Where does iphoto place photos when imported

I have been importing photos of a recent trip and need to move them off the hard drive to save space. Where does iPhoto put them and can I access them from an external drive within iPhoto?
thanks
Shelley

By default they are copied to the iPhoto library - but you do not touch them there
you can run iPhoto off of and external drive -
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
After doing this you can delete some photos from the old library instead of deleting the whole library (deleting and emptying the iPhoto trash and the system trash every 100 or so photos ) so you have some of your photos on your main drive and all of them on the external drive - switch libraries using the command-lanch
If you do this you will find iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - very helpful in managing the multiple libraries
LN

Similar Messages

Where does iphoto store photos

where does iphoto store photos

For help accessing your photos in iPhoto see this user tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4491

Does iPhoto alter images when importing from camera ?(+ tip for slideshow)

I came across the following article:
http://www.andrewburke.orconhosting.net.nz/mac/builtin.htm#photo
The claim here is that during import iPhoto alters images in some way. The iPhoto experts, Terence OldToad, LarryHN and others, could you please comment, what's your opinions on this ?
Resize Images for iPhoto Slideshows
If you are running a slideshow in either Preview or iPhoto, you want the image being shown to be exactly sized to your screen. Images from almost all modern cameras are much larger in pixel dimensions than your Mac's display, so they will be interpolated down to fit. When they are resized on the fly through interpolation they never look as crisp or pristine.
When I import images from my Nikon to the Mac, I keep them outside of iPhoto and at their original size, as an archive from which I might eventually produce some prints. From there I choose the best examples that I want to display onscreen and copy those out of the archive for processing. Each one of those favorites that I've chosen is then tweaked in an image editor (I use Gimp Shop) and the final step before sharpening is to resize it down to match the dimensions of my display.
My iMac is 1440 by 900, so if an image is narrower than that ratio I scale it so the height is exactly 900; if it's wider I scale it so the width is exactly 1440. After these tweaked and resized images are finished I import only those into iPhoto. Then when I run a slideshow they are displayed exactly at their original size (not stretched or shrunk to fit the screen) and the difference is stunning.

What he says is +"you want the image being shown to be exactly sized to your screen. Images from almost all modern cameras are much larger in pixel dimensions than your Mac's display, so they will be interpolated down to fit. When they are resized on the fly through interpolation they never look as crisp or pristine."+
The title of the piece is +"Resize Images for iPhoto Slideshows".+ He is talking about you resizing photos before you import so they will match the screen size during the display of a slide show on the screen - not iPhoto changing anything during the import of the photo but during the display of it - This is a bit like the cropping during printing questions - if you want to control exactly have is being shown (or printed) rather than use a generalized scheme to make photos fit a non native size then you much do the changes yourself
I'm sure that he is correct but since I use iPhoto as a photo library manager which lets me show quick and easy slideshows, I have no problem - *my original, unaltered photos are there in iPhoto* and available for use as I see fit - the degree of modification that takes place in the display of a slideshow has never even been noticeable to me - but then I do not see iPhoto as a single purpose slide show viewer - in fact that is a very minor feature for me
LN
Message was edited by: LarryHN

Why does iPhoto create multiples when importing pictures?

OS X Yosemite 10.10.2
iPhoto version 9.6
I have a new MacBook and I am attempting to import pictures to iPhoto that were created by various devices - old digital cameras, scanners, iPhones. The original images import without trouble, however iPhoto is creating an extra THREE pictures for each ONE that I import. Please see the attached screenshot of my iPhoto after importing a few folders. Take for example the Bowl for Kids folder - you will notice that the original folder has 20 pictures, and it is followed by an additional folder with 60 pictures. The same situation is repeated for each folder. The additional folders all share the same name - "d312a08daf7d..." and have EXACTLY three times as many pictures as the previous folder. I have verified that the pictures contained within are indeed triplicates of the originals.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I did not import an existing iPhoto Library.
Starting with a completely empty Photo Library, I navigate to File > Import to Library and select a single folder (Bowl for Kids). This folder has 20 photos in it, however iPhoto imports 80 (20 originals and 60 multiples, as evidenced by the screenshot). I then repeated the process for the other two folders.
The photos shown in the screenshot were taken from various devices many years ago. None of the above were taken on an iPhone.
The photos reside on my MacBook hard drive under Users > Worgowan > Documents > Pictures and Videos. I chose to place them here to keep them separate from the native Pictures folder.
To answer an inevitable future question, here are some settings from my iPhoto Preferences.
> iCloud > My Photo Stream (OFF)
> iCloud > Photo Sharing (OFF)
> Advanced > Importing: Copy Items to iPhoto Library (OFF)
> Advanced > Edit Photos (In iPhoto)
> Advanced > Use RAW when using external editor (OFF)
> Advanced > Save edits as 16-bit TIFF files (OFF)
> Advanced > Look up Places (NEVER)
> Advanced > Include location information from published items (OFF)

