file size for photos
The file sizes for my photos tend to be between 1-5 MB on my iPhone, but when I look at them on my Mac, they are only around 100kB. How do I get full resolution pics on my computer?
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Have you checked the resolution of the photos you are transferring to your Mac? Look at the Info for a photo you downloaded from your iPhone. For example, the images taken with the back camera of my iPhone 11 Pro Max are showing the dimensions 4032 × 3024 in the Info.
When you transfer the original files from the iPhone to your Mac, the dimensions and file size should remain the same. But if you use some sharing method to transfer the images with adjustments applied, it will depend on the sharing method, if you will transfer the the photo with the same resolution and quality. For example, Shared albums will reduce the resolution to share only small files. Mail will send the image files at a small size, unless you change this to full size. The edited versions can be much smaller than the originals.
Downloading the images directly from the iPhone with Image Capture of Photos should transfer the full resolution originals. Syncing your Mac and the iPhone with iCloud Photos should sync the original image files at the full resolution, paired with the edited versions. Both methods are save to get the full resolution originals to your Mac.
Where are you looking at the file size of the photos? Are you checking the file size in the Finder after exporting the photos or in the Info in Photos? Check both places and compare the results to ensure, that you are exporting your photos from Photos in the full quality.
In the Finder you will see the size of the version you exported from Photos. Depending on the method of exporting your photos from Photos for Mac you may be seeing a smaller file size after exporting.
- To see the size of the full-size original in the Finder try "File > Export > Export unmodified original".
- To save the edited versions in a high quality in the Finder on your Mac use "File > Export > Export ... Photos", and set the export preset to Full Size and a high quality, if you are exporting as a JPEG.