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Inconsistency when dragging photos out of Apple Photos

So I recently realized I have a LOT of photos that are in the .TIFF file format in my photos library. Many of them are huge files (200-300 mb each). I do not need them this big. At first I thought I would export them all as JPEGS (which would easily cut their size by about 75%), delete all the original TIFFS from Photos library, and then re-import the smaller files back in. The problem with this is that the 'Created' date will be different, and it will mess up all the ordering of my photos when looking at them in chronological view.


On a whim, I just dragged a TIFF file to my desktop and - lo and behold! - it automatically converted the file to a JPEG, cut the size by a huge amount, AND kept the original date! This is exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, after trying this a few more times, I realized that it was only converting SOME of the TIFF files to JPEGS. Others, it was leaving as TIFFS, and at their original size.


Any suggestions as to why some are being changed to JPEGS and others aren't? I find this inconsistency very strange and confusing. Would appreciate any suggestions or help here! Thanks in advance!


Adam

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 12.3

Posted on Jun 7, 2022 10:19 AM

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Posted on Jun 7, 2022 2:34 PM

Drag drop will only copy the current preview file - possibly reduced size and quality. If a preview doesn't yet exist (eg image has not been opened/edited) then it might use the original file.


File export should maintain the exif date (including capture date) in the exported file. This is the date that photos uses to order the images, not the file creation date. Try it and see.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 7, 2022 2:34 PM in response to Adam Burnett

Drag drop will only copy the current preview file - possibly reduced size and quality. If a preview doesn't yet exist (eg image has not been opened/edited) then it might use the original file.


File export should maintain the exif date (including capture date) in the exported file. This is the date that photos uses to order the images, not the file creation date. Try it and see.

Jun 9, 2022 10:43 PM in response to Adam Burnett

Any suggestions as to why some are being changed to JPEGS and others aren't? I find this inconsistency very strange and confusing. Would appreciate any suggestions or help here! Thanks in advance!

Adam Burnett wrote:

Any suggestions as to why some are being changed to JPEGS and others aren't? I find this inconsistency very strange and confusing. Would appreciate any suggestions or help here! Thanks in advance!

Adam

As Tony pointed out, you will drag a JPEG out of Photos, if photos has created a JPEG preview. That can happen for different reasons.The preview will be created, if adjustments applied, but not, if the original file suffices as a preview. If the original file is small enough and has no adjustments, the original may be used as the preview, even a TIFF.


Inconsistency when dragging photos out of Apple Photos

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