Manual method
Export original images and videos from Photos on Mac, with optional separate copies of edited versions.
- Open Photos on the Mac linked to the intended library and wait for iCloud synchronization.
- Select the items to preserve, then File → Export → Export Unmodified Original.
- Include IPTC as XMP if you want the metadata sidecars; choose names and subfolders, then Export Originals to your archive.
- If edits matter, save a separate edited export and clearly label it as an additional rendition.
Coverage and limitations: Exported originals do not reproduce the entire Photos library, album organization or edit history. Optimized storage may require originals to download first. Live Photos can have both image and video components.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative small / central / large case: 5 / 100 / 1000 GB (decimal GB). These are planning assumptions, not a measured average per person. 100 GB models a long-running phone-photo library with 20,000 images and some video. RAW photographs and 4K clips can push this above 1 TB.
Preparation: No archive request queue for the Mac method; downloading cloud originals and writing exports can take hours for a large library.
For the central 100 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection | Estimated transfer |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 31.7 hours |
| 50 Mbps | 6.3 hours |
| 100 Mbps | 3.2 hours |
Assumes 70% sustained use of the stated connection. Provider throttling, many small files, retries, local extraction and copying add time. For online backup use your upload speed. These are not estimates of the provider’s preparation queue. See calculation and large-file advice.
Store and verify the archive
Use an external SSD or hard drive as the main archive. A USB key is suitable for a selected transfer copy, but capacity and sustained speed can be limiting. Keep a second encrypted copy on a separate drive or in private online backup.
Create apple_photos/YYYY-MM-DD/originals/, preserve the untouched download, and extract a separate working copy when needed. Allow extra free space for archive plus extraction; compressed text can expand far beyond twice its size. Record account/scope, export date, date coverage and missing items in a local README without passwords.
Check still/video pairs, sample edits separately, verify dates, and retain XMP files. If preserving the library package too, keep it as a separate app-specific backup. Reopen a sample from the second copy before deleting or replacing any source. Storage choices and verification.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.