Sep 25, 2013  How to Copy iPhoto Photos to External Hard Drive. HOW TO MOVE APPLE PHOTOS LIBRARY TO EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE. How to Clone Mac Hard Drive.

Photos User Guide

When you import photos and videos into Photos, they’re copied to the Photos library in the Pictures folder. If you prefer, you can store photos and videos outside the Photos library (for example, in a folder on your Mac or on an external drive) and still view them in Photos. Files stored outside your library are called referenced files.

Referenced files aren’t automatically uploaded and stored in iCloud, and they aren’t backed up along with the rest of your files when you back up your photo library—you must back them up manually. To avoid manually backing up referenced files, you can move or consolidate the files into your library.

Store imported files outside the Photos library

1. In the Photos app on your Mac, choose Photos > Preferences, then click General.

2. Deselect the “Copy items to the Photos library” checkbox.

   Now, when you import photos or video, Photos leaves the files in their original location and accesses them as referenced files.

Find a referenced file in the Finder

1. In the Photos app on your Mac, select a referenced file.

2. Choose File > Show Referenced File in Finder.

Copy referenced files into a Photos library

You can copy referenced files into your photo library so they’re easier to back up and are automatically stored in iCloud if iCloud Photos is turned on.

1. In the Photos app on your Mac, select the files that you want to copy into the photo library.

2. Choose File > Consolidate.

3. Click Copy.

Your Photos library holds all your photos, albums, slideshows and print projects. If your library is large, and you want to free up storage space on your Mac, turn on iCloud Library and use Optimise Mac Storage, or move your photo library to an external drive.

Before you start, make sure that you back up your library.

Prepare your drive

You can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).¹ Find out how to check the format of your external storage device.

To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.

Copy Apple Photos To External Drive

Move your Photos library to an external storage device

1. Quit Photos.
2. In the Finder, go to the external drive where you want to store your library.
3. In another Finder window, find your library. The default location is Users > [username] > Pictures, and it's named Photos Library.
4. Drag your library to its new location on the external drive. If you see an error, select your external drive's icon in the Finder, then choose File > Get Info. If the information under Sharing & Permissions isn't visible, click , then make sure that the 'Ignore ownership on this volume' checkbox is selected. If it's not selected, click to unlock it, enter an administrator name and password, then select the checkbox.²
   
   
5. After the move is finished, double-click Photos Library in its new location to open it.
6. If you use iCloud Photo Library, designate this library as the System Photo Library.

Delete original library to save space

After you open your library from its new location and make sure that it works as expected, you can delete the library from its original location.

In a Finder window, go back to your Pictures folder (or whichever folder you copied your library from) and move Photos Library to the trash. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash to delete the library and reclaim disc space.

Open another Photos library

If you have multiple libraries, you can open a different one like this:

Mac Photo Library Management

1. Quit Photos.
2. Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
3. Select the library that you want to open, then click Choose Library.

Photos uses this library until you open a different one.

Mac Photos Can You Copy Library To A Drive Video

Learn more

Mac Photos Can You Copy Library To A Drivers

If you have a permissions issue with your library, you might be able to resolve the issue by using the Photos library repair tool.

1. You can't move your library to a disc that's used for Time Machine backups.

Mac Photos Can You Copy Library To A Drive In Windows 10

2. If the volume isn't formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or has been used for Time Machine backups but hasn't been deleted, this checkbox will either not be present or won't be selectable after unlocking. Delete and reformat the drive for this option to be available.