Check what your Mac photo backup needs to include

Before backing up Apple Photos, check which library you use and whether the full photos are on your Mac. This gives you a clear list of what needs copying.

A library is the collection Photos opens, including its albums and edits. Seeing a picture in that collection does not always mean its full original is stored on the Mac.

What you need

Your Mac with Photos, access to your usual collection, and a notebook. These checks use Photos settings on macOS Ventura 13 or later. You do not need to buy anything or move your library today.

1. Identify your working library

Open Photos and check that it contains the collection you normally use. Choose Photos > Settings, then General. Beside the library location, choose Show in Finder.

Finder is the Mac app that shows files and folders. Write down the library’s name and where it lives. For example: “Photos Library, in Pictures on this Mac.”

If it lives on a portable drive, include that drive’s name. Keep it connected while using the library. If you deliberately use several libraries, make a separate note for each; protecting one does not protect the others.

2. Check the iCloud setting

Return to Photos > Settings and choose iCloud. If iCloud Photos is already selected, note whether Download Originals to this Mac or Optimise Mac Storage is selected.

Download Originals keeps full versions on the Mac once downloading finishes. Optimise Mac Storage can leave some full versions only in iCloud, Apple’s online storage.

For this check, simply record what you find. Do not turn on iCloud or change accounts. A local backup cannot copy a full original that has not reached the computer.

If you need to download originals, first check the Mac has room for the complete collection. Do not delete photos to create that room: with iCloud Photos, deletion can reach your other linked devices.

3. Note files stored outside the library

Some people previously imported photos while leaving their files in ordinary folders outside the Photos library. Apple calls these referenced files. A copy of the library alone does not include them.

If you know you used that arrangement, list those folders and their drives too. Keep those source files where they are while planning the backup.

If you do not know, write “outside files not checked”. The current import setting does not establish how every older photo was imported. Ask someone familiar with your library to help check before treating the library copy as complete.

4. Choose a small checking sample

Write down an old photo, a recent photo and a short video you will recognise later. Include an edited favourite if keeping its appearance matters.

For a Live Photo, note that you want its movement as well as the still picture. For important albums, note their names. These are useful checks when examining a recovered library; a folder of exported pictures may not recreate all its organisation.

Check it worked

Your note identifies the working library, its location, the iCloud storage choice and any known outside folders. Unanswered questions are clearly marked, rather than silently counted as protected.

You have not made a backup yet. You have identified what it must include, which is a useful job on its own.

If you get stuck

The library is on a disconnected drive: reconnect the usual drive before checking. Avoid creating a new empty library as a substitute.

There is not enough room for originals: resolve storage before making a full-backup claim. Thumbnails are small previews, not proof of local originals.

Someone else set up Photos: show them your note and ask about other libraries and referenced files.