WHERE ARE MY PHOTOS? Understanding Photo Libraries and knowing where your pictures live on the Mac!

[@michaelzwiener8962]

Thank you for that great video! After about 30 years with Windows I switched to Apple about two weeks ago and everything feels new (and great). This video helps me.a lot about Photos. I really appreciate it. :-)

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Michael Zwiener! Welcome to the Apple Family! I'm thrilled this video helped, and I hope future videos will be just as helpful! Thanks for watching and I appreciate your support!

[@Capt-Cran]

Exactly ... I just switched ... a loyal PC for many years ... Apple is INCREDIBLE once you learn the eco-system ... I wouldn't even consider using a PC going forward ... what an amazing experience of the great hardware, software, and eco-system ... if a person objectively tries Apple ... you will be convinced ... it has changed my digital life!!

[@marciaazev19]

Thanks!

[@Learnwithjoel]

THANK YOU so much @Marcia Azevedo! Your support is so greatly appreciated!

[@trcackett]

Danke!

[@Learnwithjoel]

THANK YOU so much your contribution @Terence Cackett! It is appreciated more than you know! Make sure to Subscribe too, or better yet, SHARE this video with a friend on social media and say how it helped you!

[@JB-vk4hk]

Thanks for making this video. I thought I had lost 10 years of photos, after I worked through the freakout phase I found this vidoe and then found my pictures. Thank you so much!

[@radensj]

Joel Feld: Thank you for this instructions and training! I have understood this concept on the fringes, but you have given me confidence to proceed. Like other commenters, I took notes. I have the problems you described. 250 GB SSD which is so full I cannot even do a time machine. You have given me something useful to do during the pandemic. BTW: I appreciate you style; some "instructors" waste time with attempted humor, music, intro credits. You get straight to business, with good sound, good lighting and clear demonstrations of what you're doing.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Wow, Thank you so much John for your kind words. This is the exact reason why I do this. Technology changes so much and so fast, it's hard to keep up and I personally know that the internet is filled with great content and some that can be misleading. I hope to provide excellent content that is helpful to users. Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support! If you ever have any questions, never hesitate to comment and reach out!

[@youtubedigest]

Finally found the explanation I have been looking for. Thank You.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Mahieddine L! I'm so happy my video was able to help! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@tanyadamasing2915]

I finally understand Photos Libraries and the Photos app. You explained them so well. Thank you so much!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy this was helpful for you @Tanya Damasing! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@Emily-bm9xj]

Thanks Joel! Your explanation is useful to get the idea of this and I'm grateful for the help in trying to make sense of this. This detailed explanation is helpful in light of Apple always pretending its products are easy, simple and intuitive, when they are not. There's a lot of room for mistakes here which could cost people losing all of their precious photos if they don't understand what they're doing, so shame that they aren't explaining all the detail of it, and grateful that you are. Hope I can get the hang of it!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy to help @Emily and I totally agree! Technology in general can be challenging as it's so fast paced and changes so quickly! Hang in there and it will catch on. You just have to keep using it and dedicate time to accomplish your goals! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@FairyJulianneGippsland]

Thank you! Your explanation was amazingly helpful.

[@morningcoffee2227]

Perfect video.. People with Microsoft Windows mindset will definitely have hard time understanding Mac ‘Photos’ concept. You are prompt and on-point to explain all things!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much! Totally! I have used many photo editing/management software on both Mac and windows, and hands down Mac Photos offers a lot out of the box for the average person dabbling in photos. It's a great all-in-one solution for someone getting started! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@alvarorivera7372]

The best video on the web about this topic. Really knowledgeable, and crystal clear explanation. Amazing content

[@Learnwithjoel]

WOW. Thanks! Your positive feedback and comments are so greatly appreciated! I do my best to create content that focused, and clear to understand. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@alvarorivera7372]

@@Learnwithjoel thanks to you. You have a new subscriber 👌🏻

[@snekava]

@@Learnwithjoel Is there any way to merge two separate libraries into one larger library?

