iPhoto or Adobe Elements?

Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Messages
192
Reaction score
5
Points
18
Location
Goodyear, AZ
Your Mac's Specs
17" iMac G5- 1.8Ghz - 1GB of Ram - AND - 17" Intel Core 2 Duo iMac - 2Ghz - 1GB of Ram
Im so used to just going into my picture folder from the hard drive and using spotlight to find a picture i want. I noticed though a lot of people use iPhoto to organize and sort through their photos. I've used Adobe Elements before on my windoze computer but alway went back to the old picture folder. What do you guys use? any benefits of either? Is there something about iPhoto that I'm missing or don't know about? :blind: I ask because I dont understand why images are stored in the "picture" folder on the HD, but a program like iPhoto or adobe elements exists. :confused: Options? is that pretty much why? Anyway, your input is greatly apreciated....

...BTW I currently have PhotoShop CS on my mac. :p
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
435
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Your Mac's Specs
ibook G4 14in
this was always something about iphoto that i didn't really get. iphoto is a photo organization app. you will still need some sort of external photo editting program like adobe elements. i use photoedit.
iphoto to organize your photos.
adobe photoshop cs/ elements or other photo image editing app. for everything else.
 
OP
evolve
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Messages
192
Reaction score
5
Points
18
Location
Goodyear, AZ
Your Mac's Specs
17" iMac G5- 1.8Ghz - 1GB of Ram - AND - 17" Intel Core 2 Duo iMac - 2Ghz - 1GB of Ram
BigBear said:
this was always something about iphoto that i didn't really get. iphoto is a photo organization app. you will still need some sort of external photo editting program like adobe elements. i use photoedit.
iphoto to organize your photos.
adobe photoshop cs/ elements or other photo image editing app. for everything else.

what about just organizing them in the picture folder they are all already in? doesnt that do the samething as iPhoto?
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2005
Messages
1,509
Reaction score
47
Points
48
Location
Cape Cod, MA
Your Mac's Specs
iBook
doesn't CS have the photo bridge? doesn't that do what iphoto does?
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
435
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Your Mac's Specs
ibook G4 14in
yeah i think that would work. iphoto just give the whole thing a nice interface. i guess the same could be said about itunes as well. you can organize all your songs in the folders they already are in but itunes gives it a nice interface.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
940
Reaction score
59
Points
28
Location
Framingham, MA
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook C2D 2.4 2GB
Of course not. Think about all the limitations you have in Finder with previews, first you can only make the preview up to 128x128, Finder can't show you the exif information of your photos, if you want to keep the originals of your photos you would have to make backups by yourself, iPhoto does that automatically, or if you want to do quick changes to the picture you would have to open Photoshop/Elements/other, also you have the shortcuts in iPhoto to publish, email, print and more.
In my own experience, it was hard to start using iPhoto because it changes all the structure you may have in your folders but now i really like it.
 
D

djmitch

Guest
I'm with "evolve" on this one - I have an intricate series of folders and sub-folders created during my Window$ days that I moved onto my Mac when I made the big switch last year. However, I'm afraid that iPhoto is going to screw that all up if I start playing with it. I even tried with great frustration last summer to duplicate this folder system in iPhoto but all that ended up happening was iPhoto organizing it according to dates. I, like "evolve", like having files with descriptive names instead of the generic names assigned by my digital camera and photos organized by iPhoto by their dates.

That said, I really wish I wasn't afraid of iPhoto. It's like I've been poking it with a stick every few months but not getting the point of it, but this bugs me because I like all the other iLife applications very much. I wish I could 'see the light', so to speak!

Your comments, "mraya", were encouraging and helped me see the light a little bit, but I still like having folders in my Pictures folder for "family", "friends", "kids", etc. plus sub-folders within these for specific events and family names and so forth. How could I duplicate this system of organization in iPhoto, or is there really a need in your opinion? Is there another way around this dilemma in iPhoto do you think?

[By the way, for the record, I use Fuji's "FinePixViewer" to import photos onto my Mac from my camera, then to organize and view them, and Photoshop Elements to do any editing.]
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2004
Messages
358
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook 2.0ghz, Ibook G4 1.33ghz, Powerbook Lombard 333mhz
I like iPhoto, though I found it a bit confusing when I first started using. I really like all the small features it has in it, like the slide show feature etc. I really like the calander feature so that you can click a month and it will show you all the pictures you uploaded during that month. Also the GROWL type message that hovers over the thumbdails when scrolling your library, changing to the month that the pictures below it were taken.

I don't normally edit my photo's with iPhoto, but on occasion I do use the 'enhance' feature, sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
43
Reaction score
3
Points
8
Location
Central NY
Your Mac's Specs
PowerBook G4 1.67 15" 2GB RAM 80GB HD Superdisk
I, too, have been poking at iPhoto. I got iLife '05 when I got my refurbished PB G4 a month ago. I'm not as afraid of iPhoto as I once was and this is why. It does work just like iTunes which I do like a lot.

