The iCloud Photo Library is one of those “where have you been all my life” kind of apps. Once you’ve started using it, there’s no going back. The iCloud Photo Library lets you sync your photos across all other devices meaning your precious memories are with you at all times and completely safe should anything happen to your device.

Joe Sarsero writes in with an issue about disabling and re-enabling iCloud Photo Library in macOS. His wife turned iCloud Photo Library off with her 250GB set of photos and videos on a Mac with. I have been using iCloud Photo Library for quite some time. I keep full originals on my MacBook Pro, full originals on my iPhone, and optimized versions on my iPad. While on vacation with spotty wifi, my iPhone got stuck on 'downloading 27 originals' and nothing could fix it, even after returning home to solid wifi.

Before we show you how to set up the iCloud Photo Library and how to access iCloud on Mac, there’s a bit of housekeeping we need you to take care of.

How to keep no junk in iCloud

Copy the Photos Library from your Pictures Folder to an external disk. Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch Photos. From the resulting menu select “Other Library” and navigate to the new location. You’ll get a message that says: “This library contains items that need to download from iCloud Photo Library.”. This wikiHow teaches you how to save a backup of your entire Photos library on a Mac. You can automatically upload all your pictures to iCloud if you want an online backup, or copy your Photos Library file to an external drive if you want to save a manual backup. Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services. A Mac that was upgraded to a new version of OS X that added the Photos app, however, can end up with what look like duplicates of their photo libraries. The first time you start up Photos after upgrading, your Mac will copy over your photo library into the new software (if you explicitly set up more than one old iPhoto library, you’ll have to. The surest way to resolve this is to create a fresh Photos Library by following these steps: ⌘ cmd - Q out of Photos. Go into  → System Preferences → iCloud → Photos Options and uncheck iCloud Photo Library. Reboot if you want to be safe, though it shouldn’t be necessary.

One of iCloud’s great features is that it automatically backs up all of your photos. So when you’re out happily snapping away with your iPhone camera, iCloud will work in the background to add all of your images to the Photo Library so that you can instantly access them on your Mac when you get home.

However, as you’re going to be setting up the Library for the first time, your Mac will automatically start syncing every image that already exists on your computer to iCloud. There are two reasons why this might not be ideal:

1. There are photos on your Mac that you don’t want, or need, uploading.
2. The iCloud Photo Library only comes with 5GB of free storage. More storage costs a minimum of $0.99 (USD) a month.

So, before switching on the Photo Library, it’s worth clearing out some of your iPhoto junk. CleanMyMac X lets you do this in a few clicks, using its smart scanning tool to only remove photos that you no longer need, such as pre-rotated or pre-cropped shots.

Here’s how to use CleanMyMac to clean up your iPhoto folders.

1. Download CleanMyMac (you can do that here, for free).
2. Launch CleanMyMac and click on Photo Junk from the sidebar menu.
3. Your default photo library is already pre-selected to be scanned, but can easily be changed by clicking on Change Library.
4. Hit Scan.
5. Then hit Clean.

That’s it! No more useless photos poised to take up precious iCloud space.

Setting up the iCloud Photo Library

Okay, you’re ready to start syncing your photos. Before turning on the iCloud Photo Library make sure that you’re running the latest version of macOS. You can check for updates by going to Apple Menu > System Preferences > App Store and clicking on the Updates tab. While you’re there, check that “Automatically check for updates” and “Download newly available updates in the background” are selected, this will ensure you never miss a new update. Then, check that you’re signed to iCloud with the same Apple ID that you use across all devices.

To turn on the iCloud Photo Library, go to System Preferences > iCloud. Next to Photos, click Options, then select iCloud Photo Library.

Your photos will now automatically begin uploading to the iCloud Photo Library. Depending on the size of your collection and your internet speed, the process might take some time. Fortunately, you don’t have to upload everything at once. Your Mac lets you pause the upload whenever you like.

To do this, open up the Photos app, select Photos, then click on Moments. Scroll to the bottom of your photos and hit the Pause button.

How to Access iCloud Photos on Mac

The iCloud Photo Library really doesn’t change anything in terms of how you view or manage your photos. To view photos synced to iCloud, open up the Photos app — they’ll all be there, just like before.

The Photos app is also the place to manage your storage space. iCloud offers an “Optimize Mac Storage” feature that stores full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and keeps originals on your Mac (if you have space). It’s a feature worth using alongside CleanMyMac to better manage your free space. To enable the feature, click Photos > Preferences and select Optimize Mac Storage.

