Can I Recover My Photos? Help with a Frustrating Situation

Hello everyone,

I’m reaching out to share a bit of a dilemma I’ve found myself in regarding some precious photos I took recently. At a special event with dear friends, I captured moments on my digital camera that I truly cherish. However, when I connected my SD card to my iPhone 15 to import those images—a routine I’ve done many times before—things went awry. To my dismay, many photos appeared greyed out, missing chunks, or bizarrely scrambled with erratic colors and overlays.

Interestingly, when I checked the images on my Mac, the previews seem intact, but the actual files are still problematic. I even tried using the “Get Info” feature, which showed that the file sizes range from 100 to 175KB—typical for JPEG images. This leads me to wonder if perhaps not all hope is lost, and the entire data isn’t completely gone.

One complicating factor is that I’m operating with an M1 Mac. I’ve discovered that many data recovery Software options are incompatible with this system, which has only added to my frustration. I did my best to troubleshoot with R-Studio but found it challenging to navigate.

These photos hold significant sentimental value for me, and I’m eager to salvage them. If anyone has gone through a similar experience and has advice on potential recovery methods or Software that works with M1 Macs, I would greatly appreciate your insights.

I’ve attached some screenshots illustrating the issues, but I’ve obscured the faces of my friends for privacy.

Thank you in advance for your help!