13 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (106,904 points)
    iLife
    Apr 18, 2016 10:13 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    My question is why then have Photos AND Photostream on the Mac if they are the same basically.

    You are seeing Photos AND My Photostream, if you do not have iCloud Photo Library enabled, and then they are not the same.

     

    Only Photos, that are in the Photos View, have been imported to your Photos library. If you are using iCloud Photo Library, you cannot see My Photo Stream, and then the import is automatic.

     

    Which version of MacOS X are you using?

     

    Now I have to delete in PHotostream and Photos--annoying, unless I'm just to understanding how it works on Mac.

    You don't have to delete in My Photo Stream at all. It is just a buffer to transfer photos and the photos  will vanish automatically from My Photo Stream after a month.

    Delete the photos from Photos that you do not want in your library.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 18, 2016 10:18 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (84,617 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 10:18 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    My question is why then have Photos AND Photostream on the Mac

    No relation

     

    Photos is a photo Management application - MyPhotoStrream is a transport service to move photos between devices - from an IOS device into the Photos applicaiton so you can manage them there

     

    If you do not want MyPhotoStream then do not use it - do it how ever you want

     

    LN

  • by Picnicmetoo,

    Picnicmetoo Picnicmetoo Apr 18, 2016 10:18 AM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 10:18 AM in response to Old Toad

    Yes, I do understand that Photostream is a syncing feature between devices and it basically rolls at 30 days or 1000 photos.  That's why I want to be sure the photo is actually ON my device and not just in Photostream.  That just doesn't see apparent to me.  On the Ipads, the Camera Roll is ON the device whereas the Photostream is in the Cloud.  i found nothing i the FAQs about when or how the photo file is actually on a Mac as opposed to in the Cloud (not discussing Icloud Photo Library which I do not use)

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Apr 18, 2016 10:32 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (106,904 points)
    iLife
    Apr 18, 2016 10:32 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    On the Ipads, the Camera Roll is ON the device whereas the Photostream is in the Cloud.

    All photos in the "Photos" view have been imported to your Photos Library.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 18, 2016 10:34 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (84,617 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 10:34 AM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Yes on the Mac if MyPhotoStream is on all photos imported to Photos are uploaded to MPS and all photos coming from other devices in MPS are imported to the Mac

    Your photos will be in All Photos and Photos view in the Photos Application on the Mac

     

    On an IOS device nothing is automatically imported - you have to manually move photos to the Camera Roll if you want them saved there

     

    LN

  • by Picnicmetoo,

    Picnicmetoo Picnicmetoo Apr 18, 2016 12:42 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 12:42 PM in response to léonie

    I'm using El Capitan 10.11.3 on a Macbook Pro 15".  My question is how did those photos get into Photos when I've never manually saved them to the Mac, they only appear in Photostream--that's confusing to me if in fact they have no relationship to each other.   AFAI'm concerned Photostream is temporary, just a way to easily move photos from my Iphone to my iPad (which is easy for anyone to understand other than I reiterate to friends they MUST save them to Camera Roll or into an album which automatically saves them into Camera Roll---or lose them when Photostream rolls) and Mac because I know it rolls at 30 days or 1000 photos.  I want to choose what photos get actually saved to my Mac from Photo stream.  Maybe my recourse will be to disable photostream on Mac and use Air Drop to add to the Photos I choose to the Mac, then add to Albums.  Otherwise if PHotostream is automatically adding photos to Photos as I am understanding from some of you (otherwise how would they have gotten there) I have to go back and delete print screens, original photos before editing, etc.


    In looking at preferences in Photos  in iCLoud I have Photostream enabled as well as iCloud Photo Sharing which I use to share with other Apple photo friends.  In General/preferences under importing I do not have enabled "Importing, copy items to the Photos Library"--not sure that has anything to do with it but it keeps my RAW files from being added to Photos when I'm importing to Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.


    In my Photo view if I drill down to years, years and locations, etc I have some older photos from 2001 forward (moving them from Ipad Air to Ipad Pro they appeared in Photostream due to my selecting them on Air and Air dropping to Ipad Pro) that I've never saved to this Mac, only to my Ipad Pro.  They are in my Photostream as I said, but why in my Photo view.  SMH


    I realize this is redundant--but IF my Photostream photos are automatically being installed in Photo view (and where would i find it to change that) then I assume when I put them in an album they will remain on my Mac.  Yes, I agree I shouldn't need to delete from Photostream at all, just let it roll over--but i just want to be sure the photos I save to an album are actually ON the Mac. 


