Help me Understand iPhoto

[JHacker]

Can someone please help me to understand why I would want to use iPhoto? Currently I have my pictures separated in simple folders within my pictures folder.

From what I can tell, when I import my pictures into iPhoto, it makes 2 copies of every picture! One that goes into the Originals folder and one that goes into the Data folder. Therefore, is it correct to assume that if I'm using iPhoto, without any edits of pictures, my picture library will automatically double in size (considering I delete the folders my pictures are currently in because they would be copied)?

Why would people want to use iPhoto then if it doubles the size of their picture gallery taking up space?

Can someone please help clarify this for me?

Thanks-
J

 

[Killyp]

Yes it does take up twice the amount of space your original photo collection would. However, it is SO good at organising photos and the way it integrates with OS X/iTunes/iPod etc... is fantastic. It's worth the compromise imo...

 

[Applespider]

Um, no, it doesn't double the size of your collection - assuming you then archive off the original files that you imported or delete them.

The 'copy' that goes into the Data file is just a thumbnail. My Data folder is under 200MB while my Originals is over 7GB and my Modified around 3GB

One thing I would like to see is an easier way to dump some of the Originals since there are some of those which I know I won't want to go back to.

EDIT - sorry... just went back and checked that Data file and realised I was talking slight kak... not entirely since it's nowhere near double but it's bigger than I originally thought.

 

[JHacker]

Um, no, it doesn't double the size of your collection - assuming you then archive off the original files that you imported or delete them.

The 'copy' that goes into the Data file is just a thumbnail. My Data folder is under 400KB while my Originals is over 7GB and my Modified around 3GB

One thing I would like to see is an easier way to dump some of the Originals since there are some of those which I know I won't want to go back to.

So pretty much as long as I delete the original files, my collection should take up the same amount of space. Thanks Applespider - do you feel like it's worth doing?

 

[Applespider]

Mine are in iPhoto because I use the other iLife apps and the iPhoto cards/books so it's easier to have them all integrated.

It automatically opens for editing in Photoshop and it's easy enough to export in/out of. I certainly find being able to view them at various sizes and have pictures in multiple albums/smart folders easier than having them just in the Finder.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

When you import your pictures tell iPhoto to trash the Source image, therefore you are assured that everything you import gets trashed and you don't have to second guess it later.

As much as iPhoto sort of bugs me from the aspect of its file management, I can't argue with the simplicity that it offers along with the organization of the photos. I say it is a good thing.

And my data folder is 1 meg for 5 gb of pictures.

 

[Nermal]

And my data folder is 1 meg for 5 gb of pictures.

Interesting variation here: My Data folder is 22 MB for 670 MB of photos. My library is originally from iPhoto 3 and has been upgraded to 4, 5 and now 6.

 

[Chundles]

Wanna understand iPhoto?

Leave the file structure well alone. You don't need to go there. EVER.

All the things you need to do with photos are handled directly through iPhoto. There is absolutely no need to worry about how the photos are organised by the program because you create iPhoto albums and folders and use keywords etc to find your photos and work with them in iPhoto.

iPhoto is basically iTunes for images, you don't need to edit the file structure in iTunes because you create your own playlists etc, same with iPhoto, you can edit, back-up, upload, email, resize, organise, print, create cards/calendars/photo books etc. all through iPhoto.

 

[JHacker]

iPhoto is apparently the most taxing program that I have on my computer - even more so than both Photoshop and Pro Tools.

Just having it open, it's using up 400 MB of real memory. What is up with that? My computer hasnt been running this slow since I got it!

Is it normal?

 

[JHacker]

Also - in Preferences, I found that you can simply check Do not import my photos into iPhoto! This is great because it still makes an Originals folder in the iPhoto Pictures folder, however, it simply links the images to where my original sources were.

Seems to be the best scenario for me because I like having my separate dedicated folders right within my Pictures folder, and now I can have both that and my pictures in iPhoto!

I'm not missing anything am I?

 

[squirrelonfire]

You can tell iPhoto not to duplicate your photo when importing. Go to preferences, then Advanced. Then check off the box "copy photos when importing..."
Reasons why should you use iPhoto? You can make photo albumn in iPhoto then complile that into a video and burn it on a DVD so your familiy can watch it on a tv.
You can select the pictures and send them to iWeb to create a photo page.
You can export pictures to different format 4 different purposes.