Apple Photos for Mac Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

Apple Photos for Mac Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. After upgrading macOS / OS X, iPhoto won't open and it says I need an update from the App Store for compatibility with Yosemite/El Capitan/Sierra but when I go to the App Store it says the app is not available. What can I do?

Q. Where has iPhoto gone/Can I use iPhoto with Yosemite/El Capitan/Sierra?

• no version of iPhoto, iPhoto is no longer available and you must use Photos or a third party alternative to Photos
• iPhoto 9.4.3 or earlier and you have not previously updated/purchased iPhoto 9.4.4-9.6.1 from the Mac App Store - iPhoto is no longer available and you must use Photos or a third party alternative to Photos
• iPhoto 9.4.3 or earlier and you have previously updated/purchased iPhoto 9.4.4-9.6.1 from the Mac App Store - delete iPhoto from your Applications folder, go to Apple menu > App Store… > Purchased tab (login if necessary) > locate iPhoto 9.6.1 in your purchased list and click the Download/Update/Install button to the right
• iPhoto 9.4.4-9.6.0 go to Apple menu > App Store… > Purchased tab (login if necessary) > locate iPhoto 9.6.1 in your purchased list and click the Update button to the right - if this does not work delete iPhoto first from your Applications folder, then go to Apple menu > App Store… > Purchased tab (login if necessary) > locate iPhoto 9.6.1 in your purchased list and click the Download/Install button to the right

Third Party Alternatives To Apple Photos Application

• Unbound
• Lyn
• Photoscape X
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 2019 2018
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
• Google Picasa (discontinued in 2016)
• Apple iPhoto (discontinued in 2015)
• Apple Aperture (discontinued 27th June 2014)

Q. When I open iTunes to sync my photos via USB to the my iPhone / iPad / iPod touch the "Copy photos from:" pop-up menu does not list Photos. What's wrong?

Q. How do I get a similar iPhoto view/workflow back?

1. Open Photos
2. Go to View menu > Show Sidebar
3. On the left the old iPhoto sidebar should now be visible including folders and albums with titles (you can resize it if you need it wider)
4. On the left in that sidebar, somewhere near the top should be an "Albums" title > click on it (be careful to click on the Albums name and not on the 'Hide' text to the right of it or that will hide it!)
5. This will give you the old iPhotos view on the right i.e. Quick links at the top for All Photos, Faces, Last Import, Panoramas and Videos (these are also accessible in the sidebar on the left)
6. You can now manually manipulate folders, albums, titles and their order in the sidebar on the left or on the right - the big difference now is if you edit stuff on the right once you go into a "folder" of albums or an "album" the only way to go back up the tree is the little back button (<) in the very top left of the window (or you have to select something in the sidebar on the left to go somewhere else)

Q. How do I share photos via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc?

Q. How do I export photos to the Desktop/storage device/USB stick?

Q. How do I export photos so I can share them via email e.g. Microsoft Outlook?

1. In Photos locate the photo(s) you want to copy/share and select them (use cmd key when clicking to select more than one photo at a time)
2. Drag the Photo(s) from the Photos window to the Finder/Desktop (this will start the automatic export process that will copy the photos from Photos to the Finder but the photos will be full size 'Unmodified Originals') - if you are exporting a lot of photos it might be worth creating a folder for them on the Desktop
OR step 2: go to File menu > Export X photos and follow the on screen instructions choosing the options that you want (includes options for reducing the image size)
OR step 2: go to File menu > Export Unmodified Original and follow the on screen instructions (but the photos will be full size 'Unmodified Originals')
3. You can now share the photos as you want including dragging them to a Microsoft Outlook email as inline photos or attachments

Q. When I try to order a Photo Book, Photos tells me the service has been discontinued. What can I do?

• ifolor Designer: available in Europe + the separate App is better and works with the Photos library
• Motif: available in the UK but high shipping cost
• Mimeo Photos: available in the UK but USA based software/shipping
• Wix Photo Albums: available in the UK but poor reviews
• WhiteWall: wall photos only + USA only
• Mpix: USA only
• FUJIFILM Prints & Gifts: USA only
• Shutterfly Photo Books

macOS 14 Sonoma

• Pets in the People album. Individual pets are now surfaced in the People album just like friends or family members.
• Siri Suggestions in the People album. Photos will intelligently suggest matches from Contacts in the People album to help you name individuals faster.
• Improved People album accuracy. The People album recognizes significantly more photos of your favorite people, even if they’re turned away from the camera.
• Drag to reorder in a memory. Reorder photos and videos within a memory by dragging and dropping them into a new position in the timeline.
• Add content to a memory. Add any photo or video from your library to a memory.
• Smart copy and paste edits. Copied and pasted edits now intelligently match exposure and white balance between images.
• Improvements to iCloud Photos syncing. iCloud Photos syncing will be paused less frequently, and when syncing is paused, a Sync Now control will appear.
• iCloud Links on macOS. Share photos and videos stored in iCloud Photos by generating an iCloud Link.

