iPhoto Usage Tips, Tricks, suggestions??

[m021478]

I was hoping someone could help me by answering a couple basic iPhoto usage questions I have...

First, is there a way in which I can automatically create an iPhoto "Album" from each of my iPhoto "Events, without having at manually drag each one over? Perhaps a script or Automator Workflow that someone could refer me to??

Second, what is the best way to find duplicate (and/or similar) images in iPhoto (duplicate no meaning references to the same file as it exists in the Finder, rather two copies of exactly the same image)? The tricky part is the I know many of the identical duplicate will often have completely different names from each other, so the tool I need would have to be able to identify duplicates by more than just the file name.

Also, I wanted to know what some of you think about the advantages/disadvantages of enabling iPhoto's preference setting to "copy items to the iPhoto Library" (which when unchecked, I assume would reference the images in its existing locations as opposed to copying them)...I like the idea of referencing the images in their existing location for a variety of reasons (such as not having to copy the 200GB of images that I want in iPhoto; also keeping the images in their current 'non-packaged' folder structure format so that I can access them images using other image organization tools such as Adobe Lightroom; etc...). Are there any drawbacks to references as opposed to copying? Will I still be able to use iTunes pointed at my iPhoto Library (containing referenced images only) to sync albums/galleries to my iPhone/Apple TV? What about Tivo Desktop...will this still work via this method?

Finally, what about storing the iPhoto Library on in a different folder/drive than the default ~/Pictures folder? Can I store the iPhoto Library on one of the three available (non-OS) internal hard drives in my MacPro and still expect iPhoto to find this library and iTunes/Apple TV/TiVo to sync from this library as well?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...These are the key issues that I have right now with iPhoto, and if someone could help me find the answers to these questions, I would be sincerely grateful!

Thanks!

 

[regi]

"Also, I wanted to know what some of you think about the advantages/disadvantages of enabling iPhoto's preference setting to "copy items to the iPhoto Library" (which when unchecked, I assume would reference the images in its existing locations as opposed to copying them)...I like the idea of referencing the images in their existing location for a variety of reasons (such as not having to copy the 200GB of images that I want in iPhoto; also keeping the images in their current 'non-packaged' folder structure format so that I can access them images using other image organization tools such as Adobe Lightroom; etc...). Are there any drawbacks to references as opposed to copying?"

personally, i don't like using reference files, because if you change the original files in any way, iphoto can no longer find them. i separate the photos i want to use for "real" photo editing from family snapshots, facebook pics, etc. the latter i put in iphoto, the former i put in lightroom. (i also suspect, but i may be wrong, that you may bump up against an upper database limit in iphoto: 200GB seems like a lot for iphoto to handle). i also don't like iphoto's RAW file handling, which will make the library even more bloated than it needs to be. for that reason, i don't mind the "packaging" iphoto does, as i rarely use those photos in other programs (but, when i do, i just ctrl click the library to see the library's contents). finally, yes, you can use your iphoto libraries on other harddrives: just move the library, reopen iphoto and it will ask where the library is. after you reconnect it, it will open that library from then onward.

 

[chas_m]

iPhoto is generally pretty awesome, IF you use it in the way it wants to be used -- as a photo organizer and database that happens to have some half-decent editing tools.

This is ideal for most people, but it's not for everyone. People who like to micro-manage their folders should generally use something more like ACDSee Pro for Mac or some other program that leaves photos in their original folders.

Others who don't mind the "vault" concept but need more than iPhoto offers should look at Lightroom or Aperture (or ACDSee).

I like iPhoto a lot, but depending on the person it may not be the right choice for them. Luckily, the Mac offers lots of options.