Organizing photos...

i just started using iphoto and im sorting out all my photos and organizing them with the albums inside iphoto. thats all great but when trying to find photos to upload to my myspace they get lost inside date codes. my question is why do they not get saved in a folder under the name of the album they are located in iphoto?

iPhoto is a database application, and not a file browser. Simply, you are not meant to browse the iPhoto Library folder to access your photos. Any changes you might make while there will damage your library. See this from the iPhoto Help, under "About using the iPhoto Library":
+IMPORTANT: There is also an "iPhoto Library" folder located in the Pictures folder in your home folder, outside the iPhoto application. If you move, delete, rename, or otherwise touch files or folders within this folder, you may be unable to see your pictures in the iPhoto application.+
+The files within this folder should only be manipulated by a customer care representative. It is a good idea, however, to routinely back up this entire folder to a CD or external hard disk so you have a copy in case your photos become lost or corrupted for any reason.+
Albums are a collection of pointers telling iPhoto to display a group of photos together. They exist as code in the library's database file and have no real presence in the Finder. If they did, it would necessitate duplication of every photo that exists in more than one album. The benefit of using iPhoto is that you get the power of the albums with no duplication. The photo of you with your dog and your baby at the beach on vacation can be in an album for your dog, one for your baby, one for the beach, one for your vacation, etc. But the actual photo exists only once inside your Library. That's what makes iPhoto more powerful and efficient than a file browser.
To locate your photos, use iPhoto. (Not the Finder or other app.) To prepare photos for uploading to myspace or another website, select them in iPhoto, then do an Export to a Desktop folder. The Export dialog gives you the option to rename the new files or even resize for better uploading performance. Select the exports for uploading, then trash them when you're done. The files remain safe in your Library. You can also get photos out of iPhoto by simply dragging the thumbnail from the iPhoto window to your Desktop - a full-sized copy will be saved on your Desktop. Drag and drop works with some applications, as well.
Regards.

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    Hello,
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    Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger

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    Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
    A long question with, I'm afraid, a short answer.
    a fairly large photo library that I keep on NAS, and definitely want to keep it there.
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    Alternatively, use an app like Keyword Manager which has Nested Tags as a feature. So, for instance, you can set a hierarchy: John is your Son so tagging 'John' will also add a 'Family' tag and so on. In my case I have tags like 'Seattle' that add 'Washington State' 'U.S' and 'Travel' to the pics. WIth auto completion all I have to type is Sea...
    but my impression is that to achieve what I'm trying to, I would need to import the entire library into local iPhoto library FIRST, then go backwards and migrate that iPhoto libary back onto NAS
    No, all you need to di is start a Library, then move it to an appropriately formatted disk. You don't need to complete the Library first.
    we have an iMac & a MBP, and would love to be able to share the NAS library on our respective iPhotos, and be able to keep "sync'd" up to what the other has done.
    Again, noting that the NAS is not the way to go here, you can simply enable iPhoto Sharing or use the same Library with both machines - very easy.
    I know that these a pretty short answers, and by all means post back if we can be more helpful.
    Regards
    TD

  • How do I move organized photos from dropbox to iPhoto and share with another user on the same mac?

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  • Organizing photo one to one?

    Greetings!
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  • TS1314 I have lots of organized photos on my PC and I want to keep them organized to sync to ipad.... how is the best way to do this?

    I have spent a lot of time saving, organizing and arranging photos (for the last 7 years) on my PC, and would like to know the best way to transfer these, AND MAINTAIN THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FOLDERS, to my new ipad (and later, my iphone). I have a really good system, and I do not want to have to do it all over again, on the ipad. I DO NOT want to subscribe to another monthly service fee (i.e. the iCloud) but DO have iTunes on my PC.
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    p.s.  I particularly enjoy Dan Nations very informative articles on how to get the best from my products.  And, wish Apple would explain "how it works" regarding the syncing methods on the Operating System.  It is the only thing I "don't get" about using my iPad..... meanwhile I LOVE my new mini ! ! ! ! ! ! ! thanks Apple, for keeping things simple.... Please don't change that !

    Correct, it will only be one-level, the Photos app doesn't support sub-albums - the sub-folders photos will be included in the parent's album.
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  • Organizing photos in iphoto 08

    Friends,
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    DC Steve
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    Regards
    TD

  • Organizing photos in Iphoto is a big pain and

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    If it is easier than what I seem to be making it, it is because the Iphoto help has not improved either.  It is still very basic and very vague as before.
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    Thank you.

