Pics on iPhone not showing up for import in MacOS Photos

[camner]

On my iPhone 7 I have Photos turned on in iCloud setting (with "Optimize iPhone Storage" ON because my 32GB iPhone does not have enough room to store originals).

On my MacBook Pro (Mojave) I have iCloud turned OFF (because I want to be able to be selective about which images I import to my MBP).

In the past, I have been able to connect my iPhone to the MBP with the Lightning cable and select which photos I wish to import to the Mac.

I returned recently from a trip to Italy with about 300 new pictures taken on my iPhone. BUT, when I connect the iPhone to the MBP, only 39 of these photos show up Photos on the MBP available to import.

The only thing that is different than in the past is that I used to have iCloud turned OFF on the iPhone because my original photos were able to fit on the iPhone, but no longer.

Since 39 photos appear in Photos as able to import, it seems likely that it is possible to have iCloud turned ON for pix on the iPhone and OFF on the Mac and manage importing manually.

Any ideas how to resolve this?

 

[BF1M]

Did you change the file type on the iPhone? Under Formats

 

[camner]

The iPhone is set to HEIC images, but that that shouldn't matter, should it? Photos (Mac) can import any format supported by the iPhone, as long as the OS is modern enough, and Mojave should be.

 

[BF1M]

The iPhone is set to HEIC images, but that that shouldn't matter, should it? Photos (Mac) can import any format supported by the iPhone, as long as the OS is modern enough, and Mojave should be.

I only ask because I had a similar issue where apps that had access to the photos on your phone wouldnt see certain photos after I changed it to high efficiency. Shouldn’t matter iPhone to Mac though now that I think about it. You said you recently started using iCloud on the phone but not the mac correct? You may want to check that you aren’t “optimizing” the photos to save space on the phone. Those wouldn’t transfer because they aren’t the full images.

 

[camner]

Aha! I think you've hit the nail on the head! I DO have "optimize storage" turned on on the iPhone, because the 32GB iPhone 7 isn't large enough to hold all my photos.

What you are saying makes sense; it wouldn't be appropriate for Photos (Mac) to import the tiny versions of images that are stored on the iPhone.

But this leads to another question...why would 39 photos be available to import? Doesn't "optimize storage" mean that pretty much immediately upon taking a photo, the iPhone uploads the full size image to iCloud and then delete the original image from the phone?

So, it seems that if one has "optimize photos" turned on, then it is necessary to have one's other devices using iCloud as well.

 

[BF1M]

Good point, are those 39 Live Photos by chance?

 

[camner]

I'll have to check...I don't have access to that phone right now (my daughter has it). What difference would that make? Does the iPhone always store original Live Photos, even if Optimize Storage is on?

 

[BF1M]

I'll have to check...I don't have access to that phone right now (my daughter has it). What difference would that make? Does the iPhone always store original Live Photos, even if Optimize Storage is on?

I'm honestly not sure, its the only thing I could think of that would make them different then the others so curiosity struck. More than likely this is just a byproduct of how the optimization process works. Apple states that the photos you look at\access the least are optimized first and only when you need space. My guess would be that those 39 are simply ones you've looked at\took last\mixture of those parameters.

To quote Apple: "Your library is optimized only when you need space, starting with the photos and videos you access least."