Where does iPhoto save imported files???? how do you "save"?

ok this is driving me crazy:
I've imported photos and movie clips from my camera through usb through iPhoto.
Where does iPhoto save these files?
I've opened iMovie to find the movie clip and I can't find it anywhere...
also: after editing a photo in iMovie, how do you "save" it?

Chris
You’ve a bit of a learning curve ahead of you as you obviously haven’t really understood iPhoto, what it is and how it works. You could do yourself a favour and have a look at the tutorials at http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#iphoto
To specific cases:
When you press "done" it doesn't save it (find the photo in its original file and open it with Preview, you'll see it hasn't been saved).
Yes, but it has! You see iPhoto will always preserve your Original file. So when you make edits it carries out these on copy of the file. You can see this in the iPhoto Window. There is no way to make iPhoto edit the original file.
I have opted for iPhoto not to duplicate my photos and keep its own library (to me that doesn't make any sense, my photos are about 15GB, I wouldn't want them to turn into 30GB for no reason!),
1. The best solution for that it to allow iPhoto to copy the files into the Library and then remove your own copies.
2. When you go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import', you are running what is called a Referenced Library. In a Referenced Library iPhoto will not copy the files on import, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this
it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file.
It will still create a thumbnail and,
if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
However, you need to be aware of a number of potential pitfalls using this system.
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
Always allowing for personal preference, I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers.
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, there are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 Only*
You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and 10.5* ...
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*:
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.
so the problem still exists, why doesn't it save new photos in my pictures folder?
Because you told it not to. When you run a Referenced Library +you are responsible for File Management+. Remember that bit above where I said
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures
You need to put the files where you want them, then import them to iPhoto. Iphoto has no control over any file outside the Library Package. So when it comes to deleting things you’ll need to remove the pics from iPhoto and then go and root them out from your folder structure by hand.
None of this is the case if you run a Managed Library.
or ask me where to save them?
Because that’s not what it does. Check out Image Capture for that.
I'm worried that if I now let it save all my new photos to its iPhoto library (which is basically a virtual library as I understand it)
What do you mean by a “virtual library”?
and in a year's time I change laptops I run the risk of loosing photos as I won't know which photos are were (now I can do a back up to an external drive simply by copying the folders I choose from the pictures folder.
If you run a Managed Library then backing up and migrating are both very simple. You simply back up the iPhoto Library or move it as the case may be. There are many, many back up utilities that will do incremental back ups if the Library: Time Machine, DejaVu Chronosync are several but there are a hundred more. Search on MacUpdate.
If you run a Referenced Library you must +back up the Originals and the iPhoto Library+ (to get your Albums, Modified Versions and so on). Migrating rto a new machine is a bear too, as you cannot allow the path to the files to alter. (See my pitfall no. 3 above.
Worst of all: a mixed Managed/Referenced Library: a recipe for data loss.
My strongest advice to you is to start over with iPhoto. Create a new Library: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library' and import 100 pics into it and explore it for a week or two. Get to know the ins and outs a bit and se how it works. Then decide if it’s the right app for you. By all means post back if you need more info.
Regards
TD

Where does Iphoto store ratings, arrangement of photos, events, libraries?

