Photo Backup Question

[heisenberg123]

What is the best/easiest way to backup my photos to my mac?

I know the itunes backup will do this but are these photos hidden in a backup file only available if I restore that file back to the phone?


I was thinking more of a way to back them up to a folder on my Mac that I can view and edit them on the Mac

 

[eclipse01]

What is the best/easiest way to backup my photos to my mac?

I know the itunes backup will do this but are these photos hidden in a backup file only available if I restore that file back to the phone?


I was thinking more of a way to back them up to a folder on my Mac that I can view and edit them on the Mac

Honestly I just drag and drop to my computer once in a while.

 

[nikhsub1]

If you have a Mac just import them into iPhoto.

 

[jettrue]

If you have a Mac just import them into iPhoto.

I use cloud backup for my "backup" as well as backing them up with connected to my mac. I ALSO back everything up to google photos, and I have for a while now, as I tend to switch back and forth between android and an iPhone.

 

[cynics]

What do you consider 'backed up'? Just being on the Mac?

If thats the case then Photostream via iPhoto is the easiest. Just turn it on on your Mac and iPhone and it does the rest.

Once they are on your mac in iPhoto its up to you if you want to back them up any further. Personally at this point I still use DropBox to have a little bit of redundancy with keeping photos safe.

 

[nikhsub1]

What do you consider 'backed up'? Just being on the Mac?

If thats the case then Photostream via iPhoto is the easiest. Just turn it on on your Mac and iPhone and it does the rest.

Once they are on your mac in iPhoto its up to you if you want to back them up any further. Personally at this point I still use DropBox to have a little bit of redundancy with keeping photos safe.

Photostream only shows your last 1000 pictures, it isn't a means of backup. The op asked how to get the photos on his mac - the easiest was is to just import via iphoto... done. How he backs up his mac is not relevant since that isn't what he asked about.

 

[heisenberg123]

Photostream only shows your last 1000 pictures, it isn't a means of backup. The op asked how to get the photos on his mac - the easiest was is to just import via iphoto... done. How he backs up his mac is not relevant since that isn't what he asked about.

thanks

I backup my Mac using CCC

I have been a Mac user for only 2 years I was using a Samsung Galaxt those 2 years I dont think I have even opened iPhoto I will look at it tonight

 

[Small White Car]

I dont think I have even opened iPhoto I will look at it tonight

Don't get too attached. 'Photos' is replacing it early next year.

Now, obviously iPhoto will continue to work after that, but since you're not someone who has a huge iPhoto library that you have to deal with, I say there's no reason to jump in now.

Just use 'Image Capture' as needed until 'Photos' comes out and then we'll all have to figure out what to do at that point.

 

[heisenberg123]

What do you consider 'backed up'? Just being on the Mac?

If thats the case then Photostream via iPhoto is the easiest. Just turn it on on your Mac and iPhone and it does the rest.

Once they are on your mac in iPhoto its up to you if you want to back them up any further. Personally at this point I still use DropBox to have a little bit of redundancy with keeping photos safe.

thanks yeah by backup I just mean copy whats on my phone to my Mac

what I was hoping for was an app on my Mac that when I connect the iphone I see all my albums and I could tick mark all or just the albums I want and hit sync or copy and it will copy them to the folder I have selected as the destination on the mac

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Don't get too attached. 'Photos' is replacing it early next year.

Now, obviously iPhoto will continue to work after that, but since you're not someone who has a huge iPhoto library that you have to deal with, I say there's no reason to jump in now.

Just use 'Image Capture' as needed until 'Photos' comes out and then we'll all have to figure out what to do at that point.

yeah I see image capture pops up when I plug in my phone so hit the import button and pick my destination folder, is it smart enough to skip the pictures I already have(assumiung I use the same destination folder as the previous time)

also does image capture see the albums on my phone or will it just see "camera roll"

 

[Small White Car]

thanks yeah by backup I just mean copy whats on my phone to my Mac

what I was hoping for was an app on my Mac that when I connect the iphone I see all my albums and I could tick mark all or just the albums I want and hit sync or copy and it will copy them to the folder I have selected as the destination on the mac

If this is just for safety then the iPhone backups (by either iTunes or iCloud) will include the photos on your phone.

Of course, that starts taking up space on iCloud so I can see why computer backups are desirable.

Right now 'Image Capture' is closest to what you're asking for, but it works more like a folder itself. You'll select ranges of photos (not albums) and drag them from there to another folder.

So not exactly right, but it will get the job done.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Photostream only shows your last 1000 pictures, it isn't a means of backup. The op asked how to get the photos on his mac - the easiest was is to just import via iphoto... done. How he backs up his mac is not relevant since that isn't what he asked about.

It's true that what Photo Stream maintains in the cloud is not a backup solution - it's temporary storage. However, Photo Stream can be setup as an automatic backup to Mac or PC - that's what the 'Stream' in Photo Stream refers to. Once you have the computer configured to automatically download from Photo Stream, new photos will automatically go from iPhone to iCloud to Mac (oh my!).