[@Learnwithjoel]

YES! Just finished this video! Hopefully it will answer your question! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYvZn2ijgqeroqs

[@Learnwithjoel]

@@snekava Check out this video on merging libraries if you haven't already! Thanks for the continued support! How to MERGE and COMBINE Apple Photos LIBRARIES - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYvZn2ijgqeroqs

[@brettburgeson3836]

Excellent explanation! Coming from Windows I've been very frustrated not understanding where my photos were being kept. My frustration is finally solved. Thank you.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy to hear that @Brett Burgeson! File management can be completely frustrating in both worlds of Apple and Windows! I'm glad this video was helpful! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@johnpurcellpurcell5207]

Terrific! Very instructive! I enjoyed learning. It went very fast,and so I may need to rewatch it,but it is very helpful. Thank you. And we like Chicago too!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate the kind words @John purcell Purcell and I love Chicago too! Whenever you're watching video on KZbin, know that you can adjust the playback speed by clicking the little gear in the bottom right! It's very helpful! Thanks so much for watching! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@LC-bp3vb]

Joel …. I love you man. This video is the answer to a maidens pray. I now get it and can sort my Mac photos and videos out and get them off my Mac . I feel like I’ve been stumbling around in the dark and you just turned on the lights💡. Thanks a million. 👏👏 👍🏾🤣🤣🥳🥳🎉💃🏽💃🏽

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @LC! I'm so happy this content was able to help you! It's reasons and comments like this that make the time spent all worth while and I validation of why I do this in the first place! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@marcomark8]

Excellent video. Simple and easy to understand.

[@huzlfinance]

Binge watched all your videos. Love it. Thanks so much.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks @HUZLFitness for watching! I appreciate the support more than you know!

[@meeluanistyn1644]

At last, a clear, detailed walk-through of Photos - thank you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much for the kind words @Meeluanistyn! I appreciate you so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@sono.photos]

Dude where have you been you made my life so much easier…thanks

[@salmapavon543]

this helped me understand a lot more, appreciate it!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome! Thanks so much for watching!

[@hrshbht]

Hey... super thanks for demystifying the "PHOTOS" ... the best part - you were to the point without fillers. Keep it up bro!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate the kind words @hrshbht! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@pamelasullivan1243]

Really helpful. Kept stopping and taking notes as some really useful information on there....thank you

[@Learnwithjoel]

I’m so happy you enjoyed it and are able to learn! Thanks for watching and I appreciate your support!

[@unclec11]

fantastic explanation of how to use Photo Libraries! Exactly what I was looking for. Will have to check the rest of you videos to see if have anything on large music collections and iTunes(Apple Music).

[@Learnwithjoel]

I so happy to. know this was exactly what you're looking for @Charles Crothers! It feels good to know my content is helping others! Apple Music is on my list of video topics. It surprisingly is very similar to Apple Photos. You have the ability to have Apple Music import all of your audio files into a library and it's stored in the "Music" folder within the main Music folder on a Mac by default. Stay tuned and again thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@DavidTurner11]

Windows user trying to cleanup my Father's MacBook. This video helped immensely. Thank you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm very happy to hear that @DavidTurner11! Thanks so much for watching! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@FJMAY]

Your videos are the best, I have watched many videos by other people and there was always something that didn't work for me. Your description of where my photos are kept in Photos has solved all my problems. Thank you.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Happy to hear my content has been helpful for you @Frank May! I appreciate the continued support!

[@phillipimsdahl3563]

Thank you it is just what I was searching for. A little fast for this old man but will just rewatch a few times and figure it out. I wish I could just create a new library and then drag and drop the photos from one to the other.

[@kevinivesoctavo4219]

This is really helpful! Thank you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Kevin Ives Octavo! Thanks so much for watching and the continued support! I appreciate it!

[@nikitabassineniona7419]

Hi. Thank to you. You cannot imagine how long I have been looking to get this feature right on my mac. Thank you.

[@DannyDD1979]

Thanks man, this vid was super helpful! Cheers from Canada!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much! I'm happy it helped! Thanks for watching and subscribe and share for more content!

[@jorgecastilleja5356]

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy it was useful for you @Jorge Castilleja! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@ritamustikasari]

Regards from Majenang. Thank you for the explanation. Now I understand the PHOTOS.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hope all is well and safe in Majenang @Candella Natadisastra! That looks to be right near Singapore and Australia? Looks beautiful there! I'm so happy this was helpful! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@ritamustikasari]

@@Learnwithjoel wow I got respond. I live in a countryside. We are a farmer of butterfly pea flower. If you are around, I love to serve you a cup of blue tea pick fresh from the garden. Majenang is a sub district in Cilacap District of Central Java Province. The Java Island is main island in Indonesia where the capital of Jakarta is located. Yes you can say we are between Singapore and Australia.

[@scottboettcher1344]

So glad I saw this. I'm about ready to fire up my new Mac Studio, and plan to use an external HD to consolidate all the photos I have on my MBP, iPhone, 2015 iMac, 2007 iMac, and my iCloud account. Won't be dragging ANYTHING to the trash at first, but your tutorial gave me an understandable roadmap. Much Thanks, and wish me luck!

