iPhoto - Events and Albums!

Hi everyone, this is my first post, on a subject that would cause me to pull my hair out, if I had any!

ok... in iPhoto on my iMac, how on earth do I delete a photo(s) from an EVENT (or delete the event itself) without deleting the same photo(s) from an ALBUM to which I've transferred it (them)?? The photos do not belong to an 'event' as such but I do want them in an album. When I imported the photos they were put in an 'event' by default.

All my Googling has failed to find a solution to this problem. Seems ludicrous that you have to keep the 'event' if you want put the photos in an album.... help!

PS I think I'm correct that the photos are not actually stored 'in' an event or album, but rather in the library. I want a nice tidy events interface which only shows actual 'events', like Christmas, holidays etc. "Shoebox' photos I want to put in albums, e.g. 'My Motorcycles', containing photos which are not related to any particular event. Surely this must be possible?

Events are Folders and Albums are 'tagged associations'.

You can rename Folders (Events) or make new and different ones, but they are the filing repository for your photo. If you delete the photo then it is put in the Trash.

Albums are simply a preselected sorting of your photos as they reside in Folders (Events).

EDIT: I see you added more info while I was typing my response.

I highly reccommend getting a copy of David Pogue's "iPhoto the Missing Manual". Will post a link.

http://www.amazon.com/iPhoto-11-Mis...rds=iphoto+missing+manual?tag=macforums0e4-20

Razormac said:

Events are Folders and Albums are 'tagged associations'.

You can rename Folders (Events) or make new and different ones, but they are the filing repository for your photo. If you delete the photo then it is put in the Trash.

Albums are simply a preselected sorting of your photos as they reside in Folders (Events).

EDIT: I see you added more info while I was typing my response.

I highly reccommend getting a copy of David Pogue's "iPhoto the Missing Manual". Will post a link.

Click to expand...

Thanks Razormac. I was afraid I'd get an answer like this! This means my Events screen will contain not only nicely organized 'actual' events, but also a mishmash of 'events' containing mostly unrelated photos. If this is so, then iPhoto is not the excellent application I thought it was.

rhyddid said:

Thanks Razormac. I was afraid I'd get an answer like this! This means my Events screen will contain not only nicely organized 'actual' events, but also a mishmash of 'events' containing mostly unrelated photos. If this is so, then iPhoto is not the excellent application I thought it was.

Click to expand...

I don't really understand your issue here . . . it is early and I've only had one cup of coffee. But there is absolutely no reason you can't have events exactly the way you want them.

EDIT: Give me a bit to respond more fully. I am thinking and don't type that fast and I will try to give you a more detailed answer on how to get what you want.

EDIT2: Just finished reading a chapter from iPhoto the Missing Manual (again I reccommend you snag a copy) to confirm as I switched to Aperture years ago and rarely use iPhoto.

But, you can select the photos you choose, go to Events>Create Event and iPhoto will move the pics and create a new Event of your designation.
You can Rename, Merge, Split or Delete Events also.

After you have Events set up exactly as you like, then switch to Smart Albums to create those sorted views you desire.

Hope this Helps

Razormac said:

I don't really understand your issue here . . . it is early and I've only had one cup of coffee. But there is absolutely no reason you can't have events exactly the way you want them.

EDIT: Give me a bit to respond more fully. I am thinking and don't type that fast and I will try to give you a more detailed answer on how to get what you want.

Click to expand...

While you're having another coffee I'll try to explain further...

Lets say I take a bunch of photos on my iPhone during a particular holiday. I also take some unrelated photos of my motorcycle (nothing to do with the holiday). After connecting my phone to my iMac, all the photos are imported into a single 'Event'. I would like to keep only the holiday photos in this event (a holiday IS an 'event'), perhaps re-naming it "Our summer holiday - 2012". So far so good. Now I want to drag the photos of my motorcycle to an already created ALBUM, called "My Motorcycles", which doesn't relate to a particular event and is merely a collection of photos of the motorcycles I've owned over the years. Also no problem. But, the original motorcycle photos are still in the holiday EVENT folder, where I no longer want them. To be able to do this is makes perfect sense, to me at least.

One way I see around this would be to create an Event called "Non-Event" and drag all Album photos which do not belong to actual events, there.