    I think I'll just forget Photos on the Mac and view on big ipad Pro or in Adobe Lightroom on Mac and, as I said, use Air Drop to add any photos I want on the Mac in Photos--or view in Adobe Lightroom on my Mac.


    Thanks for all your help.  No wonder my non techy friends are so unhappy with the move from iPhoto to Photo---at that time I was still using my custom Win PC and iPads LOL.  And then the loss of Aperture too I guess was a blow to some photographers using Macs.


    Diane


  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 18, 2016 2:11 PM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (84,617 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 2:11 PM in response to Picnicmetoo

    again

    Yes on the Mac if MyPhotoStream is on all photos imported to Photos are uploaded to MPS and all photos coming from other devices in MPS are imported to the Mac

    Your photos will be in All Photos and Photos view in the Photos Application on the Mac

     

    On an IOS device nothing is automatically imported - you have to manually move photos to the Camera Roll if you want them saved there

     

     

    and I have no idea what effect this has on this - it is a really bad idea and sooner or later will cause you major problems as Photos simply is not equipped to handle referenced libraries well

    In General/preferences under importing I do not have enabled "Importing, copy items to the Photos Library"--not sure that has anything to do with it but it keeps my RAW files from being added to Photos when I'm importing to Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop.

     

    And dropping Photos is probably your best idea as there really is no effective way to work with Photos and LightRoom using the same photos - each needs its own separate copy of each photo - and that is also true of iPhoto - the move from iPhoto to Photos has no effect on this issue at all - you simply can not use multiple programs that do the same thing in totally different ways with the same photos  --  and it is extremely doubtful that your nontechy friends are using LR at all - it is a great program but very complicated and techy

     

    LN

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Apr 18, 2016 2:27 PM in response to Picnicmetoo
    Level 10 (141,095 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 18, 2016 2:27 PM in response to Picnicmetoo

    This is how:

    Highlight001.jpg

  • by Picnicmetoo,

    Picnicmetoo Picnicmetoo Apr 18, 2016 3:02 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 3:02 PM in response to LarryHN

    Obviously a misunderstanding or my inept explanation.  Lightroom and Photos are totally separate.  Lightroom is a subscribed app from Adobe but when you import from your SD card to an external HD thru Lightroom, Photos wants to also import the same files to Photos.  And of course my nontechy friends aren't using Lightroom--they used Iphotos and don't like the transition to Photos--a bit of "like it the old way and don't want to learn new".

     

    I actually prefer viewing my edited photos/galleries on the 12.9" Ipad Pro so I've deleted Photostream on the Mac and for Iphone photos I want on the Mac I'll just use Air Drop which works great--and then put in albums.  I also upload from SD cards from two cameras to my Ipad (but also to Lightroom for management and more advance editing through Lightroom and Photoshop) so may Air Drop the occasional edited on Ipad photo to the Mac for casual viewing.

     

    Its kind of a conundrum--since they did away with Aperture and Iphotos, it seems it would be more intuitive, as IOS, on the Mac--but not.   I can also always export from Lightroom to view on Ipad (or Mac) but I find the Photostream/Photos kind of a peculiar thing. Who wants to spend time deleting lots of files you don't really want in Photos--I spend a lot of time taking multiple shots, even with the Iphone, and certainly only want the final edited file in my albums--so from a time standpoint how files are added to photosre apparently added from photostream just isn't useful for me.

     

    Again, thanks all.  To me it would make sense for OSx to work just like IOS in selecting and saving photos from Photostream to "Photos" but that's not how it apparently works so I have lots of room on my Ipad pro plus a wifi drive for additional and i'll just forgo working in Photos--for the most part, on my Macbook Pro.

     

    DIane

  • by Picnicmetoo,

    Picnicmetoo Picnicmetoo Apr 18, 2016 3:09 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 3:09 PM in response to Old Toad

    Read that, got it, but to delete all the nonwanted photos from Photos is a pain.  See my previous post.  If I didn't have the Ipad Pro 12.9" I might work harder on the Mac in Photos but honestly don't need to.

     

    Thanks for your input.

    DIane