Low res pictures on iphoto

Question

i have been trying to develop digital pictures from my iphoto library and when i develop them with snapfish or walgreens they are blurry (i.e. low res/low pixels). it's not the camera b/c i developed the same pics months ago and they were fine.
is there a way to change the resolution of the photos in my iphoto library? also, does it matter how many pics i have stored?
thanks.

Answer 1

Just to be sure, check iPhoto's Preferences > Advanced and look where it says "Importing: copy files to iPhoto Library folder when adding to library." As long as there IS a checkmark in that box, you are running iPhoto in its default mode and all should be well. If that box has been UNchecked, please reply (and disregard the following), as there are some very big differences with the library in that case.
Once you have imported the photos into iPhoto it is safe to delete them from the camera. As long as you haven't deleted them in iPhoto or trashed the files in iPhoto Library/ Originals they are still there. You can check the size of the photos that are in your library. Click the little i near the lower left corner of the iPhoto window to open the info pane. Select a thumbnail from your library, and you'll see its info, including pixel dimensions, in the info pane. To double-check, select a thumbnail and right-click (Control-click). Then choose "Show File" or "Show Original File" (for edited photos). A Finder window should open with the file already selected. You can use that window to trace the path of the file. If this doesn't work for you, please post back with your results.
Be careful that you don't make any changes to the files and folders inside the iPhoto Library folder from the Finder (or any other application). iPhoto is a database application and has its own filing system, which must be left alone. Always manipulate your photos using iPhoto, or export copies from the library for use outside of iPhoto. If you think you may have damaged your library, you can spot check your photos. See if they display with the size slider all the way to the right (largest size). Double-click to see if they open in Edit mode. Right-click and choose "Show File" to see if iPhoto knows where they are. If these things function, then your library is in good shape. If not, post back for the steps to repair it (or start fresh).
what you said about the data folder is exactly what i did. can you explain again what the best thing for me to do is.
Step by step:
Use iPhoto to select the photos you want to upload for printing.
Tip: Shift-click the first and last photo to select a contiguous range;
Command-click to select or deselect discontiguous photos.
Tip: It can be convenient to create an album to gather your photos, then Select All photos in the album.
From the iPhoto File menu choose Export, then be sure the "File Export" tab is selected. Set the Format, Size, and Name options. You'll want the full-size images for best printing. Click the Export button.
A new dialog box will open so that you can choose the location for the exported copies. The easiest, most convenient place is the Desktop. Click the Desktop icon, then click the "New Folder" button. (Too many loose files on the Desktop can crash the Finder.) Name the folder, click Create, then click OK to export the photos to that folder.
When you are logged onto your Snapfish or Walgreens account, select the Desktop folder as your source when uploading the photos for printing.
When the upload is complete, you can drag that Desktop folder into the Finder Trash and delete it. Exports are copies - iPhoto retains your files.
If you wanted to burn a CD to take to a developer, the process is very similar. You would export to a Desktop folder, then burn that folder to the CD. You can use this method to back up your photos to disc. A disc made this way will only contain the photos, with no keywords, album info, or other iPhoto Library structures. It can be used with a computer that does not run iPhoto.
If you want to create a backup disc that does retain the iPhoto albums, keywords, and other metadata, you burn it using the iPhoto Share > Burn command. A better backup method is to save the entire iPhoto Library folder to an external hard drive.
Regards.