Back up your library

Before following any of these steps, it's a good idea to create a backup of your photo library, even if you use iCloud Photos. You can use Time Machine, use a third-party backup solution, or copy the library to an external drive. By default, your photo library is stored in the Pictures folder within your home folder.

There are some changes to the Photos app in Catalina, most notably how you browse your photos. Gone are the confusing Years, Colle. Enjoy the memories. Memories intelligently curates your photos and videos to find trips, holidays, people, pets, and more, then presents them in beautiful collections and Memory Movies—complete with theme music, titles, and cinematic transitions. In the case of Aperture, Apple's discontinued professional photography tool, it was effectively discontinued five years ago, but the app only stopped working in Catalina, while iPhoto provided a more consumer-friendly and simpler photo management system until it too failed to operate in Catalina. Apple intended for both apps to be replaced. Unfortunately, this is not possible because the iPhoto app is no longer supported on Catalina. IPhoto has long been retired, so no matter what you do, the app will never run on your device. The app uses an outdated framework that Apple no longer supports. Your best option here is to use other apps like Photos. MacOS Catalina or Big Sur; An Intel or Apple Silicon Mac. PowerPhotos works with the built-in Photos app on your Mac, providing an array of tools to help you get your photo collection in order. Create and manage multiple libraries. If you have a lot of existing iPhoto or Aperture libraries that you want to migrate over to Photos.

Make sure that your software is up to date

Photos is part of the Mac operating system. You can avoid or fix many issues by running the most up-to-date version of macOS. Learn more about updating the software on your Mac.

If you use RAW images in Photos, learn more about the digital camera RAW formats supported by iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

If you have trouble migrating an existing iPhoto or Aperture library to Photos

You might see an alert message when you first open Photos or migrate an existing iPhoto or Aperture library. Learn what to do if Photos can’t copy or create a library.

If the Media Browser isn't showing your photos and videos

Will Iphoto Work With Catalina

Use the Media Browser to make images from your photo library available in other apps, like Pages and iMovie. The Media Browser shows only the contents of the Photos library designated as the System Photo Library. If you have more than one Photos library—and the one you're using isn't set as the System Photo Library—the Media Browser won't show its contents.

Follow these steps to designate the current library as the System Photo Library:

1. Choose Photos > Preferences.
2. Click the General button at the top of the Preferences window.
3. Click Use as System Photo Library.

If you're having other issues with Photos

If you're experiencing other issues—like missing or blank photo thumbnails, unexpected behavior, or if Photos won’t open—try to see if it's an issue with your library by following these steps.

Create a new Photos library and see if your issues persist:

1. Quit Photos.
2. Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
3. In the dialog that appears, click Create New.
4. Give your new library a name, then click OK. Note whether Photos opens successfully with this new library.

To return to your main Photos library, quit Photos. Then open it again while holding the Option key, select your main library, and click Choose Library.

Alternatively, you can open Photos in another user account on your Mac and note whether Photos opens successfully.

If Photos opens with the new library, or in a different user account, it might mean that there's an issue with your library. Follow the steps to use the Photos library repair tool on your main Photos library.

Learn more

• Learn how to create and order print products like books or calendars in Photos with Project Extensions.
• Get help with iCloud Photos.

Comments

Iphoto App For Mac Catalina

• Tyshawn Cormier clearly has mad skills. The elegant UI is a nice, surprising touch. Maybe next week he can tackle all the old 32-bit games. That would earn him the Nobel Prize for Software for sure.
• Kudos to him! Incredible piece of work. Thankfully there are still smarter people outside of Apple than inside.

  edited October 2019

• Tyshawn Cormier clearly has mad skills. The elegant UI is a nice, surprising touch. Maybe next week he can tackle all the old 32-bit games. That would earn him the Nobel Prize for Software for sure.

  Likely not going to happen. His method relies on the app to be mostly 64-bit already (and created using Objective-C). Works well for recently discontinued Apple apps, but not so great for anything which was only ever 32-bit.
• Would be amazing if he could bring back Dashboard too!
• '...Finder handles iPhone and iPad backups...' Could the author elaborate on this more, please?

• Kudos to him! Incredible piece of work. Thankfully there are still smarter people outside of Apple than inside.

  This has nothing to do with smart people in Apple. They chose to wash their hands of 32-bit apps (or ones that are partially 32-bit). They could have done this but who would accept this partial solution from Apple. They would deliver or support this.
  
