Mac App For Photos Store

Whether you’ve just taken a weekend trip up North or the European vacation of your dreams, you’re guaranteed to return home with a massive amount of photos, probably a handful of videos, and, if you were feeling particularly artsy, half a dozen time-lapses.

‎PhotoSweeper is a fast, precise & super efficient tool to eliminate similar or duplicate photos even in huge photo collections. It works with Photos, iPhoto, Aperture, Capture One and Lightroom media libraries as well as photos from your hard drives and external storages. “Swift, easy to use, thoro. Feb 17, 2018  Photos for Mac uses the same hierarchy as Photos for iOS — intelligently grouping images and videos into moments, collections, and years. That lets Photos for Mac show you small moments in time and space, like yesterday at the park, but also collections of moments marked by larger changes, like that party across town or that week at the beach, and even an entire year all at once. Mar 19, 2020 How to see what apps you've purchased or downloaded on your Mac. To see your app history, visit your profile account information. Launch the Mac App Store from your Dock or Finder. Click on your Profile picture in the lower-right corner of the Mac App Store window. Scroll down the list of apps to see your app purchase and download history. May 29, 2015 what is even the point of this photos app? Photos is a database for photos. A photo is more than the image file your camera produced. The Photos.app is storing and managing the relations between the different versions of a photo, derived from your original photo. Automatically back up photos from your Mac or PC, connected cameras and SD cards. Windows 7 + Mac. MacOS 10.9 + Thanks for downloading Backup and Sync. Get the Google Photos app to back up and view photos on your Android and iOS devices. Amazon Photos: Amazon Photos offers unlimited, full-resolution photo storage, plus 5 GB video storage for Prime members. All other customers get 5 GB photo and video storage. Securely store, print, and share your favorite photos from the Amazon Photos app. Keep your memories close at hand on devices like Fire TV, Echo Show, and Amazon Fire tablets.

But now that you’re home, what are you going to do with all those pictures? Where are you going to keep them? How are you going to share them?

Enter the Photos app for Mac.

What is Photos on Mac?

The Photos app is a convenient home for all of your pictures and videos. Anything you shoot, Photos will store it and — better yet — organize it, so you can actually find said pictures when you feel like reliving the memories.

In this post, we’ll go over the basics of using Apple’s Photos app. We’ll talk about where to find photos on your Mac and how you can manage your ever-growing photo library. And of course, we’ll cover all the features Apple has built into this underrated app.

Mac app store photo albums

iPhoto vs Photos: What’s the difference?

Those of you familiar with iPhoto for Mac are probably wondering what makes its successor so special. And to oversimplify it, Photos is the next step in photo management — and a giant step at that.

Prior to Photos, Apple made two apps for managing pictures and videos. iPhoto, for those of us less experienced in photography, and Aperture, for the ones looking to do some heavier editing. Photos perfectly blurs the line between those two apps, combining the best of both while adding new features like iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Photo Sharing.

If you used iPhoto before, Photos will feel instantly recognizable. You’ll have your pictures, albums, and collections in the main window, a navigation sidebar to the left, and different viewing options at the top. However, a significant point of difference between iPhoto and Photos is the app’s performance. When working with larger libraries, iPhoto had the tendency to lag or choke up and had arbitrary limits that would restrict album and collection sizes. Photos gets rid of those limitations entirely and is able to handle much larger libraries than its predecessor. While the look of Photos may be the same, it feels like a faster and more powerful app.

Where are the photos stored on Mac?

The Photos app maintains pictures and videos in its own library, making it easy to view the content, but confusing to access the actual files. To find the photos on your Mac, you’ll need to find that Photos Library first:

  1. With the Photos app open, click on Photos in the menu bar
  2. Then go to Preferences > General
  3. At the top of the window, you’ll see Library Location. Click the Show in Finder button.

The first thing you’ll notice after you find the Photos Library file is you can’t do much with it. You can double-click it, but that opens Photos again. If you want to find the original files of your pictures and videos, you’ll need to:

  1. Right-click on Photos Library to open the alternate menu
  2. Select Show Package Contents from that menu
  3. Open the Masters folder
  4. All of your pictures and videos live in this folder, organized by year, month, and date
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If you only need master files for a few pictures, you can drag them out of the Photos app directly onto your desktop. Doing this will create copies of the pictures and won’t move or delete the original files. Just don’t forget to find and delete all the copies later, so they don't turn your Mac into a mess. A duplicate finder like Gemini 2 can help with that.

