This article will show you how to Access Master Image Files in macOS Photos App. By default, the Photos app on a Mac copies every picture or video you add to its own library. You can change that, but most people don’t want to deal with managed picture libraries, so they’ll leave the setting as it is. The Photos app on a Mac can import photos and organise them by moving them instantly into folders within the app’s package file.
Even though this file container isn’t meant to be seen by the user, many advanced Mac OS users prefer to have access to the source master files instead of just using the Photos app to manage images. One easy way to get to those files is to use the Show Original File trick to jump to the Finder location of an image’s master file.
However, if you find yourself using that trick a lot or needing to access the master image files from the Photos app in Mac OS often, we’ll show you a quick and easy way to get to those master images from anywhere in the Mac OS file system. You’ll need to find your pictures on your hard drive before you can copy or change them. If you want to know more information about this Visit Official Apple Support site.
How to Access Master Image Files in macOS Photos App
- Click and hold on the smiling Finder icon on left side of the Dock, then select New Finder Window from the pop-up menu.
- You should see a “Pictures” shortcut in the Finder Favorites in the left sidebar. Clicking this takes you to the Pictures folder, which contains folders and library package files from the image-related apps on your Mac. On my Mac, for instance, you can see libraries from Lightroom, Photo Booth, Photos, and a screenshot app called SnapNDrag Pro.
- If your Finder sidebar doesn’t include a Pictures folder, you can navigate to that folder in the Finder by selecting Go > Go To Folder… from the menu bar, typing ~/Pictures/ into the search field, then pressing Return.
- Locate the Photos Library file, which has the Photos logo on it. You can see that file in the screenshot above.
- Right-click (or control-click) on the Photos Library file, then select “Show Package Contents” from the menu.
- Now drag and drop the Masters folder into the Finder window sidebar in the Favorites section. This places an alias to the Photos library Masters file that is visible in any Finder window.
- Close the Photos Library package by clicking the red “close” button in the upper left corner of the window, or use the Command – W keyboard shortcut.
- Now clicking on the Masters item in the sidebar takes you to the master image files from the Photos app. These are the original full resolution files that are imported into Photos from your iPhone, SD cards.
FAQs
If you are asking where imported photos are kept on a Mac, they are kept in the photos library, which is in the pictures folder. In simple terms, this is where Mac OS stores its picture files: photoslibrary/Masters/ in /Pictures/Photos Library.
You can now click on “Masters” or “Originals” in the sidebar to go right to the master image files in the Photos app. These are the original full-resolution files that Photos app copies from your iPhone, digital camera, memory card, and other places where you’ve imported them.