[@hkunomi334]

Thank you Joel for your wonderful helpful clearly presented video teaching us how to understand Photos in Mac much better. There are lots of people out there very confused, muddled and have their Photos Library mucked-up.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @hkunomi! Thanks so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it. It's comments like that which motivate me to create more content to help others! Thanks so much for watching and I really appreciate the support!

[@obuyWw]

this is very well explained, thanks

[@ob3444]

This was brilliant! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

[@Mags0O7]

Thank you so much. Was looking for help with this for weeks 😀

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @maggie z! So happy this was helpful and thank you so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@miranaradivojevic469]

Great overview. Thank you for explaining this in a user friendly way.

[@vedrankovac8821]

Great video, love the tutorial!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much @Vedran Kovač for the kind words and continued support! I appreciate it!

[@michaelchow8944]

You helped me fix my photo library. Thanks!

[@Learnwithjoel]

So happy I was able to help you fix your photo library @Michael Chow! Thanks for the continued support! I appreciate it!

[@jimxtrm]

Well presented! Thanks!

[@Learnwithjoel]

So happy it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@chloe2264]

omg thank you so much! I recently migrated my Photos from my old MacBook to my new one and it took allllll day and deleted the user account I had on here (don't worry, I found the Deleted Users folder and easily transferred my stuff to my current User account), BUT I opened Photos today (because I need to find a nice photo of my Grandmother for her upcoming funeral 🤧) and my Photos was completely EMPTY! I took a deep breath and searched my question online and didn't find anything useful to help, then tried here! First video I watched was useless, but decided to give this suggested video a try. Within the first 3 minutes, you fixed my problem! I apparently have multiple photo libraries... I selected the one I had open when I did the migration last week and all my photos and organized folders were there in Photos!! Phew 😃🥵😭

[@landwirtschaft2116]

Thanks for explaining that very much in point. Was very helpful to quickly refresh my memory! 🙂

[@ThePrettymosquito]

You saved my day! You would think after using a mac for years that I would still lose my pictures. yup, that was me this morning.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy to be able to help you @April Maloney! Yikes, well hopefully you're able to find your photos! Thank you for the continued support! I’m glad this video was helpful! If you learned something new and want to support my channel, click SUPER THANKS! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@sulai6i]

Thanx you from Qatar .. it was really helpful , it make me understand

[@Learnwithjoel]

So happy it was helpful! Thanks for watching and I appreciate support!

[@sonimoretti]

SOOOO HELPFUL !!! Thank YOUUUU

[@Learnwithjoel]

So happy to be helpful! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@hugochka]

Thank you. Amazing video!

[@toniswanson5256]

Agree Alex Davidson…absolutely

[@johnsmetzer4030]

Thanks for a great tutorial video. I learned a lot. I really never a real grasp on Photos Library and pictures folder

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @John Smetzer! I'm happy this was helpful! Thanks so much for watching! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@johnty52]

Thanks Joel, that taught me something useful

[@Learnwithjoel]

You’re very welcome! Happy to be able to help! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@nilanjanmandal7834]

Really helpful video!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate that a lot @Nilanjan Mandal! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@simone-tp3fy]

great video thanks really much!!!

[@davidjohn9006]

Definitely useful demo/info... learnt something new 👍🏽

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks @David John! I so glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@joannelau4817]

Well said .. can u talk about organizing the photos in the library too ?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks for watching! I did a video a while back talking about the organization of albums and such, but much more content is coming! You can check out that other one in the playlist here: kzbin.info/aero/PLfKIWTYhy-JkLMyP4UzgCTHWqD-Nj-Akh

[@capelight52]

Well Well Done!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate the kind words @Francis Rosselli! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@OliVer-zr1ne]

You are good teacher

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate the kind words @Oli Ver! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@bonnieschwenke2256]

W0W !!! I will have to watch this video a couple times. It sounds perfect (I think) for a future project I have of scanning VERY old photos into the computer and then creating some type of presentation with descriptions to give to my extended family. I imagine this project will take me months to complete. Creating a second library to import all the scanned photos into sounds like a good way to keep my scanned photos in one place over time without cluttering up my original library. Any tutorial on the best way to go about a photos project like this would be very much appreciated.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I've done exactly what you're looking to do!

[@bonnieschwenke2256]

@@Learnwithjoel I would be very interested in your ideas on how to go about this project.

