02-08-2012, 10:15 PM

when i plug in my iPhone into my macbook pro (running lion) iPhoto automatically comes up and i select the photos to import and they show up as a folder in iPhoto, but the folder or the pictures are no where to be found in the pictures category of finder. how do i get the folder to show up in finder?

02-08-2012, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by mray004

when i plug in my iPhone into my macbook pro (running lion) iPhoto automatically comes up and i select the photos to import and they show up as a folder in iPhoto, but the folder or the pictures are no where to be found in the pictures category of finder. how do i get the folder to show up in finder?

If you use iPhoto to import your photos, then they won't show in a folder in Finder. iPhoto maintains the photos in a database of its own.

If you don't want iPhoto to import your photos, then run the app Image Capture while your iPhone is plugged in and change the default application to auto open when the iPhone is connected.

02-09-2012, 07:02 PM

If you want your pictures out of iPhoto, either Export them or just drag and drop them into Finder.

01-24-2013, 12:43 AM

You can quite easily locate your photos in Finder once you have imported them into iPhoto.
Easiest way is as follows:

1) Go to Finder > Pictures.
2) Right click (or control click) on the iPhoto Database which is called iPhoto Library.
3) From the context menu select 'Show Package Contents'
4) Open the Folder 'Masters'
5) From here it's pretty straight forward. A new folder is created for each year, a new sub-folder for each month and yet another sub-folder for each day of the month you have imported. Within each day there is another sub-folder for each import. In these folders you will find your photos.

01-24-2013, 05:40 AM

elkan has given you technically 100% correct -- but very very bad -- advice.

DO NOT mess with these folders, or move pictures around within/between them. In fact, probably best if you forget you ever saw elkan's post. You are almost CERTAIN to lose data if you mess around inside the iPhoto Library.

Everything you could POSSIBLY want to do with your pictures can be done within the iPhone program, so just work on them there. There's no need, nor reason, to tamper with the iPhoto database, and you'll be VERY sorry if you do so.

01-24-2013, 07:26 AM

thanks for the vote of confidence chas_m. He wanted to know how to find his pictures in Finder - I wouldn't say I gave bad advice, particularly given that Apple give a direct 'in' to the Finder window from within iPhoto itself. Just select the photo and go File > Reveal in Finder.

Of course anybody messing around with files in a database without backing up first or at the very least copying and pasting elsewhere is asking for trouble - doesn't that go without saying?

01-24-2013, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by elkan

..

Of course anybody messing around with files in a database without backing up first or at the very least copying and pasting elsewhere is asking for trouble - doesn't that go without saying?

No... it doesn't go without saying.

I work in an office with a total of 10 people - all of whom are basically sitting in front of and using a computer all day every day.

I can guarantee, there might be only one of them that has any clue what messing with the contents of a database outside the database application could result in.

We also see too many posts where folks have lost pics from doing exactly that.

And (I believe) the number of people that actually have backups for their personal computers is still way under 50%.