How to get access to your Photo Stream without dealing with iPhoto

A smartphone isn’t a smartphone without some sort of online backup of your photos these days. Apple provides its iCloud service for all iOS users, removing the need for third party services (even though many of us choose them instead). Your iPhone will upload any new images, whether they be photos or screenshots, and synchronise them to your OSX computer. To get at those photos, Mac users would usually have to go through the iPhoto application. However, if you wish to use the native file manager of OSX instead, here’s a quick guide to find photos synchronised via iCloud.

If you use a Mac, it is possible to set up a folder of all your Photo Stream images, rather than having to go through iCloud.

1. Launch OS X’s Finder, press the Options key and then click on the “Go” menu option and select “Library.”
2. Navigate to Application Support, select iLifeAssetManagement, then select assets, and then finally select “sub”.
3. Type “jpg” and select “Kind: JPEG image” in the search field
4. Select only the “sub” folder in Finder.
5. Click the “Save button” in the top right corner to save the search.
6. Select “Add to Sidebar” quick access access to your Photo Stream in Finder.

Optionally, you can create another folder for your photos by replacing “jpg” and “JPEG” with png and PNG respectively. Also right-clicking the saved search in the sidebar allows you to add the folder to your dock for even faster access.

If you’re a windows user and wondering how to get your iCloud photos on your PC, all you have to do is install the iCloud control panel for Windows.

Credits to LifeHacker and The IconMaster for the tips and screenshots.