Photo Stream is the method I use to transfer photos from iPhone and iPad to Mac - the various features of iCloud mean I rarely have to sync. It is not a solution for videos - for that, every so often I do have to sync iPhone to Mac.

On Mac, either iPhoto or Aperture are configured to download and/or upload to Photo Stream, which means the photos downloaded to the computer go into iPhoto's/Aperture's Library. That is a controversy for another day (I'm all-in, but others aren't). On a PC (not that anyone asked) you can use iCloud Control Panel/iCloud for Windows to choose a Pictures folder for downloads.

Everything previously said is changing. iCloud Photo Library (currently in public beta in iOS 8) will replace Photo Stream (for those who opt in). For now, it's only available for iOS 8 - there's no way to connect to Mac until Yosemite's Photos app enters service. At that point, iCloud will no longer be limited, temporary storage - it's intended to be the permanent, cloud-based location of a photo library accessible to all devices connected to that iCloud account - for all practical purposes, a backup. At that point, the question is whether you'll want a Mac-based backup of the cloud (hint: iCloud already caches Documents in the Cloud to Mac, so the Mac can work on those documents while off the grid. I suspect iCloud Photo Library will work the same way.) If you want to maintain your photo library in iCloud (I do, others won't), you may end up paying Apple for storage - the free 5 GB wouldn't go very far in my case.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

thanks yeah by backup I just mean copy whats on my phone to my Mac

what I was hoping for was an app on my Mac that when I connect the iphone I see all my albums and I could tick mark all or just the albums I want and hit sync or copy and it will copy them to the folder I have selected as the destination on the mac

As of now, no. However, this will change with iCloud Photo Library. When you create an album on your iPhone, it's duplicated in the cloud, and in the not-yet-released Photos app on the Mac.

If Apple is at all consistent with current practice in iPhoto and Aperture, you'll be able to open the Mac Photos app, select the albums (or individual images) you want, and Export them to folders you've created elsewhere on the Mac.

yeah I see image capture pops up when I plug in my phone so hit the import button and pick my destination folder, is it smart enough to skip the pictures I already have(assumiung I use the same destination folder as the previous time)

also does image capture see the albums on my phone or will it just see "camera roll"

Image Capture is very simple - it just sees Camera Roll, as if it was a memory card. It does allow you to select which images to transfer from the iPhone, and you can decide whether to delete them from the iPhone after transfer. Image Capture probably does everything you need it to do - but you would have to re-create the various albums manually (select the photos contained in the iPhone album, import that selection to an equivalent folder you've created on your Mac).

 

[Razeus]

I use good old Dropbox and Picturelife.

1.a. Dropbox uploads photos from my phone to its Camera Upload folder. and then once a month, I move them into a designated folder on my Mac. This folder is part of a cloud based service (ie. Dropbox).

1.b. Once a month, I move them into a designated folder organized into a folder based system in Finder using Year>Event structure (ie. 2014>2014_Dallas State Fair).

2.a. Picturelife is configured to also upload from my phone and also from designated folders on My Mac using their desktop app.

3.a. Time Machine

4.a. I use Carbon Copy Cloner to make backups to 2 external hard drives.

 

[Fant]

iPhoto is great for managing all the photos. .. Just physically need to sync once in a while ... Photo stream can be thought of as a temporary backup of pictures you've taken and then do a permanent sync with iPhoto once in awhile ... However there is the issue of duplicates across iPhoto and photostream

 

[aajeevlin]

I use good old Dropbox and Picturelife.

1.a. Dropbox uploads photos from my phone to its Camera Upload folder. and then once a month, I move them into a designated folder on my Mac. This folder is part of a cloud based service (ie. Dropbox).

1.b. Once a month, I move them into a designated folder organized into a folder based system in Finder using Year>Event structure (ie. 2014>2014_Dallas State Fair).

2.a. Picturelife is configured to also upload from my phone and also from designated folders on My Mac using their desktop app.

3.a. Time Machine

4.a. I use Carbon Copy Cloner to make backups to 2 external hard drives.

I just looked into the picturelife app. Just curious, besides the features factor (e.g., organized by location, date and stylish ways of displaying them), why the extra work? It sounds like dropbox, Time machine, and CCC would be plenty just to secure the photos.

Not that I don't think the photolife's features are great. But does it offer you another layer of protection? Or did you just forgot to mention the other functionality of the photolife?

 

[Agent-P]

I currently have the OneDrive app on my iPhone set to upload my camera roll. OneDrive then downloads those photos to my Mac which is backed up by Time Machine. Though Dropbox would accomplish the same thing.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I use OneDrive on my HTC One (M7). It automatically uploads any picture I take to the cloud. I have mine set to upload when I'm connected to WiFi. Highly recommend it.

 

[Razeus]

I just looked into the picturelife app. Just curious, besides the features factor (e.g., organized by location, date and stylish ways of displaying them), why the extra work? It sounds like dropbox, Time machine, and CCC would be plenty just to secure the photos.

Not that I don't think the photolife's features are great. But does it offer you another layer of protection? Or did you just forgot to mention the other functionality of the photolife?

