IPhoto Organization (Events, Keywords, etc.)

I have a large iPhoto library and would like suggestions on how to BEST organize photos so that I can locate them later.  I have currently only organized my photos by the events section.  It seems weak at this point as I really cannot search anything.  My photos range from specific jobs that I do as a contractor to any personal photos of family and vacations.  What you would guys recomend as a best practice since I am about to work on organizing over 25K photos and do not want to do it twice.  I know keywords will be part of the answer.  How do I do that most effeciently?  Can I do levels within Keywords?  How do the events relate to keywords, etc.
I am using iPhoto 11
Chad

Here's my canned answer for this. It might spark something for you.
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 exensively. 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 33k 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.
Keywording takes time to set up, there's no doubt about it. But it pays off. 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.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

  • Time Machine not backing up iPhoto changes (Events, pictures, etc..)

    So I finally decided to buy a external hard drive (WD) and backup some of my data to it using Time Machine. The initial backup went well with no problems but what I noticed is as I added events and pictures they were not appearing in Time Machine.
    I could open time machine and view that my iPhoto had the current events when the date selected was "Today (now)", but as I went back in time the events that SHOULD of been there were not.
    Browsing the folders on the backups showed the iPhoto database to be 13.5gb when actually the new size on my iMac was 19.5gb.
    So why does Time Machine not detect these changes? For my backups I have excluded all folders except for the Users folder which contains the iPhoto library. Time Machine is not detecting the changes and backing it up. How can I fix this?

    Yeah. At first I thought it was:
    http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/D5.html
    Because I was doing that earlier. But then realized I did repair permissions, not disk. But anyways decided to reboot (because I haven't up to this point).
    Once it came back up I tried doing another backup. Didn't see it. Opened iPhoto again and exited it (checked Force Quit to make sure it wasn't open). Told it to do a BACKUP NOW. This time it saw a difference of like 7mb.
    After it was done, went to iPhoto -> File -> Browse Backups. Went back a couple minutes when I did the backup and my event now has a place holder within the Events but it is pure black. I double clicked the event and it opened up and saw there were 3 files in there. They had default icons and were not showing as pictures like they were. (even though they display fine in iPhoto).
    Time Machine seems very flakey to me. My machine is fully updated also.

  • How to organize events that repeat every year with iphoto

    Dear Communitie,
    y
    How can i organize events that repeat every year with iphoto. For example, if i make picrues every year or 1 time a month, of my doughter, for example:
    Playing with our dog in the garden january 2012
    Playing with our dog in the garden march 2012
    Playing with our dog in the garden October 2012
    Playing with our dog in the garden december 2012
    Playing with our dog in the garden march 2013
    I don't know, what is the intelligent type of eventname.
    If i made "Playing with our dog in the garden", than i cant see the difference of growing (3 Month old chilren is completle different of a 5 Month old children)
    If i made "Playing with our dog in the garden Month Year" then the events are hundrets in 5 Year.
    I think, i don't understand, how to organize the contents with events. Is thera a whitepaer, a guide or somethink like that to take the DB organized how Apple iPhoto is meaning?
    Thanks a lot!
    Daniel

    The Trick is to create an Album
    Playing with Dog in Garden
    Drag the images you want from the Events to the Album. Sort the Album on Date. Now you have a chronological view of your daughter playing in the garden with the Dog.
    Albums are similar to playlists in iTunes. The contain pointers to files in the Library, so they use no disk space. An shot therefore can be in as many albums as you want.
    Some of the organisational possibilities of iPhoto"
    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 50k 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.

  • Why don't my photos appear as they do in iPhoto on my Apple Computer. Even though I specify to sync all Events, Faces, etc. the iPad 2 is missing Faces categories and the Events are in a different order.

    Why don't my photos appear as they do in iPhoto on my Apple Computer. Even though I specify to sync all Events, Faces, etc. the iPad 2 is missing Faces categories and the Events are in a different order.

