Access to many photos on computer now denied

That could be because 1) when you imported the photos into your Library they were not copied based on your settings and the original that was stored elsewhere has been deleted or 2) you are using iCloud Photos and have the option to Optimize Storage selected rather than the Download Originals option.

Both of these are in Photos app > Photos menu > Settings.

Then what has happened here is that you imported the pics into Photos with the 'Copy Items to Photos Library' option unchecked. This means that you chose to be responsible for the file management of these images - whether you intended to or not. That means Photos has no ides where they are, and I would recommend you start searching your back ups for them, if you have any. If you don't then I'm afraid those files are gone.

And the box to copy photos at import? If that is not checked then the originals were not copied into the library only thumbnails were stored. In that case if you deleted the original images, then you can no longer access the originals in Photos. Restoring your Photo Library will not help. You need to find the original images (hopefully in your TM backup) and restore them.

Personally, I do have the option to copy images to the library checked. It means my Photos Library is pretty large (~200 GB) but it also means I have access to all my original images if needed.

ON running a referenced library - one where you import images with that box unchecked:

You can, if you prefer, and have a fondness for pain and pointless chores, run what's called a Referenced Library. In this set up the files are not copied to the library package, but rather left where you have them on import.

But...

In this scenario you can't use the Cloud Photo Library.

Also:

Photos has no tools to manage images stored outside the package. So this is where the pointless chores come in: Everything is more work for you: You move the images from the camera to your preferred storage. Then import them. Deletions? Delete the image in Photos and then go to your storage and root out the deleted image yourself. Anything like moving your store to another disk to a new computer becomes a world of grief because - and this is where the pain really comes in: If the path to the file is broken for any reason you will need to reconnect it manually. Not really a problem if it's one photo. But if it's 10,000 or 100,000, well that's a lot of discomfort indeed.

All those other managers - you know the ones you pay for - have tools to manage a referenced library. Relocating files and folders is simple, so is reconnect files and all that, because these apps have the tools for that, and that's one of the reasons you pay for them. If that's important to you, then Photos is not the app for you - it's not for me, for instance, I use a different more capable app.

My rule of thumb: If you want to use Photos don't use a referenced library, if you want referenced library don't use Photos.

In looking through the photos I can still access, they are all from prior to 2020.

Then the box was unticked in 2020, either accidentally or by design. If you have had the box unticked this ahs nothing to do with an OS upgrade. Either you or someone unchecked the box.

Were these images imported directly from the camera? or from folders in the Finder? If from the camera then I would be pessimistic. If from folders then search for those folders.

First, if you were accidentally using a referenced Library, then those pictures had to be in a folder somewhere for Photos to reference. The problem became apparent when Photos lost track of those folders, maybe because they were moved or re-named, or something. So you may be able to find them-- maybe even somewhere on your Mac. (I just came by here, so I haven't read everything-- What computer is this? When did the pictures first disappear? Are you sure they were all available before Sequoia?) The folders have to be someplace where Photos accessed them the last time you saw them. Check Time Machine for folders before those dates.

When you have the "box" checked, then copies of the pictures are put in the Photos Library, so then there are two copies-- the ones in the folders and the ones in the Photos Library. So the ones in Folders should be saved on an external hard drive just in case something like this happens again. You can also drag the entire Photos Library from the Pictures folder to an external drive for a separate kind of backup. (Dragging to another drive makes a copy.)

As far as I know, iPhoto didn't have a Referenced option. But it is possible that in setting up Photos for the first time, that this "box" looked like something extra you didn't want, instead of it being the opposite. The "Copy items" box, though, has always been checked by default.

Kat_NY_Mom wrote:

I'm the only person to use this computer and had never accessed the Photos Setting Tab before today.

Would it have to do with the change from iPhoto to Photos?

Most images were imported directly from a camera or pulled and copied from emails. It sounds like I am SOL.

Thanks for the help.

Then check the email attachments and import again from the email.

Check the camera cards, if you can reimport the photos.

Yeah you might want to look in your backup for the photos