Iphoto - black thumbnails

I have had a problem lately with Iphoto. It imports some pictures from my Iphone just fine, but many show up as black thumbnails. Adjusting the brightness on a picture even to 1% fixes the problem. How can I fix this for all pictures when they import? I can't keep going through and fixing each picture individually.

Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Use the option to check and repair Library permissions.
Regards
TD

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Why are videos in iphoto black thumbnails after import?

Hi,
I had to rebuild my entire iphoto library and start fresh but after i did that a lot of the small thumbnails are black when i view my photos in events.
I can correct that my making one photo in the event the key photo but all my videos in iphoto now have black thumbnails instead of the usual picture preview.
I'm upgrading them all just now to see if that helps but it's taking hours.
Any ideas anyone?
J.

Now i just need to mess about in the finder and delete some things and then move some stuff about and that should be that!
Not sure what that is all about but you know that you must NEVER make any changes of any sort to the structure or con ten of the iPhoto library - there are no user serviceable parts in is - any user activity inside the iPhoto library will corrupt it and cause data loss
LN

Black Thumbnails in iPhoto '08

When I import jpegs into iPhoto, the thumbnails are black. When I click on them, they expand into the proper image. I never had this problem in the last version. What gives?
Derek Boles

I am having a simialr problem with some photos I imported from a Vista box. Here is what my photos have in common:
1. They were all scanned in on the PC
2. They are all old black-and-white photos
3. I used PS Elements on the PC to edit them
I am thinking it has something to do with the way I saved them with PS Elements on the PC. I used the highest JPEG setting to maintain quality. I don't think that is it... I seem to recall that there was a checkbox that had something to do with a "save preview" that I would sometimes uncheck.
I need to monkey around with it some more, but I am betting it has something to do with the way I saved them in Elements.

Black thumbnails in iPhoto 6.0.5

I never had any problems with iPhoto (v. 6.0.5), but last week any photo or file imported showed as a black thumbnail. Clicking on the thumbnail brought up the picture just fine. I tried rebuilding the thumbnails and the library database, and this made all my thumbnails black! The only way to fix this was to use a backed up Pictures folder; importing still brought blanks after restoring.
I searched thforum, and tried a few recommended fixes, but nothing has worked. I've even tried setting up a new user account, which had nothing in the Pictures folder, and still got black thumbnails. Thinking the problem might be the app, I moved v. 6.0.5 to my desktop and re-installed v. 6.0. Still a problem, even in the test user folder.
So what would cause iPhoto to suddenly behave this way? What else might I try to fix this? The app is pretty useless to me if I can't get thumbnails of imported images to show.
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

MRKinLA:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. You're having a totally different problem than xophile. Are the outlined boxes thumbnails or the full sized image when you click on a thumbnail. In either case what you're seeing is a result of the library losing it's link between that file and the library.
If it's the thumbnail image that's the outline I suggest you try the following;
1 - open the iPhoto Library/Data folder and move all the folders inside to the Desktop.
2 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select the first three options.
See if that won't get your thumbnails back.
If the outline window is the large image window you have two options:
1 - again launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library. Select the first three options.
2 - if that doesn't work you'll have to create a new library from scratch an import the Originals folder from the current library. Here's how:
Creating a new library while preserving the rolls from the original.
Move the existing library folder to the desktop.
Launch iPhoto and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
Drag the Originals folder from the desktop into the open iPhoto window.
This will create a new library with the same rolls as the original library. However dates on the rolls may be different but can be edited as you would the roll title.
Once this is completed you can delete the Originals folder from the desktop and the iPhoto Llibrary folder. If desired, you can keep the older library folder to try other fixes on it.
In the future I recommend you make a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto file after each import and after doing a lot of editing and organizing in the library. Then if you experience a similar crash all you need to do is replace the damaged database file with the backup copy and you'll be back to the same place in the library as when you make the backup. See the tip at the end of my signature.
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.
G5 Dual Core 2GHz, 2G RAM, 250G HD; G4 Dual 1Ghz, 1.5G RAM, 80G HD, QT 7.1.3, Mac OS X (10.4.9) 22 LCD, 250G/200G/160G FW HDs, Canon: SD700IS/i850/LIDE 50, Epson R200, 30G iPod

Black thumbnails in iPhoto 6

Since installing iPhoto 6 yesterday, any photos I import, or any photos I make changes to, show up in iPhoto with black thumbnails. There are other problems - such as no photos showing up in the sidebar when I try to make an album or calendar - but the black thumbnail thing seems to be a system problem, not an iPhoto problem.
Tried reinstalling.
Tried a different user account with a brand new library.
Downgraded QT to 7.01.
Nothing works. Anyone have an idea?
Thanks!

