Importing and Organizing Thousands of Photos into IPhoto

How can I import about 20 thousands photo into IPhotos and keep the logical organization?
I just buy a Mac Mini and I start trying to move my photos. These are organized in directories by dates with a customize description for the occasion ( …/YEAR/YEAR-MONTH-DAY + DESCRIPTION/)
I tried with few directories and I realized that in order to use IPhoto and keep the logical organization I will have to create and name about 500 albums manually and look for the photos for every album again one by one.
It sounds hard because the number of albums and photos.

There is a 3rd party application, iPhotoTool, that will let you select the top folder containing many subfolders and import all of them into iPhoto and create an album of each sub folder. That will save you a lot of manual work. Then all you need to do is create folders in the Source pane to organize your albums. Be sure to not allow duplicates each time it asks or you'll get duplicates in many of the folders. You'll be asked for each subfolder above the lowest but that's lot easier than manually finding and dragging each folder into iPhoto's Source pane.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

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Importing photos into iPhoto from Hard Drive

Mike just downloaded our back up onto our newish Mac after our Macbook bravely went to it's grave in coffee. I'm now trying to import about 100 - 200G of photos into iPhoto from my hard drive. I really do not want to spend the whole time selecting and dragging these pictures. All that I read so far says that is the only way to get them off your hard drive. Some one please rescue me and tell me there is another way! Unfortunately I have already started a new photo album with pictures from my iPhone, so I can't just start a new album with these pics. Thanks for any help I can get. ~Kari A.

first off do not import an old library into iPhoto - it does not work
If you have an old library you simply drag it to the new computer and launch iPhoto while depressing the option key to get the select library window and then select it - repeat to select a different library
If you have just the photos (not =an iPhoto library) then simply drag the folder of photos to iPhoto
LN

I am getting the following error message when I try to import photos into iPhoto from my camera: "/private/var/folders/GB/GBl4wh8-ELqUVMI5dO-ryU TI/-Tmp-/iPhoto/DSCF2033.JPG". Have already tried removing and reinstalling iPhoto to no avail.

I am getting the following error message when I try to import photos into iPhoto from my camera: "/private/var/folders/GB/GBl4wh8-ELqUVMI5dO-ryU TI/-Tmp-/iPhoto/DSCF2033.JPG". Have already tried removing and reinstalling iPhoto to no avail.

Does this happen if you try to Import to Library within iPhoto, or is it when you connect your camera (and which is set to automatically use iPhoto) that this error message occurs?
If you open Image Capture > Preferences is iPhoto selected as the choice when a camera is connected?

Whenever I try to upload photos into iPhoto, they load but when importing it just stops a picyure or two into it and then just sits there. I can't stop the import so I have to shut off my camera when it is importing and start again. Help?

Whenever I try to upload photos into iPhoto, they load but when importing it just stops a picture or two into it and then just sits there. I can't stop the import so I have to shut off my camera when it is importing and start again. Does anyone know how to fix this?

As a test launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Tru importing from your camera to it and to see if the same problem persists. Does it?
OT

I tried to import some photos into iPhoto today and was given a messaged indicating I'm out of room?! I only have 11,800 pics in my library and have been told iPhoto can hold up to 250,000. Help!

I tried to import some photos into iPhoto today and was given a messaged indicating I'm out of room?! I only have 11,800 pics in my library and have been told iPhoto can hold up to 250,000. Help!

Command (right) - click on your hard drive icon on the Desktop and select Get Info from the contestual menu:
In the window that comes up will be the amount of available(free) space:
OT

I have imported a jpeg photo into iPhoto and cannot get the Places map to let me fix a position on the map. It remains disabled for my photo. Checking out the Help file has not given any solution.

I have imported a jpeg photo into iPhoto and cannot get the Places map tp show. I have tried the Help file and the information was not helpful. Can anyone give advice here?

