iPhoto '11 Keyword Search Problem

[ScottC7]

I'm finally getting around to organizing my 20,000+ photos in iPhoto. I am attaching keywords to the individual pictures and have noticed something very curious: When I go to iPhoto's search box and type in a keyword, often many pictures that are not tagged with that keyword are returned.

For example, I can type in the keyword "sign" and pictures from my wedding are returned as though they contain this keyword. I've double-checked the picture filenames, descriptions, faces, kaywords, and places, and nowhere do I see the word "sign" associated with these photos.

Does anyone know why this is happening?

TIA for any assistance. I'm frustrated, having spent all this time associating keywords to my photos, only to have the keyword search option not effectively work for me!

 

[S.B.G]

I'm finally getting around to organizing my 20,000+ photos in iPhoto. I am attaching keywords to the individual pictures and have noticed something very curious: When I go to iPhoto's search box and type in a keyword, often many pictures that are not tagged with that keyword are returned.

For example, I can type in the keyword "sign" and pictures from my wedding are returned as though they contain this keyword. I've double-checked the picture filenames, descriptions, faces, kaywords, and places, and nowhere do I see the word "sign" associated with these photos.

Does anyone know why this is happening?

TIA for any assistance. I'm frustrated, having spent all this time associating keywords to my photos, only to have the keyword search option not effectively work for me!

Have you tried any other random keywords to see if you get the same effect?

 

[ScottC7]

Have you tried any other random keywords to see if you get the same effect?

Thanks for your response. I just tried the word "theater" and part of the search result (in addition to legitimate returns) was a picture of me and my mother with no discernible reason why. Nothing in the description, filename, keywords, faces, or places associated with this picture refers to "theater." there are 10s of other pictures that were also returned as part of the search and none of them have any association with this word, either.

 

[flynz4]

I cannot help you with your specific problem. I would suggest that with your size library, you should seriously consider moving to a Digital Asset Manager (DAM) before putting lots of effort into iPhoto. I personally prefer Aperture... others prefer Lightroom. Both have advantages/disadvantages.

Personally, I would not put effort into a 20K iPhoto library unless you think that it will stop growing and become static.

/Jim