Well, I found the answer myself... It turns out that in /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles, a file was missing (sRGB Profile.icc). I checked on another Mac I have and copied this file over, and no everything is working fine.
Perhaps this will also solve the blank thumbnail problem that others are having?
Kirk

IPhoto 11, Black Thumbnail for all Faces

In iPhoto, when I go to Faces there is a black thumbnail for all faces. If I double click to go to the actual fotos of one of the faces (names), the thumbnails are also black, if I double click the actual individual foto then you can see the actual foto. I have reinstalled iPhoto but it still shows onlt Black thumbnails for all faces (names).
Please help.

haarrrrummmm... don't know why I'm not able to edit my own posts, but there you go...
Rebuilding is only rebuilding if you get a dialog box showing 4 options. If you don't see this, then you may not have options and cmd keys depressed correctly (long enough etc) at startup of iPhoto.
You should see a dialog box presenting four choices:
repair permissions,
repair thumbnails
repair database
rebuild database
(Doing this from my head so the order may be a bit different)
Anyhow, start with repairing permissions, then thumbnails.
Repairing thumbnails will take time, especially on bigger libraries. Allow the machine to finish the task.
Repairing and rebuilding database are the big guns here. Make backups before letting these loose.
Hoot

Black thumbnails

I recently worked on a photo in PSE6 for mac, saved it as a .psd to the desktop, then dragged it to iphoto 7.1.5. Rather than seeing the usual full color thumbnail, I see an almost black thumbnail-more like a VERY underexposed photo as there is a tiny bit of blue color. When I open the image in iphoto, it is still nearly black, but when I right click to "edit in external editor", it will open normally in PSE. All my other thumbnails are fine.
I don't know if my problem is with iphoto or PSE, but I'm sure I have some setting wrong. The current settings are:
mode: RGB color
convert color profile: apply sRGB profile
color settings: allow me to choose
in the "save as" box I checked "embed color profile sRGB IEC61966-2.1"
BTW, in iphoto, I tried to rebuild the library and repair the permissions.
Can anyone help? I had no luck with the Apple folks.

Make sure the color profiles are consistent in both iPhoto and Elements.
Images are usually color managed on the Mac but make sure when saving in Elements that the profile is embedded e.g.sRGB, aRGB, ProPhotoRGB etc.
It also helps to use Elements as the nominated external editor in the iPhoto settings.
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/403/kb403605.html#main_Use_RAW_format_from_iPhoto_to_an_external_ image_editor_such_as_Photoshop_Elements_

Black thumbnails and negative images after import

I'm experiencing a problem with iPhoto 6 and some images importing with black thumbnails and negative main images.
I've tried replacing the sRGB Profile.icc (it wasn't missing for me), but that didn't work.
Any suggestions?
1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Are those negative images B/W photos? If so they may be Grayscale mode. Download the "Embed sRGB Profile" Automator application form Toad's Cellar and drop the original files for those photos onto it. If it's a grayscale mode file it will correct the situation. iPhoto 6 does not play well with Grayscale images.
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.

Black thumbnails when importing scanned photos

Recently began a large scanning project using an Epson V200 scanner, Image Capture, and iPhoto 8. Worked fine for over 200 black and white photos, but suddenly iPhoto began creating (mostly) black thumbnails with traces of color (even though I am scanning black and white photos). Clicking on the photo when in iPhoto causes it to act like a negative version of the photo. Preview can load and view the scanned photo just fine, so the file seems OK.
Just tried a smaller color photo; scan and import worked fine.
Thoughts and suggestions appreciated.
Ken

TD:
Sure enough, it worked; (re?)set Image Capture to do 'Color' even though I am scanning black and white, and it works now. Assume it got toggled to black and white somehow (dont remember doing that, but possible, I guess), as all previous black and white photos I checked have the RGB profile. Fun with computers...?
Thanks for your very quick response; great work and much appreciated.
Ken
ps: my son just finished a semester at UCD in Dublin; loved it..!

Black thumbnails for video files

hi, i'm having problems with black thumbnails showing up in iPhoto 06 for mp4 video files
mpeg files work fine, and the same mp4 files actually work in iTunes (meaning iTunes generates a correct thumbnail but iphoto thumbnails are black)
does anyone know how to correct this?
thanks very much

thanks larry. when i open in quicktime and go to the first frame, it is not black. also, for some reason, when i import the movies into itunes, the thumbnails show up fine (i.e. no black frame). i'm guessing that it has something to do with how iPhoto generates the thumbnail (vs. iTunes), but i don't know enough to change these settings.
if the first frame is in fact black, do you know if there is a way to force iphoto to use something other than the first frame when generating thumbnails?
thanks very much.

