iphoto 09-what's the best way to store my photos?

[Imola Ghost]

If I've already got a folder with my photos in it, should I just import them into iPhoto's library or should I just move them into the iPhoto library folder that's already created?

I've also read that iphoto creates another duplicate file unless you uncheck a setting in the preferences to NOT copy the files to the library. What's the pro's and cons of using this method?

Any information you can give me is welcomed!

 

[dacreativeguy]

If I've already got a folder with my photos in it, should I just import them into iPhoto's library or should I just move them into the iPhoto library folder that's already created?

I've also read that iphoto creates another duplicate file unless you uncheck a setting in the preferences to NOT copy the files to the library. What's the pro's and cons of using this method?

Any information you can give me is welcomed!

If you have a previous iphoto library, then delete the new (empty) library and then restart iphoto. It will pick up the library with no problem.

If you just have a folder full of photos, drag them all into iphoto and it will import them for you.

 

[melchior]

the advantage is that iphone keeps the photos organised for you and you can revert changes that you make. the downside is you basically have to use iphoto to get at any photos you want. (it is possible, if there is a problem with your library to extract the images manually if necessary, FYI but it's not as easy as having your own folder system)

everyone has their own opinion and anal retentive folder organisation systems but i would only use your own folders if you needed them to be accessed over network share.

 

[mrkgoo]

Basically, there are two ways to use iPhoto:

Referencing: This means to make your own folder structure and have iPhoto point here. I think it still makes duplicates for modified versions, but I'm not sure.

Copy to iPhoto: This is the preferred method. It makes a copy into the iPhoto Library itself, but you can then delete the original, thus no duplicates. It WILL make a duplicate if you choose to modify an image, but that is a good thing - it means you can make edits with out cumulatively damaging the file, or revert back to the original at any time (again, I THINK referencing still does this, but I'm not sure). The best thing about using this way is that there is a much less chance of things going wrong, since you don't touch the files themselves. When referencing, you have to make sure you don't accidentally move images or anything.

In my opinion, there is no real reason to have iPhoto reference. People need to give up the concept of manually organising files. It's unnecessary for the most part. The only times are if the management programs are too resource intensive to be viable for your platform, for example. There's just so much to gain from using file management software.