I am using iPhoto 9.1.1. When I select thephoto, then Places I get the window (Places to lookup disabled). When I hit theInfo button I get the size an JPEG notification, and Faces and Key words. The “reverse” of thepicture shows a window with Rotate, Hide, Trash etc.
When I select Places, get the Google worldmap, and this case a pin on Sydney Australia showing that eighteen photos arecorrectly placed. I am unable to make the connection to San Francisco wherethis particular photo was taken on a very modern camera.
Regards,
Theogt

Can't import photos into iPhoto

I have a Sony DSC W5 digital camera. For five years I have been able to import photos from the Sony camera into iPhoto. In the last two days I can no longer import photos into iPhoto. I get an "unrecognizable file" prompt. I can drag the photo files onto the Finder and view them there. The photo on the Finder has a .jpg suffix just as all the other photos in iPhoto. Anybody got an idea on how to solve this problem? Thank you.

get the photos off of the card and reformat the card using the camera format command
Can you import the photos from disk once you have moved them from the camera to the disk? If not try opening one preview and saving as to create a new file and import that
LN

My iPhone 4s is not importing my latest photos into iPhoto, though it opens iPhoto as if it were going to do it.

My iPhone 4s is not importing my latest photos into iPhoto, though it opens iPhoto as if it were going to do it. When I plug my iPhone into my iMac, it opens iPhoto, but then it does not import my newest photos. Any fixes? This used to work fine.

from Patrick Collins, answering the question on another stream (this worked!):
Re: To those with iPhone not showing up on iPhoto...
Sep 13, 2007 3:41 AM (in response to jared57)
I have experienced the exact same thing... I figured out a way around it, which seems to work every time. 1. quit iTunes
2. open iPhoto
3. unplug the iphone usb cable from the computer
4. turn your phone on, and unlock it.
5. plug in the usb cable. after about 10 seconds or so, iPhoto should prompt you with items to import. -p

Unable to import photos into iPhoto

Hi,
I just finished scanning/digitizing quite a number of color positive film (slide) images into JPEG and TIF files, and now I'm finding to my dismay that a great number of these files won't import into iPhoto. All of these photos show up as thumbnail images on my desktop, and they open fine in other programs like Photoshop. But while some photo files import just fine, some others of them generate an error message (..."may be an unknown format"... or something to this effect) when I try importing them, whether it be dragging and dropping into iPhoto, or importing via the "add to library" command. I have also tried duplicating them in Photoshop using the "save as" command, but upon importing I still get the same error message. It is not possible at this time to rescan any of these slides, and I am desperate to get the images into iPhoto. What can I do to get these images into iPhoto?
Frank G.

OK! I figured out the problem (file this under the category "Nobody warned me not to do this before, --and everyone probably already knows this but me.":
It turns out that all of the photos in question I was trying to import into iPhoto had a period (as in the punctuation mark) somewhere in the middle of the title of the file, as opposed to at the end of the file, followed by the letters denoting the type of file it was. For example: Grandma.Feb1952
Photoshop had no trouble opening these files in question. But it seems iPhoto called each of these photos "unreadable", because it interpreted every letter in the title of the file following the period to be part of the file name. Makes a whole lotta sense, --until it collides with my own presumption that because other programs like photoshop can handle a period within a document title, so could iPhoto. Anyway, as soon as I fixed the titles, I was able to drag them from their home folder on the desktop (even though their titles, along with all of the other titles scanned with that blasted ArcSoft PhotoStudio program I made the mistake of using, still weren't "illuminated") directly into the iPhoto library window and do a successful import.
So, to sum it up: wrong way to write a title when creating a photo file: grandma.feb1956 right: grandmafeb1956.tif also right: grandmafeb1956
By the way, your suggestion for copying and pasting the offending photos into new photoshop documents also worked, and illuminated each of the file names I did this for. But it took extra time to do each. I suppose I could make the process faster if I took the time to learn how to automate such a task. But that's another subject, for another forum.
Thanks so much for helping me figure out what was wrong here. Cheers!
Frank G.

Importing/exporting Moto V265 photos into iPhoto

Hi,
I just got a Motorola V265 cell phone. The phone have a small camera in it.
I'd like to know if there is a way to import the cell photos into iPhoto (by using an utility) ?
Also, since it is possible to put pictures on the phone as backdrop, I'd like to know if there is a way to take a picture from iPhoto and export it to the cell phone?
Thanks

I haven't found any possible way of doing it, so I take it it is impossible...

