iPhoto Library - where are all my photos?

[tianuk3]

Hello everyone

Proud owner of a new macbook, just a little question, i have iphoto08 installed and i imported all my photos to it, but the only way for me to view the photo files is through the iphoto program or using spotlight, is there anyway for me to find them all manually (through Mac HD) and then I will be able to export them out to back them up and view them on a pc?

Cheers

 

[dcorban]

In your user folder, there will be a file called "iPhoto Library". This is a package file which contains your entire photo library. If you want to back up your library, simply back up this file.

If you really want to manually browse the photos, which I don't recommend, you just right-click (or control-click) this file and select "Show Package Contents".

 

[Lyle]

To add to what to dcorban said, if you're wanting to export selected photos just to be able to view them elsewhere (or to upload them to a web site, etc.) you can select the photo(s) in iPhoto and then choose the "Export..." command from the "File" menu.

 

[superleccy]

The best plan is not to worry about where your photos are. Let iPhoto worry about that, and just always use iPhoto to access your photographs. Use File > Export if you need to get a photo into another program.

I know this sounds really odd and unintuitive if you've just come from a Windows environment. But give it a few weeks and see how you feel.

SL

 

[teiresias]

I know this sounds really odd and unintuitive if you've just come from a Windows environment. But give it a few weeks and see how you feel.
SL

It's actually horribly unintuitive and an unnecessarily lengthy process for certain tasks, which is why mail.app (at least the version in Leopard) provides a built-in media browser that can parse the iphoto package file outside of the iphoto application to facilitate attaching photos to emails. iMovie provides the same thing (and the iWorks apps do too if I remember correctly, I'm not at my computer to check). This isn't even an issue of "coming from a Windows environment" because . . .

The best plan is not to worry about where your photos are. Let iPhoto worry about that, and just always use iPhoto to access your photographs.

. . . iTunes does the same thing - I don't have to worry about where my music is - though I do have it organize it and copy it to the library folder. But that's the thing - iTunes still lets me find my individual music files in the Finder if I want to do that, and my music is stored on disc in easily accessible individual files. Why they couldn't do the same thing with iPhoto I don't really understand, unless there is actually some kind of file compression done on the package file iPhoto uses in order to better utilize space, that's the only reason I could think of, because the database issues shouldn't be any different from iTunes in terms of searching and sorting the data, so if iTunes can live with the music staying as individual files iPhoto should too.

 

[yippy]

iPhoto does have a little bit different of a database need than iTunes. Photos can be edited and so iPhoto keeps two copies of all edited photos, one edited and also the original to revert back to. Also, iPhoto keeps a whole slew of thumbnails to greatly speed up browsing of the iPhoto library.

That said, when browsing photos in iPhoto you can treat them just like you would if they were in folders including drag and drop into and out of iPhoto as well as using copy/paste.

 

[superleccy]

It's actually horribly unintuitive and an unnecessarily lengthy process for certain tasks, which is why mail.app (at least the version in Leopard) provides a built-in media browser that can parse the iphoto package file outside of the iphoto application to facilitate attaching photos to emails. iMovie provides the same thing (and the iWorks apps do too if I remember correctly, I'm not at my computer to check).

I agree it's a pain when you're trying to access photographs via an application that doesn't have an iPhoto Browser. But fortunately, many applications do now (all the Apple ones plus lots of others). In other cases, I just have to fire up iPhoto, find the photo(s) I want and export them to the desktop.

So, agreed, it would be nice if the iPhoto library was arranged a bit more logically for us humans to understand, a la iTunes. But it doesn't bug me that much.

SL

 

[teiresias]

iPhoto does have a little bit different of a database need than iTunes. Photos can be edited and so iPhoto keeps two copies of all edited photos, one edited and also the original to revert back to. Also, iPhoto keeps a whole slew of thumbnails to greatly speed up browsing of the iPhoto library.

All of these are needs and functionality supported by Picasa - for an example of a comparable Windows app - but Picasa doesn't require any kind of package file and doesn't even require the photos that are in its library to be in the same folder. Granted, to create something analogous to an iPhoto "Event" you'd have to create a folder (at least last time I used Picasa), but I think you can do that from within Picasa itself but I can't be sure.

