photos app imports duplicate pictures

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photos app imports duplicate pictures

I have macOS Sierra on iMac and iOS 11.4 on my iPhone 7Plus. I also have an iPad pro. I have photo stream on my phone/ipad and have my iMac set to download photos from the photo stream. I prefer not to have iCloud library set up because I have a HUGE NUMBER of photos and videos on my mac and do not want them on my phone and/or iPad. So, on occasion I will plug my phone into mac and transfer all photos and videos, not already downloaded, to my mac. However, now when I do this it will download photos and videos that have already been added to my photo library. Photos used to tell me how many photos that had not already been added, avoided having duplicates. I know I could just turn off photo stream downloads ... but really don't want to that, if possible.

Please help ... my Photos library is out of control

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), iOS 11.4

Posted on Jun 24, 2018 2:12 PM

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Answer 1

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LarryHN

Level 10

106,116 points

Jun 24, 2018 4:11 PM in response to flygirl89

It works for me although the larger library is only available on one Mac which is not perfect - I would prefer to have everything on all devices but have too many photos to do that as things work now - I hope that some day iCloud will be more robust and can be the master without having everything on all connected devices - but so far that is not an option adn may never be

LN

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Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,116 points

Jun 24, 2018 8:52 PM in response to flygirl89

So, if I delete a photo from my phone, it does not delete it from MyPhotoStream in Photos on my mac? Is PhotoStream immediately importing into Photos?

Correct - MyPhotoStream is not a syncing service but a one time streaming service that streams all new photos (no videos) from each device with it enabled to all other devices with it enabled and you Mac ( probably n IOS devices too but since I choose not to use it I am not positive) all photos are imported when received

this may help some My Photo Stream - Apple Support

LN

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Jun 24, 2018 4:09 PM in response to flygirl89

To stop using iCloud Photo Library you have first to check, if "Optimize Storage" is enabled. If this option is on, you have first to disable it, before you can sign out and wait for the originals to sync back to your Mac. See the last paragraph on this Help page:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/photos/from-icloud-photo-library-phtf5e484 89c/mac

Also, I plan to purchase a MacBook when new ones come out, would it be useful to have iCloud photo library on two devices (mac and MacBook) so if I edited photos on my MacBook when traveling, they would sync with my mac at home, and then be backed up thru time machine? Hope that makes sense.

That is how I am using iCloud Photo Library. I love how it keeps the libraries identical on my Macs. When I adjust photos or add titles, keywords, captions, it will sync between the libraries on my macs. And it downloads the Live Photos and videos from the iPhone as well. That is one problem with importing using My Photo Stream - all the videos and Live Photos will be missing and have to be imported separately.

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Answer 4

LarryHN

Level 10

106,116 points

Jun 24, 2018 2:37 PM in response to flygirl89

Ok - that is not a Photos issue but a user error and has a very simple answer, the answer is to stop doing that - if you import a photos multiple then you will have multiple copies - if you use MyPhotoStream then only import the videos as the photos are already there

Same on a camera if you keep your photos on the memory card as I do for additional backup, only import the new photos - importing a photo multiple time gives you multiple copies

LN

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Answer 5

flygirl89 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 24, 2018 3:02 PM in response to LarryHN

First, thank u for your reply and your info. Admittedly, I laughed when u told me to "stop doing that", however, I would like to add that in the top right hand corner of the photos window, it does tell me that those photos have not yet been imported, which is what prompted me to import. Evidently, that is an incorrect statement now.

So, if I delete a photo from my phone, it does not delete it from MyPhotoStream in Photos on my mac? Is PhotoStream immediately importing into Photos?

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Answer 6

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Jun 24, 2018 8:51 PM in response to flygirl89

I would like to add that in the top right hand corner of the photos window, it does tell me that those photos have not yet been imported, which is what prompted me to import. Evidently, that is an incorrect statement now.

This is a very typical problem, if iCloud Photo Library has become enabled on the iPhone or iPad.

Have you checked your devices after the iOS 11 upgrade, if iCloud Photo Library is still disabled on your iPhone? It can cause already imported photos to show as new photos. Check the Settings > Your name > iCloud > Photos, if you have not yet done so.

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Answer 7

flygirl89 Author

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11 points

Jun 24, 2018 3:28 PM in response to léonie

Hi Léonie,

Thank you for your additional information and clarification. I don't have iCloud photo Library enabled on my phone, but I just discovered I have it enabled on my Mac. I think I did that when it first came out, thinking of it as an additional "back-up". Do you think I should just disable that on my Mac, since I am not using it on my phone and/or iPad.

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Answer 8

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Jun 24, 2018 3:36 PM in response to flygirl89

iCloud Photo Library is not a full backup, it is a syncing a service. It does not keep a history like Time Machine. All changes you make to your library will sync immediately to iCloud. If you mess up your library due to user errors, you cannot restore the previous version from iCloud. You will still need a local backup. But iCloud Photo Library can help, if your mac is lost or stolen or crashes. You can restore the current state of your photo library from iCloud or migrate it easily to a new device. and it makes it easy to sync the library between devices.

So it is up to you, if you want to use iCloud Photo Library, but if you do, turn it on on all devices. For just one device it will not make much sense.

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Answer 9

flygirl89 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 24, 2018 3:49 PM in response to léonie

Ok, it seems I have totally misunderstood the primary function of iCloud Photo Library. I have a huge photo library on my Mac, so it never seemed reasonably to use it on my phone and/or iPad. I have an external drive that I back up to with Time Machine, so really I have no need for icloud photo library on my mac. (I thought I was giving myself an additional, "just in case"). :-) If my Mac crashes, I can just restore from my external drive, correct?

With that being said, if I turn off iCloud photo library on my mac, is there anything I should be aware of that be a negative? Any suggestions that you may have about making sure my photos are protected ... forever ... or as close as I can come to that. Also, I plan to purchase a MacBook when new ones come out, would it be useful to have iCloud photo library on two devices (mac and MacBook) so if I edited photos on my MacBook when traveling, they would sync with my mac at home, and then be backed up thru time machine? Hope that makes sense.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help ... and for being kind and patient ... this USED to be so simple. ha.

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Answer 10

LarryHN

Level 10

106,116 points

Jun 24, 2018 3:57 PM in response to flygirl89

You are welcome - good luck

I use iCloud Photo library and have two libraries so as not to overwhelm my IOS devices - the small one is about 25,000 photos and the big one about 80,000

I really only know MyPhotoStream form reading about it as I have never used it but it is pretty straight forward when you think of the underlying concepts - many people choose it and many like me choose ICPL and some even direct USB import or iTunes sync

LN

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Answer 11

flygirl89 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 24, 2018 4:03 PM in response to LarryHN

Wow ... having 2 libraries sounds like a perfect solution. I could move older photos to a new library and use the primary one between my devices. Certainly would make editing a much smoother process. Is creating and/or maintaining 2 libraries a complicated thing to do? I would love more information and/or links to do this.

Thank you ... again.

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Answer 12

flygirl89 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 24, 2018 4:27 PM in response to léonie

Thank you for your additional info.

It was just suggested that I could have more than one Photo library. Do you have any experience and/or resource info about that. Have you heard of and/or know of any drawbacks to it. For example: I could move the majority of my photos into another library, then use the primary one to edit, add titles, keywords, etc. and keep them synced across my devices. I know the additional library would only be available on my mac, but I could share in other ways if I wanted to. Your thoughts?

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