Switcher quesiton: do you all use iPhoto?

[benmadrid]

Hi,

I recently switched to a Macbook. On my old pc I would import my photos manually using a card reader, delete the bad ones, then put them into various labeled folders (food, spain, UK etc) one by one. Now I see iPhoto does all this quite efficiently and gets stuff straight off my camera, but I'm not sure whether I should do things the manual way as I did on my PC, or use iPhoto's sorting mechanisms which leave things in date folders that may be tricky to export later, rather than folders labeled e.g. Spain, Food etc

Do you guys let iPhoto do all the work? Or do you have other ways of organising your pics on a mac?

[Abstract]

Well, I used to upload the photos to my computer manually using Image Capture, then rename the photos using Automator (I made a script for batch renaming), and then put them all in a folder. The folder name always had this format, just so that it was easiest to sort through:

2007-02-19 - Title Given to the Event.


It's better to name folders by year first rather than using the dd-mm-yyyy or mm-dd-yyyy formats.

[DeSnousa]

Well, I used to upload the photos to my computer manually using Image Capture [...]

So what do you use now? iPhoto?

I'm contemplating just using the Finder also, because I'm finding that I'm taking more Photos and I think I would prefer to use iPhoto just for the family / friends / vacations pictures.

What our peoples thoughts on this? How do you organise your photos?

[Osarkon]

Pretty much the same way as I did in XP, by folders in the Pictures folder. Old habits die hard I guess, and seems too much hassle to keep importing my files into iPhoto.

[Scarlet Fever]

i use iPhoto, works great for me

[adrianblaine]

I hated iPhoto when I first switched, but found that using Finder wasn't any better (for me). Now, all I use is iPhoto, although I still have a few issues with it. I hate that it saves a duplicate of your photo if you manipulate it. While it is nice that it gives you the option to go back, I wish there was an option to (easily) delete it as well.

[superted666]

I think (might be corrected here) when you import to iphoto you can name the import reel and add a description. Doesnt this name then apply to the folder they are imported under in the 'originals' section of the iphoto folder?

[-hh]

I find that it depends.

For my P&S, I just use iPhoto.

For my dSLR, I generally copy them to my HD using the Finder, split the JPEG's from the RAW, and import just the JPEG's into iPhoto.

A couple of reasons why I go this approach is because I generally prefer using Photoshop when it comes to "significant" post-processing - stuff that iPhoto can't do. Next, my Mac is a 1st Generation G5 (SP 1.8GHz) and at 3.5 years old, its relatively slow and getting close to being out of HD capacity, again. Finally, my current iPhoto library of JPEGs is 30+GB and 10,000 images; if I were to add my (duplicate) RAWs to this, it would increase to around 15,000 images, but more than double to 70GB in size.


-hh

[elppa]

Whilst I can't speak for others, yes, I use iPhoto.

Always have since it came out.

It's is pretty easy to export from it, just select the photos you want, then choose file > export and pick the location you prefer.

[devilot]

I feel like iPhoto is a little on the bulky side... I'm probably just too lame to mae it work for me so instead, I use Image Capture.

Select the shots I wanna upload, and then place 'em in my own folders I create in the Pictures folder.

[benmadrid]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I also don't like the way it makes a duplicate if you modify a pic - seems like a quick way to run out of HD space... anyway, I think I may go back to using the finder even though iphoto has a nice interface, especially for slide shows with music. Any more thoughts?

[fsckminix6]

for my point and shoot i use iphoto and for my dslr i normally use lightroom or aperture

[Veritas&Equitas]

Aperture here.

[wmmk]

I use aperture, but that's really overkill if you don't shoot RAW or are not a color nitpick.

[Abstract]

So what do you use now? iPhoto?


Actually, I still use this method when using Lightroom. I'll try v1.0 and see if importing is nicer to me. On my computer, there used to be a flaw that occurred during importing where the 2nd photo I imported wouldn't import correctly. Every other photo would be OK, but not the 2nd photo!! Pain in the ass. However, it seems that my issue was quite isolated, so maybe if I did a reinstall, things would be fine.

I'll probably end up buying Lightroom because I like it more than Aperture.

