Original/modified folders

Question

Hello,
I'm new to iPhoto and have done some searching online and have played around with settings but still am confused with iPhoto. This is what's happening...
I have copied all of my photo folders from my PC to the pictures folder on my mac into a folder called "my photos".
I then import those photos into iPhoto (have tried with both the copy feature on and off in preferences). Either way I still end up with 3 copies of photos, 4 including the one located in the "my photos" folder.
I've looked in the contents package and see two folders: modified and original.
In the original folder I have a copy of a photo in a folder under the same name as "my photos", I also have another original folder with in the original folder with an alias to that photo.
Then in modified folder I also have another original folder, with yet another copy of that same photo.
Sorry if I've made your head hurt, mine does...
That's two copies of the same photo, plus the copy in "my photos" and an alias of that photos. Is this seriously how this works, four copies of one photo? (I realize at this point I can delete the photos in "my photos").
Is there also a way to not have the originals pictures/folder show up under the photos (under events) under the library?
Thanks for any help/suggestions...

Answer 1

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. The iPhoto Library Manager site has some excellent documentation about the iPhoto library. This section covers iPhoto from Version 4 to today: About iPhoto libraries.
When a photo is imported and copied into iPhoto two versions of it are created, the original and a thumbnail. If your camera has the autorotation capability and it's activated a 3rd version of portrait photos will be created. That's because the portrait file only has a tag telling applications that can read that tag how to display it. iPhoto creates a physical rotated version so that when used in other apps that can't read the tag the photo will be displayed correctly.
You can avoid this modified version by turning off the autorotation, uploading to a folder on the Desktop, find and rotate those portrait photos and then import into iPhoto.
Since iPhoto is a database based image management system and not a folder based system there's never any reason to journey inside the iPhoto library package via the Finder. If you need access to a photo for use outside of iPhoto the following is from one of *Terence Devlin’s posts* on file access for use outside of iPhoto. It’s the definitive treatise on the subject.
Since iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Package File. This is simply a folder that looks like a file in the Finder. The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves.
Accessing the iPhoto Library Folder directly has never been supported in any version of iPhoto.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For Users of 10.5 and later
You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
For users of 10.4 and later ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running:
For users of 10.6 and later:
You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
1. Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. File -> Export: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. Show File: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
All of the above are a: faster and b: Safer than rooting around in the old Library Folder.
iPhoto has what is known as nondestructive editing. It keeps the original file as a digital negative like all DAM (digital asset management) applications. The first edit creates a modified file (if it's not a portrait photo). Additional edits to the same photo are recored in the library's database telling iPhoto how to display the photo. This way we're always only 1 generation of jpeg compression away from the original photo. While editing a photos you can compare the original with the edit by holding down the Shift key. If you want to return to the original image either use the Photos->Revert to Original menu option or Control (right)-click on the thumbnail and select "Revert to Original" from the drop down menu.
Bottom line is just learn to use iPhoto's features and don't worry about what's under the hood.
OT