New pictures don't go to library in iPhoto

Hi there. I hope someone can help me. Once I import new pictures to iPhoto, the photos that were previously in my last import disappear. This has been happening since April. I have tried to repair and rebuild my library. I've also tried to search for another library but nothing comes up. I did find the master files but for whatever reason, they don't show up in my library. If anyone has any idea as to what's going on and how to fix it, I would be extremely grateful! Thanks in advance.

Well of course when you import new pictures into iPhoto, the "last import" pictures disappear. You just imported more photos, so now THAT is the "last import."

The pictures that previous made up the "last import" haven't moved, they're still in the event they were originally grouped into. "Last import" is not a "place" or "album" -- it's a view based on a certain criteria.

Thanks for that

Yeah, I know that. The pictures are not showing up in my last 12 months, events, or anywhere else since April. Before that, they always automatically transferred over to my last 12 months.

Hi Istandidge, welcome to the Forums.

It may just be me, but I'm confused.

Simple question to start with: when you import photos from your camera, iPhone, whatever, do they show in iPhoto? Let's say you mount a camera or other device, import 20 photos to iPhoto, iPhoto should create an Event with these 20 photos showing on your screen and allow you to name the Event. Upon unmounting your camera, these 20 photos will disappear from your screen but should be in an Events Folder. This can be found by clicking Events and scrolling to the latest Event assuming you manage your Events by date.

Can you see them?

This is the crucial question. If you can't, then one assumes they are not importing at all for some reason. If you can find them, then your question seems to be related to "Last Import", "Last 12 months" etc.

Which is it?

Ian

Thanks Ian. I used to be able to see them in my Events but now they do not show up in Events, Last 12 months, or anywhere else. The only spot I am able to locate them is in the master file in my pictures folder. So it seems as though they're not actually importing into iPhoto, even though they show up in my Last import. It is extra confusing because I have uploaded them to other applications from my Last import in iPhoto. Hopefully that clears things up a little?

Right. That strongly suggests that you are not importing to iPhoto at all, but to your picture folder—whatever that is. Did you create a Picture Folder for this purpose?

What I suggest is that you connect up a camera or similar device, say, iPhone with images. After mounting the device, don't open iPhoto, but instead open "Image Capture", an app found in applications. Image Capture should show your device and offer default options such as always open iPhoto when mounted. The exact wording might differ, but the point is that for each device you can arrange for it to open iPhoto automatically so permitting import to iPhoto.

My guess is that when you set up Image Capture with your camera or other mounted, it will either say "do nothing" or import to another place.

Give this a shot and get back to us.

By the way, apologies for the delay, but Mac Forums appears to have been off line most of the last 12 hours or so.

Ian

Hi Ian.

I'm not having much luck. Perhaps I should explain a little more. For three years, I had no problem importing pictures into iPhoto. I never changed any settings or anything and in April, things changed. April 2nd is the last time iPhoto imported pictures into my "Events". Now, when I import photos, they show up in the "Last Import" but do not show up in my "Events", "Last 12 Months", or "Photos" in iPhoto. Then, when I import another batch of photos, they appear in my "Last Import" but the photos that were previously in my "Last Import" are not anywhere in iPhoto. Sorry if I'm repeating myself, I just want to try to explain the situation fully.

In my attempts to figure out what was going wrong, I did what's outlined in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3biWrJdylZo

Unfortunately, it didn't fix the problem. So, I started reading around some more and came across this article:
http://scanyourentirelife.com/all-my-pictures-in-iphoto-disappeared-how-to-safely-get-them-back/

This is how I found the pictures in the master file.However, nothing in this article helped either.

Is it possible iPhoto is full? I just have no idea of what to do. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.

Much appreciated,
Linda

Hi Linda

iPhoto can't be "full" unless your Int HD is full. That is, it can be as big as your Int HD. It's infinitely expandable in that sense.

As a matter of interest, did you try the "experiment" I suggested? Attaching a photo source such as a camera, then opening Image Capture? I'm curious to know what it says. This is the conventional way of determining what you want to happen when you mount a device. Some folks avoid iPhoto altogether, perhaps preferring Aperture or Lightroom or whatever. Could possibly find time to do this and let us know the result?

Sorry, I've not been much, indeed any, help so far.

Ian

Is there any possibility you were fooling around inside the iPhoto Library file right around the time this started happening? It certainly sounds as though someone was moving files around inside there, or renaming folders -- a disastrous idea when the database (because that's really what iPhoto is) depends on it ... this is why the iPhoto vault is made difficult to access ...

Thanks for helping out, Chas, because I clearly have exhausted my limited abilities.

Ian

Thanks so much Ian and Chas.

I didn't change any settings or move anything around in iPhoto and I'm pretty sure nobody else did either. The only other person who uses my laptop is my 3 year old son and he just watches YouTube.

Ian, I couldn't access Image Capture when I inserted my SD card from my camera, but iPhoto automatically opens up ... so I'm assuming it's set as my default.

Not sure of what else to try ... any suggestions?

Thanks so much,
Linda

I wonder if the "add photos to iPhoto Library" checkbox has gotten unticked somehow?

"add photos to iPhoto Library"

Click to expand...

You'll find that in iPhoto Preferences>Advanced.

Even if it was, I would still expect the thumbnails of the photos to still display.

Thanks again!

I was really hoping that you were right Chas and it was something that simple, but unfortunately, it is not. The box is ticked.

Any other suggestions? If not, I understand. I'll get someone to take a look at it because I clearly don't know what's going on.

Thanks for all your help,
Linda

I just had the same issue, and figured it out... my camera's date was re-set at some point, and it was importing everything into dates in January of 2012.

If this is an issue with a physical camera (not an iPhone or similar), check the date your camera thinks it is.

THANK YOU!!!!!

That is exactly what happened and I never would have ever thought of it. All of my pictures were dated back in 01/01/2011. Hooray! thank you so much for figuring this out.

woahdae said:

I just had the same issue, and figured it out... my camera's date was re-set at some point, and it was importing everything into dates in January of 2012.

If this is an issue with a physical camera (not an iPhone or similar), check the date your camera thinks it is.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that info, and even though I just use Image Capture directly, I can see how recent photos could seemingly "disappear" when iPhoto gets involved.