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shopping810

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 31, 2012
1
0
San Francisco, CA
I have about 42GB+ of pictures and videos in date-named subfolders inside ~/Pictures that look like ./2011_12_31_description. Recently I started using iPhoto '11 and started importing them into a single iPhoto library. My sources of pictures and videos mostly come from a Sony digital camera and my iPhone 4s. Because of the total size of the pictures, in iPhoto I do not choose to make a copy of imported pictures into the library file.

My digital camera pictures I put them nicely in such folder structure. But when it comes to my increasing usage of my 4s pictures and videos, I don't know how to easily transfer them into the existing folder structure I have. I currently import my phone pictures into iPhoto, which will copy them off the phone, then I have to export them to a new date-named folder. Then, in order to keep my iPhoto library to only contain references of pictures and not physical copies, I have to remove the last imported pictures within iPhoto, then import the newly created date-named folder into iPhoto again. This seems overly cumbersome.

Am I doing something wrong? Such as, I should have let iPhoto library file keep a separate copy of the pictures on import, and let it grow to 42GB+ when I am all done? I am afraid things will slow to a halt when all said and done.

Should I start using multiple library files? Although this mitigate the eventual slowness problem due to library size, it does not help my workflow problem for having pictures coming from my camera and iPhone. I can also imagine I would lose facial recognition knowledge per library file.

Should I have AppleScript'ed my workflow?

Should I have used a more sophisticated mac photo management software?

Appreciate any help. Thank you.
 
I think you're NOT using the "Copy items to the iPhoto Library" feature, hence your photos stay in your own folders. The problem being that iPhoto copies your photos from the iPhone, so you have to do a bunch of work-around to wind up with the same structure.

If that's so, then I'd use Image Capture to copy your photos from the iPhone into your ~/Pictures folder. Then import them per usual. If my assumptions are correct this would save you a few steps.
 
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