My only purpose is to easily view photos from years ago as it's easier to jump around dates than simply scrolling. It helps resurface old photos by sending notifications from 1,3,5 etc. years ago. It also lets me make photos albums since that's not really possible with a folder based system. It's really like having iPhoto in the cloud. It's more for convenience of having all my photos on me without using my local iPhone storage.

CCC is for offsite backup. Time Machine is always connected to my Mac so that's for immediate backup. If someone broke in and stole my Mac and harddrives, at least I have the CCC backups.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I copy the folders with images onto my desktop a couple times a month but also use DropBox.

 

[aajeevlin]

My only purpose is to easily view photos from years ago as it's easier to jump around dates than simply scrolling. It helps resurface old photos by sending notifications from 1,3,5 etc. years ago. It also lets me make photos albums since that's not really possible with a folder based system. It's really like having iPhoto in the cloud. It's more for convenience of having all my photos on me without using my local iPhone storage.

CCC is for offsite backup. Time Machine is always connected to my Mac so that's for immediate backup. If someone broke in and stole my Mac and harddrives, at least I have the CCC backups.

I see, thanks for the reply. Yes, I've noticed all the cool feature that the picturelife has. I too, use CCC to backup to a hidden server at home, then that server is sync to a offsite backup system as well.

 

[Razeus]

I see, thanks for the reply. Yes, I've noticed all the cool feature that the picturelife has. I too, use CCC to backup to a hidden server at home, then that server is sync to a offsite backup system as well.

Picturelife is the main source for browsing and sharing my personal photos with family, friends, posting to Facebook, etc. Let me know if you want my link to try it out. We both get extra storage (I'm using 100GB option myself).

My photo based system is great for organizing into nice little folders (edited). Picturelife allows me to actually do/make something with those photos. I just wish they would had options to send photos for printing and making books.

 

[aajeevlin]

Picturelife is the main source for browsing and sharing my personal photos with family, friends, posting to Facebook, etc. Let me know if you want my link to try it out. We both get extra storage (I'm using 100GB option myself).

My photo based system is great for organizing into nice little photos. Picturelife allows me to actually do/make something with those photos. I just wish they would had options to send photos for printing and making books.

Thanks for the offer, I have actually started trying it out last night with my wife. So far one of my issues with it is that it seem that they have temporary disable the ability to look at shared photos on the iPhone, or maybe I'm missing something? I can see the photos shared between my wife and I, but I'm not able to view them on the iPhone.

Also, another function I was hoping that the family stream could provide me is that ability to share the entire iPhone photo stream automatically. E.g., I take a photo with my iPhone and it is automatically pick up by picturelife and upload it into her shared photo stream for her to see. My solution right now is to simply share both of our dropbox camera upload folder. Not sure if picturelife is designed to do something like this.

But right now my bigger issue is the ability to see shared photos on the iPhone.

 

[Razeus]

Thanks for the offer, I have actually started trying it out last night with my wife. So far one of my issues with it is that it seem that they have temporary disable the ability to look at shared photos on the iPhone, or maybe I'm missing something? I can see the photos shared between my wife and I, but I'm not able to view them on the iPhone.

Also, another function I was hoping that the family stream could provide me is that ability to share the entire iPhone photo stream automatically. E.g., I take a photo with my iPhone and it is automatically pick up by picturelife and upload it into her shared photo stream for her to see. My solution right now is to simply share both of our dropbox camera upload folder. Not sure if picturelife is designed to do something like this.

But right now my bigger issue is the ability to see shared photos on the iPhone.

Share photos have been removed because they are working on a better feature for it and should be released soon. It's still available on the web. If you are in the Beta (PM me your email), you'll be able to see what they are doing with shared streams in the new iPhone app as well as the new web view (beta).

Also note, that with a subscription of family or unlimited, you can share the same service with your wife and it's only the one fee. Your wife's account stays separate from yours, but you can share via the family sharing feature. It doesn't do it automatically, so you'll have to share whatever photos you want with her by hand.

 

[MonkeySee....]

Photostream only shows your last 1000 pictures, it isn't a means of backup. The op asked how to get the photos on his mac - the easiest was is to just import via iphoto... done. How he backs up his mac is not relevant since that isn't what he asked about.

You have the Photstream but iPhoto will also create events so the photos are on your hard drive.

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re-reading this thread i'm amazed nobody knows that iPhoto is creating events based on your Photostream as well as photostream itself??

Where have you people been?

 

[aajeevlin]

Share photos have been removed because they are working on a better feature for it and should be released soon. It's still available on the web. If you are in the Beta (PM me your email), you'll be able to see what they are doing with shared streams in the new iPhone app as well as the new web view (beta).

Also note, that with a subscription of family or unlimited, you can share the same service with your wife and it's only the one fee. Your wife's account stays separate from yours, but you can share via the family sharing feature. It doesn't do it automatically, so you'll have to share whatever photos you want with her by hand.

I see, much appreciated for the information. Thanks for clearing that up for me, I read some where that the feature was taken off, however that was after some digging. It would be nice if they put up some notice for now. PMed you my email, thanks for the beta.