Create additional photo libraries in Photos on Mac
You can create additional photo libraries to organise your photos, albums and projects, and then switch between the libraries. For example, you could keep separate libraries for personal photos and work photos.
Important: If you use iCloud Photos, remember that only the photos and video in your System Photo Library are uploaded to iCloud. Be sure to back up all of your photo libraries.
You can also create an iCloud Shared Photo Library that up to five family members and friends can access. Your iCloud Shared Photo Library provides a new way to share photos seamlessly in a separate iCloud library that all participants can collaborate on, contribute to and enjoy. See What is iCloud Shared Photo Library?
Create a new photo library
If the Photos app
on your Mac is open, choose Photos > Quit Photos.Hold down the Option key and double-click the Photos icon in the Applications folder (or click the Photos icon in the Dock) to open Photos.
In the Choose Library dialogue, click Create New.
Type a library name and choose a location to store the library.
Click OK.
You can now import photos into the new library when connecting devices or importing files. Because the new library is not the System Photo Library, photos stored in iCloud don’t automatically appear in it.
Switch between photo libraries
If the Photos app
on your Mac is open, choose Photos > Quit Photos.Hold down the Option key and double-click the Photos icon in the Applications folder (or click the Photos icon in the Dock) to open Photos.
In the Choose Library dialogue, do one of the following:
Click the library you want to use, then click Choose Library.
If the library you want doesn’t appear in the Choose Library dialog, click Other Library, navigate to the location of the library, select it, then click Choose Library.
Designate a library as the System Photo Library
You can switch to another library and designate it as the System Photo Library. For information about considerations to keep in mind when choosing the System Photo Library, see System Photo Library overview.
In the Photos app
on your Mac, choose Photos > Settings, then click General.To make the current library the System Photo Library, click Use as System Photo Library.
Important: If you switch to another library, Photos automatically turns off iCloud Photos and Shared Albums. You can turn them on again in the iCloud pane of Photos settings. When you turn on iCloud Photos after designating a new System Photo Library, the photos stored in iCloud are merged with those in the new System Photo Library. After the content from the new System Photo Library is uploaded to iCloud, the libraries can’t be unmerged, so consider carefully before changing your System Photo Library.
If you run out of storage space on your computer, Photos alerts you. To make more space, you can delete photos from your library.