Hi, I currently have Leopard, I was planning on doing a clean install with Snow Leopard soon. Afterwards I plan on restoring Iphoto back to the way it was. I have a 70 gb library and importing my photos, rearranging the events, photos, and libraries would take ages if I had to start from scratch. I have my whole computer backed up using Carbon Copy Cloner. My question is where does Iphoto store the ratings, manual arrangement of photos, events, libraries, etc? Thanks

iPhoto is a relational database program and everything is stored in the iPhoto library - it must be treated as a single entity - it is not possible to isolate components in it - simply drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the clone back to the pictures folder of the main computer
To test prior to doing an erase and install (the Mac does not have a "clean install") you can depress the option key and launch iPhoto and select the backup copy and test it - be sure to do an option launch and paint back to the main library afterwards
LN
LN

Where does mavericks store photo files

where does mavericks store photo files.

where does mavericks store photo files.
This will depend on how the photos are imported to your Mac.
For photos, that you import to your iPhoto library see Terence Devlin's excellent user tips:
iPhoto and File Management
How to Access Files in iPhoto
For downloaded files see Niel's answer, and for many other applications you are free to pick a folder in the finder to store the photos. The default folder, where most applications will look for photos is your Pictores fold run your Home folder.

Photos copies photos when importing even when told not to copy photos when importing?

The new Photos app is pretty cool.
The one thing I didn't like about iPhotos is still present here: Rather than handling my photos in the Finder it creates a weird database full of all the photos -- and the only way to get to them is via this one app. I guess maybe we'll have a solution for that in the future.
But I have stumbled across something that may be a deal breaker for me: Even when set to not COPY imported photos, it turns out the Photos copies imported photos.
In preferences: GENERAL -> IMPORTING you can choose whether to Copy Items To The Photo Library.
Well, I don't want to do that. I have 8G of photos on my drive, and relatively little space, and the last thing I need to do is use double the space! So I chose not to copy items when importing.
I come back a couple hours later. And guess what? My Photos app/library is 8G in size! Photos has copied all my photos when importing. So now I have two copies of all my photos on my hard drive, and I am running out of space.
Is there a way to make that setting, to not copy photos when importing, work?

Hi,
Thanks for the idea. Here is what I found:
The "Masters" folder is very small. 300MB.
The "Previews" folder is a similar size.
"Thumbnails" are under 1G.
It's the "Resources" folder that is many gigs in size.
Very interesting. So in a sense, it could be even worse!
That is, apparently the setting prevented the "Masters" folder from getting 8 gig of photos copied into it.
But even so, "Resources" ended up with 6.5G in it -- even though no files were copied!
Wild.
Other photo management apps (e.g., Lightroom) have sort of a 10% overhead, not a 90% overhead -- i.e., close to the same size as the actual photos themselves.
I should probably start a fresh question, now that you have solved half the mystery: Yes, the actual photos were not imported into Masters, but Resources gets really big!

Where does iPhoto 9 iLife 11 store the original images

Hi, where does iPhoto 9.4.3 (under OS 10.7) store my original photos?
I used to be able to drag out a copy of my originals from iphoto.app (show package contents), but now it doesn't seem to be there or is otherwise hidden.
I reviewed some long confusing threads on this...
I don't need further debates to confuse the answer to this simple question...
I just want to find the iphoto images folder so I can drag and drop a copy for backup.
If you know how to navigate to the originals images under 10.7, ilife 11 -- please let me know.

By default the images are stored in the iPhoto Library, in your Pictures Folder.
You do not drag them out for back up.
Use the File -> Export command. In the resulting dialogue set the Kind to Original and that will yield an exact copy of the original file to back up.
To back up the Library - that is, original images plus all the work you've done - edits, metadata, albums etc:
Most Simple Back Up:
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
Slightly more complex: Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
For help accessing your photos in iPhoto see this user tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4491

Where does iphoto put the library?

where does iphoto put the library?
i thought it would be put in the pictures folder but at least in my case it is not there! the folder is empty.
I can import pictures and they show in iphoto and frontrow but I would simply like to know where on my harddisk they end up.
anybody?
thanks

Chris
No! Don't make anew library it will overwrite your old one.
It's there somewhere, it's just that it's visibility status has changed (why??)
Anyway try the following:
go to http://www.cocoatech.com and download Pathfinder. This is an alternative to the Finder - and it has extra features, among them a View-> Show Invisible Items command. This might help us find it.
Pathfinder is shareware, but you can use it for a trial period without paying.
Regards
TD

Lost photos when imported

I lost my photos when imported. We're there then battery ran out. Then when turned back on had restarted and seemed to have lost my photos I had imported from that day. Is there anyway of getting them back?