    If you create albums and try to drag photos from existing events to the new albums, it makes no sense to have to go back and delete the photo from the place that you dragged it from.  At least I think this is how it is.
    You'd be wrong.  There's only one real imge file in iPhoto and that's located in the Event.  All other occurances of that photo, albums, books, calendars, etc. are only virtual links to the actual file in the Event. 
    Albums let you group photos togeher regardless of when they were taken and what event they are in.  Keywords can be applied all photos in an event by bringing fierst opening the event, bringing up the Keyword pane
    Click to view full size
    selecting the first photo, clicking on the keyword you want to assign, move to the next photo with the right arrow key on the keyboard, clicking on the next keyword, etc.  Takes only a minute or so.  You first have to create the keywords you want to use, people's names, places, etc.
    Then you can just search by keyword, create a Smart album to look for one or more keywords, etc.
    iPhoto is a database driven DAM (digital asset management) application so you should learn to use it properly.  A little upfront effort can save a lot of time later on. And this is how it's been for most of the version of iPhoto.
    OT

  • Newbie Question: Importing (from PC) and Organizing Photos in iPhoto

    Hi everyone,
    I am currently a PC user and am contemplating buying an iMac, and I'm trying to determine if iPhoto will meet my needs for photo importing and organization.
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    The directories are organized by the photo date taken in the format "yyyy-mm-dd" .
    Some of these directories are appended with an event name if applicable, i.e. "2011-12-25_Christmas Party" while others will only have the date, i.e. "2011-12-20"
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    A possible complicating factor in all of this is that some of the photos were taken with a camera where the time/date was not set properly, or with cameras whose date/times were set for a different time zone. I adjusted this within Windows Photo Gallery, but I am not sure if it permanently changed the date/time in the photo file's properties... I've seen some evidence that it may not have. I did make sure that the file name was named according to the correct date/time in every case, however.
    Now, here are my questions about using iPhoto:
    1) When I initially import my photos into iPhoto, will iPhoto recognize (or is there a way to make it recognize) each separate directory as a separate event based on the directory in which it is found?
    2) If I copy photos into iPhoto library, will it respect and preserve my directory structure wherein photos are separated by date taken? If not, then is it practical to still use iPhoto without copying the files into its library (by keeping them organized as subdirectories in a directory elsewhere and having iPhoto setup to automatically display photos in that directory)?
    3) If I use iPhoto to import pictures from a digital camera, can I control how it sorts those pictures into directories by making it name the directories in yyyy-mm-dd format? This is what Windows does and I find that format very convenient for organizing and viewing photo files, especially those that I have not yet tagged.
    4) Again, if I use iPhoto to import pictures from a digital camera, can I control the naming convention so that photos are named according to date&time taken (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss ), or at least according to just date taken (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd) as well as appended with event names?
    5) Will I be able to edit photo properties, such as date taken, within iPhoto if I discover that a photo is incorrectly organized?
    Thanks in advance,
    JB

