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Photo Library 'originals' folder suddenly grown in size

Hello


I have recently brought a new MacBook and after signing into iCloud, I could see all my photos available via the photos app. Checking storage on my Mac saw the size of my Photo library come in around 2-3GB, which is what I expected, as I had chosen the option in Photos to Maximise my Mac storage, not download originals.


However, after using the laptop in a different location from my home (and having it actually plugged into power as opposed to just running of battery) the size of my Photo library has leapt up to 25GB.


Looking in the package contents of the Photo library, I can see that loads of the originals of my photos have now mysteriously downloaded...even though I still have maximise Mac storage selected in the Photos app.


As an experiment, I deleted one of the originals (from the originals folder inside the Photos app package contents accessed via the Finder) and it still seems to be viewable in the Photos app...


So, can anyone offer any help as to why Photos has suddenly started downloading originals? And can anyone offer any advice on how I can shrink the library back down to around 2GB? Can I just delete the originals from the package contents folder?


Many thanks for any help in advance!!

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Nov 13, 2021 2:01 PM

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Posted on Nov 14, 2021 7:02 AM

To remove all originals in one go and start over with a small library, you can simply check, if all imported originals have made it to iCloud Photos.

When you are sure, that all photos have been uploaded,

  • quit Photos,
  • make a backup copy of the current photos Library on an external volume,
  • then delete the complete Photos Library.
  • launch Photos again, while holding down the options key ⌥ . Select to create a new, empty library.
  • Make this new library your System Photos Library and enable again iCloud Photos. Enable "Optimise Mac Storage"
  • Now waiting for the photos and albums to reappear. You will get all photos, albums, smart albums, folders back, but your projects will be missing. This is why you need the backup.


Initially your library will be very small, but it will probably grow again, slowly, as your are using photos. Even if you are not using "Download Originals", Photos will try to keep the most recently originals, as space permits. I would not worry too much about it, unless the free storage on your Mac is dropping below 20GB and your Mac gets very slow. Photos should automatically remove originals again, if more free storage is needed, as Tony pointed out.

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6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 14, 2021 7:02 AM in response to Inigo

To remove all originals in one go and start over with a small library, you can simply check, if all imported originals have made it to iCloud Photos.

When you are sure, that all photos have been uploaded,

  • quit Photos,
  • make a backup copy of the current photos Library on an external volume,
  • then delete the complete Photos Library.
  • launch Photos again, while holding down the options key ⌥ . Select to create a new, empty library.
  • Make this new library your System Photos Library and enable again iCloud Photos. Enable "Optimise Mac Storage"
  • Now waiting for the photos and albums to reappear. You will get all photos, albums, smart albums, folders back, but your projects will be missing. This is why you need the backup.


Initially your library will be very small, but it will probably grow again, slowly, as your are using photos. Even if you are not using "Download Originals", Photos will try to keep the most recently originals, as space permits. I would not worry too much about it, unless the free storage on your Mac is dropping below 20GB and your Mac gets very slow. Photos should automatically remove originals again, if more free storage is needed, as Tony pointed out.

Nov 13, 2021 2:12 PM in response to Inigo

Hi


Have you been viewing/editing/exporting/sharing any of your photos. Or created slideshows, or other projects?. If so, in order to do this then the original is downloaded. They are removed again when the space is needed.


What size is your library in iCloud. You can generally expect your on mac library to be 10% to 20% of this.


And SERIOUSLY - what are you doing messing around inside your library deleting stuff. It is not just a collection of files, but also a database. The database expects to find the files where it has put them. Manually deleting stuff in there risks damaging your library to the point it will not function - subsequently risking your ability to access your photos via the photos app at all.

Nov 13, 2021 2:28 PM in response to TonyCollinet

Hi, many thanks for replying so quickly!


The total size of my photo library on iCloud is around 54GB so what has been downloaded is far more than 10% - 20%.


I’ve probably scanned through some of my photos during the last few days, but only in the ‘grid’ view of the Photos app (ie not clicking on them to make them full size). Some of the ones that I can now see in the originals folder I haven’t looked at in years.


And thanks for the tip about not messing around too much in the actual Photos library…I only deleted one as I felt I was treading on dangerous ground…


But that still leaves me with the problem of now having 25GB of photos stuck on my hard drive with no clear way of removing them - very frustrating!!

Nov 14, 2021 1:10 AM in response to Inigo

OK - that is odd.


The problem is apple doesn't document in detail when/why originals will be downloaded, or when/why they will be removed again. What we are told is they will be removed when the space is needed.


It is possible that they are being downloaded to allow the image scanning (face id, object recognition, live text etc etc) to take place. In which case they might be removed again when that process is complete (thought that may take some time - days/weeks)


So the only suggestion I have is to ignore it. If your drive starts to get full any un-needed originals should be removed.

Nov 14, 2021 7:12 AM in response to léonie

The library size to expect:


I am trying to purchase all devices with the maximum of available storage, so I do not need to "optimise storage": I like to have all originals stored locally, so Time Machine can back them up, and most important, so I always will have access to my photos, even if the network is slow or down completely.

But the Mac the university gave me to use for lectures to present my slides has only 252GB of storage and I have to use "optimise storage" to access my photos in iCloud. My iCloud Photos Library has a size of 216.8GB.

On the smallest Mac the "originals" folder is nearly empty has just a size of 450MB. The largest entity is the folder resources. It is holding the optimised versions, the edited versions, the thumbnails and previews. The largest items are the edited versions of the externally edited photos, which can be very large, particularly, if the external editors are saving the edited versions back in a lossless format like TIFF. The resources are having a size of 17GB, and there is no way to reduce the size, as long as I am not compressing and reimporting the edited versions.


Nov 14, 2021 11:55 PM in response to léonie

Hello,


Many thanks for all the replies - they have been really helpful!!


Yes, I think what is going on here is that Photos is downloading as many originals as possible, either for facial id or object recognition etc or to simply have as many originals on my hard drive as possible, considering that my MacBook is new and there is plenty of space.


My MacBook is currently plugged into power and the Photo library is currently growing again and is now at 31.87GB (up from 25GB).


As léonie says, I think the best thing to do is simply leave Photos to get on doing it's background data/download management and not worry about it until hard drive space becomes an issue.


Thank you all so much again for your advice!!


Photo Library 'originals' folder suddenly grown in size

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