If you decide that 5GB of storage isn’t enough, you can upgrade your plan by going to System Preferences > iCloud > Manage and clicking on Storage Plan or Buy More Storage.

How to access iCloud Photos on an iOS device

While your Mac is likely to be your main hub for organizing and editing photos, your iPhone or iPad is the device you'll use to snap all of those lovely photos. Next vpn free download.

To access the iCloud from iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Apple TV first you’ll need to turn it on. In iOS 10.3 or later, do this by going to Settings > [name] > iCloud > Photos, then turn on iCloud Photo Library.

In iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Photos.

On Apple TV tvOS 9.2 or later, go to Settings > Accounts > iCloud > iCloud Photo Library.

Now, iCloud storage access of all photos and videos can be had by using the Photos app.

How to access iCloud drive from a browser

If you don’t have your Mac or iOS device, you’ll be pleased to know that you can also access iCloud from a PC, Android, or Windows device using your preferred browser.

All you need to do is go to iCloud.com and login in using your Apple ID. Once you’re logged in, click on the iCloud Drive button to manage your account in the same way that you would on your Mac.

Keep the photos you need, get rid of the ones you don’t

Enabling the iCloud Photo Library across all of your devices is the best way to organize and manage your photos, and keep your precious memories close to hand at all times. However, you should always be mindful of space. If you shoot as many videos as you take photos, iCloud’s 5GB of free storage can be maxed out fast, leaving you unable to backup media files until you upgrade or delete unwanted photos.

With the Photo Library enabled, make a regular habit of using CleanMyMac to delete unneeded photos and manage space with iCloud’s optimize feature.

CleanMyMac X makes it easy to rid your Mac of old photos and videos to ensure your iCloud Photo Library only syncs the things you need. Download the app for free today.

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A few years ago, I decided to go all-in with iCloud Photos. My library was just over 1TB at the time, so I’ve been paying for the 2TB plan ever since (I’ve been collecting photos in my library since 2001 and while it could definitely use a bit of trimming, I don’t think there’s much I want to get rid of).

It’s super convenient to have all my photos everywhere at all times (what’s the point in taking them if you can’t enjoy them?), but I did want to find a way to have a secondary backup solution that doesn’t rely on Photos or iCloud.

I already have a Synology NAS for other backups and as a general storage system, so I wanted to find a way for it to always have an up-to-date copy of my Library.

Why back up the cloud?

So since I’m already paying Apple, why would I want another backup?

Well it basically boils down to wanting an independent backup: what if I lose access to my iCloud account? Or Apple loses my data somehow? Both unlikely, but it can happen.

Options considered

Direct backup

First I looked into ways to get the Synology to pull my photos down directly. There are a few command line scripts that can talk directly to your iCloud account, but they all looked a bit fragile – I want a setup that is going to work reliably and doesn’t require maintenance.

Via Windows

The next option I tested was using a cheap miniPC running Windows 10 and Apple’s iCloud software to copy the files onto the mounted Synology drive.

In hindsight, I’m not sure what I was expecting: the cheap miniPC was temperamental, Windows never stopped updating and Apple iCloud for Windows seemed… well not their main focus, lets put it that way.

It sort of worked, but quickly felt like more hassle than it was worth.

Via a Mac

Ok so this is by far the easiest way of doing it, but it does require you have a desktop Mac or a MacBook that

a) has a full copy of your photos library

and

b) Is awake and connected to your network at regular intervals to run the backup

Since my MacBook is usually closed / not plugged in and doesn’t have a full copy of my photo library, I bought a used Mac Mini and hooked it up to an external 2 TB drive. Then I configured Photos.app to store a full local copy of my library.

How To Unpause Icloud Photo Library On Mac

(Note: Why isn’t this enough backup? My concern is that if my photos are wiped on one device accidentally, the Mac Mini’s library would also be wiped)

Finally I installed Synology’s Backup Mac client on the Mac Mini and told it to monitor the photos directory and mirror those files to the Synology. It’s configured to only add files, not delete them. That way, if my library is ever accidentally wiped, it won’t also delete the files from the Synology backup.

So now I have the following setup; /bfme-no-cd-crack.html.

• I take or import a picture on my iPhone
• It gets uploaded to iCloud Photos
• The Mac Mini downloads a copy to its Photos Library
• The Synology app copies the photo into its backup

I’ve configured the Mac Mini and Synology to wake up for a few hours every day to do this and so far it’s working really well.

Stuff used

How To Unpause Icloud Photo Library On Mac Desktop

• Synology Drive client app