IPhoto '08 Overview

Question

I recently upgraded to Leopard, then purchased iLife, with iPhoto '08. While installing it, I apparently lost the instruction booklet somehow; it disappeared without a trace.
Anyway, this is my question. I have a folder filled with images of animals, grouped into subfolders, like this...
Documents > Images > Animals > Mammals > Cats
Documents > Images > Animals > Birds > Parrots
I imported the entire folder into iPhoto and created both an Album and Slideshow out of it. But I'm not real sure how it works - or whether it will do what I want.
First, where are the images I see displayed in my Slideshow (or Album) stored? Are they simply displaying the images I originally imported, still in my Documents folder?
Second, will my iPhoto Library and Slideshow automatically update to reflect changes in my images at Documents > Images?
For example, suppose I add some new images to Animals > Birds > Hummingbirds, then add a new folder - Animals > Birds > Sunbirds - and perhaps delete or rename another folder.
Will all these changes be updated in iPhoto. If not, CAN they be?
In summary, I want to create a collection of animal photos, organized by taxonomy, and I'd like to display the entire thing as an Album or Slideshow, PLUS, I'd like it to automatically update.
Is this possible?
Thanks.

Answer 1

David:
Each folder containing image files when imported into iPhoto will be represented by an Event with those photos in it. Event though folders are nested with one another, they will not be nested in iPhoto in either the Photos window or the Events window. The Events are based on the date range of the photos within it.
If your library is a default library, it will copy those photos into the library and place them in a folder within the Originals folder with the same name as the folder that was imported. Once you have imported the photos into iPhoto you can delete that first original folder.
If you add photos to one of the original folder outside of iPhoto that has been imported they will not be added to the library.
To organize your photos in iPhoto according to type or subject you can add keywords to those photos and then create smart albums based on the keyword for that subject. The albums can be nested in virtual folders that you can create in the left hand pane of iPhoto like this.
Smart albums will automatically update when photos are given the keyword or meet the criteria of the smart album, i.e. date, title or partial title, etc.
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 created 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. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.