[@naizondj]

Hey Joel! Great video! I would like to download all my photos on library and put them in synology app photo so i can access then anywhere in the world without fill up my iphone! Would be nice to see a tutorial on this… cheers

[@Lee-AnneJ]

Thank you so much for this video. Now I feel confident at finally unpacking my new iMac and setting it up! I had been deleting photo's like crazy trying to make room since the new iMac's only come with 256GB now :(

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm happy to hear the excitement @Lee-AnneJ! Getting a new Mac can be a good feeling and getting photos organized can feel even better! Don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions! THANK YOU so much for watching! It is appreciated more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you! Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already, and if you have, THANK YOU for your continued support!

[@andrreslopez]

You are f saving my life! Thanks

[@Learnwithjoel]

Happy to help @Andres Lopez! Thank you for your continued support! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please support my channel, by clicking THANKS below, or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@MrAndrewdog68]

Thank You Cheers !

[@Learnwithjoel]

Cheers to you too @Andy Browne! Thanks so much for watching! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@SimcredibleProduction]

Thank you so much for this video! Totally understand Photos app now and finally get why deleting a bunch of photos in the app didn’t give me extra space.

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Nicoliola light! I"m happy this video helped! Thanks so much for watching! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@youtubexaccount]

Thank you so much! Was able to create a new library on my external HDD so I'll never have to use space on my mac again!!

[@CalvinWongHKG]

thanks for sharing !!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @CalvinWongHKG! Thank you so much for taking your time to watch my video! If it was helpful or you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support the content I make, click THANKS at the top, or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! Your support helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Apologies for the delayed response! With the overwhelming number of comments, questions, and support, I’m genuinely trying my best to address each and every one of you!

[@WhataPlant]

very helpful

[@Learnwithjoel]

So happy to help! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@sassysoul3764]

The first thing I learned 12 years ago when I starting using a Mac for my photography, was to NEVER, NEVER EVER use iPhotos and Apple Photo. And I stick to my rule. Now my non-tech Mom has photos in the photo library and I am not able to remember exactly where in the belly of the Mac the individual jpg files are located. So that I can place them on an external drive that can be read my mac and PC. Yes you an go into the library choose select all and export to folder. However you do not get the individual folder structures. You need to create the folder/album on the external drive and in the folder library go into each individual folder/album, choose select all and export to the specific folder on the external drive. She has 215 of those individual folders sorted just they way they need to be. Talking about taking a lot of time. How when you go into the "belly of the Mac" those individual picture files exist in their folder structure. From there, you just select all, copy and paste. Google search and KZbin does not have the information I have long forgotten how to access. Thanks for letting me vent. 🙂

[@zulu123-x2d]

What are .photosasset files? thanks

[@bresmith843]

thanks this was so helpful

[@Jonny2won]

How can I copy a Whole smart album to a Folder in my finder? Like in my desktop, thank you

[@Learnwithjoel]

Great question @Jonny Hadid! It's easier than you think. I would create the folder on your Desktop and then open it up so you have the large Finder Window to drag photos to it. Then open up Apple Photos and go to your Smart Album and select all the pictures in there and simply just drag to the Finder window that is open. You could also select the files and do a File > Export Option and then it gives you more options about altering the photo quality and title, and then you would also be able to navigate directly to that folder on your desktop. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@davet3530]

Thank you so much. I think this is just the information that I need. I’m about to change from a 3TB iMac to a smaller 1 Tb Mac Book and I have been worrying of how to deal with the large photo libraries I currently have. Now I know how to link the photo library and use a separate hard drive. Question please ……. I’ve got to also figure out how to deal with my Lightroom Catalogue is it a similar process , ie move photos to a separate disk then re establish the link from within LR ? Maybe you have a video on that ?

[@amagique]

Very insightful, thanks Joel! 1. how can open libraries (stored in my hard drive) if one day I don't have Mac anymore (or Mac with the compatible version)? 2. how can I export all my folder/albums structure in "traditional folders" in the Finder or external hard drive?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Fantastic question @Aga M! 1: Apple Photo Libraries are proprietary to Mac, so you will only be able to open the Library on an Apple Computer. However, you do have options.... If you don't use iCloud Photos or want to keep everything in a traditional file structure, when you open up photos, go into the preferences and uncheck the option that says "Copy items to the Photo Library". This will allow you to literally organize and manage all of your photos in folders and Apple Photos just references the files. So if the get moved or deleted out of the folders, it will break that connection. These folders can be stored just as any other pictures would be and can be accessed on Mac or Windows. 2: I think there are some improvements Apple could do with Exporting options, but If you were to just select "all photos" from within the Library, you could export, but that's going to put them all into one big folder. It does give you an option to sub categorize it by what they call "Moments" but it doesn't give you a lot of control. My best advice would be to organize in Folders/Albums within Apple Photos and export each album into a folder. This way you can work in small chunks and kinda keep track of your progress. I'll link a helpful support article below from Apple in regards to exporting. Export photos, videos, slideshows, and memories from Photos on Mac support.apple.com/sr-rs/guide/photos/pht6e157c5f/mac I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@MiuArtStudioUK]

