Access Mac Photo Library Masters
Wondering, “Where does iPhoto store photos?” Well, in this post, you will get to know about the location where it stores your photos, and how find photos on Mac.
- And if a library is upgraded to a new version of Photos or repaired, the Masters folder may get rearranged and all oder photos moved to the same yearly folder. And if you are using iCloud Photo Library, the older photos may not be stored in the Masters folder at all, but only in iCloud.
- Jan 13, 2020 On your Mac, your photo collection is separated into four main categories: Years, Months, Days, and All Photos. The All Photos tab shows all your photos and videos in chronological order. In Years, Months, and Days, you'll find your photos and videos grouped together based on.
- Jan 12, 2020 You can access the hidden Library folder without using Terminal, which has the side effect of revealing every hidden file on your Mac. This method will only make the Library folder visible, and only for as long as you keep the Finder window for the Library folder open.
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May 21, 2018 How to Get Access to Photos Master Image Files in Mac OS Quickly with an Alias. The video embedded below walks through how to access this “Masters” image folder and all of the original images contained at the /Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/Masters/ directory, if you’re having any difficulty in accessing the directory it may be. Dec 29, 2017 And if a library is upgraded to a new version of Photos or repaired, the Masters folder may get rearranged and all oder photos moved to the same yearly folder. And if you are using iCloud Photo Library, the older photos may not be stored in the Masters folder at all, but only in iCloud. Jan 12, 2020 You can access the hidden Library folder without using Terminal, which has the side effect of revealing every hidden file on your Mac. This method will only make the Library folder visible, and only for as long as you keep the Finder window for the Library folder open.
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Without any doubts, iPhoto is a useful picture management application by Apple. The app was present in a Mac computer, but it replaced with Photos application in 2015. However, whenever users import photos into iPhoto, the app makes copies of their photos and leaves original files somewhere else where users can’t access easily.
No matter for what reasons you want to know the location where iPhoto stores original pictures whether for backup purpose or to transfer them into another application, you can refer to this guide. Here, we are going to show you where iPhoto stores photos in detail. Also, you will get to learn on how to find photos on Mac computer.
Part 1: Where Does iPhoto Store Photos
So, let’s begin: iPhoto stores your pictures copies in a special folder known as “iPhoto Library”. You can locate in your Mac Home folder and then, Pictures folder. Here are the detailed steps to find the location where iPhoto stores photos:
Step 1 To begin the process, go to the “Finder” in your Mac computer and after that, navigate to your Home directory.
Step 2 Thereafter, if you log-in to your Mac computer with the name “Alex”, the full path to the folder “iPhoto Library” would be Mac HD > Users > Alex > Pictures > iPhoto Library. And right-click on the folder, and then, choose the “Show Package Contents” option.
Where Does iPhoto Store Photos
Step 3 When you reach your iPhoto Library folder, you will see a set of files and folders organised with numbers. All these numbers you see are the originals files creation dates. Look at the below figure to understand. Create new itunes library mac os x.
However, if you are now using an iPhoto newer version known as Photos, then you can locate the photos in a similar way as described above. But, you have to locate the “Photo Library” folder instead of “iPhoto Library” folder. And then, tap on “Masters” to view your pictures set in folders by date.
Part 2: How to Find Photos on Mac and Transfer Photos to Mac
No doubt, iPhoto or Photo application allows you to view pictures on Mac. But, what if you want to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac? Don’t worry as AnyTrans for iOS is here for you. It is mainly designed for iOS data management and transfer. With the help of it, you can manage your iPhone files including photos on Mac easily. Here are its main features and advantages on photos management:
Find Photo Library On Mac
- Transfer any type of photos: With the help of it, you can move photos in Photo Stream, Camera Roll, Photo Library, Photo Share and Albums from your iPhone to Mac.
- Support selective transfer: It allows you to move all photos in one go or only selected photos to your Mac.
- Multi-directional transfer: It allows you to migrate files from computer to iPhone also, and there will be no data and quality loss during transfer.
- Supports all data types: No matter whether you want to move photos, audios, videos, apps, contacts, or any other data type from your iPhone to Mac, it can do it with ease.
