transferring photos ibrary

Hi JG Here,

It sounds like you need help with your Photos library, and I want to help.

Which version of macOS are you using on each Mac?

If you would like your libraries to be identical on both it might be a great option for you to setup and use iCloud Photos:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

With Photos syncing, every change made on one device will occur on any device logged into your Apple ID and using iCloud Photos.

If you'd prefer to move the photo library manually, you can use these steps to locate the library file to copy:

• Open Finder > Users > [username] > Pictures > Photos Library
• Copy this file to your new Mac.
• If you're using an external drive to facilitate the transfer, take a look at the steps 1-4 in the section titled "Move your Photos library to an external storage device" here: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac
• Once you've copied the library file to your MacBook use these steps to designate the copied library as the System Photo Library: Designate a System Photo Library in Photos

If you want to transfer all your content over, you might use Migration Assistant instead:

How to move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

Good luck!

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

Hi JG Here,

I'm glad you moved your Photos library over.

If you want to sync photos to your iPhone from your Mac, you should be able to do that in Finder:

Sync photos between your Mac and iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Good luck!

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

I don't use iCloud Photos because I manually sync to my phone. Can't do that with iCloud photos on.

iCloud Photos is perfect to keep the Macs in sync, even if the system versions on the Macs are different. And you can use iCloud Photos on your Macs and still sync the iPhone manually; just keep iCloud Photos disabled on the iPhone.