Thank you so much, this is very helpful! I have over 20 thousand photos needed to be sorted! the pain point as an artist 😅

[@Learnwithjoel]

I can relate to the struggle @Miu Art Studio (U.K.) :-) I'm happy this was helpful for you! Thank you so much for watching! If you would like to support me and the content I’m creating, please feel free to SUBSCRIBE and use SUPER THANKS on the video! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@CarProR]

Excellent overview appreciate you taking the time to put this together. Two quick questions: 1) do you recommend using the optimize space feature i.e. keeping the higher resolution photo in the cloud and the lower one on your desktop and 2) what are some tips and tricks to be able to split a large library into smaller more manageable ones? Keep up the excellent work!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words, support and encouragement! Question 1: My personal preference is to optimize space especially on a mobile device. I don't see a huge issue personally waiting a few seconds to download the high resolution photo to my device when I need it. Although there are some times that I am impatient and wish a video would load faster, the pros outweigh the cons for me. I have way too many photos to keep all originals on my iPhone or iPad. Now on a computer however, IF you have the hard drive space to accommodate the growing library, then yes i would for sure always have the high res downloaded. I do this only to have a secondary backup to an external drive. Question 2: I can only answer this by giving an example of what did about a year or so ago. I had my one and only iCloud Photo library which held about 47,000 photos. Many were very similar, some were duplicates and many were just bad blurry photos. I got to the point where I needed to free up storage and get things organized. It took time. Lots of time. I chipped away using smart albums. Smart albums allowed me to narrow down the search of photos in smaller chunks and then I can actually delete the photo from there (unlike a regular album). I also started to go through every photo and put them into albums and created a smart album to show me every photo that was NOT in an album which then let me know how many photos I had left to go through. Once you narrow down all the good photos, the question of making separate libraries is now the next step. Depending on the size of the library and available hard drive space, I personally would duplicate the library and then delete the photos I don't want. Or the only other option really is to export/drag the photos out of one library into a folder in the finder and then import/drag into a new photos library. Just make sure you keep your System Library straight and don't change it unless you want to start syncing unexpected photos!

[@CarProR]

@@Learnwithjoel Wow - thank you for taking the time to provide such a complete and well thought out response! It is sincerely appreciated. As you suggest, I am now in the process of culling through all my photos and deleting which ones I no longer need. As you pointed out they were many that I do work terrible photos or things like how many photos do I really need of the Eiffel Tower. 😀 Once I have this down to a manageable level then I will have the room to keep all the high resolution photos on my iMac. Again thank you so much for the time. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

[@anitalyons6151]

A few years ago I started making a new photo library at the beginning of each year, to keep my photos in manageable chunks. Can there be a problem with making too many smaller photo libraries?

[@pjos11]

Great video. I was expecting that you would mention about iCloud and how that works with two libraries. Maybe for a new video?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks @Pjos11! I have another video that is a little more specific to iCloud and the relationship to Apple Photos where I think I answered that question...I link below for reference. Understanding iCLOUD PHOTOS - Syncing iPhones, iPads, and Apple Computers IN-DEPTH kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2q8m5eYnZaEbpo But long story short, even though you can have multiple Apple Photo libraries, you are only able to have one sync to iCloud. This is known as the "System Library" and there is a preference for this within Apple Photos. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@arezooghadirzadeh4835]

Thanks, this vid was helpful! Cheers from Iran!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Cheers! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support! I'm happy it was helpful!

[@SuperBarca1984]

thank you very much liked and subscribed

[@DFMMei]

Subscribed. Good sh*t man thanks for the breakdown.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thank you for the support @Barry Mango! I’m glad this video was helpful! If you learned something new and want to support my channel, click THANKS below on the video! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, please share it along!

[@m.asman.]

Terima kasih. Saya baru dalam Apple dan video ini sangat membantu untuk saya memahami berkenaan Photos. Terima kasih sekali lagi...

