Rotating Images Does Not Work Properly in Photos

I get this isn't the problem, but to rotate clockwise you don't have to rotate ccw 3 times. Just do option-rotate to go clockwise.

I think that I saw something like this once, but it went away. I don't know why. To narrow things down, try these steps:

• Restart the computer (of course)
• Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this: 

           Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support 

Those are the easiest things to try first. Then try these:

• Use another library if you have one, or make a small test Library with a few pictures in it and see if the same thing happens. You can create a new Library by closing Photos and then option-clicking on the Photos icon.
• Make a new user and see if the same problem recurs with it
• Rebuild your Photos Library--close Photos and re-launch by option-command-clicking the app icon.

The idea is to find out if the problem is with the Library, with your account, or with caches and login items, and stuff like that. One of these steps may fix the problem, but their failure to work also helps figure out what's happening.

Let us know what happens…

ben_the_paddlehead wrote:

4. Created a new user - Issue resolved, but I didn't like that answer

That tells us you have some 3rd party software in your original account that is interfering with Photos. With that in mind please download and run Etrecheck.  The free version is sufficient.

Copy the report as shown in this animated screenshot

and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

Richard,

This is exactly the issue in the original post I am experiencing

"There are images that I'm sure I took the photo in the correct orientation, but some photos will appear in the incorrect orientation in Photos on my MacBook Pro - in fact, the photos appear in the correct orientation within the Photos app on my iPhone, but not when imported into Photos on MacBook Pro. When I try to correct it within the MacBook Photos app (from the preview, or Edit, or the library shelf view), I will press the rotate button and it works for most positions but it seems to skip the correct orientation."

The only files this is happening with are Apple .DNG jpeg XL raw taken with the iphone 16pro. They appear in the viewer as 6048x8064. Info below. My other camera file types such as raw .ORF HEIC and JPEG import and function correctly in photos.

Noticed the issue after creating a new library on an M4 macbook pro and importing from iphone 16pro. The same issue is also happening importing the same DNG files to an existing library on a mac studio. Different user accounts on different machines both running 15.2.

The large resolution files have the issue. Smaller resolution DNG jpeg XL files have no issue with viewing orientation and rotation.

Before I go down the rabbit hole of creating a new user account as suggested.

Have you used the new DNG raw format in this resolution in an existing or new library? Are you certain this is not a photos viewer related issue with the new DNG format, display and resolution sizes?

Thanks.

Issues only with this size

ben_the_paddlehead wrote: Are there other ways around this - other than creating a new user?

So the same pictures in the same Photos Library behaved properly in the new User account? Pretty suspicious. It means it not the pictures. I guess you could export those originals and then re-import them to see if the import checks fixed them.

Still, there's some reason that your user account is messed up (in a very weird way!) Safe Mode should have eliminated most of the causes, like login items, flakey fonts, and such. But those are System things--I don't think it clears user caches. And there may be things like orphan files left behind by crazy apps. Mac "Cleaning" software is supposed to clear some of those things, but these apps sometimes go places they shouldn't and clean out things that should stay-- they've been known to really mess up Photos Libraries. So people here advise never to use them.

There's lots of stuff in the user's Library folder. My user's Library folder is 150 GB, and Library>caches is 15 GB-- mostly stuff that looks legitimate. But how would I know?

So it would be worthwhile to start fresh, add stuff (by copy, if you like, to preserve the original) from your regular user's account that you can't live without, and let the Library fill itself with what the Mac thinks it needs. Since the original account remains (until you're sure you don't need it,) it's there's nothing to lose but time.

Having the same issue with photos on a Mac Studio running 15.2. Rotate not working as it should and orientation of imported photos in the viewer is incorrect. Also unable to use the Luminar Neo extension with these photos. Issue started with iPhone 16 pro files using the raw jpeg xl format. Tested exporting the raw jpeg XL photo to a jpeg. After reimporting the non XL format jpeg photos functions as it should and allowing editing using extensions. Would like to hear from others experiencing the same and any solution to use the new raw jpeg xl format in photos.

invisible1,

Since much of what you reference isn't connected with this post, you should really start your own so people can address your issues with confusion.