RAW photos won’t stay in portrait orientation

"A RAW image is an image file that contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from a digital camera’s sensor. Similar to raw food ingredients that need to be prepared and cooked before consumption, a RAW image also needs to be post-processed in software before it is ready to be printed, shared or shown on a display device. Unlike JPEG files that can be easily opened, viewed and printed by most image-viewing / editing programs, RAW is a proprietary format that is tied to a specific camera model. Therefore, in order for the software to be able to work with a RAW file, it must be compatible with the particular camera the RAW image was captured with. Post-processing RAW images can yield greater dynamic range (with better highlight and shadow recovery options), superior colors and in some cases can even provide more detail when compared to JPEG images.

RAW files typically consist of three main parts: the actual RAW data from the image sensor, a camera-processed full-size JPEG preview + thumbnail, and all relevant header and metadata information. For cameras to be able to display the recorded image on the rear LCD or on the electronic viewfinder, the camera-processed JPEG preview is used. The image header, as well as parts of the metadata are used for interpreting sensor image data by RAW conversion software, while other metadata information such as exposure settings, camera and lens model, date/time, etc. can be used for filtering, sorting and cataloging images."

Nasim Mansurov

Photos does have a library repair tool available here

Hi, welcome to the Apple Users Community.

I might be mistaken here but the definition of RAW is exactly that. It is an unadulterated, unedited image format.

If you shoot a portrait image your using a camera you rotate the camera, yes? You have physically changed the orientation of the device not the file that is created by the camera. When you rotate said file on your iMac you have edited the image digitally so rendering it to a new format, it is not RAW any longer.

Check this thread out with an Apple recommended suggestion from Old Toad, this guy really knows his stuff when it comes to Photos

Best of luck

Yes, Photos supports RAW image formats of which there are over 40 different types and you use 1 specific type from your particular camera.

Do you have any other way of editing, viewing or cataloging your images?

Did you trying the Apple recommended suggestion by Old Toad?

Have you attempted to repair your library?

As I remember it iPhoto was added to Macs in 2002, and I may be wrong but I believe RAW support was added to iPhotos about 3 or 4 months after it's update to version 5 which launched in early 2005 but I'll be honest with you, I don't use it, and never have. I have professional software that is much more capable.

I do however know and use RAW image formats very regularly, and while you may be correct about the functionality of Photos in Catalina, you have not once mentioned anything about what edits you may have made to your images and how you have made the images rotate to your preferred orientation.

So please, let us know how someone here can help you.

I've had this problems with RAW images taken on my Nikon cameras. I opened a ticket with Apple support quite some time ago and while they were genuinely attempting to be helpful, the case ended with it being declared a bug with no known workarounds.

The experience was that when importing photos, the thumbnail in the import dialog looked fine; after importing, the thumbnail of the imported file looked fine; but upon opening the full image it was not in the correct orientation.

I have found that after rotating an image a full 360 and then to the desired orientation, it looks correct in all platforms both thumbnails and full view. In my mind this makes no sense but there you go. Maybe it will work for you, maybe not. Either way it's still a bug that Apple needs to squash to my knowledge.

I too have this issue and, like PhillipU, have spoken Apple to no avail. It's obviously something in iCould since, as you discovered, things are fine until online syncing. Really sucks.