[@arqmcemvideo]

Thanks you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Marco Fernandes! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@petercastell4450]

An informative video thank you Joel, you spoke about moving photos to an external hard drive to free up storage space, I recently did that moving around 6000 photos expecting them to be displayed as they appear on my MacBook but the icons are smaller I have not been able to display them larger but worse they have been stored randomly not in date order as on the computer just numbered 1-5,871

[@Dnair416]

Amazing video. Learned a lot. Can you please let me know how to fix the compatibility issues when importing photos?

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy the video was helpful for you @darshan nair! What compatibility issues are you having when importing photos? Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@brianjordison2910]

Thank you for this video.....very clear. I understand now how to copy the photo library to an external drive and I did this. I took the drive to a windows computer and of course the apple formatted drive doesn't exist in the windows world. Can you tell me how photos can be stored and viewed on both the mac and the PC?

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Brian Jordison! I appreciate the kind words! Apple Photos is proprietary to Apple computers and the photo libraries it creates are too. So they won't open on a Windows machine. Now Apple Photos does have an option to not store the photos into the library and then you would just store your pictures in a folder structure on any hard drive and then it just uses Apple Photos to edit and further organize, but instead of Apple Photos organizing all the original files, you are left to do it. To do this, there is a preference in Apple Photos that says "Copy items into Photo Library". If you uncheck this, the photos will be in the location of where they were imported. Also if you use Apple Photos, the pictures will not upload to iCloud Photos. If you do use iCloud Photos however, Apple does have a piece of software that allows you to sync the photos wireless to your Windows device. I do not have a video on this yet, but I will link a support article below that may help. Download iCloud for Windows support.apple.com/en-us/HT204283 Set up iCloud on your Windows PC support.apple.com/en-us/HT208684 What is iCloud for Windows? support.apple.com/guide/icloud-windows/what-is-icloud-for-windows-icwd3c1cca5e/icloud I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@hugosantesteban2681]

Perfect Explanation . . . I have a question, if I want to do a backup of folders and albums (and smart albums) to a folder that is not in sync just to have an offline copy (inside the mac, or USB drive). From where do I need to copy the album/folder and have no resolution lost in the destination. I want to keep the album structure that I built in photos of course

[@jonathangarcia9617]

Nice video of the day.❤🎉😅.

[@gurlerium]

BEAUTİFUL TUTORIAL. EVEN 5 YRS OLD KİD UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU EXPLAINED. THNX MATE

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate the kind words @Gurler Türker! Thanks so much for watching! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@subsequentmusic]

Nice video, thanks.. Any experience with using a disk station/NAS as location of MacOS Photos archives file?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @subsequentmusic! I have a little bit of experience with Synology NAS. I currently have a 20TB Synology DS918+ that I use for archiving videos, older photo libraries and other miscellaneous files. Overall it is pretty useful in my opinion. It's nice not to have to plug in a drive, but depending on network speeds and such, it can be slower. Because this particular model does not traditionally plug in via USB to mount, I bought a ethernet to USB-C connection and just hardwire it sometimes to copy files really quickly. I also use it for Time Machine, but again, super slow sometimes. Probably more of a networking issue. As far as photo archives, for sure I would encourage to backup the files someplace. I do have Apple Photo Libraries located on there, however I do not keep my current on that syncs with iCloud Photos, as in previous attempts, I always seemed to get an error message with syncing. My guess is that Apple doesn't like the System Library that syncs with iCloud to be in a different cloud storage, but I could be wrong. I also haven't tried that in a while. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@erikvandervennet5068]

Hello Joel, in the mean time I watched some other courses (merging libraries) and there I saw the importance of "the system library" and there is the solution for my Imovie problem, make the wanted library and define it as the system one. So all problems solved 👍

[@AverageZoeBlogs]

That was so helpful, thank you! New subscriber here 👍🏽

[@Learnwithjoel]

So happy this was helpful! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@FireLysm]

Apple makes this stuff so hard without any need. Overcomplicated for no **** reason.

[@Capt-Cran]

¥ou have a great gift for communicating ... I am SUBSCRIBING today ... thank you for the content ... wishing you success as you grow your channel!!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much @DC-Friends! I appreciate the kind words and support! Thanks so much for subscribing and watching!

[@schadlarry]

Very nice explanation. I always thought my Photos library file was much larger than it needed to be. I might try organizing future photos in LR folders and have Photos just reference them and be able to open with either program. The only downside is I had an automatic daily backup with the photos library file and time machine.

[@benchristinakolars7230]

Thank you for straight forward instructions that are easy to understand. I moved my iPhotos library to easy store external HD. The problem is now the photos aren’t attached on my computer or on the hard drive…. I checked on iCloud and they are still connected on there. Can you help me fix my problem? I want to keep them on iCloud and also work from hard drive to free up space on my Mac.

