Apple Photos. View photos NOT in any albums

[MontyMo]

I am organizing my photo library by putting photograph in Albums and Folders.
Is it possible to view photos not in an album? Smart Folders doesn't seems to have that ability.

Do you know of a work around?

THanks
Monty

 

[IWT]

Hi and welcome.

Photographs go into Albums and Albums go into Folders (you cannot put photographs in a Folder, only Albums).

I'm just making that point - which you probably know already - as a starting point.

The photographs in iPhoto or Photos app remain visible no matter how many Albums or Folders you create unless you deliberately choose to have them hidden. This is the direct answer to your question.

It's usually best to create a Smart Album because you determine the criteria for inclusion and it constantly updates itself as new photographs meeting the inclusion criteria are added to the Library.

If you create a "standard" Album, you have to drag the photographs into the Album and that is tiresome and it does not update automatically.

Maybe you could elaborate on what you've done re your Albums - Smart and Standard - because I cannot explain how you can't visualise photographs not in an Album - in fact ALL photographs should remain visible as the Album/Folder structure is just a means of organising photographs. Have you deliberately hidden them???

Ian

 

[MontyMo]

Thanks Ian

Right, I get it! I use Folders, Albums and Tags extensively. Smart albums, not so much. My goal is to be able to find and of my > 43,000 photos easily (and quickly). I have scanned slides dating back to the 1970s...

To accomplish my goal, I would like every photo tagged and in a folder. Rather than looking at EVERY photo to see if it is tagged or in a folder, I would like my Mac or iPad to do this for me. A smart album would be perfect, but "out of the box" they cannot do this.

Thanks
Monty

 

[IWT]

Hi Monty

Thank you for your kind words and, of course, your reply.

As you're shown as having an M1 MBA, I assume your Operating System (OS) is either macOS 11 Big Sur (BS) or, more likely, macOS 12 - Monterey?

And that means your are using the Photos app. I understand your needs. What your screenshot shows are Albums - as indeed it should, as photographs can only go into Albums. Folders are where you collate your Albums - Folders cannot store photographs on their own.

You clearly understand Smart Albums , but I wonder why you think "they cannot do this" as you stated.

In File > New Smart Album, you get this:



1. You can name to what suits you best.
2. Click on Photo and you will see a great many options.
3. Depending on which you choose, the "is" has some choices.
4. Click on Favourites and, again, you see a dozen or more options.
5. The + sign indicates that you can add additional search criteria underneath the first line.

By careful selection of criteria, you can have Smart Albums for Birthdays, Holidays, Family, Trips, Vacations, New Car, and on and on. Each Smart Album can be named in a way that immediately tells what's in there.

Of course, you can have, say, Family as a criterion in multiple Smart Albums eg, Holidays, Trips, Birthdays. You can place the Albums in Folders if you want - each Folder representing a "Group" of Albums to suit your taste.

Remember creating Albums and putting them in Folders does NOT take up more space on your Mac because each Album only contains Links to the photographs - they are not duplicates.

Hope some of this helps? Good luck.

Ian

 

[MightyGem]

Is it possible to view photos not in an album?

Yes, it is. Set up a Smart Album with the following conditions:

 

[MontyMo]

MightyGem for the win!!!!
Exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you so much!!!

Monty

Yes, it is. Set up a Smart Album with the following conditions:

View attachment 34970

 

[MontyMo]

I have some work to do
17,559
Ugh