iphoto vs canon's photo software

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Canon 1 - iPhoto 0

This past weekend, I was trying to figure out how to import my photos into iPhoto from my ext hdd and still be able to maintain the current filing system format that I've been using for a number of years. I spent many hours reading forums, reading books at bookstores, and even doing test imports but I couldn't seem to get iPhoto to import my pictures and keep them in the filing format that I want. Getting the pictures onto my iMac wasn't the problem. It was getting tem onto my computer in a manner that I can continue to use the filing system that I've been using for a number of years.

To recap (taken from my other post), I want to be able to keep my photos separated first by camera/photo taken on date/then individual photos. After messing with iPhoto for hours, it seems that iPhoto doesn't like that format and likes to do things their way (I guess kinda like how Apple views everything else.) iPhoto organizes the photo by import year/import month/import day/import date and time/individual photo. Also, keep in mind that iPhoto imports the photos into a quasi folder under pictures that iPhoto doesn't even give you immediate access to. You have to know to right click and select "show package contents" which basically tells me that iPhoto doesn't want you messing with the folder.

My conclusion after messing with iPhoto for so long was that iPhoto is great at "managing" the photos once they're in iPhoto but iPhoto sucks at "managing" the files. You basically can't manage the files in iPhoto.

So I ended up downloading Canon's photo software and it let's me do exactly what I want it to do. I download the pictures to the Pictures folder after I created separate folders for the different cameras. This allows me to back up my files in a manner that I can understand and manage in a way that makes sense for me. Then after the photos are downloaded to my iMac (through Canon's software), I open iPhoto and then import them into iPhoto and this allows me to use iPhoto to view my photos.

I know this seems like a lot to do but like I said, I don't like the way iPhoto "manages" the files and I want the filing system to continue in the manner that I've been using for years.

If anybody else is trying to figure out iphoto and how it "manages" their photos and files, hopefully, this will help you out a little. I know a simialr post like this would have save me a bunch of time so I thought I would share with the community. Hope it helps.
 
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No one says you HAVE to use iPhoto. Presumably you have looked at the Apple support videos and done a search on this site.

Thought about Picasa as an alternative?
 
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You're right, iPhoto isn't design to manage "files" it's designed to manage "photos". For a majority of users, they want to manage the pictures and iPhoto does a great job for that. For a few users, they obsessively like to manage file structure. In that case, you'll want to look for something that better fits your needs.

I honestly don't get the file management obsession myself. You have a great piece of software that makes managing photos easy, not exactly sure why it matters what the file system is like since you never really have to bother with the files anyways.

I have never heard anyone give a good reason to need to manage the files themselves. You can easily access the image files by dragging the image right out of iPhoto (or even setup iphoto to use an external editor if that's the main concern). As for any other organization, you can easily do this with albums, tags, etc.
 
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I have never heard anyone give a good reason to need to manage the files themselves. You can easily access the image files by dragging the image right out of iPhoto (or even setup iphoto to use an external editor if that's the main concern). As for any other organization, you can easily do this with albums, tags, etc.

It's really only useful (IMO) if part of your work-flow is passing collections along to other users for additional modification etc (and wanting to keep versioning etc intact). Then again, if you're doing that iPhoto probably isn't the tool you want in the first place. This is where apps like Lightroom shine.
 
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I agree with schweb. I used to be that obsessive "manage the files" kind of guy and didn't initially take to iPhoto. However, once iPhoto had been updated to include some really nifty features, I decided to take the plunge and have never been happier. Now I just dump all my photos into iPhoto and let it do all the work. No longer do I have to mess around with individual files and folders. It's been especially great since the majority of my sharing is done on Facebook and I can upload photos directly from iPhoto to Facebook.
 
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You're right, iPhoto isn't design to manage "files" it's designed to manage "photos". For a majority of users, they want to manage the pictures and iPhoto does a great job for that. For a few users, they obsessively like to manage file structure. In that case, you'll want to look for something that better fits your needs.

I honestly don't get the file management obsession myself. You have a great piece of software that makes managing photos easy, not exactly sure why it matters what the file system is like since you never really have to bother with the files anyways.

I have never heard anyone give a good reason to need to manage the files themselves. You can easily access the image files by dragging the image right out of iPhoto (or even setup iphoto to use an external editor if that's the main concern). As for any other organization, you can easily do this with albums, tags, etc.

To each their own... Since iPhoto can't manage the files, it's the not the complete all-in-one app I was hoping it would be.

Some people don't care at all about the files. I do but it doesn't mean I'm obsessive about it. I've been doing it that way for years and I back up my data that way because it's easy for me to retreive the data as I need it based on the dates and how I've set up my files. I def understand some people, maybe many people, don't care about that stuff as all they want to do is connect their camera and view them and share them with Grandma 2000 miles away. I like that ability but I want more and iPhoto can't give me what I want as it currently stands so maybe in the future when they wake up and give us the option of modifying the filing systme, it will then be my all-in-one.

Until then, I'll be using two systems and that's fine with me. I know this is a Mac site and there are many fanboys and I'm sure I'll get blasted for my blunt opinion but I just call it like I see it. I'm not biased either way but if iPhoto was awesome, I'd say it's awesome. In this case for my purpose, it's not awesome but ok.
 
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iPhoto is good for what it does. But some people want something different. You might want to have a look at Aperture. It's on offer on the App store for a really low price

You can try it for 30 days via Apple's download site
Apple - Aperture - Download a 30-day trial of Aperture 3.

You may find it a bit overkill for what you want but try it and see. The other contender is Adobe's Lightroom. catalogues and manges files as well as giving you an excellent image processor. But a tad more expensive.

Again try it and see
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3
 
C

chas_m

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Both of the programs you suggest also use a "vault" system (similar to iPhotos but handled somewhat differently), and are unlikely to give the OP the busy-work micro-management capabilities he desires.

Picasa is one option, ACDSee Pro for Mac is a better (albeit more expensive) option IMO. (full disclosure: I used to work for them).

The thing people like about ACDSee Pro (for either platform) is that it catalogs, but does not move or collect the actual files. They stay right where you put them, even on other drives, and you organize them however you like. The program does other stuff that photo pros appreciate as well, but for those obsessed with file-level management, that's what you are looking for.
 
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iPhoto filing

As a newcomer to my Mac and iPhoto, your posting was really helpful. I spent hours yesterday trying to work out how to keep my files the way I like them and gave up in the end. The iPhoto filing system will be fine for me once I'm used to it but I now understand it a bit better thanks to you.
 

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