Photos App freezing

In the Photos app on my macbook, I am trying to import/download photos in a shared album, the album has roughly 500 photos. I open the album in the desktop photos app, select all the pictures, right click and from the menu press 'Import'. After this the app freezes, it isn't responding to trying to go into any other albums, scrolling etc. Quitting the app from the dock using control click menu doesn't work but also isn't showing me an 'Application not responding' message. When I force quit the Photos app it closes but when I open it again the photos I was trying to import from the shared album aren't in my 'Last imports'.

What's up? why does it freeze me out completely when I click import instead of telling me something about my import being in progress? How can I get all these photos locally on my computer without having to drag them and messing with the size, quality, etc. Is there's something missing from the app that would tell users "Import in progress..." for this case?

Help me! Frustrated and just want my photos :(

Thanks