Editing photos located within Apple Photos database

[befehr]

How/where/what format does AP save edited RAW images from Apple Photos database? This includes both photos editing as an extension and using the Image > Edit with command.

My concerns are the ever-increasing size of my local Apple Photos database and the syncing to other devices in the Cloud, and of course the Cloud size requirements. 

Based on this information I hope to calculate my photo storage growth needs then determine if it can be sustained "as is" or if I'll need to find another solution.

Thanks

 

[Lee D]

Using the Extension > Edit in Affinity Photo will transfer the RAW file as it will open in the Develop Persona. From here you will then adjust and click Develop to be taken into the Photo Persona to make further adjustments. When you use File > Save and then Close the image the adjustments are shown on the Apple Photos version. The images that are written back to Apple Photos are then stored deep within the Apple Photos Library file, which is usually in the Pictures folder and you have to use the Show Package Contents option to then start to browse the folders.

When right clicking an image in Apple Photos and selecting Edit With and choosing Affinity Photo. This will open a .TIFF version of the RAW file direct in the Photo Persona, depending on the adjustments when using File > Save you may be prompted to save a flattened version of use Save as to create a new file. Sizes will always vary depending on the adjustments made.

 

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, Lee D said:

The images that are written back to Apple Photos are then stored deep within the Apple Photos Library file, which is usually in the Pictures folder and you have to use the Show Package Contents option to then start to browse the folders.

Because Apple Photos stores many interrelated items in the Photos Library.photoslibrary you should never attempt to change anything in it directly because Apple warns that doing so can lead to data loss, corruption of the metadata needed to support features like facial recognition, etc.

If you just want to browse through the library folders to see the file sizes, that's fine, but you will see that there is more than one file for each image, including a number of files in the "resources" subfolder, plus a "database" & various other subfolders, all of which must be maintained & updated by the app for it to work correctly (which is why you should not try to edit or move anything in the photoslibrary yourself).

About the only thing you can do safely is to copy a file in the "Masters" folder to some other location so you can work on it independently.

Also note that you can have multiple Photos Libraries in different locations, but only one can be the System Photo Library. Only that one works with iCloud services & with other Apple apps.

[befehr]

I could just say "Cool, thanks" and except that things will be OK. But I am just a little to paranoid for that so....

...in summary:

1) Right click > Edit With Affinity Photo (or Image > Edit With > Affinity Photo) allows me to edit the RAW file in Affinity Photo Develope Mode and save it back to the Photos DB in the same way that Apple Photo save back the edited RAW file within its own application. 

1a) Continuing to edit with AP in Edit mode and saving the photo (flattened) back into the DB creates a TIFF file?
I am not seeing, or cannot find, a TIFF in the DB after saving. What I do see however is a JPEG in the AP file's title (see attached image), but I do not see that in the DB either, so where are these being saved? 

Just so you know, to search the DB I do one of two thing. Use Spotlight Search and/or with the Photos Library file Right-click  > Show Package Contents, and search within that content.

2) Edit (extensions) > Affinity Develop saves the image back to the Photos DB in the same way that Apple Photo saves back the edited RAW file within its application.

Note that I can still export the original NEF file from the DB, of course

________

Backstory: The wife and I just got back from Banff for a vacation. I initially saved all file to my iPad, and when I got home, I downloaded everything to my iMac to develop in On1. I kept finding myself going back and forth between Apple Photos, Affinity, and On1 depending on what I was trying to do with each photo. I now, of course, have multiple copies of the same image, which I will clean up later. 

What I found was that Apple Photos might be the best DAM, for me, if I can smoothly and reliably integrate Affinity Photo into the workflow and not have my DB and iCloud get out of hand. 

I have a 2TB hard drive with 2TB of iCloud storage. So far photos has only taken up 288GB, so I have a way to go. I also back up to an external drive via time machine and to Amazon Prime.

[R C-R]

44 minutes ago, befehr said:

What I do see however is a JPEG in the AP file's title (see attached image), but I do not see that in the DB either, so where are these being saved? 

AFAIK, the only time anything is saved in the TIFF format in the Photos Library is if a TIFF image file is imported into the library, where it will be saved in one of the Master folder's subfolders, which are organized in a year/month/day folder hierarchy. All edits, including to RAW files developed in Affinity Photo, are stored as several jpeg files in the subfolders of the Resources folder, including a 'fullsizeoutput' jpeg in the Media subfolder, a 'thumb' jpeg in the proxies > derivatives subfolders, & so on.

[befehr]

If I understand correctly, if I edit an image within Apple Photos with Affinity Photo, regardless of the method (edit with or develop), all changes are saved back to Photos as a JPEG. The original RAW file is untouched and can be recovered at any time. However, unlike a DAM program including Apple Photos, or an independently saved file like Affinity or Photoshop, Affinity Photo does not save the development settings within Apple Photos. This means that I cannot go back later and remove or change certain adjustments. 

Not retaining adjustments (including layers) is a problem in my workflow.

It doesn't look like Affinity Photo will integrate with Apple Photos as well as I had hoped.  For now, and/or until Affinity comes up with a DAM of its own, or possibly a replacement for Lightroom, I will have to continue to use On1 and Affinity on occasion. Apple Photos will continue as a DAM for final out images. 

[R C-R]

Neither Apple Photos nor Affinity Photo allows you to incrementally roll back edits to a developed RAW file. For Photos, it is all or nothing -- you can remove all edits & start over but it does not save any adjustments you have done to the RAW file.

[befehr]

There are no “incremental “ rollbacks but sorry, Apple Photo DOES retain adjustment and can be changed at any time. It’s the same process as Lightroom, On1, etc, a separate file is stored with, or associated to, the original image. 

[R C-R]

Yes, the adjustments can be changed but there is no going back once "Done" is clicked, except for the 'all or nothing' "Revert to Original."

[befehr]

Ah, with Affinity Photo as an editor , right.