How to Store Imported Photos Outside the Photos Library?

When you import your photos and videos into 'Photos', they are stored in and copied to the Photos Library. You can store photos and videos outside the Photos library in a folder on your Mac or on an external drive. If you store them outside the Photos library, then also you can view them in Photos. The photos and videos which are stored outside your Photos library, they are known as 'Referenced Files'.

To store imported files outside the Photos library, choose 'Photos' app and select 'Preferences' option. Click 'General' and deselect the 'Copy items to the Photos library' checkbox. Now, when you import photos and videos, Photos leaves the files in their original location and accesses them as Referenced Files.

Quick Tip to Keep your Photos Safe
Making backups of your photos & videos is a chore you probably skip, but it really doesn't have to be hard. Here's an effortless way to backup photos - PicBackMan. PicBackMan is the easiest and simplest way to keep your photos safely backed up in one or more online accounts. Simply download PicBackMan (it's free!), register your account, connect to your online store and tell PicBackMan where your photos are - PicBackMan does the rest, automatically. It bulk uploads all photos and keeps looking for new ones and uploads those too. You don't have to ever touch it.