[Clix Pix]

I don't use iPhoto. Instead, I use a card reader to import the images into a "Pictures" file on one of my Mac Pro's hard drives first -- it's called "Incoming." Then I import the images a second time into a separate folder on a separate internal hard drive for posterity. Once that's done, then I transfer the images from the "incoming" folder to Aperture so that I can review them and work on them.

[aristobrat]

I like iPhoto, especially how you can have one picture in a gazillion Albums/Smart Albums without duplicating the picture on the drive.

I'm good about giving my rolls fairly descriptive names ("Christmas Morning 2006" or "Jason's 29th Birthday"), but I've found that adding ratings and keywords to the photos takes mgmt to the next level.

One of my favorites is a Smart Album set to display all photos I rated of 4+ -- all of my best shots in one "virtual" album. If I get sick of a shot in there, I change the rating to 3, and it immediately disappears.

Another favorite is a Smart Album set to display anything with the keyword of "JAK" (my black lab). I don't have to remember which set of shots (i.e. folders on the drive) he was in and which he wasn't when I want to dig up some shots of him.

I also like the date range Smart Albums. Between the day before Christmas and the day after New Years, I had a boatload of friends and family visit, which resulted in 10+ different rolls added to iPhoto. A Smart Album set to show all photos taken between 12/24/2006 and 1/2/2007 puts all of those shots into an album called "Christmas Holiday 2006", whereas the photos actually reside in their separate folders on the drive.

That, plus being able to use Front Row to stream them from my MacBook Pro to my mac mini that's hooked to the TV can be a lot of fun when everyone's over too. :)

[jenn221]

I liked iphoto before the new one. I think I have 5.0. It doesn't seem as user friendly, sometimes it's more of a pain than help. I don't use it often though, so I haven't gotten anything set up that I like better.

[aristobrat]

There are some big differences between iPhoto 5 and 6. I can't wait to see what 7 has! :)

[Over Achiever]

I used to use iPhoto but now I'm downloading my RAW files to the pictures folder via Adobe Bridge, organizing by date (20070202) then backing up the pictures to an external drive. The raw is then converted to JPG in PS, and everything is managed in Bridge.

So I suppose I'm using Adobe Bridge instead of iPhoto.

[andiwm2003]

i'm using iPhoto and i love it.
but it seems to be a matter of personal preference. some people hate iphoto claiming it's too slow and they don't like the organization of the library.
for me it's great, i use the library and iphoto runs fast enough on my PB G4 with 1.5GHz and a 4200 RPM hard disk. i have about 5000 photos in there.
in the moment i'm not using raw because my hard disk is too small but thatv will change soon.;)

[islandman]

Well, I used to upload the photos to my computer manually using Image Capture, then rename the photos using Automator (I made a script for batch renaming), and then put them all in a folder. The folder name always had this format, just so that it was easiest to sort through:

2007-02-19 - Title Given to the Event.


It's better to name folders by year first rather than using the dd-mm-yyyy or mm-dd-yyyy formats.

I agree with this method of file-naming, but I go a bit further. I name my folders: YYYY-MM-DD-Name of Event. Then, I name the files CameraName-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS.sequence.jpg (or .raw). Is there a way to do this with a script? I use Downloader Pro in Windows to do it for me, but I haven't thought of a way to do it on the Mac.

[DCBass]

Right now, I use the finder and iPhoto. This is only because I became very frustrated with how iPhoto organizes pictures in its own way. So now, I organize my photos in the finder (according to the event, similar to what others are doing), and then importing these folders into iPhoto (without making a copy in the 'iPhoto Library'. See the preferences to see what I'm talking about).

I'm still not really happy with the set up. One annoying byproduct of this is that everything in iPhoto now is just resized thumbnails. argh!

The ideal for me would be something akin to Picasa where it has no problem having pictures in different folders, but then still being able to make further virtual albums and so forth. Hopefully this will come with iLife 07.

-DCBASS

[notjustjay]

I used the folder approach on my PC as well (actually on a network drive so I could get to them from anywhere). I used ACDSee to view files and for mild conversion work. (I have yet to find a Mac program that is as snappy as ACDSee was...)

When I switched to the Mac I started to use iPhoto, since it was convenient and slick.

Then I got a DSLR and started shooting like mad, especially at events. Over time I discovered iPhoto wasn't so great, on my measly system it bogged down with so many large photos, started to take a very long time to load and exit. So I've given up on iPhoto, and have gone back to the files-in-folders method.

