iPhoto Questions

[ManBearWaffle]

I'm in the process of organizing thousands of photos in iPhoto (any tips are appreciated), and I have a few questions. I had it originally set to copy my files to the iPhoto library, but I want them to stay in my original file structure. I disabled that feature, but I'm not sure if my files are already stored in the iPhoto library. How can I check? If they are stored there and I delete them, what will happen to my keywords, faces, places, etc? I guess this brings me to my next question. I edited a few photos using iPhoto, and I noticed that the changes did not reflect on the actual image file. Are these changes being stored some where else? How can I make it overwrite my images?

Thanks in advance!

 

[FourCandles]

...I disabled that feature, but I'm not sure if my files are already stored in the iPhoto library. How can I check?

Right /Control click on a Photo and choose Show Original File (if available) or Show File if not. Then go up in the directory tree and see if it's in the iPhoto library package (or Command-click on the folder icon in the Finder title bar and it will show the path).

... If they are stored there and I delete them, what will happen to my keywords, faces, places, etc?
...

if you delete them and they were in the iPhoto library, then they're gone, including the metadata.

...I edited a few photos using iPhoto, and I noticed that the changes did not reflect on the actual image file. Are these changes being stored some where else? How can I make it overwrite my images?
...

The changes are being stored in the iPhoto library package, no matter whether your originals are outside of the library. The changed images are stored in a folder called Modified, within the iPhoto package. See above answer for how to find the Modified and Original files.

Why do you want to overwrite the originals? There may be a better way of achieving what you want, but I'd need to know what it is you're trying to achieve.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

Thanks for the reply! I want to have iPhoto read from my pictures folder rather than the copies it made. I'd also like to remove the copies it made because it's just wasted space. I also want to replace the original files because I edited them for a reason. The originals don't look as good as they should, and if I switch to a different photo manager later on, all of my edits will be gone unless the originals are overwritten.

 

[FourCandles]

I don't think iPhoto works in quite the way you're wanting. iPhoto will always make a copy of the original with whatever edits/adjustments you've made and will always store with within the iPhoto library package.

For true non-destructive edits then you need something like Lightroom (Aperture probably does too, but I'm a Lightroom user). Lightroom maintains a database of the edits and adjustments, and leaves the original file untouched.

However - if you change to a different application in the future, you can simply export the photos from iPhoto (File>Export and choose "Current" to keep your adjustments and edits). Or if you move to Aperture, I believe that there's a migration facility to import your iPhoto library directly.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

I wasn't aware that you can export the images that way. Thanks for telling me. If I switched to Lightroom later on, would my edits be kept on a separate file when I import them (like iPhoto) or are the edits saved to the file when you export from iPhoto?

iPhoto will always make a copy of the original

iPhoto has an option in the advanced tab to disable copying to the iPhoto library when you import. I believe this would make it read from the folder I import from. The only problem is, I made it copy my images when I initially imported all of my photos. I'm afraid that if I reimport them, all of my meta data, such as keywords, faces, edits, etc will be gone. Do you know of a way I can do this without messing anything up?


I was also wondering if theres a way to delete from iPhoto and also have it remove the image from my hard drive? I have a lot of photos I'd like to delete and I don't want to delete them twice if I don't have to.

 

[FourCandles]

...If I switched to Lightroom later on, would my edits be kept on a separate file when I import them (like iPhoto) or are the edits saved to the file when you export from iPhoto?

Because iPhoto isn't a non-destructive editor, you will only be able to export your original file, your edited file, or both. it doesn't save the intermediate changes, and it doesn't save the edits separately so that Lightroom can understand.

UNLESS...you duplicate your photo (Command-D) in iPhoto and use the duplicate every time you want to start on a new set of adjustments to it. But that will, of course, start filling up your disk with duplicates of every image.

Basically, I think you've exposed the limitation of programs like iPhoto in this respect.

...iPhoto has an option in the advanced tab to disable copying to the iPhoto library when you import. I believe this would make it read from the folder I import from. The only problem is, I made it copy my images when I initially imported all of my photos. I'm afraid that if I reimport them, all of my meta data, such as keywords, faces, edits, etc will be gone. Do you know of a way I can do this without messing anything up?
...

Disabling copying simply leaves your originals where they are, as opposed to copying them to a folder called Originals within the iPhoto library package. iPhoto will still create a further copy when you make any edits (placed in Modified).

Rather than reimport your source files, try exporting and reimporting with a couple of test images and see if your metadata is preserved.

...I was also wondering if theres a way to delete from iPhoto and also have it remove the image from my hard drive? I have a lot of photos I'd like to delete and I don't want to delete them twice if I don't have to.

Depends if your originals are within the iPhoto library package or in an external folder as per above discussions. If they're within the iPhoto package then they should be deleted when you empty the iPhoto Trash (which is yet another folder within the package). If external, they *should* be preserved, but check with a sample file before relying on that.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

Disabling copying simply leaves your originals where they are, as opposed to copying them to a folder called Originals within the iPhoto library package. iPhoto will still create a further copy when you make any edits (placed in Modified).

Yeah, that's what I mean. All of my photos were copied to the Originals folder and I don't want them to be there. I just tried exporting a photo and none of the keywords were there when I imported it. It seems kinda pointless to make all of these keywords if they aren't going to save to the file. Is there any way to do this?

 

[FourCandles]

i think to preserve your metadata you need to export as JPEG/TIFF etc. rather than Current or Original. Annoying, but there you are.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

That worked, but there are still some issues. Faces aren't saved and it doesn't create a folder for each event. If I export everything at once it puts every picture into one folder. I guess I'll have to export each event separately.

 

[FourCandles]

Hope you get sorted. Come back with any more questions. May be worth downloading a trial of Lightroom and seeing how you get on, if it's affordable for you.

 

[ManBearWaffle]

Is there a way to import directly from iPhoto to Lightroom? If not, is there a way to import a csv file for metadata into Lightroom? I found an iPhoto addon that lets me export metadata as a separate file.

 

[fcortese]

Or if you move to Aperture, I believe that there's a migration facility to import your iPhoto library directly.

In aperture, when you click on Import, you can import your whole iPhoto library. Aperture copies all of them so you have duplicates of everything including any photos you adjusted. Obviously this takes up considerable space on your HD. Or you can leave them in iPhoto to have access to them, or you can transfer single events or photos as you need (primarily to work on them).

 

[FourCandles]

There is a way to import into LR from iPhoto, yes. But it doesn't preserve metadata AFAIK. The only way I can see to do that is to export as a JPEg etc.

How many images and folders are we talking about?

 

[ManBearWaffle]

There is a way to import into LR from iPhoto, yes. But it doesn't preserve metadata AFAIK. The only way I can see to do that is to export as a JPEg etc.

How many images and folders are we talking about?

What about importing a separate metadata file? Does Aperture preserve metadata? I already reimported all of my image in iPhoto. I figured it'd be easier than exporting into separate folders because I didn't have a lot of keywords added. It'll probably take me an hour to add them all back. I have about 3000 photos and about 20 folders.