    1) The best way to relocate the iTunes library folder is to move the entire iTunes folder with all subfolders to the new path, then press and hold down shift as start iTunes and keep holding until prompted to choose a library, then browse to the relocated folder and open the file iTunes Library.itl inside it.
    If you've done something different then provide some more details about what is where and I should be able to help.
    2) Purchases on the device should automatically transfer to a Purchased on <DeviceName> playlist, but it my depend a bit on whether automatic iCloud downloads are enabled. If there is a cloudy link then the transfer might not happen. You can use File > Devices > Transfer Purchases. In iTunes you should also check out iTunes Store > Quick Links > Purchased > Music > Not on this computer.
    3) Backup the device, then immediately restore it. In some cases you need to add a restore as new device into that equation. Obbviously not to be attempted until you're sure all your media is in your library. See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device should it be needed.
    4) I believe there is complimentary 1 incident 90-day support with hardware purchases, but no free software support for iTunes itself. AppleCare gets you a different level of support.
    tt2

  • IPhoto '08: Events, (Smart) Albums, Web Gallery & Slideshows ???

    I recently upgraded to iPhoto '08 and I am confused.
    I must admit I used iPhoto before to look at my pictures but I never bothered with any albums or slideshows or whatever, but now with more and more pictures I need to organize.
    So this new iPhoto comes with all sorts of way to organize such as Events, (Smart) Albums, Web Galleries & Slideshows. Quiet frankly I am LOST as to what to use when or for what ???
    Okay I can get Web Galleries is for posting on the .mac as a gallery. Why did they do this again if you iWeb that creates photo pages???? Why is this not integrated in iWeb????
    Now moving on. What's the difference between Events, (Smart Albums) and Slideshows. They seem to be ways to organize your photos. BUT why have THREE of them? When to use which one?
    Any help or comment appreciated as I am confused ....

    Events, Smart Albums, Albums and slideshows are different. Here is a short explanation of each:
    Events= Every time you import photos from your camera or via drag & drop a new Event is created. This is the basic (automatic) way that iPhoto organizes your photos. Events are date based and can be split or merged based on your preferences. For example, you go to a birthday party and take a few photos, a few days later you go to a picnic and take a few photos. When you import the images, iPhoto will split the pictures into two distinct events. (Check The iPhoto Preferences/Events for some options).
    Albums= These are containers that you create to easily group photos in any way you prefer (ex. Combine photos from a couple of holiday parties into one album). You can drag and drop photos in Albums. When you delete a photo in an Album it does not get deleted from the main library. Albums contain links to the photos, not the actual photos. You can manually re-order the photos in an Album. It is always a good idea to create an Album first, edit and re-order your photos there and then create a slideshow, book or web gallery from the Album.
    Smart Albums= These are Albums you create that have specific rules, they automatically get updated every time a photo meets the specific set of rules. Smart Albums (SA) can have one or more rules. ex. You have 2 different cameras and you automatically want to see the photos captured by each camera. You create 2 Smart Albums that contain the Rule = Camera Model > is > Nikon D40 (or whatever). Next time you import photos from that camera, the SA will show these photos automatically. (Note: These are links, but if you delete an image, unless you delete it permanently it will re-appear in the SA, as long as it still has the required value of the SA. You can sort by Keyword, Ratings etc using Smart Albums, and you can have multiple sort rules, like Keyword = Birthday and Rating is 5 stars.
    Slideshows= iPhoto has 2 types of slideshows available. The first is the "quick" slideshow. You can select any Album or Smart Album click on the Play button, set the transition select the music and you are ready to go. The 2nd type, the Cinematic Slideshow, are albums created specifically as Slideshows. They contain photos you selected and you want to see on your screen in a slideshow presentation. You can set specific transitions between slides, set individual slide times, select music and specify where the Ken Burns effect will start in a slide and where it will end. They are more elaborate than the Quick slideshows.
    Web Galleries = are a quick way to share photos with friends, you just select the Photos and click on the Web Gallery button. You set some basic options and publish. Visitors get to see the photos in 3-4 different views including a slideshow, but you can also allow the viewers to add photos to your web gallery. Every time you add a new photo to a web gallery album in iPhoto, it will update the web site when you click the little publish icon next to the name. You can also set tan option to make this happen at specific intervals. (Check the iPhoto Preferences/Web Gallery).
    I hope this answered some of your questions. Good luck.
    Message was edited by: Anastassios T

