Photos and iCloud

[netdudeuk]

Hi

This is a cross platform question but it still seems to fit into this forum ok.

I have a 64GB iPhone, a 16GB iPad and a new 256GB MBP.

The phone is running out of storage but there is the option to Optimise iPhone Storage when I go into the Photos app. It seems that this would still allow me to see the photos locally but at a lower resolution.

I know that there's a similar option in High Sierra but

I have plenty of space on the MBP for now.​

If I used the optimisation option on the phone, w

ould this be independent of what I did on the Mac ?
​

Would I always have the full high resolution photos on the Mac ?

If I wanted to print, share or copy some of the photos from the phone after the optimisation, are they automatically downloaded to full resolution ?

If I did the optimisation in High Sierra, w​

ould I still be able to get easy access to all my high resolution photos ? To take a full backup, for example.
​

As it stands today, I would like to take a backup of all my photos to an external drive. I found a couple of articles on how to do this but my Finder doesn't match there's. Are there any good guides on how to do this for High Sierra ?

I'll also add that I have a high spec Windows 10 desktop PC where I could install iCloud support.

Thanks

 

[splifingate]

Hi

This is a cross platform question but it still seems to fit into this forum ok.

I have a 64GB iPhone, a 16GB iPad and a new 256GB MBP.

The phone is running out of storage but there is the option to Optimise iPhone Storage when I go into the Photos app. It seems that this would still allow me to see the photos locally but at a lower resolution.

I know that there's a similar option in High Sierra but

I have plenty of space on the MBP for now.​

Think of the photos you see on any of your devices as 'icons' which are placeholders for the larger, "original" photos stored in your iCloud space.

These placeholders look/remain the same whether you choose to store the full photos just in your iCloud space, or mirror the full photos onto each device in which you have enabled 'iCloud Photo Library'.

Given that iCloud is purposed as a synchronization service to mirror your content on any device you are able, and so choose, the devil:details are just "how" and "why"

On my 16GB iPad Air (gen-1), even *with* Optimize Storage, the "Storage Almost Full" notifications are /almost/ as fun as burning my finger on the stove . . .

. . . on my 256GB iP8, I rarely blink an eye . . .

. . . on my MBP w/512GB, I'm just mindful . . .

. . . on my MP 5,1 with multiple-TB of storage, Optimization settings are purely academic . . . .

It's all a matter of scale.
​

If I used the optimisation option on the phone, would this be independent of what I did on the Mac ?

Yes; Optimize, or Download Originals, is Settings-dependent for each device.
​

Would I always have the full high resolution photos on the Mac ?

Yes, as long as you have enabled iCloud Photo Library, and selected "Download Originals to this Mac"

If I wanted to print, share or copy some of the photos from the phone after the optimisation, are they automatically downloaded to full resolution ?

Yes.

If you 'touch' a photo placeholder, it will expand to full-screen at a low resolution, a download-progress-pie-chart-thingy will show you the status of the download, then the photo will (quite) gracefully show at full-resolution upon completion of the download from yer iCloud.

If I did the optimisation in High Sierra, would I still

be able to get easy access to all my high resolution photos ? To take a full backup, for example.

​

As it stands today, I would like to take a backup of all my photos to an external drive. I found a couple of articles on how to do this but my Finder doesn't match there's. Are there any good guides on how to do this for High Sierra ?

Ah, there's the rub:

Yes, you will be able to access all your high resolution photos.

As for making a direct backup, it would seem that there are considerations and caveats wrt/"saving originals elsewhere".

Since High Sierra, export of "Unmodified Original(s)" adjusts the Creation timestamp (at least in Finder), and HEIC-export uncertainties, potentially posing a problem if one intends to make a verbatim backup.

*sigh* I am working on trying to get my mind around all that

I'm currently experimenting with just dragging a selection of photos from 'Photos' directly into a Finder location to get some originals with proper timestamps, but the drag-copy process seems to convert HEIC to JPG (first-blush, with a few experimental tries).

[edit] see: https://michaelkummer.com/videos-imported-photos-app-wrong-date/ [/edit]

But, yes:

You can export any-or-all of the photos you have stored in iCloud to basically any storage space for which you have direct access.

I'll also add that I have a high spec Windows 10 desktop PC where I could install iCloud support.

Thanks

iCloud for Win10 (basically) enables local synchronization of the photos we have in iCloud. I am resigned to thinking "Well, if I enable Photos for iCloud in the iCloud Drive app in Windows, I had better be prepared to accept a cupola-hundred gigs of photos over an indiscriminate amount of time entirely outside of my control."

Not nearly as granular as the OS of X side of things <grin>

Regards, splifingate

 

[netdudeuk]

Think of the photos you see on any of your devices as 'icons' which are placeholders for the larger, "original" photos stored in your iCloud space.

These placeholders look/remain the same whether you choose to store the full photos just in your iCloud space, or mirror the full photos onto each device in which you have enabled 'iCloud Photo Library'.

