Tahoe Upgrade - photo booth cannot locate my photo library.

Question

Level 1

100 points

Tahoe Upgrade - photo booth cannot locate my photo library.

I used to see Photos app in my Finder sidebar and no longer do since Tahoe upgrade. When I click on Photo Booth, I get error message that it cannot find my photo library. I can open the Photos app from my dock or Finder. If Photo Both no longer functions, I don't understand what is the point of having it. Can someone help me understand this. Previous threads inquiring on this have all been closed with no answers given to the same question. Thanks.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Sep 24, 2025 6:01 AM

Reply

Answer 1

markwmsn

Level 6

16,715 points

Sep 24, 2025 10:34 PM in response to Desert Lady

Apple's application named Photo Booth (for taking selfies with the Mac's camera) should not need the Photos library for anything, but it does have some library of its own for storing the pictures it takes. Perhaps that library has been misplaced. Do you take selfies with Photo Booth? If not, then you probably don't need it.

On the other hand, the Photos applications does need to be able to find the Photos library. You say you can open the Photos app from your dock or Finder. Does it function? Does it find its library and the photos stored there?

Reply

Answer 2

Desert Lady Author

Level 1

100 points

Sep 25, 2025 11:03 AM in response to markwmsn

Thank you. I appreciate your reply. To be honest, never understood photo booth and had no idea what it was for. It would just come up sometimes when I would want to add a photo to some online site such as Facebook. I never take selfies. Since writing this inquiry, I found the library for photos listed in the library under my name in Users -- didn't used to be there. So maybe everything is okay. But, I did like having Photos listed among the "Locations" in the sidebar in Finder. I'll get used to how it is now, I suppose. Thanks again, Mark. ~Holly

Reply

Answer 3

markwmsn

Level 6

16,715 points

Sep 25, 2025 8:36 PM in response to Desert Lady

I don't recall having the Photos library listed under "Locations" in the Finder sidebar in any previous version of macOS. Maybe you are thinking about the "MEDIA" section below "Locations" in Open dialog boxes, which do look a bit like Finder windows; "Photos" is still there in macOS 26 Tahoe.

Reply

Answer 4

Desert Lady Author

Level 1

100 points

Sep 26, 2025 3:00 AM in response to markwmsn

My recall of how it looked exactly is uncertain, but somehow Photos was listed in the sidebar, although that is not where the app itself is located. It may have been in a section called Media, I don't recall having a Media section. I think I recall putting Photos there. Just found this article Customize the Finder sidebar on Mac - Apple Support.

In any case, it is good to know that I don't need Photo Booth since I don't do selfies and it isn't necessary for sharing pictures. I consider myself still a noobie in the Mac world, so always learning! Have a terrific day!

Reply