  • IPhoto organization

    I'm wondering how some other users with lots of photos organize them in iPhoto. I've been struggling with finding the right way for me for a while now and am debating if iPhoto is for me or not. I'm used to and enjoy the 'Windows' way of sorting by having multiple folders (main 'subject'>sub folders for specifics) and using iPhoto's events and albums just don't quite fit for me. On the event side I don't want to have lots of events, for what I would consider 'sub' categories, shown in the events and at the same time, I don't want to have multiple category photos in one event AND don't really like using albums.
    Example:
    |-Trips
    |---Bay
    |-----Mountains
    |-----Campground
    |-Cars
    |---Make
    |-----Modifications
    |-------specific event 1
    |-------specific event 2
    |---Make
    If that makes any sense. I know there is no way to place events within events and most would suggest using albums but I don't like how the albums and events don't 'sync' with each other and I know that is the point. :P I currently have it setup so that all of my photos for a particular 'subject' are in one event and then separated into albums for the sub categories for that event. I prefer to browse by event rather than album and the only way I can set it up to sort that way would be by having LOTS of events...which I'm trying to avoid. I'm starting to think that iPhoto just isn't for me based on the way I want to organize but I like everything else about it, hence the struggle.
    Message was edited by: MonkikiX

    MonkikiX:
    You can't exactly duplicate the nested folder system in iPhoto as each imported folder becomes a separate Event and folder within the iPhoto Library package. Events cannot be nested. However, iPhoto has virtual folders which can be used to recreate the nesting as seen in this screenshot:
    These virtual folders can contain other folder as well as albums, slideshows, books, smart albums, etc. Albums can only contain photos.
    TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) 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 or later), 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 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger 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.
    Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

  • How does iphoto order events?

    How does iphoto arrange events for display purposes? It isn't alphabetically by title, it isn't chronologically by event creation date. I am baffled. If I know how they are ordered, I can move photos among events easier by renaming the events so they show up next to each other, then I can drag and drop photos in adjacent events without scrolling. Once I am finished, I can simply rename the events back to the original names. That would be the easiest way I have found to move photos around among events. I just can't figure out the riddle of how the events are ordered.

    By default events are sorted by the date of the oldest photo in the event
    Probably the easiest way to move photos is to flag the photos you want together and create an event from flagged photos
    But generally it is best to just leave events in date/time order and use albums for detailed organization - and/or keywords and smart albums
    LN

  • IPhoto Organize Library or Manually?

    I just got a Rebel XT and now I'm not sure what to do with my iPhoto library. I had been using a small 2 megapixel Canon PowerShot for years and would just import directly into iPhoto on my G5. Before version 6, the library was simply stored in nested numbered folders corresponding to the date the images were shot. Now with version 6, the library is organized completely differently. Plus, If I use the Canon ImageBrowser software to import the SLR pictures, they are organized differently. In addition, I want to keep all my images on a drive that is on a different Mac on my home network.
    What do I do? What did you do?
    • Import using iPhoto vs Canon ImageBrowser?
    • Let iPhoto organize the library vs Canon ImageBrowser vs manually making folders?
    • Reorganize my current iPhoto library to manual organization or ImageBrowser organization?
    • Archive current iPhoto library and start over with SLR images?
    • Manually name files vs keeping camera file naming?
    • Purchase Portfolio or iView MediaPro or Aperture or Lightroom (when available)?
    • Anything else I forgot to consider?
    Thanks,
    -= Ken =-
    Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5GHz   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    Ken:
    Welcome to the Apple Discussions. How you manage your photos is really what works best for you and how you visualize the organizational system. Here's how I do it:
    1 - upload manually (with card reader or with Image Capture w/o card reader) from the camera to a folder on the desktop.
    2 - name the folder with the date and a brief description of the contents.
    3 - using R-Name I batch sequentially rename the files with the international date format.
    4 - import that folder into iPhoto.
    This gives me a rolls with the same title as the folder. The file naming gives me excellent chronological search and sorting.
    Another method, using the same uploading and renaming above, is to use iPhoto in it's alias mode (see iPhoto's advanced preference section) and keep my folders of image files in my own organized folder system and have iPhoto import only aliases into the library. One caveat to this method is that if you delete a photo from the library it does not get deleted from the source files. That has to be done manually. The strong point to this method is that the source files can be on an external HD giving your boot drive more free space to improve efficiency. These Tutorials describe how to convert to an alias system.
    Canon's image browser is just a browser and not an image management application. With iPhoto you can assign keywords to pictures, assemble subsets of pictures into albums without actually moving the original files, etc.
    Do you Twango?

