How to Back up Mac Photos

This updated guide examines How to Back up Mac Photos and organizes the essential facts, background, and practical takeaways in clear American English.

Method 1of 2:

Backing Up to iCloud

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac. The Photos app looks like a colored pinwheel in a white circle icon. You can find it in your Applications folder.
2. Click thePhotostab on the menu bar. You can find it next to the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
3. ClickPreferenceson the menu. This will open your Photos settings in a new window.
4. Click theiCloudtab at the top. This button looks like aicon at the top of the Preferences window.
5. Click and check theiCloud Photo Libraryoption. It's at the top of the iCloud tab here.
   • When this option is checked, all your pictures are automatically uploaded and stored on your iCloud account. You can access all your pictures on all your devices.
6. Select theDownload Originals to this Macoption. You can find it under the iCloud Photo Library heading. This will store full-resolution versions of all your pictures on your Mac.
   • If you select Optimize Mac Storage , you'll download and store low-resolution versions of your pictures on your Mac. You can download the full-resolution version of a picture if you have enough storage space.

Method 2of 2:

Backing Up to an External Drive

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac. The Photos app looks like a colored pinwheel in a white circle icon. You can find it in your Applications folder.
2. Click thePhotostab on the menu bar. You can find it next to the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
3. ClickPreferenceson the menu. This will open your Photos settings in a new window.
4. Click theShow in Finderbutton next to "Library Location." You can find this option at the top of the General tab. It will open a new Finder window, and show your Photos Library file here.
5. Right-click the "Photos Library" file in Finder. This will open your right-click options on a drop-down menu.
6. SelectCopyon the right-click menu. This will copy your Photos Library file to your clipboard. You can now paste it to your external drive to keep a manual backup of your pictures.
   • Alternatively, you can select the file, and press?Command+Con your keyboard to copy it.
7. Connect your external drive and open it on your computer. You can find your external drive mounted on your desktop. Double-click on it to open its contents in Finder.
8. Press?Command+Von your keyboard. This will paste the copied Photos Library file to your external drive.
   • Anytime you want to use this backup, copy the Photos Library file from your external drive, and paste it to the original location of the file on your Mac.