[@Jonny2won]

Can I copy an Album or a Folder from PHOTOS to a Folder on FINDER? I would like to use the PHOTOS app to organized y photos but then have everything in FINDER. Thank you!

[@irwinspector2395]

Joel-thank you for your reply

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome! Never hesitate to reach out! Thanks again for watching!

[@dr80ali]

12:50 What about opening that library in Windows? is there any way to do that? Great video by the way.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @ali youtube! So Photo Libraries only work on a Mac. However if you use iCloud, Apple does offer an option to sync your pictures with a Windows computer, but it's only doing the files to a folder, not really any software or anything. I'll put a link below from Apple that shows the software you would need for that to integrate into a Windows computer. support.apple.com/en-us/HT204283 I hope this helps! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@dr80ali]

@@Learnwithjoel Thanks for quick reply. I am using mac for about 7 years but every time I try to use Apple Photos I face troubles with syncing or getting the picture out of the Photo app in order to use it in another photo editor..etc. I just don't like these ekstra steps. I think the main benefit of using Photos is by using iCloud (which I'm not using it) otherwise it is unnecessarily complicated. Probably I'll keep using ACDsee app for managing, editing and developping pictures. Unfortunately Mac version is not as quality and versatility as Windows versions but it still way easier and better than Apple Photos. Waiting for your informative videos. Greetings from Turkey :)

[@Jonny2won]

One more question, do you do the same for Capture 1 or Lightroom? And you have one Catalog and all your files in finder? Thank you!

[@GeorgeGogoladzeGG]

hi Joel, Thanks for your Videos, really useful and thanks again. I combined all of my photos and have only 1 library (100 GB) and I have transferred it to external hard drive. now I have part of this photos in Iphone and part on an Icloud. I'm lost here, how it will synchronize after? Do i need to create new library and forget about this System library? what you recommend? If I delete some photos in iPhone or iPad, do it delete in system library (when I connect it to MBP)? I'm little bit lost here, have 4 apple devices and different size of pictures storage on them. I think I'm not alone in this uncertainty. thanks in advance. Gio

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thank you for your continued support! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please support my channel, by clicking THANKS below, or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@murvo]

Such a good video still in 2021! I’m a new Mac user thanks to the M1 chip 🙂

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Michael Godin! Welcome to the Apple Family! I'm excited for you! I'm so happy this video was helpful! Make sure to check out others! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support! Never hesitate to reach out if you have questions!

[@Learnwithjoel]

@Mario De Cristofaro The Mac is different indeed, but give it a chance. It may grow on you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

@Mario De Cristofaro I had the original Apple Watch...it was "meh". I got rid of it and never got another. But I do love my iPhone and Mac!

[@Learnwithjoel]

@Mario De Cristofaro I hear ya! It’s a love hate relationship!

[@kellybloomfield2836]

Really useful video. Will new photos albums stored in pictures be automatically backed up to iCloud. And, if not is there a way to back them up?

[@michelesoto5919]

Awesome video! Will dive into more later-need to make dinner. 😏. Was listening & not on my computer. I lost a ton of photos between, cloud not updating, not enough storage, etc! My 2014 Mac Air laptop died including the file cabinet (his layman terms for me to understand because I know nothing) and everything was gone. The Mac guy did download photos off EHDs and thousands went into a separate a folder in iPhoto(?), My Albums, iPhoto Events (with 50 Albums) & another labeled Untitled Album (with 14k photos). Each of the Events (1200 photos combined- after deleting double up to 10 copies of photos) are in their own individual date album. Once I confirm that these photos are in my library-recents & check where you mentioned can I delete these albums and the photos that I selected in those albums be in my library recents without loosing them permanently? Also, will I need to wipe the EHDs some how before hooking up my new computer and losing all the time I did deleting photos? Hoping I’m making sense. I already deleted 4000 photos in albums.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Michele Soto! So first off you're not alone, this unfortunate situation happens to many which is why it's so important to have a backup! A couple questions... Are you in iPhoto App, or are you in Photos App? It sounds like you have possibly an older Operating System on your Mac, and may be using iPhoto instead of Photos. Either way, this isn't a problem, i'm more curious and also just know that iPhoto Libraries upgrade to Photos libraries depending on what Operating System (brain) your computer is running. As far as Albums, it is correct, if you delete photos out of albums, they will still be in the events or the main library, so make sure you invest your time in there. I guess my main question would be, what's your main goal? Do you need all of the albums? Are you trying to just delete possible duplicates? It may seem daunting, but starting off with no Albums is often easier to organize than going through existing ones that sometimes don't make sense. Hope this helps and don't hesitate to reach out! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@michelesoto5919]