I don't dislike iPhoto, it suits my needs, but just from an engineering standpoint I find it odd that it's basically the only app that handles its media type in such a way that requires a specialized viewer applet to view that media outside the main application used to manage it. It seems doubly odd when one considers the hoopla introduction of quickview in the Finder.

 

[jsimonello]

This Doesn't Make Sense

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, if I want to open a photo in photoshop, I have to export it to my desketop, play with it in photoshop and then hopefully reimport it into the correct folder in iphoto?

Can this be?

 

[aristobrat]

All of these are needs and functionality supported by Picasa

And when/if Picasa comes to Mac, maybe the iPhoto team will pick up some tips from it.

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, if I want to open a photo in photoshop, I have to export it to my desketop, play with it in photoshop and then hopefully reimport it into the correct folder in iphoto?

Or you could set the default iPhoto editor to be Photoshop and not worry about exporting/importing.

I agree it's a pain when you're trying to access photographs via an application that doesn't have an iPhoto Browser. But fortunately, many applications do now (all the Apple ones plus lots of others).

I've been running Leopard since launch day but only just recently noticed that when you're in a web browser and go to upload something, the browser upload window has an iPhoto browser tab on the left. Actually, a media browser -- gives you quick access to your music, photos and movies. Was really cool to use.

 

[iBunny]

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, if I want to open a photo in photoshop, I have to export it to my desketop, play with it in photoshop and then hopefully reimport it into the correct folder in iphoto?

Can this be?

I am a proud Mac Owner...

However, I am a PC guy, working in a PC world, growing up building gaming PCs, and LAN'ing them, sharing files and pron all day long when I was a kid

They dont want to know how it works or get in depth folders and files when this simple program "iPhoto" which comes with all macs, does it for them! They dont see the aspect you are comming from, because most of them are either Mac Heads all their life or they are so Loyal to Apple they just negate the fact that some of the Mac ways of thinking arent perfect.

iPhoto is 1 thing that pisses me off, for the same reason you are having too. I like to manage all my folders myself. Keep all of my files orginized the exact way I want. Move Individual pics around without having them all consolidated etc. What if I want all my Personal pics, work pics, and adult pics on my Mac? I cant surley put them all in iPhoto because then the girlfriend will see the ones I dont want her too. But I would like to keep all my photos together in descrete folders. Its just not as User friendly as it is in Windows. But thats a double edged sword. The more control you have over your files and folders ala windows, the more chance you have to screw it up. And the average user ~ 99% of people are idiots. Mac faithfuls wont have this problem, because they hide all the user control, so you cant fudge your system.

Im dont ranting

 

[aristobrat]

iPhoto is 1 thing that pisses me off, for the same reason you are having too. I like to manage all my folders myself. Keep all of my files orginized the exact way I want.

Uncheck "Copy items to my iPhoto Library" and iPhoto will work with the way you've manually spent the time organizing photos in folders.

What if I want all my Personal pics, work pics, and adult pics on my Mac? I cant surley put them all in iPhoto because then the girlfriend will see the ones I dont want her too. But I would like to keep all my photos together in descrete folders.

Then use discrete libraries. Hold the Option key down as you start iPhoto and create a separate library for work pics, personal pics, and then the pics that your gf would have a problem with.

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

I am a proud Mac Owner...

I will however offer some advice and tell you that you can easily create multiple libraries for just such a thing. I have the last 3 years (20,000 photos) of my life with my fiance on one library because that is what I want seen. However before her there was my ex I was with for 9 years. This is about 30,000 photos of my life and I am not going to get rid of them as it was a lot of good times and vacations regardless of us not being together. However my fiance doesn't need to see them every time she wants to look at our photos. Then we also have a photo library where we keep our "adult" pictures, if you will. All you have to do is hold option as you click on iPhoto and it gives you a choice to create a new library and choose an existing library. The chosen library will be the default until you select another. Or to automate this function you can get iPhoto Buddy. It works very well. You have to remember the iPhoto program isn't for everyone. However it is a great program for about 95% of the users out there. I cant tell you how many times I get customers who come in and ask me and my employees if they can put it on their PC because their friends had it on their mac and they want it. Most people don't want to do this kind of organizing on their own. ALso remember iPhoto used to have an open library in 2006 and prior and what happened is a lot of customers would go into their and move stuff and accidentally change something and then poof effed up library! I am a very very OCD person myself and I am quite pleased with the way it works. I keep a lot of oddball videos I don't put in iTunes and you should see the folder structure I have for that.