How to use Apple’s Photos app

When you open Photos for the first time, the app offers you a glimpse of what your library will look like with all your pictures and videos imported. You get a quick intro to some of the features and tools, and learn how you can make these memories tangible through printed objects like calendars, photo books, and more.

Once you’ve finished the tour of the app and gone through the initial setup, you’re all set to start importing your pictures and videos!

How to import photos to Mac

There are several ways you can import your media content to Photos, depending on where you’ve been storing it.

For

From your iPhone or a digital camera

  1. Connect your iPhone or camera to your Mac with a USB cable. You might need to unlock your iPhone with your passcode, and then tap Trust when prompted to Trust This Computer.
  2. On your Mac, if the Photos app doesn’t open automatically, go ahead and open it.
  3. The Photos app will show you an Import screen that has all the photos and videos on your iPhone or camera. If you don’t see the Import screen, click on your iPhone or camera in the Photos sidebar under Devices.
  4. From here you can either choose to Import All New Items or select a batch and click Import Selected.

From a folder or an external hard drive in Finder

You have a couple of options here. If your pictures and videos live on an external hard drive, you’ll want to make sure it’s connected first. Then, you’ll want to do one of the following:

  • Drag the files from your drive into the Photos window
  • Drag the files from your drive onto the Photos icon in the Dock
  • In Photos, go to File > Import from the menu bar. Choose the photos or videos you want to import and click Review for Import.

An important thing to know about Photos is that the app copies the pictures and videos into the Photos Library we talked about earlier, leaving the original file either on your device or in its folder.

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Because Photos doesn’t remove the original picture after you import, you may end up with duplicate pics taking up precious space on your Mac. And if you’ve taken multiple photos of the same thing from slightly different angles, those will waste even more storage. To keep your photo collection lean, scan your Mac for duplicates from time to time. Gemini 2 can help you find and delete duplicate and even similar photos, so you don’t have to go through hundreds of photos manually. Download it for free and try it out.

Tabs in Photos: Library, Albums, Projects

Have you ever been unable to find a specific picture because you couldn’t remember when you took it? You can remember everything else about the photo, things like where it was taken and who was in it, but not the one thing you need to navigate your files.

The Photos app helps you with this predicament by organizing your pictures not only by date, but also by event, location, and even by people’s faces. In the sidebar, you’ll find a number of tabs designed to make sorting through your pictures easier.

Memories. Photos creates “memories” based on who is in a series of images as well as when and where those pictures were taken.

Favorites. These are the pictures you’ve gone through and clicked the heart icon on, marking them as your favorites.

People. This is where you’ll be able to see all the pictures of you have of specific people.

Places. This is where you can see all the pictures you’ve taken in specific locations.

Shared. This section is where you’ll find all the albums you’ve shared with other people and the albums that have been shared with you. (Check out our guide to iCloud Photo Sharing for more info on Shared Albums.)

Albums. If you want to group certain pictures for easy navigation, you’ll want to create a new album. This section is where you can access those albums.

How to tag people in photos

If you want to tag someone in a specific picture:

  1. Open the photo in the Photos app
  2. Click the info button in the top right corner.
  3. At the bottom of the info window, you’ll see circles with faces at the bottom. Tap on one of those.
  4. The face will now be circled on the photo. Underneath the circle will be a text box labeled “unnamed.” Click on the text box and type the person’s name.

If the person you’re tagging has already been tagged in your Library, their name should appear under the circle on the photo.

How to share pictures from the Photos app

The Photos app on Mac has made it easier than before to share your pictures. Just select the photos you want to share and click on the Share button in the top right-hand corner. You’ll see a list of options:

  • Shared Albums
  • AirDrop
  • Messages
  • Notes
  • and more, depending on what apps and accounts you set up on your Mac

Tap on your preferred option and proceed to send the pic or create a Shared Album.

This might be helpful: How to edit photos with Mac's native image editors

Now that you’ve gotten a feel for how to use Photos on Mac, it’s time to give it a spin. Once you’ve got your library set up and organized, you’ll see how easy it is to relive and share your memories with Photos.

