iPhoto: use it or not?

[EvryDayImShufln]

I've been trying to use every built in aspect of OS X as much as possible, but I find iPhoto makes this hard. I have quite a few GB of photos mixed with videos, and iphoto crashes every time I try to load the entire folder due to those videos being in there.

I also tried to make an automator workflow that would do this for me, but I didn't seem to find any options that can create albums from existing folders using their names.

Basically what I want to do is shove a bunch of stuff into iPhoto all at once and have it organized the way I've done for the past 4 years.

Am I asking the impossible?

 

[Applespider]

If you import them one folder at a time, you'll end up with a 'film roll' named after that folder automatically. If you view by film rolls, you don't really need to worry about albums as well.

Alternatively, if you have iPhoto 6, tell Preferences that you want to use your own file structure and point it at it. I'm assuming it still has to do some importing and the like to catalogue it but I haven't used this option since by the time it turned up, my pictures were already in the main iPhoto library

 

[adrianblaine]

iPhoto is not really meant do this very well. If you already have a way you've been organizing them, the best way I can think of is to open iPhoto blank, and then create albums for all the folders you have. Say you have a folder called "travel". In iPhoto you could create an album named "travel" as well and then import all the photos into the travel contents into that album. It can take hours to do it this way, but it is easier than picking them from the iPhoto library and separating them into albums.

I would first separate out videos from photos. iPhoto is not meant to organize videos, iTunes is. OS X doesn't like mixing them for some reason.

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

Hmm, thx for both your quick posts. I would import one by one with no problem. Only there is a problem.. there are 100s of albums that I have all over my PC lol.

I know that automator could be up to the task with a few custom workflow steps. I found a way to make it select only images, and import them, all I need to do is make it put them each in an album with the same name as the folder they are in, nothing too special.

 

[j26]

Go with the film roll idea
Just put all you image folders in one folder and import them into a blank iPhoto Library.
They will appear as film rolls and if you want you can just click the film roll name and it will automatically select all of the pictures in the roll. Then Shift+Cmd+N will create a new album with those photos. You can take your time doing that bit since you will already be able to view by film roll, but albums do make it easier.

 

[jeremy.king]

Dragging a folder into the Source list (left hand pane) will automatically create an album with the same name as the folder. However, I don't know how it handles nested folders. Try some and report back.

 

[adrianblaine]

Dragging a folder into the Source list (left hand pane) will automatically create an album with the same name as the folder. However, I don't know how it handles nested folders. Try some and report back.

That's awesome! I'll have to remember that in the future (wish I knew that awhile ago, oh well!)

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

It ignores the subfolders and pools all their images into the main folder.

My main issue with iphoto, the reason i dont want to use its proprietary organization method, is because if i want to send a picture by gmail or smth its alot harder to look it up when its organized the way they do it. So i want the best of both worlds, using iphoto + keeping my organization method.

 

[ChrisA]

Hmm, thx for both your quick posts. I would import one by one with no problem. Only there is a problem.. there are 100s of albums that I have all over my PC lol.

You are having trouble because you are abusing iPhoto's "system". Here is the "iPhotos Way":

1) Images live inside "film rolls" Every picture files is physically stored in a "film roll". When you import files into iPhoto a film roll is created for each directory, using the directory name as the name of the film roll. Pictures exist in one and only one film roll.

2) My may also, optionally create a system of "albums". You can place albums into folders. You may place one picture into ANY NUMBER of albums. iPhoto does not copy the image into the album because albums NEVER contain the image file they contain "references" to the image file that lives in it's film roll. So you cm make an album called "mary-sue" that contains all the images from years past of that person. Make another album called "Texas" for all the images taken in that state. Then if you have a picture of Mary Sue taken in Texas the imag will appear in BOTH albums but only ONE physical copy of the image will be in the film roll called (say) "Huston13Nov04". Next yo make folders and drop the aalbums into folders


One other thing: There are two type of albums, normal ones. These contain only the images you drag into them and "smart albums" these contain "criteria" and are automatically kept filled with images that match the criteria. So you might make a smart album that contains any and all images with tags "Mary Sue" and "Texas". Images with both tags will appear there.

 

[ChrisA]

It ignores the subfolders and pools all their images into the main folder.

