How to retrieve originals of edited photos from iCloud

[TGB77]

Based on a recent conversation I had with Apple creative media, it became apparent to me that it is impossible to retrieve from iCloud the original of an edited photo. I'm hoping that they are wrong and that there is a way to do this. Does anyone have any insight on this?

 

[SwitchBeach]

No. You should always make a copy of anything you are going to edit and then edit the copy.

 

[TGB77]

No. You should always make a copy of anything you are going to edit and then edit the copy.

If one edits a photo, then hooks their iPhone up to a computer via USB, the user will see the original (e.g. 1234.jpg) as well as the edited version (e.g.
E1234.jpg). This leads me to believe that the original is still there, but iCloud doesn't allow the user access.

Pardon me if this seems like an absurd question, but why would Apple think it's users would have no interest in the original? More importantly, if they think the original is of so little importance to the user that it wouldn't be on iCloud, why does it remain on the iPhone - where space is needed?

 

[TGB77]

Drag & drop iPhone photos to Windows computer abruptly stops

I back up my iPhone photos to my Windows computer or external drive via drag & drop. I am using a brand new Windows computer. Sometimes the drag & drop is successful, while sometimes it aborts somewhere in the process with a dialog box appearing saying the device is unreadable. This means I have to disconnect the iPhone from the computer, reconnect it and start the drag & drop process again. Does anyone know why this occurs and what can be done to remedy it?

 

[Tartarus]

Re: Drag & drop iPhone photos to Windows computer abruptly stops

I back up my iPhone photos to my Windows computer or external drive via drag & drop. I am using a brand new Windows computer. Sometimes the drag & drop is successful, while sometimes it aborts somewhere in the process with a dialog box appearing saying the device is unreadable. This means I have to disconnect the iPhone from the computer, reconnect it and start the drag & drop process again. Does anyone know why this occurs and what can be done to remedy it?

I wouldn’t know.
Back in the day, when iCloud Photo Library wasn’t introduced yet, I used Dropbox to sync my photos to my computer.
Now with iCloud Photo Library, I have simply enabled it and don’t make another backup on my computer.
Heck, I don’t even download my iCloud Photo Library to my computer.

Hopefully iCloud Photo Library will be useful for you too.

 

[Annie_M]

Re: Drag & drop iPhone photos to Windows computer abruptly stops

I use iCloud Photo Library and Google Photos. That way they're in the cloud and I can get to them from wherever.

 

[Annie_M]

If one edits a photo, then hooks their iPhone up to a computer via USB, the user will see the original (e.g. 1234.jpg) as well as the edited version (e.g.
E1234.jpg). This leads me to believe that the original is still there, but iCloud doesn't allow the user access.

Pardon me if this seems like an absurd question, but why would Apple think it's users would have no interest in the original? More importantly, if they think the original is of so little importance to the user that it wouldn't be on iCloud, why does it remain on the iPhone - where space is needed?

That would be a question for Apple to answer. Have you considered submitting feedback to Apple? Here's a link: https://www.apple.com/feedback/icloud.html#mn_p

 

[TGB77]

Re: Drag & drop iPhone photos to Windows computer abruptly stops

I wouldn’t know.
Back in the day, when iCloud Photo Library wasn’t introduced yet, I used Dropbox to sync my photos to my computer.
Now with iCloud Photo Library, I have simply enabled it and don’t make another backup on my computer.
Heck, I don’t even download my iCloud Photo Library to my computer.

Hopefully iCloud Photo Library will be useful for you too.

If you edit a photo using your phone, does iCloud Photo Library allow you to download the original?

 

[TGB77]

Re: Drag & drop iPhone photos to Windows computer abruptly stops

I use iCloud Photo Library and Google Photos. That way they're in the cloud and I can get to them from wherever.

If you edit a photo using your phone, does iCloud Photo Library allow you to download the original?

Can you navigate through the photos such that you can sort by date taken, file number, etc.?

 

[EdwinG]

The original is also copied onto iCloud.

I don't know if it is temporarily or permanently there, but on my sample size of 1 photo, I've been to recover the unmodified original using the Photos.app on macOS by going to the "File" menu, under "Export", there is an option to export the original.