Do you know how Apple Photos handles edited photos? When you edit a photo using the built-in tools or a third-party photo editing app—whether rotating, adjusting lighting or color, applying filters, or cropping—it creates a version that's different from the original. These edited photos often include updated image content and additional metadata stored in the photo library.
If you’ve enabled iCloud Photos, the edited version will sync across all devices signed in with the same Apple ID. In this article, we'll explain what edited photos are, where they are stored, and how to export them from your Mac photo library.
1. Where Are Edited Photos Stored in the Photo Library?
Apple Photos keeps the original photo intact and saves edited versions separately. Here's how it works:
• Original photos are stored in: /Users/YourUsername/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/originals/...
• Edited photo content is stored in: /Users/YourUsername/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/renders/...
• Metadata related to edits is saved in the Photos Library database, not directly in the image file.
2. Exporting Edited Photos vs. Original Photos
When you go to File > Export in the Photos app, you’ll see two main options:
• Export Unmodified Original: This keeps the original photo exactly as it was when imported—no edits or metadata changes.
• Export Edited Photo: This exports the modified version of the photo. You can choose the image format (JPEG, TIFF, PNG), JPEG quality (maximum, high, medium, low), file naming format, and image size.
3. Exporting Edited Photos with Photo Library Metadata
Exporting from the Renders folder alone only gives you the edited image file without photo library metadata. If you want to export edited photos along with the associated metadata, we recommend using the Photo Exifer application. Steps:
1. Download and install Photo Exifer on your Mac. Go to System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Full Disk Access, and add the Photo Exifer app.
2. Open the Photo Exifer app and click the Photo Library tab to load all photos and videos in your photo library.
3. Click the fiter option: Showing: Edited photos, then select the edited photos. Click Quick Action -> Export Edited Photos from Photo Library -> Export Edited Photo(s) with all photo library metadata. This will include both the edited image and its corresponding metadata.
4. Exporting Edited Photos by Year and Month
If you have a large number of edited photos, Photo Exifer also supports organizing exports by year and month or by album structure. Steps:
1. Open the Photo Exifer app and click the Photo Library tab, click the fiter option: Showing: Edited photos, then select the edited photos.
2. Click Quick Action -> Export Edited Photos from Photo Library -> Export Edited Photo(s) with all photo library metadata by Year and Month and album. This helps keep your exported photos neatly sorted and easier to manage.
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