Buying a new Mac - Photos & iCloud

[Jore]

Hi all,

I currently have an old iMac with a 3TB Fusion Drive and a MacBook Air with a 256 SSD. Both are from around 2012. Looking to sell both and replace with a MacBook Pro. Problem is, I have a large photo library that is 300GB+. If I move to a laptop with a 256GB SSD, I won't be able to keep my Photos library local.

Anyone solely using iCloud to store their full resolution images?

I currently pay for a 1.5TB iCloud subscription with plenty of space free. Seems like storing full resolution images in iCloud and optimised versions on devices is the future but still doesn't sit right with me. Would appreciate feedback from anyone using this setup.

Cheers

 

[jpn]

i agree with your analysis that a 300GB Photos library could be maintained as an optimized local library, and nicely fit with an iCloud storage plan of 1.5TB. it will work. and work well.
but i also think that a new MacBook Pro with only 256GB storage space on it sounds too little. i would go up to 512GB. not so much just in consideration of just the Photos situation, but in terms of temporary management of files overall.

 

[mollyc]

Get an external hard drive and keep photos and other documents there.

 

[tizeye]

What both @mollyc and @niji said.

First, you will love the SSD. When I bought my MacBook Pro I upped to 512GB and glad I did. While it is hard for you to do with photos/video comingled on the one drive with programs, with one major exception I only have programs on the SSD. Looking at it, am using right at 250GB. The exception is video - a space hog to begin with - the default setting and preferred setting on FCPX is importing clips from the harddrive to the SSD (leaving in place has other issues if moving the finished video elsewhere). The finished video is later moved elsewhere, but have the speed and headroom for assembly.

Separate hard drive for photos is great. Later get a desktop and move the hard drive between which ever one is active.

Always make sure you have a separate backup though.

 

[Jore]

Hi all, thanks for the responses. If I were to use an external HDD attached to a new MacBook, how do you store full resolution versions on that drive whilst also using iCloud Photo Library? Is it simply a matter of moving the Photo Library file to the external HDD? Thanks!