How do I transfer photos to an external HD?

[0186279]

Seems like a silly question, but I have yet to do this on a mac and it is very important that I get it right the first time.

Do I just go to:

Macintosh HD > Username > Pictures and selext the "iPhoto Library" graphic and drop it into the HD?

I am skeptical because this isn't a folder, just a default graphic that opens up my iPhoto.

OR do I go Machintosh HD > All Images (on the left menu bar) and drag all of the pictures into the external?

Thanks! : )

 

[Bacong]

Yeah, just find the folder(s) where your photos are located and drag them onto the drive. It works in the same way as it does on a PC.

 

[Hermolicious84]

That "iPhoto Library" icon you mentioned is a package. You can right-click and select "show package contents", and you'll see that there is a lot more information stored here about your iPhoto library than just the photos.

Your photos will be in folders named "Modified" and "Originals". Unfortunately, the folder structure here is merely sorted by year, and based on when you imported the files and not named by Event. In other words, the folders do not match your Events or any other form of organization that you see in iPhoto. So, if you just transfer the folders to a different storage device, you may have a bit of trouble finding exactly what you're looking for.

If you want a way to make it easier to move your photos around to different (and non-Mac) computers, export your events individually to folders, or use a program like Picasa, where the folder structure matches what you see when using the application.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Do you just want to continue using iPhoto but have it store it's photo library on your external HD? If so, then yes, you can simply move the iPhoto Library to the external HD. Hold the Option key while starting iPhoto and point it to the library in the new location.

It will work exactly as before, only storing the photos on the external. I store my own iPhoto library on an external HD.

If you just want to move individual photos you can select them in iPhoto and choose File > Export or as mentioned above right-click on the iPhoto Library and access the photos manually.

 

[0186279]

Do you just want to continue using iPhoto but have it store it's photo library on your external HD? If so, then yes, you can simply move the iPhoto Library to the external HD. Hold the Option key while starting iPhoto and point it to the library in the new location.

It will work exactly as before, only storing the photos on the external. I store my own iPhoto library on an external HD.

If you just want to move individual photos you can select them in iPhoto and choose File > Export or as mentioned above right-click on the iPhoto Library and access the photos manually.

Perfect! Thank you!