  • IPhoto '08 - Events + Slideshow issues

    Just got my first Mac and generally delighted, but when I started using iPhoto it was great, then for some reason reason(finger trouble maybe), some of my events went from rolling previews of the photos in there, to to a plain black cover. This is not happening with all of the Events. Likewise, when I start up the Slideshow, I can only see a black screen , and the music plays fine. I have cross checked settings with a friend of mine, an absolute "mac head", and everything seems fine.
    Any ideas out there?

    Greetings from rainy County Clare.
    Sounds like your database has been corrupted I'm afraid.
    Try these in order - from best option on down...
    1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
    2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums back.
    3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
    To create and populate a new library:
    Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
    In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
    Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
    Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
    Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
    When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
    In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
    Regards
    TD

  • I have movies, events, clips, etc. scattered over three macs, and would like to consolidate them in one place, hopefully in ONE library on an external HD.  How, please!

    I have movies, events, clips, etc. scattered over three macs, and would like to consolidate them in one place, hopefully in ONE library on an external HD.  How, please!

    Try forcing iPhoto to load the Library on the External Hard drive by launching it while holding down the Option key. Choose the Library on the External HD, and quit iPhoto, see if iMovie can see the Library with the iPhoto Videos contained inside.

  • TS2549 iphoto 11 (9.2.3), cannot sort iphoto in events. Text changes to numbers?

    I use 10.6.8 MacBook mid 2007 iphoto 11 (9.2.3),
    Cannot sort iphoto in event, when almost finished it changes to numbers.
    I have done it for three times.
    It does not work.
    Faces will not show up correctly either, but that is  not so important.
    Please help

    Please explain
    Cannot sort iphoto in event, when almost finished it changes to numbers.
    How are you "sorting photos in events"?
    Typically you use albums for organization - like sorting
    LN

  • Organize events by title in alpha order?

    In iPhoto 11 can I organize events by title in alpha order?  I am digitizing 35mm slides so the image meta data is useless.

    View menu ==> Sort events - select sort by title
    And you can change some of the metadata usng the Batch change ommand
    In general albums and folder are a more flexible way to organize leaving events as simply buckets of potos
    LN

  • IPhoto library - Events - pics imported from camera, scanner and internet - it doesn't seem to matter - for a while they show OK but then when I go into the event and start scrolling some--but not all--pics disappear w/ ? small and expanded.

    iPhoto Library - events - pics imported to library from camera, scanner and internet.  Some disappear--sometimes when scrolling and other times on their own.  Some disappear when in general event and some when I try to expand the picture.  If when expanding the small pic remains.  It's really annoying.

    Are you running a "referenced" or "managed" library?
    Give this a try:
    Using iPhoto Library Manager  to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
    1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.>Click on the Add Library button,
    2 -  select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
    3 - make sure that in the rebuild window the checkbox  "Scavange orphaned photos" is checked.
    4 - now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
    5 - in the next  window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed. Click on the Create button.
    Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
    Note 2:  Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
    OT

  • How can I organize events in iMovie by subject, rather than date or storage device?

    iMovie wants to organize events by either date or storage device.  I would like to organize them by subject, regardless of date.  Can this be done?  And how?  Thanks.

    You can do this for Projects, but not for Events.
    For organizing clips in Events, you might want to consider the Keyword feature, but it is not exactly what you are asking for.
    Here is a video of the Keyword feature in iMovie 08. If you have iMovie 09 or 11, the basics are the same, but the feature has been enhanced. See Help for details.

  • On iPhone IOS6 i have events and photos which are not in my iPhoto 11 event library.

    On iPhone IOS6 i have events and photos which are not in my iPhoto 11 event library.
    I have noticed that on the itunes photo sync some more events and even several event per day are created but these photos are not in my iPhoto standard pictures (more events on iPhone tha.
    Some of these pictures i have trashed them but they still appear in sync on iTunes.
    How can I clean this?
    These pictures are even not in trash bin because i empty it.
    Can anyone help me.

    Many continue to have the problem and today's iPhoto update does not appear to have corrected the issue.  You can see the MANY complaints here
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/20186814?ac_cid=tw123456#20186814

Maybe you are looking for