    Here's the thing: You've put a lot of time developing a system of managing files. iPhoto is all about Photos. So, frankly. forget your current system and use iPhoto. it has more powerful and more varied tools for managing your snaps.
    There's a conceptual leap to be made with apps like iPhoto. The illustration I use is as follows: In my iTunes Library I have a file called 'Let_it_Be_The_Beatles.mp3'. So what is that, exactly? It's not the song. The Beatles never wrote an mp3. They wrote a tune and lyrics. They recorded it and a copy of that recording is stored in the mp3 file. So the file is just a container for the recording. That container is designed in a specific way attuned to the characteristics and requirements of the data. Hence, mp3.
    Similarly, that Jpeg is not your photo, it's a container designed to hold that kind of data. iPhoto is all about the data and not about the container. So, regardless of where you choose to store the file, iPhoto will manage the photo, edit the photo, add metadata to the Photo but never touch the file. If you choose to export - unless you specifically choose to export the original - iPhoto will export the Photo into a new container - a new file containing the photo.
    All of your queries are about files and filenames and file storage. They're all pretty much moot if you use iPhoto. If you use iPhoto it becomes the "go-to" app for all your photos. Everything you need to do with the photos can be done via iPhoto or with iPhoto.
    When I initially import my photos into iPhoto, will iPhoto recognize (or is there a way to make it recognize) each separate directory as a separate event based on the directory in which it is found?
    Yes, but...  Events are organisation for those who can't really be bothered. They are automatic - based entirely on Date and Time the camera records the photos as taken. You can move photos between Events, you can Merge Events, you can Rename them and sort them in various ways except one: You cannot manually sort in an Event as Events are all automated.
    Albums are a much more varied and powerful organising tool.
    2) If I copy photos into iPhoto library, will it respect and preserve my directory structure wherein photos are separated by date taken?
    Well forget about "directories", you're talking Events, Album and Folders now. But yes, you can define Events (or Albums) based on date. However, given that iPhoto can sort on date, can search on date and date ranges and can generate Smart Albums based on date (say, All the Photos from 2010, only the photos from June 2010 or just the photos fron June 10, 2010, or even the photos from May 12 2009 to July 11 2010) how the fies are organised on the disk is of little concern. You never access them via the HD anyway.
    If not, then is it practical to still use iPhoto without copying the files into its library (by keeping them organized as subdirectories in a directory elsewhere and having iPhoto setup to automatically display photos in that directory)?
    Yes you can do this. It's called a Referenced Library. I don't recommend it - especially for a new Mac user - and it adds nothing except complexity to the process. It has no extra capability. It's just dumb file storage. For more on this:
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3062728?tstart=0
    3) If I use iPhoto to import pictures from a digital camera, can I control how it sorts those pictures into directories by making it name the directories in yyyy-mm-dd format?
    No.
    This is what Windows does and I find that format very convenient for organizing and viewing photo files, especially those that I have not yet tagged.
    There are various tools in iPhoto that will allow you to find photos that you have not yet tagged or organised.
    Again, if I use iPhoto to import pictures from a digital camera, can I control the naming convention so that photos are named according to date&time taken (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss ), or at least according to just date taken (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd) as well as appended with event names?
    You can add titles to photos, yes. But as the date and time of the photo are already in the Exif, using those in the name of the photo is a bit redundant.
    Will I be able to edit photo properties, such as date taken, within iPhoto if I discover that a photo is incorrectly organized?
    Yes.
    It's a bit to take in I know, and I always suggest to people that the best thing is to create a library on their Mac, import a couple of hndred pics and explore what it does (and doesn't), and see if it works for you.
    iPhoto uses a lot of virtualisation. Photos are stored in the Library. (Events are just one of two possible views of the Library). Albums reference photos in the Library. So a shot can be in any number of albums and use no extra disk space. Keywording is also very powerful. Here’s a stock answer I use for folks when wondering what iPhoto can do:
    I use Events simply as big buckets of Photos: Spring 08, July - Nov 06 are typical Events in my Library. I use keywords and Smart Albums extensively. I title the pics broadly.
    I keyword on a
    Who
    What
    Where basis (The When is in the photos's Exif metadata). I also rate the pics on a 1 - 5 star basis.
    Using this system I can find pretty much find any pic in my 40k library in a couple of seconds.
    So, for example, I have a batch of pics titled 'Seattle 08' and a  typical keywording might include: John, Anne, Landscape, mountain, trees, snow. With a rating included it's so very easy to find the best pics we took at Mount Rainier.
    File -> New Smart Album
    set it to 'All"
    title contains Seattle
    keyword is mountain
    keyword is snow
    rating is 5 stars
    Or, want a chronological album of John from birth to today?
    New Smart Album
    Keyword is John
    Set the View options to Sort By Date Ascending
    Want only the best pics?
    add Rating is greater than 4 stars
    The best thing about this system is that it's dynamic. If I add 50 more pics of John  to the Library tomorrow, as I keyword and rate them they are added to the Smart Album.
    In the end, organisation is about finding the pics. The point is to make locating that pic or batch of pics findable fast. This system works for me.
    Finally, all of this can be exported from iPhoto should you decide to migrate to a different app or different OS in a year or two.
    Regards
    TD

  • Editing and organizing photos outside of iphoto

    Apple Tech Support tells me that iphoto only works for photos imported via digital camera hookup. I have many photos on my hard drive that were input via CD or email .jpg files. I understand I cannot edit these photos using any software that comes with the Mac, and I have to organize and store them outside of iphoto. Is there any Apple-compatible software other than Adobe Photoshop that I might buy to have more flexibility in editing and organizing all my photos? I am currently using a Mac Mini with the Panther 10.3 OS.

    I understand I cannot edit these photos using any software
    that comes with the Mac, and I have to organize and store them
    outside of iphoto.
    The first part of this statement might be accurate if your mini did not come with GraphicConverter among the bundled applications, but whoever left you with the impression that iPhoto won't accept anything but camera-generated images is misinformed. Launch iPhoto and select iPhoto Help from the Help menu. Enter the phrase "importing photos" in the search window, and have a look.

  • How to get started Organizing photos with tags and albums

    Apporximately 15,000
    Mostly family, vacations, travel, etc over 30 years
    What is the BEST way to get started?  Should I tag them first or put them in albums and sub-albums and then try to tag and further identify them?  I know nothing of how is best to proceed.
    I am oveerwhelmed with the process and cannot seem to find a starting point.  I have looked at many of the tutorials, but cannot find a "1-2-3 A-B-C" roadmap.
    Message title was edited by: Brett N

    I would recommend doing all (okay, almost all) of your organizing via tags. Don't bother using albums unless there are a subset of photos that you want to display somehow (like a slideshow, or photobook) in which case albums are the right tool. Also, make sure that when appropriate, you add the proper captions and notes.
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    Do NOT: move photos or folders from here to there, or rename them ... this is unnecessary extra work, as you will be using your tags from this point forward to locate your photos (exception: if you want/need to move the photos to a different hard disk, then by all means do so).

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