Where are my picture files on my hard drive?

Move the complete "~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary." to your external hard drive. Photos will be able to open the library on an external hard drive, if you open it in Photos.

The file system format on the external drive should be MacOS Extended (Jounaled), if you want to put a Photos Library there.

Perhaps you just need to learn how to use the application. A little less tantrum and a quick bit of research will tell you about the Referenced Mode - and its many limitations. A quick google search will tell you about the many alternatives available, depending on your requirements and your budget.

Wow are you cute!

No there is no better program for the users here - that is why we are experienced Photos users because we find it best for our needs

You are free to use any program you want but only you can make that decision since only you know your needs and your price point

If you choose to use Photos then you simply have to learn to use it - when using Photos you NEVER directly access your photos using the finder or any other program - if that is a requirement then you can not use Photos as that is not possible with it - you have total access to your photos using the media browser and the Photos application but rather than be childish you actually need to learn how to use the program

LN

If you right-click on ~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary and select Show Package Contents and then open Masters, you will see the directory hierarchy where your photos are stored. WARNING: Messing around in here will no doubt cause the Photos application problems, but at least you see where your photos are stored, and can be copied out, if you like.

Ken Nellis wrote:

If you right-click on ~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary and select Show Package Contents and then open Masters, you will see the directory hierarchy where your photos are stored. WARNING: Messing around in here will no doubt cause the Photos application problems, but at least you see where your photos are stored, and can be copied out, if you like.

You will see the original photos you imported in the Masters folder, if you are not using iCloud Photo Library. Otherwise, with iCloud Photo Library active, the originals will be in iCloud. The edited versions of your photos are not so easily accessible. They are hidden somewhere in the folder ~/Pictures/PhotosLibraryLily.photoslibrary/resources/media/version, if they exist at all.

It is much easier to access the photo using Photos, if we want a copy somewhere else and us ethe command "File > Export" to write the photos to a folder outside the library or to use the media browser, if we want to access the photos from a differnet application.

Ken Nellis wrote:

If you right-click on ~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary and select Show Package Contents and then open Masters, you will see the directory hierarchy where your photos are stored. WARNING: Messing around in here will no doubt cause the Photos application problems, but at least you see where your photos are stored, and can be copied out, if you like.

No - in general that will not work with Photos as the Master's folder may or may not contain the original photos depending on your settings - plus even if it does work it is not supported and is extremely dangerous - it is a major disservice to suggest unsupported and dangerous things that many users will read and try and will lose photos due to your bad advice

There are supported ways to do this and your suggestion is not one

You should either use the media browser of export the unmodified original - both simple, effective, supported and safe ways to access photos

LN

What you are showing is a Cover Flow view in the Finder, and the picture files are contained in a Finder folder. If that's what you want, you should take one of the suggestions in this thread to extract your files from Photos into Finder folders and then view the Finder folders in Cover Flow view.

Ken Nellis is exactly right.

The point of apps like Photos (and LR, Aperture and the rest) is that they replace the Finder for anything you need to do with your Photos - in much the same way as iTunes does for Music and other media.

The upside is a tool that is far more flexible and which leverages metadata and characteristics of the photos (Exif info, Faces, Places and so on), along with non-destructive processing and so on. The downside is that you need to learn a new way of working.

At heart there is a key distinction. A file is just a box. Inside the box there is data - a photo, a novel, a recording of a song. So, if you want a tool that just leverages the box for organisation, use the Finder. It's the file manager. If you want a tool attuned to the specific characteristics of a photograph, use a photo manager.

You can have that option if you use a referenced library. (there are a lot or reasons for not having one of those, mind you, but it is possible).

But why not:

1. Where the analogy with iTunes breaks down is with editing. iTunes has none. If you want to access the file, which version do you want? The original? An edit of the original? How is the app to know, as remember, all editing is virtual until you export.

2. Coupled with this is the fact that moving or renaming a file within the Library will corrupt the library itself, plus any others linked to it via the Cloud, if you use that service. So, protecting the library from the unwary or the uninformed user. (And this was a constant problem with iPhoto before it went into a package as well.)

If you have a referenced library, you can't have the Cloud option anyway - hence the option is available.

But you don't need it...

Whatever you want the file for there is a way built-in to the app to share it to another editor, share it to another document or service, or simply export it.

If you give us usage scenarios where you want this option, I'll try describe how to do what you want.