How can I download from iCloud Photo Library to my Mac without syncing my Mac Photos library?

[iMore Question]

I traveled overseas earlier this year and saved a lot of photos and videos (18gb) to iCloud, while optimising storage on my phone.

How can I get them to my Mac without uploading/syncing my entire library (600gb) to iCloud?

I have tried downloading from iCloud.com and it was a terrible failure - I can't be sure that full resolution photos and videos were downloaded.

 

[kch50428]

I can't be sure that full resolution photos and videos were downloaded.

It's designed to store the full resolution on iCloud, so that's what you will download.