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How to get full size exports in Photos?

I find that when I select a photo in Apple Photos on my iMac and then try to export it, it is exported at a low resolution, typically 1024 x 768 pixels, whereas the info for the (edited) picture in Photos shows a much larger size, typically of the order of 3000 pixels (depending of course on the original). Searching here for this problem, I see that some people see a 'size' option in the 'export' dialog box, but I don't see this option, nor do I see an option for JPEG quality. The only way I can get the full resolution is to open the file in an external editor - when I do that, Photos transfers the full size picture to the editor. I don't want to do this, as I am quite happy with the editing features of Photos itself.


Can anyone explain what's happening and tell me how to get the right dialog?

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.13

Posted on May 20, 2019 10:48 AM

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9 replies

May 29, 2019 3:41 AM in response to Living Fossil

Léonie, here I am again, an illustration of the issue.


I have an album and I'm displaying thumbnails. The first picture is at top left, and it has these characteristics in Photos:


I then export it:



and it ends up with the same pixel size as expected:



I then pick the next picture in the album (top row, second from left), which has these characteristics in Photos:


I then export it, exactly as before:



And I get this:


As you see, the pixel size is reduced (just a bit, in this case)!


What can be the reason for this? Should I call Apple?


May 24, 2019 9:55 AM in response to Living Fossil

Tragically, this doesn't always work. For example, I have an album in which the first photo in the row is 2769 x 1536 pixels. If I export this to a folder on my iMac, using the Export dialog as described earlier in this thread, I get the same size - fine. The next picture however, is 1900 x 1098 pixels. Exporting it using exactly the same technique yields a picture sized 1166 x 674. Subsequent photos also suffer in the same way, This happens when I try to export individually or when I try to export a group of pictures for the same album. It doesn't seem to make any sense.


I thought I knew one workaround, which was to edit the picture in an external editor. However, when I try this, using even the rock-solid Preview, I get an error:


"The operation couldn’t be completed. (PAImagingErrorDomain error 1019.)"


I really have no idea what's going on, but my pictures, which I really need in the highest resolution possible, appear to be trapped inside Photos!


Can anyone help?

May 28, 2019 10:19 AM in response to léonie

Thanks Léonie. I thought I had already answered this but I can't see my answer, so here is a modified version again. I am using JPG throughout.

I can export the unmodified original, but really that's a waste of all the editing I've done in Photos. I have now found that exporting an edited photo as PNG seems to work (pixel size is preserved), but of course the PNGs are much bigger than JPGs, so I have to open them in an editor and re-save them as JPGs (Preview will do it). I have no idea if I am introducing more loss by doing this, but it will work for the project I'm doing now (photos to show a property for sale). However I don't see it as a permanent solution, and I still don't know why the original issue arose. Should I contact Apple Support do you think?

May 28, 2019 11:29 AM in response to Living Fossil

That is really strange. Exporting with the option "Original size" should result in an exported image of the same pixel size as the original, unless the photo has been cropped during the editing. Or unless the photo library has become damaged, for example by cleaning applications like CleanMyMac, that replace the original by the preview of the edited version to save storage.


How to get full size exports in Photos?

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