iPhoto Recovery: How to Recover Deleted Photos in iPhoto Library

Eleanor Reed

Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

A moment ago, when I was editing photos in the iPhoto library, my MacBook suddenly shut down. When I restarted it, I realized that all my photos had disappeared from my iPhoto library. I didn't know what had happened, but I needed my photos back. Can somebody tell me how to recover iPhoto library photos? Best regards.

iPhoto Recovery

Generally speaking, iPhoto library photos can be lost due to accidental deletion, iPhoto library corruption, unknowing formatting of Mac partition/volume, system errors, or emptied iPhoto trash, among other reasons.

Faced with such a vulnerable iPhoto library, you might be in fear of your photos missing from the iPhoto library. Just calm down. There is still a high possibility to restore them.

If you have another iPhoto library backup on your Mac, you can retrieve lost photos. Otherwise, you need to get an iPhoto recovery utility to help you. Here, I recommend four methods to help you recover deleted photos from the iPhoto library.

Method 1: Recover Permanently Deleted Photos from iPhoto Using Recoverit

What is the iPhoto library? Apple iPhone is designed to store, manage, edit, and share digital photos from various storage media like digital cameras to a user's iPhoto Library. All of the photos can be kept track of, and your invaluable memories can be stowed away in the iPhoto library. However, deleting iPhoto library photos is not an unfamiliar issue for every Mac user using iPhoto.

1. Free Download Recoverit Data Recovery

To recover deleted photos in the iPhoto library, we would like to recommend Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac, a professional iPhoto recovery program that can recover the iPhoto library on a Mac computer. No matter how photos were lost from your iPhoto library, you can get them back in a few clicks with this tool.

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2. How to Recover Deleted Photos from Computer

Now, download and install Recoverit iPhoto recovery software to get your deleted photos back. It is highly suggested to install the program in another partition of your Mac to avoid data overwriting.

Step 1. Select the location of the iPhoto library

With Recoverit Mac iPhoto Recovery, select the partition you set your iPhoto library in and click "Start" to begin an all-around scan for your lost pictures.

select iphoto library to recover lost photos

Step 2. Scan the iPhoto library for lost photos

Your Mac iPhoto library will start an all-around scan for your deleted iPhoto photos. It will take some time to finish the scan process.

Note 1: If the partition formatting causes the issue, please go to " Deep Scan " after an all-around scan.
Note 1: If you want to get the exact formatted photo recovery, you need to get steps in the guide: How to recover photos after format .

scan iphoto to recover lost photos

Step 3. Recover lost photos from the iPhoto library

Found files will be displayed to the left of the window, and you will be able to preview found photos. Then you need to select your lost photos and click "Recover" to save them back to your Mac.

Note: Please do not keep the recovered photos in the original partition.

Recover iPhoto library lost photo

Recoverit can also be used to

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Video tutorial: How To Recover Permanently Deleted Files?

Method 2. Recover Deleted Photos from iPhoto Trash

How to find deleted photos on Mac? It may be confusing for many people. Usually, when our pictures are deleted from iPhoto, they will be moved to iPhoto Trash.

However, if your photos were accidentally dragged to the iPhoto Trash and you could not drag them back to your Mac desktop, you can resort to your iPhoto Trash for iPhoto recovery.

Open iPhoto and go to iPhoto trash in the sidebar.
Select the desired picture or simultaneously press Ctrl and click those deleted photos.
Right-click to select "Restore to iPhoto Library."

Photo Recovery from Mac Trash

After following the above steps, your iPhoto photos will be retrieved easily. If this method does not work, Recoverit Mac Data Recovery, iPhoto recovery software, can assist you in recovering all data from emptied Mac Trash.

Method 3. Recover Missing Photos Using iPhoto Library First Aid

If you encounter any issues with your iPhoto library, you can utilize the First Aid tool to rectify it by following these steps:

Quit the iPhoto application.
Hold down the Command + Option keys and double-click on the Photos icon to open the repair dialogue window.
Select the Repair option.
Allow the repair process to finish. Afterwards, check if the problem has been resolved.

Method 4. Recover iPhoto Library Photos from Time Machine Backup

Time Machine is an inbuilt backup program on Mac that can help you restore lost pictures with ease. If Time Machine is open when your iPhoto library is accidentally deleted, it will back up the deleted photos promptly and thoroughly.

Keep your Time Machine drive connected to the Mac.
Go to Finder, open your Pictures folder, and select the iPhoto library.
Enter Time Machine in the Dock or the /Application folder.
According to the timeline on the right side, opt for your desired backup.
Navigate to the desired location on a hard drive to save the iPhoto library.
Select the iPhoto library you want to recover and click on the Recover button.

how to recover iphoto library from Time Machine

Time Machine Photo Recovery

Note 1: By default, your iPhoto library can be located in "Home/Pictures/iPhoto Library."
Note 2: If your photos are damaged, you can get the solution: How to repair corrupted photos on Mac.

How to Get iPhoto on Mac

Having recovered deleted photos, you can access the iPhoto library to view and confirm them. iPhoto library, known as a package, stores a whole hierarchy of folders and files.

In the Finder, it always appears as a single icon. Here is the way to access the iPhoto library package for your convenience.

Open home/Pictures/ and click on "iPhoto Library".
Right-click it and choose "Show Package Contents".
Select "Masters" or "Originals" to search for your original iPhoto photos.

Get iPhoto on Mac

If you do not take photos backup to Time Machine or accidentally delete them there, use Recoverit Mac Data Recovery. It is capable of recovering deleted photos from Time Machine.

Method 5. Rebuild iPhoto Library for iPhoto Recovery

Accidentally delete iPhoto photos or unexpectedly lose them? Apple iPhone includes a feature to solve the issue. When your iPhoto library becomes unreadable, or your photos disappear from the iPhoto library, iPhoto for Mac allows you to rebuild the currently selected iPhoto library. And the way is as follows.

Quit iPhoto first if it is running and re-open it.
Press and hold the Command and Option keys when clicking on the iPhoto icon.
A dialog box will appear with rebuild options.
Choose the options you would like to use to rebuild the iPhoto library.
Hit on Rebuild to start rebuilding your iPhoto library. A few minutes are needed.

Rebuild iPhoto Library

Note: Before rebuilding your currently selected iPhoto library, you should create its backups in case of data loss. iPhoto library backup can help you restore lost data caused by unexpected accidents during the rebuild process.

The Bottom Line

The steps to make iPhoto recovery from Time Machine Backup or iPhoto Trash are simple and effective for every novice or professional Mac user. However, suppose Time Machine is turned off during the accidental deletion, and the iPhoto trash is also emptied. In that case, it seems unlikely to manage to recover deleted photos with native Mac tools.

Learn the exact ways of Mac Video Recovery.

In this case, it is highly recommended to recover deleted iPhoto Library photos using third-party iPhoto recovery software. Recoverit Mac Data Recovery can deal with your deleted iPhoto photos due to various unexpected issues, such as accidental deletion, system crash, sudden power outage, virus infection, hard drive corruption, partition formatting, and many more. Now, free download it and have a try!

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