macOS 13 Ventura

• Duplicate detection
• Copy and paste edits - Copy the edits you’ve made to a photo and paste them onto a batch of photos
• New memory types
• Turn off featured content - Disable Memories and Featured Photos in Photos and the Photos widget
• Lock Hidden and Recently Deleted albums in Photos
• Sort people alphabetically
• Tap to restart a video in Memories
• Apple Music in Memories - Apple Music subscribers can add any of the tens of millions of songs from the Apple Music library to enjoy on their devices

macOS 12 Monterey

• Richer Info pane
• Shared with You - Click Shared with You in the sidebar to view photos and videos that have been shared with you in Messages
• Faster iCloud Photos library initial sync
• Import photos from another Photos library
• People identification improvements
• People naming workflow - Correct naming mistakes more easily in the People album
• Suggest less often
• New Memories features - coming with a free software update to Monterey to be released later in 2021

macOS 11 Big Sur

• New video editing capabilities including apply filters, crop and trim
• Expanded photo editing capabilities including "Vibrance adjustment" and advanced machine learning "retouch tool" - retouch tool requires MacBook Pro (15-inch and 16-inch models) introduced in 2016 or later, iMac (Retina 5K models) introduced in 2014 or later, iMac (Retina 4K models) introduced in 2017 or later, iMac Pro (all models), or Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
• Easier, fluid navigation
• Add context to photos and videos with captions
• Memories enhancements including a more relevant selection of photos and videos, more music tracks and Memory movies are now enhanced with video stabilisation
• Support for Apple ProRAW photos - macOS 11.1 update or later required

macOS 10.15 Catalina

• New Photos browser
• New All Photos view
• Day, month, and year organization
• Auto-playing Live Photos and videos
• Memory movies
• Large photo previews
• Automatic personalisation of photos (important moments like birthdays, anniversaries, and trips)
• Your best shots - automatic showcasing of the best shots in your library, removing duplicates and clutter

macOS 10.14 Mojave

• Continuity Camera - this does not work directly with the Photos app on your Mac
• There appears to be no new features in the Mojave version of Photos but there are a couple of small interface changes and two main shortcuts have been changed:
• Space Bar - used to open a photo in viewer now changed to Return key (Spacebar now plays a video)
• Return - used to edit a photo now changed to Command + Return

macOS 10.13 High Sierra Photos

• Expanded/persistent sidebar - better navigation/viewing options with 5 sections: Library, Devices, Shared, Albums, Projects
• Organise/filter photos quickly and easily
• Improved editing tools
• Improved Live Photos
• 12+ new "Memories" categories
• Edits made in third‑party photo editing apps automatically saved back to your Photos library
• Improved face recognition
• Face recognition syncs across devices (iCloud Photo Library required)
• Animated GIF support
• Import history

macOS 10.12 Sierra Photos

• Memories - automatically creates stunning slideshows and shareable collections of your best photos - based on people, places, holidays, and more.
• Better face recognition (Photos doesn't automatically label faces with names, doesn't use previous Photos or iPhoto information, and doesn't import information from other devices).
• Show photos on a world map (better Places with geotagging).
• Better photo search including "objects" and "scenery" automatic tagging.

OS X 10.11 El Capitan Photos

• Third-party editing tools (plug-ins) via the Mac App Store
• Enhanced organisation capabilities:
• Add a location to a single image or a group of photos
• Batch change photo titles, descriptions and keywords
• Naming your favourite people in Faces is faster with a streamlined workflow
• Sort your albums — and the contents inside them — by date, title and more
• Support for the new Live Photos format
• Faster performance

Apple Photos Further Reading

• Photos at Apple's support web site

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Article Keywords: OS X OSX 1010 1011 macOS 1012 1013 1014 1015 1100 1200 Yosemite El Capitan Sierra High Sierra Mojave Catalina Big Sur Monterey Apple iPhoto Photos for Mac FAQ frequently asked questions problems issues changes new features upgrade upgrading

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