@@Learnwithjoel Thank you for getting back to me! I hope this makes sense if not just let me know, it might be a better brain day on that day! 😃 TBIr I have MacBook Air 2020 1T masOS Big Sur V 11.2.3, don’t know what else you asked, darn YT won’t let me scroll. Will answer rest in next post. I’m using the app that came with the computer, has a circle color wheel of circles on a white circle. My main goals are: 1. to get my photos back in chronological order 2. Get my back of photos off of Flickr, Amazon and Google with the actual Capture date into the library. 3. Then get rid of duplicates including the bad pixelated images having different dates. (Ex: I have a few dates that appear to have the same exact photos (years) repeated. Some may have photos that I don’t have elsewhere.) 4. My albums are for cataloging family, friends my son’s numerous sports & activities, Scouts & Eagle Scout, memorial of those that are gone. I would like to chronologically physical- scrapbook (with my old school 35mm photos that are ready to be merged in) these plus special events of photos I have left. So the elements I have set up do make sense for what my plans are & I have merged some of them Eventually, Will be scanning old family photos to incorporate into my physical scrapbook albums and digitally share with the different families. I hope this makes sense, if not please don’t hesitate to ask questions!! Thank you so much for your assistance I’m sure I’ll have a couple more questions later on!

[@maggienorris7833]

Thanks!

[@Learnwithjoel]

WOW @maggienorris7833! Your CONTRIBUTION is so helpful and gives me the opportunity to create more content! Thank you for your continued support! I appreciate you more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you! Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already, and if you have, THANK YOU for your continued support!

[@maggienorris7833]

@@Learnwithjoel Joel, I am still working through the problems with my photo libraries. I will be getting back to that as soon as it stops raining in New York.

[@cassiehenderson115]

Great video...I wish I had this information back in 2019 when I purchased my new iMac. The transfer from my old mac to this mac was not "clean", (for lack of a better word) and I am now struggling to locate all my old photos. I have an old external hard drive which was attached to my old mac. Is there a way to find...say, photos from 2013, from that OLD mac from that external hard drive?

[@Learnwithjoel]

I can totally relate @Cassie Henderson! Whenever I get a new Mac I personally don't like to do a migration from an old Mac. I like the feeling of starting fresh and copying over only things I really need. Now with that being said, the issue you're having i'm sure many people have had this hurdle. The biggest thing about trying to "locate" your photos from 2013 is first knowing where your photos were located on your previous Mac. Were they in Apple Photo Libraries? Were they stored in just folders in the Finder? Also keep in mind that digital dates can be off on photos. If photos were scanned in, or taken with a camera where the date was not set correctly, doing a search for "2013" may not yield everything you're looking for. Instead here is what I would do. Let's assume you have both Photo Libraries and stray photos on the Mac. I would first consolidate all pictures into one Apple Photos Library. Then I would do a search on the computer for file extensions like: ".jpg" or ".jpeg" or whatever file formats you may have for photos. When you do this, you can then copy all the photos into the one Apple Photo Library and then start use "Smart Albums" to find all photos from the year 2013. It may not be perfect, but it would probably give you the best results and starting point. If you have have multiple libraries and need to merge them together, i'll link another helpful video in addition to another helpful video talking about finding duplicate photos in Apple Photos. NEW PHOTO FEATURE in mac Monterey - MERGE & IMPORT PHOTO LIBRARIES TOGETHER! It's about time Apple! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2SQaYiIn6d4qMU HOW TO DELETE DUPLICATE PHOTOS in Apple Photos - IN DEPTH review of software to FIX your Duplicates! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKG0Zp56mJh1rLM How to MOVE your iCLOUD PHOTO LIBRARIES and APPLE PHOTO LIBRARIES to an EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXLVnICojsqbiJo I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@cassiehenderson115]

I know for a fact that these photos were stored in iphoto in 2013. So, can I use Time Machine to restore from 2013 iphoto when I am currently running photos on my new mac? The Time Machine external drive from my old mac is NOT the same as my current new mac and new external drive. As you referred, I was trying to start FRESH with this new mac and did not want to migrate EVERYTHING from one mac to another. Somewhere along the way, I lost some photos. I feel like they are recoverable...but have no idea what to do and do not want to corrupt any NEW files on my new mac.