After we turned on iCloud photo library my photos still have not moved over to my computer.
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Be sure you have the Photos application open on both your iMac and your laptop and leave them open. This is the main reason pics don't seem to be moving. If you close, no uploading takes place.  You can go to Photos preferences to make sure progress is being made.  Select “iCloud” in Photos preferences.  If you don’t see progress being made you can always uncheck “iCloud photo library” and recheck it.  That’s about all we can do. Apple doesn't provide any way to physically initiate the upload other than that.