Check, if this help text lets you find your photos -
See: Get help finding your Photos in iOS 8 http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6464
Have you enabled the "Summarise Photos" option? Then disable it.
By default, Photos displays a representative subset of your photos when you view by year or by collection.
To see all your photos, go to Settings > Photos & Camera, then turn off Summarize Photos.
And did you migrate your photos from iPhoto? Some photos may still be in the iPhoto Library, that is no longer supported:
See: Migrating from iPhoto for iOS to Photos on iOS 8

Does iPhoto v9.4.3 import NEF files from nikon D600

Does iPhoto v9.4.3 import NEF files from nikon D600? I've got CS5 Photoshop and dont want the expense of giving Adobe shed loads of money for CS6 just to import Nikon raw files. Anyone know??

Yes if you apply the Digital Camera Update 4.01.
Regards
TD

Why does iPhoto shuts down when I select Info with an image selected.

Why does iPhoto shut down when I select Info with an image selected.

Back up your iPhoto library, Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library database
LN

IPhoto shows "No Photos" when importing...

iPhoto shows "No Photos" even when I have photos to import. If I restart the computer and then plug in my camera into the USB, iPhoto will pop up and show all the photos in my camera and import, but it only seems to do so immediately after restart. If I attempt to import photos again, maybe a few minutes after the first successful import, it goes back to "No Photos." It recognizes the device but does not import anything.
Anyone know have any ideas on how to import photos without having to restart computer constantly for each import?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. First try repairing disk permissions with disk utility and delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your User/Library/Preferences folder.
A workaround until you find a solution is to use Image Capture (in the Applications folder) to manually upload the photos to a folder on the desktop and import from there. When you're sure the photos are safely in the library you can delete the folder from the desktop and reformat the memory card with the camera to be ready for the next shoot.
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), 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.

Exactly where are the files stored when imported off a camera into iPhoto ?

see subject line,,,, but when i use iphoto's ''iphoto'' to import files off a camera versus the ''image capture'' they do not appear anywhere in the picture folder, this does not make sense,,,image capture seems to dumb the files into the picture folder
and,,,,,i understand what iPhoto 08 does with the files that are imported into the library from the picture folder but where are iphotos library versions stored?????
also,,,,,i'm putting time and effort into organizing a ''''library'''' only to have none of those efforts taking effect on the folders and files in the picture folder - this seems odd this is like organizing a 2 sets of books in a library == 1 set you want the public to see and one set you what to keep organized in the basement for future storage and retrival and from duplication
i need convincing this makes sense and help on a better system

alba123
You're confusing iPhoto with an File Manager. The Mac has one of those, it's called the Finder
When you organise things into albums and slideshows etc in the iPhoto Window there is no corresponding folders of images for each album. That would be a waste of disk space. Instead, each album is a virtual entity: in reality, a list of pics that you want to app to display together. So, no, you're not organising two sets of books, what you're doing is arranging the photos as you want them to be displayed while your assistant (the app) is looking after the files.
Events, however, are not virtual. Events in the iPhoto Window correspond exactly with the Folders in the Originals Folder in the iPhoto Library package file (Right click on it in the Pictures Folder -> Show Package Contents).
You can move photos between Events, you can rename Events, edit them, create them, as long as you do it via the iPhoto Window. Check out the Info Pane (wee 'i', lower left) the name and date fields are editable. Edit a Event Name using the Info Pane, the Event Folder in iPhoto Library/Originals will also have the new name.
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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.
So, think of it this way. You do your organising in the iPhoto Window. Let the application look after the basement.
Regards
TD

Where does iphoto place photos when imported

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for