Solid Black Thumbnails?

When I import some of my greyscale .jpg images into iPhoto 6, they show up as solid black thumbnails. When I view the images, they display as dark negative images.
Is there a fix for this?

Eddie:
You might try using the "Embed sRGB Profile" Automator workflow that I created. It will embed that profile on any image file dropped on it. Much faster than opening in a 3rd party editor and then saving. You can download it from Toad's Cellar.
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, 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.

Black Thumbnails After Importing Scanned Picures

Last week I begun to scan all my analog photos.
The first 24 pictures scanned in RGB, saved as JPEG 8, imported in iPhoto - great!
Second round, nothing changed except the Mac OS X 10.5.2 update, all scanned pictures that I try to import to iPhoto end up with a black thumbnail. All files are displayed correctly in Preview, in Finder and elsewhere.
Please help. What is the Problem?
P.S. Opening and saving these files with Photoshop Elements solves the Problem, but is not an Option for thousands of photos.

HUWU
This sounds exactly like what happens when you import a greyscale image. Check the profile of the pics - you can do this in the Preview -> Tools menu.
Regards
TD

How can I delete the iPhoto Video Thumbnails in iMovie?

It's been a while since I've used iMovie, and when I opened the application tonight, I got the following message:
"iMovie needs to generate thumbnails for the videos in your iPhoto library. This process may take several minutes.
You can postpone this operation by clicking Later, but your iPhoto videos will be unavailable until the next time you restart iMovie."
I accidentally hit NOW, and the process began. When I realized it had used about 5 GBs of space, I force quit iMovie, but the disk space was not reclaimed. I need this space back now... I can import the iPhoto videos later. How can I undo the generated iPhoto video thumbnails? There was no project generated, and so no folder with the thumbnails in them. Where are they located? I would like to delete the iPhoto video thumbnails within iMovie, but preserve the thumbnails for other projects. And of course I would like to be sure that I keep the videos themselves in iPhoto - I definitely do not want to lose the videos there. Thanks for your help.
Greg

The latest incarnation of iMovie doesn't offer the 'Export with Quicktime'-options, the previous versions did.

How Do I Update iPhoto's Thumbnail/Preview?

Hello,
I use a referenced iPhoto library, that is, the photos are NOT kept in iPhoto's database, but simply referenced in their location on my hard drive.
If I edit a referenced photo elsewhere, say in Lightroom or Photoshop, and then look at the photo in iPhoto, the thumbnail does not update. If I double-click the image in iPhoto (say to edit it), it shows the image with new edits, telling me that it has looked at the new, referenced file. But the thumbnail does not update. I have looked for a "recreate preview" command, but have found none.
Any thoughts on how to get iPhoto to build/update the preview image?
Thanks!
Michael

Hello TD,
Thanks for your reply!
I understand about LR as an external editor. . .
What I have found is that if, in iPhoto, I edit a photo that has been changed it will update the preview. It is not enough to just open the iPhoto editor, an actual change must be made. Once made, the preview is updated to reflect the new file. So, for example: edit a referenced photo in external editor; view photo in iPhoto; see that iPhoto correctly reads the new file, but does not update the preview; open image in iPhoto editor; rotate image; exit iPhoto editor; see that iPhoto preview is correctly updated; unrotate photo; see that correct preview is maintained.
What I would like, but gather does not exist, is a way to ask iPhoto to create new previews for a group of images rather than having to open and edit (and unedit) each one. . .
Thanks!
Michael

Black Thumbnails & Previews

I've had a problem pop up recently, a number of my pictures are now showing up with black thumbnails and previews. I have tried everything, deleting and re-generating both, repairing permissions, rebuilding database, even working on another computer and nothing works. Aperture just keeps creating the same **** BLACK jpegs. I can see/open the original jpg in preview/photoshop, etc and it is ok. Dunno where to go from here.....

Lion with the latest Aperture.
Yes, the original images (JPGs taken on the camera) are ok. I can see them tucked away in my Apeture Library folder. When i delete and regenerate previews and thumbnails Aperture creates jpgs that are black. I tried using the same library on a different computer by booting my laptop into target disk mode and got the same result.
I finally gave up trying to fix this, and instead deleted all those photos. I have a 'master' library i import all my photos into before moving them to my 'live' library (that doesn't include the RAWs) so i just reimported for that library.

Iphoto - black thumbnails

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