 

[akadmon]

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, if I want to open a photo in photoshop, I have to export it to my desketop, play with it in photoshop and then hopefully reimport it into the correct folder in iphoto?

Can this be?

Right click on a photo in the iPhoto browser and choose "show file" which will show the file in a Finder Window. The right click on the file there and chose "Open With", selecting your favorite editor from a drop down list. That simple!

 

[jsimonello]

Or you could set the default iPhoto editor to be Photoshop and not worry about exporting/importing.

I'll play with that. I tried it quickly and while photoshop opened, my selected photo wasn't there to edit. I must just be missing something there.

If this works, my blood pressure will drop some. Thanks!

I've been running Leopard since launch day but only just recently noticed that when you're in a web browser and go to upload something, the browser upload window has an iPhoto browser tab on the left. Actually, a media browser -- gives you quick access to your music, photos and movies. Was really cool to use.

Will upgrading to Leopard resolve some of these problems? ie uploading photos to typepad?

ps to IBunny - You said it! This makes me nuts!

 

[jsimonello]

Right click on a photo in the iPhoto browser and choose "show file" which will show the file in a Finder Window. The right click on the file there and chose "Open With", selecting your favorite editor from a drop down list. That simple!

Thanks! That sounded so easy but while it will open in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Image Ready, Photoshop opens and nothing else happens. This must be a Photoshop problem?

Sorry I'm sounding so whiny about this. It's just the blood running down my face from banging my head against the wall is really starting to annoy me!

 

[msharpmu]

Broken iBook Screen

Wow, is this perfect timing...

So this past weekend I was getting out of my chair and stepped on my wifes old ibook. The screen cracked and now I can't see crap. I have a firewire to firewire chord so I hooked her broke computer into my macbook pro. I then started the ibook in "target mode". I then created 2 users on my macbook pro. I want her to be able to access all her stuff from her "user". I can scan through her files with ease but I do not know which ones to copy. I originally did a mass transfer of her harddrive but that seemed a bit much. After transferring her "iphoto library" program, I opened it up and my pictures opened, not hers. I want to transfer her documents, music, and most importantly pictures. Can anyone help? Has anyone done this before?

 

[jsimonello]

Okay (heavy sigh)

I have resolved the photoshop issue. I can now open the image to edit in photoshop.

Now, if I crop out a portion of that image and save it as duck.jpg this new file exists in pictures/iphoto library/modified/2008/jan 29, 2008.

I can neither view this image in iphoto nor import it into iphoto. The same holds true if I don't crop and I just make a color change on the image and save it with the same file name!

Is the only option really to have yet another folder to which I have to save these changes and then import from there into iphoto?

It seems that since I've upgraded to iphoto I've had to create at least four new folders: three virtual folders so I can access the images from the web (typepad) and one new folder where I save the edited images in order to import them back into iphoto (AND they won't be in the same folder/event until I merge them!)

 

[aristobrat]

Will upgrading to Leopard resolve some of these problems? ie uploading photos to typepad?

I'm not sure if it was iLife '08 or Leopard that added this feature, but when I upload anything to a website, I get a Media bar that makes it a piece of cake to browse my iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie libraries.

 

[Green Lantern]

Before I do a major edit on a photo in iphoto. I always duplicate the photo first. This way I have the orginal and the new one side by side in the same event. This will keep you from having to import/export the photos all the time. I know you can revert back to orginal and I love that feature. However, I just like seeing the orginal with the edited version side by side for comparision.