Given that iCloud is purposed as a synchronization service to mirror your content on any device you are able, and so choose, the devil:details are just "how" and "why"

On my 16GB iPad Air (gen-1), even *with* Optimize Storage, the "Storage Almost Full" notifications are /almost/ as fun as burning my finger on the stove . . .

. . . on my 256GB iP8, I rarely blink an eye . . .

. . . on my MBP w/512GB, I'm just mindful . . .

. . . on my MP 5,1 with multiple-TB of storage, Optimization settings are purely academic . . . .

It's all a matter of scale.
​

Yes; Optimize, or Download Originals, is Settings-dependent for each device.
​

Yes, as long as you have enabled iCloud Photo Library, and selected "Download Originals to this Mac"



Yes.

If you 'touch' a photo placeholder, it will expand to full-screen at a low resolution, a download-progress-pie-chart-thingy will show you the status of the download, then the photo will (quite) gracefully show at full-resolution upon completion of the download from yer iCloud.

​

Ah, there's the rub:

Yes, you will be able to access all your high resolution photos.

As for making a direct backup, it would seem that there are considerations and caveats wrt/"saving originals elsewhere".

Since High Sierra, export of "Unmodified Original(s)" adjusts the Creation timestamp (at least in Finder), and HEIC-export uncertainties, potentially posing a problem if one intends to make a verbatim backup.

*sigh* I am working on trying to get my mind around all that

I'm currently experimenting with just dragging a selection of photos from 'Photos' directly into a Finder location to get some originals with proper timestamps, but the drag-copy process seems to convert HEIC to JPG (first-blush, with a few experimental tries).

[edit] see: https://michaelkummer.com/videos-imported-photos-app-wrong-date/ [/edit]

But, yes:

You can export any-or-all of the photos you have stored in iCloud to basically any storage space for which you have direct access.



iCloud for Win10 (basically) enables local synchronization of the photos we have in iCloud. I am resigned to thinking "Well, if I enable Photos for iCloud in the iCloud Drive app in Windows, I had better be prepared to accept a cupola-hundred gigs of photos over an indiscriminate amount of time entirely outside of my control."

Not nearly as granular as the OS of X side of things <grin>

Regards, splifingate

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

So, to summarise, as long as I have enabled iCloud Photo Library and selected "Download Originals to this Mac", I can select optimisation on my iPhone and I will

• have much more free space on the iPhone ?
• still be able to see my entire timeline on the iPhone ?
• have high resolution versions of all existing photos/videos and those that I take on the iPhone in future on the Mac ?
• At any time, I can use the Mac to copy high resolution versions of the photos/videos onto an external drive ?

 

[splifingate]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

So, to summarise, as long as I have enabled iCloud Photo Library and selected "Download Originals to this Mac", I can select optimisation on my iPhone and I will

• have much more free space on the iPhone ?
• still be able to see my entire timeline on the iPhone ?
• have high resolution versions of all existing photos/videos and those that I take on the iPhone in future on the Mac ?
• At any time, I can use the Mac to copy high resolution versions of the photos/videos onto an external drive ?

Yes, to all.

That you will "have much more free space" on the iP is a relatively subjective assessment, proven only by use, and comparison. By-virtue of your taking said photos/videos with your device, they exist as originals up to the point you fully upload/sync them to iCloud, at which point (I believe), the low-res placeholders become the default.

Everything you sync with iCloud is available to you, on any iCloud-enabled device, at any time.

My only lament is that the data is not as directly-available as it is with other cloud providers (if I could use Arq, Finder or Transmit to directly access my content in iCloud, I would be very happy, indeed).

While I and many, many others have not lost data using iCloud, judicious backups are advised.

Have fun!

Regards, splifingate

 

[netdudeuk]

I took your advice thanks, checking the Photos settings on the MBP and then let the iPhone optimise the photo storage.

However, despite suggesting a 40GB saving, it quickly gave me an extra 10GB and has been stuck there for a long time.

Does it sound like it has done already ?

Thanks

 

[Winterfibre]

If you go to icloud through a web browser to see your online photos, they will only allow you to download one at a time.
No select all, which seems pretty **** to me. I keep the originals on the iphone then transfer them to external drive once the phone is full.

 

[TC_GoldRush]

If you're so low on storage, buy an external HDD.

 

[splifingate]

I took your advice thanks, checking the Photos settings on the MBP and then let the iPhone optimise the photo storage.

However, despite suggesting a 40GB saving, it quickly gave me an extra 10GB and has been stuck there for a long time.

Does it sound like it has done already ?

Thanks

10GB is nothing to sneeze at

But, additionally (not knowing just how much time has elapsed for you), I do recommend patience, as things usually take a while to stabilise . . . by-design, potentially, as there is probably a great deal of checksum verification in the process. Also, this is happening over wifi, so transfers take a bit of time.

Do report back, as not only I will be curious as to whether you get a satisfyingly sufficient savings.

Regards, splifingate