Select an option for File Name and Subfolder Format, and then input your text as desired. Select either Export # Photos or Video or Export Unmodified Original for # Photos or Videos.

Select the photos and video you want to back up.

How to back up portions of your iCloud Photo Libraryĭon't want to back up your entire library? You can export individual images and videos to your external drive. If you go this route, it's highly recommended to set up bi-weekly reminders for the following steps to keep the Photos library backed up regularly. If you have one of the best external hard drives just laying around, you should consider using it for making an external library to backup your iCloud Photo Library.

If Pictures is not already in your sidebar, drag the Pictures folder from your Macintosh HD into the sidebar.ĭrag your Photos Library to your external drive.Ĭreate an external library for backing up iCloud Photo Library.

Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.

If you've turned on the Download Originals option for your Photos library but don't want to back it up automatically, you can always copy your Photos library to an external drive regularly. now's a good time to start! Back up your Photos library manually And if you don't currently use a backup service, well. No matter which method you prefer (though it's highly recommended to use both), your Photos library (and all images and video automatically downloaded from iCloud) will be backed up as well. If you've turned on the Download Originals option for your Photos library, you can back up your Photos library as part of your regular backup routine with Time Machine or even an online clone service like Carbon Copy or BackBlaze.

(You can also export sections of your library if you don't want to back up the whole thing.) Back up your Photos library automatically There are two ways to back up your iCloud Photo Library to an external drive: backing up your Photos library automatically or manually. How to back up your iCloud Photo Library content to an external drive Depending on how big your iCloud Photo Library is, it may take a while - just be patient. Your Mac will now download full-resolution copies of all your images to your Mac's hard drive, stored inside your Photos app library. Select Preferences from the drop-down menu.

Click Photos in the App menu in the upper left corner of your screen.

Otherwise, consider backing up to an external drive. Note: If you plan to back up your entire digital library to your Mac's hard drive, you'll likely want to do it on a desktop Mac with at least a 1TB drive or more.

Photo library mac network drive