In Photos app on macbook pro, can photos be displayed on a black background in the library and when individually selected, instead of on the default white background? The old iPhotos app included ability to vary the darkness of display background, but I don't see how to do this in Photos. Thanks for any help.
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8)
I kind of have a work around... but it has to do with Full Screen Mode. If you go into "Full screen mode" and turn off the "Always Show Tool bar in full Screen Mode" as well as turn off "Show Side bar" the photos have a black background when viewing. I too find the stark white too hard on the eyes when going through the photos.
I don't have a very good work flow... I tend to upload the photos to "Photos" because my kids like to go through them in the app... but I then export my favorite ones to Lightroom to edit them. I know that Lightroom has a library/catalog function, but I don't want to double up on it all, so I use Photos as my library and just export to Lightroom the ones i want to edit.
Hope this helps some.
Found the secret combination of factors. With the same caveats as above, plus
You can not have the option checked—Always show toolbar in full screen mode.
Photos>View>Always show toolbar in full screen mode.
Now you should have your dark screen back for presentation mode. The tool bar can still be accessed of course by moving your mouse to the top of the screen.
A black background is only available in the Edit mode. Tell Apple what missing features you'd like restored or new features added in Photos via https://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html.
An alternative is to use the free version of PowerPhotos to view the thumbnails and/or
I hope everybody will send feedback, the more, the better. The stark white background is so unprofessional.
And when I look at the Hight Sierra Preview, the next system version with Photos 3 will still have the white background. Now is the time to encourage Apple to add improvements to the next version of Photos.
From: macOS High Sierra Preview - Apple
The expended sidebar will be nice, however.
Thank you, Leroy. Much appreciated. Sadly, I can only make it work in edit mode. You are right -- options have, indeed, been limited. Thanks much for taking the time to provide an answer. Kind wishes.
Thank you, you Old Toad, you! I appreciate it. I don't know if Apple will really pay attention to such feedback, as they've removed so many of their more elegant features, but I'll give it a try. And, by the way, I also appreciated your posting of the visuals for the photo book themes.
jjeanw wrote:
Thank you, Leroy. Much appreciated. Sadly, I can only make it work in edit mode. You are right -- options have, indeed, been limited. Thanks much for taking the time to provide an answer. Kind wishes.
Photos.app has to be is in full screen mode (control Command F,) you will have a dark background with the side bar hidden.
I have tried your suggestion, like jjeanw, several times and never see a darker background until I go into Edit mode (and that is the same regardless of whether in full screen mode with the sidebar opened or closed). So I would love to be able to do what you are seeing. This happens (or actually doesn't happen) whether I use the keyboard shortcuts or the full screen button at the top and the menu commands to turn off the sidebar.
swandy wrote:
I have tried your suggestion, like jjeanw, several times and never see a darker background until I go into Edit mode (and that is the same regardless of whether in full screen mode with the sidebar opened or closed). So I would love to be able to do what you are seeing. This happens (or actually doesn't happen) whether I use the keyboard shortcuts or the full screen button at the top and the menu commands to turn off the sidebar.
Thanks for the input swandy—
That is a real curiosity, and might explain OT statement above which I found contrary.
My Photo app has always worked with the dark background ever since it was introduced with the stated caveats.
The Photo>Preferences certainly offers no insight.
I have 15" MBP It would be hard to believe this function would be broken in 13"MBP.
Keyboard shortcuts or drop down menu would not be the issue here.
MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), macOS (10.12.4), i7 480GB SSD 16GB RAM iPhoneSE iOS10.2, Parallels10.0.2, HP OfficeJet Pro 8620
Well I am running two iMacs (one mid-2015 and one a bit older), both with the latest version of Sierra and Photos. And your dark background won't show on either. And after years of using first Aperture and then Lightroom, I am very used to a "photo gray" background (similar to what you see in Edit mode - which at least has that display correct).
And you are right, Photos preferences has nothing useful.
Thank you Leroy.
It would be nice to have this option in all screens. I have requested this in the Feedback page for Photos.
Bill
If you close the side bar option command S, you will have a black background on full size images (not thumbnails.)
options have been limited
Submit feedback to Apple.
Good suggestion -- who knows, it might help. Thanks!
how to display photos on black background in photos app