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Photos helps you keep your growing library organized and accessible. Powerful and intuitive editing tools help you perfect your images. Memories displays the best images from your photo library in beautiful collections. And with iCloud Photos, you can keep a lifetime’s worth of photos and videos stored in iCloud and up to date on all of your devices.

Before you begin

  • Update your Mac to the latest version of macOS.
  • If you use iPhoto or Aperture to manage your photos and videos, upgrade to the Photos app.

Access all of your photos from anywhere

iCloud Photos automatically keeps all your photos in iCloud, so you can access them on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, Mac, iCloud.com, or on a PC. When you edit and organize images in the Photos app, your changes are kept up to date and visible everywhere.

Manage your iCloud storage

The photos and videos that you keep in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage. Before you turn on iCloud Photos, make sure that you have enough space to store your entire collection. You can see how much space you need and then upgrade your storage plan if necessary.

Turn on iCloud Photos

It's easy to get started. Just turn on iCloud Photos in your Settings and make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID on all of your devices. On your Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud and click the Options button next to Photos. Then select iCloud Photos.

Keep your photo library organized

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 the time and place they were taken.

The Photos app sorts your photos into Memories, Favorites, People, and Places in the sidebar under Library. The sidebar also shows what you and your friends have shared, your photo albums, and projects that you've created.

Learn more about organizing and finding your photos.

Do more with the Photos app

Your Mac is the place that you go to get things done. That’s why the Photos app makes it easier than ever to create a stunning slideshow, share with anyone you like, and quickly find the moment you’re looking for. All with a few clicks.

Play a slideshow or movie

You can prepare a slideshow directly in Photos with a few clicks. Open any album and click Slideshow. Customize the theme and music, then click Play Slideshow.

To play a movie, go to the Months or Days view, click the more button on any collection, then click Play Movie.

You can also view movies in the Memories section. Open a memory, then click the play button . As the movie plays, click the gear button to adjust the movie's mood and length.

Share with friends

Click the share button to share photos in Shared Albums, Mail, and more. Or send photos to your social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Search your photos

Find the photo or video you're looking for in no time. Just use the search bar that's built directly into the Photos toolbar. You can search for photos using names of family and friends, locations, or what appears in the photos, like cake or balloons.

Mac App Store Photo Editing

Delete photos and videos from your library

If there are photos and videos that you don't want anymore, you can delete one at a time, or several.

Delete one photo

  1. Select the photo that you want to delete.
  2. Press the Delete key.
  3. Confirm that you want to delete the photo.

Delete multiple photos

Mac App For Photos Store On Computer

  1. Press and hold the Command key.
  2. Select the photos that you want to delete.
  3. Press the Delete key.
  4. Confirm that you want to delete the photos.

When you delete a photo, it goes into your Recently Deleted album, where it stays for 30 days. If you use iCloud Photos, the photos that you delete are moved into the Recently Deleted album on your other devices too. After 30 days, Photos deletes the photos permanently. You can permanently delete photos right away when you click Delete All in the Recently Deleted album.

When you delete photos directly from an album by pressing the Delete key, you only remove them from the album and not your entire photo collection. If you want to delete photos from both the album and your collection, press Command-Delete.

Edit your photos

Photos includes powerful, easy-to-use editing tools. You can apply adjustments to your photos and make them look exactly the way you like. Then if you want to start over, you can always revert to the original photo. Here's how to get started:

  1. From the Photos view, or from within an album, double-click the photo you want to edit.
  2. Click Edit in the upper-right corner of Photos.
  3. The editing tools appear along the right side of the window. Click the tool you'd like to use.

After you edit your photo, click Done. Want to start over? Click Revert to Original. If you use iCloud Photos, you'll see the changes on all of your devices.

Photos

Mac App For Photos Store Video

With Photos for macOS High Sierra and later, you can also send a photo to most third-party photo apps for editing, then save the changes right back into your library. Learn more about editing your photos with third-party apps and extensions.

Mac App Store Photo Extensions

See and add information about a photo

Google Photo App For Mac

You can also add details to your photos, like a description, keywords, or a specific location. You can even Add Faces to name your friends and family in each photo.

Mac App For Photos Store Images

To view the Info window, double-click a photo to open it and then click the information button in the upper-right corner, or select a photo and use the keyboard shortcut Command-I. Once you add information, you can use the Search bar to find photos by keyword, title, description, faces, or location.