Does anyone know how to move photo albums that have been created on a Mac into icloud? I know how to move the pictures themselves, however, I can’t figure out how to move the album and keep the album intact. I don’t want to have to move all the pictures and then create a new album in the cloud and add the photos. Anybody have any guidance?
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Moving photo albums from Mac to iCloud
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I presume you mean iCloud Photos ? This keeps a copy in iCloud and allows you to keep all your photos in Sync between all your Apple devices.
It does not move the Library into iCloud as that stays on your Mac. iCloud is a file sync service rather than cloud storage. However it can be used to minimise local storage for photos by keeping the high resolution file in iCloud and having a lower resolution (smaller file) on your Mac by enabling Optimise Mac Storage.
You activate iCloud Photos by starting Photos and then go into Preferences from the menu bar. Select the iCloud Tab and turn on iCloud Photos. You can choose to Optimise Mac Storage if you want to keep the original file in iCloud.
It does not move the Library into iCloud as that stays on your Mac. iCloud is a file sync service rather than cloud storage. However it can be used to minimise local storage for photos by keeping the high resolution file in iCloud and having a lower resolution (smaller file) on your Mac by enabling Optimise Mac Storage.
You activate iCloud Photos by starting Photos and then go into Preferences from the menu bar. Select the iCloud Tab and turn on iCloud Photos. You can choose to Optimise Mac Storage if you want to keep the original file in iCloud.
You don't "move" photos or albums to iCloud. When you enable iCloud Photo Library, your entire library (photos, albums, folders) is available on iCloud.com and all your macOS/iOS devices.
I have pictures I uploaded to my Mac. In the old iPhoto’s. I created a photo album that is saved on the desktop. I want to upload the entire album so I can then shared that album with family and friends. What I was told is that I would have to upload each of the individual pictures into iCloud then create a photo album there in iCloud. I can’t just transfer or upload the album I have saved on my desktop.
iCloud photos and Shared Albums are two different things.
support.apple.com
support.apple.com
Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support
iCloud Photos works with the Photos app to keep your photos and videos securely stored in iCloud, and up to date on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, and iCloud.com.
How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Apple Support
Share photos and videos easily with Shared Albums.
First of all, you should import all your photos to the Photos app on your Mac. No folders with picture files in Finder. When creating albums, you should use the functionality within the Photos app: https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/create-albums-pht6d60a1f1/mac
For albums that you want to share with others, use the Shared Albums as mentioned by @theSeb above my post.
Maybe I am missing something. If I have pictures in set up albums in iCloud AND I have albums saved on my hard drive on the Mac, how can I share all of those albums with people given they are not in the same place. I am assuming a link to albums I have in iCloud will not link to the albums I have saved on my hard drive. Would there have to be two links since they are in different locations?iCloud photos and Shared Albums are two different things.
Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support
iCloud Photos works with the Photos app to keep your photos and videos securely stored in iCloud, and up to date on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, and iCloud.com.
How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Apple Support
Share photos and videos easily with Shared Albums.
You cannot share albums if you don’t gather your photos in the Photos app on Mac first. Photos stored in folders on your hard drive can’t be shared in albums.
I think we need to take a step back so we understand what you are trying to do. In Apple's Photos App you can create an Album which is part of the Photo's Library. By enabling iCloud Photos this effectively puts your Photos Library in iCloud but keeps a local copy on your hard disk. By having the Library in iCloud it makes it possible to share Albums created in your Photos Library with anyone you choose.
However reading again what you said in your last post
It looks like you have exported one or more Photos albums onto your hard drive. In the example below I have exported one Album to the desktop. The 32 photos in the Album Priory Wood May 07 have been exported to a folder '15 April 2007' and I have shown the contents of the folder (the individual photos) in the screenshot below. I presume this what you mean by album saved on the Mac ?
You have some options.
A. Separate from iCloud Photos you can turn on Album Sharing in the Photos App preferences - This allows you to share individual Albums with anyone you choose.
B. It is possible to move the Exported Album (Folder) in the example above (15th April 2007) into your iCloud Drive and just share that folder with anyone you want to.
Can you confirm my understanding of what you have is correct and what would you like to do ?
Note Original Post has been edited to correct a couple of errors re Shared Albums
However reading again what you said in your last post
It looks like you have exported one or more Photos albums onto your hard drive. In the example below I have exported one Album to the desktop. The 32 photos in the Album Priory Wood May 07 have been exported to a folder '15 April 2007' and I have shown the contents of the folder (the individual photos) in the screenshot below. I presume this what you mean by album saved on the Mac ?
You have some options.
A. Separate from iCloud Photos you can turn on Album Sharing in the Photos App preferences - This allows you to share individual Albums with anyone you choose.
B. It is possible to move the Exported Album (Folder) in the example above (15th April 2007) into your iCloud Drive and just share that folder with anyone you want to.
Can you confirm my understanding of what you have is correct and what would you like to do ?
Note Original Post has been edited to correct a couple of errors re Shared Albums
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I am inclined to agree with this. iCloud or any cloud services are a way to access the content, but I don't think they're quite a rock-solid backup method, especially not as the only backup method.