I appreciate your help, Razormac!

rhyddid said:

While you're having another coffee I'll try to explain further...

Lets say I take a bunch of photos on my iPhone during a particular holiday. I also take some unrelated photos of my motorcycle (nothing to do with the holiday). After connecting my phone to my iMac, all the photos are imported into an 'Event'. I would like to keep only the holiday photos in this event (a holiday IS an 'event'), perhaps re-naming it "Our summer holiday - 2012". So far so good. Now I want to drag the photos of my motorcycle to an already created ALBUM, called "My Motorcycles". Also no problem. But, the original motorcycle photo is still in the holiday EVENT folder, where I no longer want it. To be able to do this is makes perfect sense, to me at least.

I appreciate your help, Razormac!

Click to expand...

I added to my post as promised. Read it and see if it answers your question. If not, post back.

Razormac said:

I added to my post as promised. Read it and see if it answers your question. If not, post back.

Click to expand...

Thanks Razormac but it's clear that the option I'm looking for is not available. I don't want to have to create new events in order to separate the actual event photos (the holiday photos) from the non-event photos (the motorcycle photos). I want the non-event photos in an Album(s) only. My Events screen will contain a mishmash of actual Events and a bunch of 'Events' which are not 'Events'! ...messy!

rhyddid said:

Thanks Razormac but it's clear that the option I'm looking for is not available. I don't want to have to create new events in order to separate the actual event photos (the holiday photos) from the non-event photos (the motorcycle photos). I want the non-event photos in an Album only.My Events screen will contain a mishmash of actual Events and a bunch of 'Events' which are not 'Events'! ...messy!

Click to expand...

There are other options than iPhoto. Perhaps one of those would suit you better. Look at Picassa (have never tried it myself) or Adobe Lightroom (a bit pricey at $150 USD if you use of it is limited).

I think the hardest part of using iPhoto is giving up the idea of Folders/Events… I know it was for me.. In a few years you will forget what year it was that you took the photo you want to find or what Event you placed it in, was it 2006 or 2007 ? Then you have to start digging in Events or folders and subfolders and scrolling around looking.. But with a little planning ahead of time and with just a few key strokes you can find any photo you want...
By thinking in terms of a data base.. Like what info you have and how you want to access it and how you want it displayed.. When this concept starts to sink in you will start to see just how amazing iPhoto can be..
I don't use Events except as just a way to get my photos into iPhoto, from there I assign Keywords, Descriptions and Rate them. Events just groups photos together that were taken around the same time and have a similar theme and makes adding a keyword to them easy. After you setup some Smart Albums and Keywords you will find things will start to fall into place. And you can add Keywords in batches and not have to do it one photo at a time..You can change or add Keywords to a photo or the rules to a Smart Album anytime you want with ease, no need to be stuck with the way you started out. By using Folders and Smart Albums in the side bar with Keywords you can find any photo by just typing a few letters of the keyword, name or description. Lets say I have a photo of Uncle Bob that I took on vacation in 2003 at Blue Lake in Idaho, I would add the Key Words, Blue Lake, Family, Vacation and Idaho (we travel a lot so I have Smart folders for each State).
I can now find that picture several ways and not have to remember what year it was or what Event it is in and then try to find that Event by scrolling around.. I can find him by typing Uncle Bob or Family or Idaho or Blue Lake or Vacations. I could even sort my whole library by Date and scroll down to about the time I took the picture. If you have the Library sorted by Date and you would like to have the date show while scrolling you MUST grab the handle in the scroll bar, using the scroll wheel on a mouse or two finger scroll on a track pad will NOT show the date. If your Library is sorted by Name then the alphabet will show as you scroll.
You could have a Folder in the sidebar called Holidays and inside have a few Smart albums, Christmas, Birthdays, etc, with the rules to place photos with the Keywords, Christmas, Birthday in the right album. If you don't want a Smart Album just for Motorcycles don't make one but add the Keyword to the photos and you can still find them when you want just by clicking on Library in the sidebar and typing the Keyword "Motorcycle". To see and edit your Keywords list use "command k".
There are many ways to organize your photos in iPhoto, but maybe this will help you get started and develop the way that works best for you.