Now, Free Download AnyTrans for iOS on your computer, and then follow the step-by-step guide to view and transfer photos from iPhone to Mac effortlessly.
Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe
Step 1: Connect your iPhone and Mac.
To begin the process, launch the software on your Mac. Then, run it and connect your iPhone to a computer with the help of a digital cable. Next, move to the file category” page as shown in the figure.
How to Find Photo Files on Mac- Step 3
Step 2: Select photo category to transfer.
After that, select “Photos” and then, choose a photo type you want to move to your Mac computer from iPhone. Let’s take an example of Camera Roll.
How to Find Photos on Mac with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 2
Step 3: Transfer photos from iPhone to Mac.
Here, choose the desired pictures you want to move and finally, click on the “Send to Mac button as shown in the figure.
After the process completes, you can view the transferred photos on your Mac.
How to View Photos on Mac
The Bottom Line
That’s all on how to find photo files on Mac and how to transfer them to Mac. Hopefully, this guide helps you to find the location of your iPhoto/Photo original files. However, give a try to AnyTrans for iOS software by downloading and installing it on your PC, and manage your iPhone data in a better and efficient way.
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I've had a multi-Mac household pretty much since college, rocking a laptop and desktop in addition to miscellaneous iOS devices throughout the years. Dropbox and iCloud sync made most of the pains of using several Macs disappear, but iPhoto was always a problem. My laptop is tiny! My iPhoto library, not so much.
Thankfully, Photos for Mac — paired with iCloud Photo Library's Optimize Storage feature — makes working with and syncing multiple Macs a breeze. Here's how you can do it.
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How to use Photos and iCloud Photo Library with multiple Macs
Here's a quick, simple breakdown on setting up your Macs to support Photos and iCloud Photo Library.
I recommend starting with your biggest iPhoto library; it'll usually be on your desktop Mac. When you open Photos for the first time, your library should import automatically; if it prompts you to create a new library, your Photos library may be stored in another location on your Mac, and you may need to manually open it.
Once you've imported your biggest library on your Mac, make sure iCloud Photo Library is turned on and syncing. You can do this by following these steps:
- Launch Photos on your Mac.
- Click Photos in the menu bar.
Select Preferences (or do this quicker by pressing ⌘,).
Source: iMore
Click on the iCloud tab.
Source: iMore
Check off the box for iCloud Photos.
- You can also check off the box for Download Originals to this Mac if you have the space.
- You can check off Optimize Mac Storage to save space on your Mac by only saving a percentage of images and video locally — the rest will be thumbnails that you can click on to download when you want to.
Source: iMore
Now, open your other Mac, and launch Photos. If you have an iPhoto library on that secondary Mac, follow the same steps as above — import your library, then turn on iCloud Photo Library. If you have duplicates of the same photo on each computer, iCloud should automatically resolve those conflicts when it syncs, providing you with just one version of your photos when the sync process finishes.
If you don't have an iPhoto library on your secondary Mac, create a new library in Photos and turn on iCloud Photo Library. If you want to save storage space on this secondary Mac, make sure Optimize Mac Storage is selected: This will save a certain percentage of images and video locally to your device, while providing thumbnails of all the others for you to download at your leisure.
After you've set up all your Macs with Photos and the sync process has finished, you're now good to go. From here on out, any time you add photos, they'll sync to every computer you've set up with Photos.
What syncs, what doesn't sync
Photos for Mac syncs a lot more than just your original photos and videos. According to a support document on Apple.com, here's what else you should expect to see sync:
Access System Library Mac
- All folders and albums
- Smart Albums
- Keywords
- Memories
- Searchable keywords
- Key photo selections
There are a few things iCloud Photo Library won't sync, however. Here's Apple's list:
- Books, cards, calendars, and slideshows
- Keyword shortcuts
- Unused keywords
- Last imported album on the Mac in question
- Names and faces in the People album
For those not using iCloud Photo Library
If you've chosen not to enable iCloud Photo Library, Apple still offers you free syncing of your last 1000 photos via My Photo Stream, which doesn't count toward your iCloud disk space.
This will sync and download images you've imported or taken on other devices, but you won't have the option to optimize your storage or sync your albums.
Octoober 2019: Updated for macOS Catalina.
Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.

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