However, I do like its slide show ability, so when I want a slideshow, I'll import just the photos I need and make a slideshow out of that.

[Grimace]

I'm all about Aperture -- creates an amazing workflow. If you take hundreds of photos per year, iPhoto would likely be fine. Thousands? You might look at Lightroom or Aperture.

[skinnylegs]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread but there appears to be quite a few 'peeps here that undertand iPhoto so.....

How do I rename a folder? I right-click a folder but no option exists.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9039/picture1ls7.jpg

[Veritas&Equitas]

How do I rename a folder? I right-click a folder but no option exists.


Same as how you rename anything in OS X. Click on the folder and press enter.

[MacBoobsPro]

I hated iPhoto when I first switched, but found that using Finder wasn't any better (for me). Now, all I use is iPhoto, although I still have a few issues with it. I hate that it saves a duplicate of your photo if you manipulate it. While it is nice that it gives you the option to go back, I wish there was an option to (easily) delete it as well.

Totally agree with you. Once you get yor head round letting iPhoto do everything it is very good at its job. I just name the albums and chuck the photos in the relevant album. :)

[sunfast]

I use iPhoto. When I switched it took a bit of work getting it set with my old pictures but it does all the hard work for me now.

[skinnylegs]

Same as how you rename anything in OS X. Highlight the folder and press enter.Huh....I never knew that. Thanks for the help. BTW....I guess it's the "return" key.

OK......I use iPhote now. :D

[MacBoobsPro]

Huh....I never knew that. Thanks for the help. BTW....I guess it's the "return" key.

Or click it once wait a second then click again. Basically a slow double click.

[Veritas&Equitas]

Huh....I never knew that. Thanks for the help. BTW....I guess it's the "return" key.
We don't have to get into semantics...but it has both the words "enter" AND "return" on the key I believe :D

[Binford]

I just switched to mac too. :) (man what a great decision!).

I haven't found iphoto to be that great, but I think its a great program to view my favorites.

Once I get my pictures (amongst a million other things) organized, esp with my external hd's and such, i plan to keep my processed raw files on my external, and keep screen size jpegs of my favorites on my MBP hard drive. I also kept (and plan to continue to) keep full size jpegs alongside my nef files on my externals as well.

I'll use Iphoto to manage the "favorites".

We don't have to get into semantics...but it has both the words "enter" AND "return" on the key I believe :D

haha that's what mine says too!

[chriscorbin]

Aperture is really the best software out there in my opinion. iPhoto only lets you store 10,000 images and does not suppourt RAW so keep that in mind. i use aperture for everything its been forever seince ive used photoshop. iPhoto is ok if all you use is P&S anything else i would use a dedicated APP like lightroom or Aperture

[iBookG4user]

I don't use iPhoto, instead I just have a folder that all images go into, I edit them with photoshop and then save them back to that same folder. This method works good for me, I don't have the money left to buy Aperture.

[Mr Skills]

...iPhoto's sorting mechanisms which leave things in date folders that may be tricky to export later,

Ignore the iPhoto folder in the Finder. You never need to look in there. Just drag and drop the pictures directly from iPhoto. If you're using Apple Mail, you can also email pictures directly from iphoto as well.

iPhoto works best if you just think of it as "the place where your photos are" and ignore what it's doing underneath. You don't need to know.

iPhoto only lets you store 10,000 images

From apple.com: "The iPhoto photo library is designed to support up to 250,000 photos."

and does not suppourt RAW

From apple.com: "iPhoto lets you import JPEG images, RAW images, and MPEG-4 video clips."

[wordmunger]

We don't have to get into semantics...but it has both the words "enter" AND "return" on the key I believe :D

Actually my computer has separate enter and return keys (iMac, standard apple keyboard). They actually have different functions in some apps. For example, in MS Word, shift-return is a line-break, but shift-enter is a page break.

[Over Achiever]

From apple.com: "iPhoto lets you import JPEG images, RAW images, and MPEG-4 video clips."
There are many RAW file types out there, and iPhoto/Apple does not support them all. The RAW files from my Fuji is only supported by Photoshop with the latest RAW plugin (ACD 3.6 i think) so that's what I'm forced to use for now. Plus Bridge seems to work quite nicely as an alternative to iPhoto.