Ive downloaded my photos into iphoto and cannot find them. I inadvertantly deleted photos from my camera. Any chance to recover or find them?

Ive downloaded my photos into iphoto from my Canon G10 and cannot find them. I inadvertantly deleted photos from my camera. Any chance to recover or find them?

Do they show in "last import" or in photos view?
You give us nothing to go on so we can only make really wild guesses
you may be able to recover them on the camera card using software like media recover
LN

My MacBook Pro will not allow me to shut down it says it is still importing photos into iPhoto it also will not quit

My MacBook Pro will not allow me to shut down my computer. Their seems to be a glitch in the iPhotos. It says it is still importing photos into iPhoto. It will not allow me to quit either.

You could always hold down the power button to force the MacBook to turn off. This is usually a last resort step though, but if nothing else is working and you are sure it isn't importing photos then you might consider it.

Trouble importing photos into IPhoto

I am a new Apple User, so I suffer from simple frustrations!
I just returned from vacation and have been trying to import my photos into IPhoto. I had them loaded on my work laptop (PC) so I loaded the 6.5 Gb of photos onto a portable hard disk. Every time I tried to import them the application would shut down prior to finishing the import. I tried importing all of them at once, in groups of 100 and in groups of 20 and get the same thing every time. I also copied the photos into another folder onto my hard disk and tied importing from there only to get the same result.
Does anyone have any idea why this is happening? I usually download from my compact flash cards and have never had any issues before. Any help anyone could provide would be appreciated. I have saved a copy of he error message that is sent to apple if that would help anyone. Thanks in advance for any help.

You can try image capture (in your applications folder) but if neither iPhoto nor preview likes them they probably have a problem - something like graphic convertor might be able to open adn resave them - http://www.lemkesoft.com/
LN

Importing photos into iPhoto 9 already geotagged in Picasa 3.5

Is it possible to import photos into iPhoto 9 that have already been geotagged in Picasa 3.5?
The Goetagging in Picasa seems (to me) to be easier to use (close integration with Google Earth, but the look and feel of the iPhoto app, slideshows and printing options are far better in iPhoto. (just my personal opinion - maybe not shared by all!)
Are the photos tagged by Picasa in such a way that the lat/long info is embedded in the file and readable by iPhoto?

I have no idea if Picassa "properly" tags the photos or not (i.e. puts the data into the photo's exif). I guess you could simply tag on then add it to iPhoto and see if the location sticks.
But as an aside, I use Graphic Converter (CG) to, among a number of tasks, Geotag my photos before I add them to iPhoto. GeoTagging can be done with a GPS data log file or you can also Geotag them using Google Earth, which you may prefer. CG definitely tags them correctly and when I later add them to iPhoto the locations are correct.
Patrick

Importing photos into iphoto from aperture

I just upgraded to Snow Leopard not realizing Aperture 1.5.6 would not open again. I do not use Aperture enough to pay for an upgrade and want to import my photos into iPhoto for future use. How do I do this (where are the files) and keep the quality of the pictures? If I can get the data into iphoto, can i then delete the aperture file? Thanks

The correct way to do this is to Export from Aperture to folders on the Desktop and then import to iPhoto.
As Aperture 1 won't open for you, you could download a trial of Aperture 2, open your Library, do the exports and then trash the app and the library.
This has the added advantage of it being possible to access versions, metadata that you added in Aperture etc
Otherwise:
Go to your Pictures Folder and find the Aperture Library there.
Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Inside you will see a lot of stuff but you are looking for the .approject packages
So, you will see something like
JohnsBirthday.apprproject
Right click on that and go Show Package Contents
A new window opens with the project exposed.
Look for a folder called XXXX @ YYYY - 1.apimportgroup - where X and Y are the date and time of the import. Insie that you'll find a folder for each shot you imported. Just drag the original out of there to a folder on the desktop.
Repeat. And Repeat. And Repeat for each photo in your Aperture Library.
This will yield you your Original Files as imported to Aperture.
Regards
TD

Importing and Organizing Thousands of Photos into IPhoto

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