Here's why I'm beginning to see the iPhoto light. I copied my photo folder structure I had on my Dell Laptop to the PB in the pictures folder. I found out I can drop a folder into iPhoto and it will create an album with the folder's name and place all the photos into that album thus perserving my folder names. Now, I don't believe you can have a sub-album but you can rename them once you get them into iPhoto.

I've only done this with a few folder so far. Comtemplating upgrading to iLife '06 which is supposed to allow you to keep your folder structure. I need to read up on that.

Of course, I first put Nikon's freebie View and Editor on which I used on the Dell. I own a Nikon D70 and it works just like the Windows version. I am waiting for Nikon's new Capture NX to come out in May before I completely decide on iPhoto.

BTW, have you tried the Ligthroom Beta yet? It's slow on my PB but it looks like a viable upgrade to iPhoto with much better editing.

Yea, still on the fence about which way to go on my PB with my photos.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
435
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Your Mac's Specs
ibook G4 14in
scottwdw said:
It does work just like iTunes which I do like a lot.

once i realized this (duh, i know) it made it a lot easier. :dummy:
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
43
Reaction score
3
Points
8
Location
Central NY
Your Mac's Specs
PowerBook G4 1.67 15" 2GB RAM 80GB HD Superdisk
scottwdw said:
Now, I don't believe you can have a sub-album but you can rename them once you get them into iPhoto.

After viewing the video on this page on Apple's iPhoto tutorial: Organizing Your Photos , I learned you can create Folders and put in as many albums as you want.

For example, I created a folder called England for all my photos from my vacation. I put in two albums so far to show my pictures from Bath and London. I could further create albums inside the England folder into other subjects like British Musuem, Big Ben, London Tower, etc. Again, this is like iTunes playlists with sub-lists inside.

I'm beginning to like how this could work to create custom slideshows etc. very quickly without loosing my initial organization.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2004
Messages
9,065
Reaction score
331
Points
83
Location
Munich
Your Mac's Specs
Aluminium Macbook 2.4 Ghz 4GB RAM, SSD 24" Samsung Display, iPhone 4, iPad 2
iphoto 6 now also has an option to preserve your original file structure if that's the way you want to do it...

I haven't tried it though!


EDIT:

Well of course I had to go and try it after all :)
(I tried this with a new test album: Hold down 'option' when launching iPhoto to create a new collection)

It works just as advertised: It leaves your folder structure intact, and only saves thumbnails and modified images to its own library folder.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
275
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
iMac G5 17", 1.8 Ghz, 1GB RAM
Look into iView Media Pro 3. It's well worth the money. Great organization app and has a built image editor which is quite adequate for many tasks.
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
107
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Aptmunich said:
iphoto 6 now also has an option to preserve your original file structure if that's the way you want to do it...

I haven't tried it though!


EDIT:

Well of course I had to go and try it after all :)
(I tried this with a new test album: Hold down 'option' when launching iPhoto to create a new collection)

It works just as advertised: It leaves your folder structure intact, and only saves thumbnails and modified images to its own library folder.

Which version of iPhoto comes with the MBP? I'm having a hard time accepting its file structure....and where is this option found?
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
43
Reaction score
3
Points
8
Location
Central NY
Your Mac's Specs
PowerBook G4 1.67 15" 2GB RAM 80GB HD Superdisk
VanillaEps said:
Which version of iPhoto comes with the MBP? I'm having a hard time accepting its file structure....and where is this option found?

iPhoto 6 was announced at the same time as the MBPs so you should have iLife '06. Make sure you do a software update to get the latest versions.

I'm not sure where the option is to leave your originals in their locations...check iPhoto's preferences? I'm at work without my PB so I can't pull it up and Apple's iPhoto areas doesn't mention it. :biohazard
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
107
Reaction score
4
Points
18
scottwdw said:
iPhoto 6 was announced at the same time as the MBPs so you should have iLife '06. Make sure you do a software update to get the latest versions.

I'm not sure where the option is to leave your originals in their locations...check iPhoto's preferences? I'm at work without my PB so I can't pull it up and Apple's iPhoto areas doesn't mention it. :biohazard

Thanks, I'll check out the preferenes option when, I too, get home from work.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2005
Messages
604
Reaction score
39
Points
28
Location
North Boston, NY
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G5 2.3 ghz 6.5 GB ram 20" cinema display ..15" Macbook Pro 2.33 Core 2 Duo 2 Gig RAM
macAttack said:
doesn't CS have the photo bridge? doesn't that do what iphoto does?

Photoshop CS/CS2 does not automatically come with Bridge. Bridge is a seperate program that does come if you buy one of the suites.

I use bridge to sort images on my system, love it. Shows full size RAW previews as large as you want them. Apples Aperture and Adobe's new Light Room (or is it light table?) which is in beta testing both also do this.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top