• What a fabulous deep dive read into the how to do it. So clearly written; I smiled throughout at the conversational style!
• Before a virtual machine is available, Retroactive seemingly a nice trick. I always suggest Find My Friends to include more powerful functions but am disappointed by Find My... on iOS 13. Can Retroactive put Find My Friends back?

• '...Finder handles iPhone and iPad backups...' Could the author elaborate on this more, please?

  https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/05/how-iphones-and-ipads-back-up-synchronize-with-ios-13-and-macos-catalina
  

• Kudos to him! Incredible piece of work. Thankfully there are still smarter people outside of Apple than inside.

  Wait, what? So because Apple made a cognitive decision to migrate a very complex operating system to 64-bit only, and it upsets some people using obsolete software, that makes them not smart? That...that doesn’t make any sense.
  Sorry the world doesn’t give you everything you want for reasons you’re not even aware of. Prepare yourself for a lifetime of disappointment.
• Sad there was never a proper update for Aperture.
• I would have jumped on this for Aperture alone at one point in time however, I am now deeply into Capture One Pro 12 and there is no going back. Aperture was fabulous but never having been updated (let alone supported) it is now far behind the curve. The RAW support isn't there either for any new Cameras (e.g. my new full-frame Sony Alpha) and even if it were the correction algorithms are not in the same league. It's not as if the Aperture Libraries are not fully useable by Photos and Capture One. Had they not been this would definitely have been a good idea just to access old Libraries for export but it is not needed. Sad to say but it is time to let Aperture rest in peace.

  edited October 2019

• Kudos to him! Incredible piece of work. Thankfully there are still smarter people outside of Apple than inside.

  Wait, what? So because Apple made a cognitive decision to migrate a very complex operating system to 64-bit only, and it upsets some people using obsolete software, that makes them not smart? That...that doesn’t make any sense.
  Sorry the world doesn’t give you everything you want for reasons you’re not even aware of. Prepare yourself for a lifetime of disappointment.

  Yes, you are right. However, Apple could have kept the Aperture team intact and continued the development of Aperture to be fully 64 bit and also continued to improve its capabilities. There is no reason Aperture could not have been as good or better than the likes of Capture One Pro 12 by now. The reason Apple dropped Aperture leaving many of us using it for professional work high and dry is still a mystery to me. The only explanation given was that Apple's Photos was 'going to be (over time) as good'. It's not that Photos is great for consumers but it is useless for professionals. It's one of the few things Apple has done in all the years I've used Apple gear (since 1976) that left me really pissed.

  edited October 2019
• I have just resurrected Aperture and I am very happy. I am not a professional photographer, but I did like the interface and the quick access to adjustments...whereas in Photos, all that is so dumbed down.
  

• Yes, you are right. However, Apple could have kept the Aperture team intact and continued the development of Aperture to be fully 64 bit and also continued to improve its capabilities. There is no reason Aperture could not have been as good or better than the likes of Capture One Pro 12 by now. The reason Apple dropped Aperture leaving many of us using it for professional work high and dry is still a mystery to me. The only explanation given was that Apple's Photos was 'going to be (over time) as good'. It's not that Photos is great for consumers but it is useless for professionals. It's one of the few things Apple has done in all the years I've used Apple gear (since 1976) that left me really pissed.

  
  As I understand it, the underlying code was pretty messy, the team had largely been dismantled already, and there was no longer any 'shepherd' within the company to fight for it.
  But be sure that I don't disagree with you. I find the interface so far beyond anything else that I will continue to use it as long as possible. (I need it mainly as a cataloguer, not an image editor.) It was glorious software design that really showed how it should be done, and I've been damn bummed that Apple didn't take the pride in it that it deserved. (And despite being a decades-long Adobe fan generally, I find Lightroom just kludgy and awful by comparison.)
• Dumb ass question.. do you run this application on Aperture before or after upgrading to Catalina (or does it not matter ??)
• After Retroactive my Aperture is doesn't have all the same brushes as before. Do you have the same experience? All I get is 'Retouch'. I can add adjustments be copying them from another photo and stamp then on to the photo I'm working on but I can not add them from scratch.
  
• All I can say is 'thank you' TyShawn!!! Even Capture One Pro 20 is no match for Aperture's combined DAM and extensible photo editing.
• I am using OS Mojave with Aperture 3.6 and trying to open Fuji Raw files without success. Any suggestions?
• Do I upgrade to Catalina first before installing Retroactive? Or in Mojave?
  Please note that I have an iPhoto library of over 100,000 photos!