Growing Together The Sims 4

The Sims 4 Black Photo Bug: Keepsake Box Breaks Photos

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SIMS 4 black photo bug

Fix black photos from the Keepsake Boxes and prevent future black photos!

Sims 4 Black Photo Bug: Keepsakes Box
The Sims 4 Keepsake Boxes turn photos black

One of the many cute aspects of Growing together is the Sims 4 Keepsake Box, in three designs, that your Sim can use to store different mementos. Despite the Sims 4 Keepsake Being featured in the livestream, an EA bug that has been in the game for over a year breaks these boxes and causes them to turn photographs black when placed inside. There is a way to fix and prevent the The Sims 4 black photo bug.

What Causes Sims 4 Black Photos?

Black photos are caused when a Simmer puts photographs in a not-shared storage item and then exits and reopens the game. Evidently, doing this causes photos to lose their ownership causing them to turn black.

Sims 4 Black Photos Fix from Sims 4 Keepsake Box
Sims 4 Black Photos in Keepsake Box Inventory

What Is a Not-Shared Storage Inventory?

A not shared storage inventory is an item that shares an inventory between two different objects with the same function. For example: a bookshelf is a shared inventory. If you place two bookshelves down, your Sim can retrieve the same books from either bookshelf.

Quick Fix: Recovering Black Photos

This is an EA bug caused by putting photos into not shared inventories. Not shared inventories include the Sims 4 Keepsake Box and Dorm Storage Chests. Many mods, including many by Ravasheen, use this storage type.

Try these two solutions to see which works for you!

Sims 4 Black Photo Solution 1

  • Straight away, exit the game without saving or retrieve a previous save.
  • To retrieve a previous save, load the main menu, click on the floppy disk, and pick the newest version of your save without Sims 4 Black Photos
  • Reset The Sims 4 to factory settings using this method. Thank you Crinrict for the instructions.
  • Make sure to add back saves, mods, and tray folders. (ConfigOverride and screenshots if you have files in those folders)

Thanks to SnarkyWitch for helping me develop this method.

Sims 4 Black Photo Solution 2

  • To start, click load game from the Game Front Menu Screen.
  • Secondly, click on the floppy disk
  • Load a previous save where the photos were not black.
  • Fourthly, place the photos on the wall in a small room.
  • Save the room to your library.
  • Afterwards, open your current save and place the room with the pictures onto your lot.
  • Collect the photos and delete the room.

Sims 4 Black Photos Prevention

Where can and can’t I store photos?

Generally, photos can be stored anywhere that is a shared inventory. Shared inventories are inventories where if you put two of them down, they would have a combined inventory.

How can I back up my photos?

In order to back up your photos, you can do any of these things.

  1. Firstly, put all your Sim’s photos on the wall and save the room to your library.
  2. Afterward, back up your save so you can retrieve them later. Save you game, then in the saves folder, sort by date. Copy the newest save and paste it somewhere safe on your computer or upload to a cloud service like Google Drive.

What is the safest place to store photos?

Generally, the safest place to store photos is in a Sim’s inventory.

Reminder: Do not use the Sims 4 Keepsake Box to store photos

Sims 4 Black Photo Bug Mods to Avoid

Unfortunately, there are certain mods that cause black photos to happen in storage types that are normally safe. In addition, there are cc that use inventory types like the Dorm Storage Chest that will cause photos to turn black as well.

Photos Storageable by LittleMsSam: This mod allows photos to be stored in Storage Chests, Toy Boxes and Craft Sales Table which causes them to turn photos black if those items have a not-shared inventory.

Inventory Not Shared by SrslySims This mod makes the Bookcase, Toybox, and Flower Arrangement Table have not shared inventories. Photos normally do not go into these storage types, but sometimes mods allow them to accept photographs.

Objects Don’t Share Inventory by LittleMsSam: This mod creates not-shared inventories for Bookshelves, Chests & Toyboxes. Having a not-shared inventory will cause photos to turn black if stored in them.

Inventory Not Shared by BrazenLotus: This mod changes the inventory type for the following items to allow them to be not shared inventories. Inventories of the Baking Warming Racks, Bookshelves, Flower Tables, Retail Fridges, Storage Chests, and Toyboxes become not shared inventories when the mod is installed.


Photographic Memory Mod

Photographic Memory 2.0 by Ravasheen helps prevent Sims 4 Black Photos
Graphic from Ravasheen’s Website

Using Photographic Memory Mod by Ravasheen can help preserve and organize your photos. The mod protects photos from permanently turn black. Then, store the copy photos in any inventory. As shown above, there are other features of the Photographic Memory Mod.

To preserve and organize your photos using Photographic Memory Mod:

  • Firstly, copy all of your photos using the Photographic Memory Mod Spawner (For instance, the USB Drive, Floppy Disk, and Vintage Camera.
  • Afterward, leave the original photos in your Sim’s inventory
  • Finally, place the copies from Photographic Memory Mod in the not shared inventories.

Important note, do not put photographs inside the Photographic Memory Mod spawners. This will cause the black photo bug which will result in black photos.


Most importantly, thanks to Ravasheen for the background research on the cause of Sims 4 Black Photos.

Additionally, read more about Photographic Memory Mod in this article: The Sims 4: Walkthrough of the Photographic Memory Mod

About the author

ThatSimsLady

ThatSimsLady’s love of Sims is only rivaled by her love of grilled cheese. She is a mods addict, a friend to all ducks, and still tries to use The Sims 3 cheat codes in The Sims 4. When she is not playing Sims or writing about Sims, she can be found moderating and providing support on any number of Sims Discord Servers. You could say she eats, sleeps, and breathes Sims.

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