There is also an option that tells iPhoto NOT im move your image files when it imports them. It will leave them inside the existing system of folders.

My main issue with iphoto, the reason i dont want to use its proprietary organization method, is because if i want to send a picture by gmail or smth its alot harder to look it up when its organized the way they do it. So i want the best of both worlds, using iphoto + keeping my organization method.

iPhoto will make a film roll with the name of the folder that contains the image file. so it preserves your system.

Many people moving into iPhoto have a problem conceptualizing the way iPhoto works. Maybe it is best to say that it works like a public library that uses the Library of Congress system. Each book is given a meanigless number that simply indicates it's location on a shelf. Then there is a database system or even multiple database systems. Tadidtionally there are three card catalogs, for author, subject and title but there could be 20 card catalogs for things like "date published" or "author by first name". iPhoto is like this. The images are stored in rolls and you access them by any method you care to set up, or you can set up 20 different methods

One method that you might want to try is to ad a comment to each image that says what "catagory" or "folder" you used to store the image in and then yo can quickly find images based on that.

I use a system that tags images by type of photo "portrait, city scape, macro,... and by subject "dolphin, Sue, Mt Rushmore,.... I rate the photos with 1 to 5 stars and record which camera was used and the location where the photo was taken. You can make your own system.

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

Thanks for your very detailed post. It seems from what you are saying that iPhoto would be alot more useful for me once I get it started. So you think I should just go ahead and shove everything into it? It could work, but it would take me alot of time. Maybe I'll give it a go tomorrow and simply backup my stuff first so that if I don't like it I can just revert to my old system.

 

[skybolt]

One major caveat! Do all your photo work from within iPhoto -- DO NOT use the Library in Finder. The app is meant to do your organizing for you, and work with you on that. It is not happy if you mess with Finder Library. You will corrupt photos, lose photos, etc. if you use Finder.

An additional organizational tool that I use is to name the "Rolls" to indicate what is in there. Sort of a low level "album". You can even move photos from roll to roll, for further organization. Then, if you want, you can make real folders and albums within them for further organization.

For emailing, the option is right there in the app! Works like a charm -- even lets you decide how large a file you want to send.

Good luck! Try it, you'll like it if you give iPhoto a chance!

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

Wow again thanks for another very detailed post, makes iphoto sound very appealing. I have 2 questions though.

1. I dont use Mail, I'm with gmail and I find their regular layout to be easy enough to use to not merit the need of using Mail. So if I want to send a pic I would need to do a search by its name? Doesnt seem so bad though, but is there any other way?

2. If I want to edit a photo with photoshop, what should I do? I figure I can drag the pic to the desktop, edit it, and drag it back into iphoto and replace the old one I think. If there is a better way, please tell me.

 

[XP Defector]

I still cant get my head around it really, coming from XP it feels like I do not have enough control over my files. I like having my files organised by folders, but I suppose its just a case of letting go lol.

 

[Chundles]

Wow again thanks for another very detailed post, makes iphoto sound very appealing. I have 2 questions though.

1. I dont use Mail, I'm with gmail and I find their regular layout to be easy enough to use to not merit the need of using Mail. So if I want to send a pic I would need to do a search by its name? Doesnt seem so bad though, but is there any other way?

2. If I want to edit a photo with photoshop, what should I do? I figure I can drag the pic to the desktop, edit it, and drag it back into iphoto and replace the old one I think. If there is a better way, please tell me.

1. With iPhoto open, just drag the image/s you want to send into the upload window. I use GMail too and in iPhoto I select the images I want to send, go File -> Export and then change the size of the images as a batch and export them to the desktop. Then I upload them from there.

2. On the General pane of the iPhoto preferences window, there is a drop-down list that says "Edit Photo" - from there you can choose the application you want to edit a photo with when you double click the thumbnail.

With iPhoto I have never, ever opened the iPhoto library in the finder or worried about how iPhoto sorts the photos at the base level (there's nothing "proprietary" about the structure, people throw that word around too much, it's just sorted by date then the name of the roll you imported/date of import) I use albums and smart albums based on keywords and metadata to organise my photos within iPhoto. Much easier to do a quick search through a smart album than hunting through endless folders looking for a particular picture.