Naming photos before you import them ....

[digital]

I'm wondering if this is possible for an imac ... or whether there's an app for it .....

I want to be able to name photos BEFORE i download them from my camera. Not necessarily name them individually, but as a group.

eg. name the 20 photos I took today as "30th birthday party 2015" and the 30 from last week as "Picnic with Mark & co June 2015".

But the imac only has a general import function that gives each photo a unique number, and there's no opportunity to choose another name.

Can I do this on the imac?

Or is there a good and simple app for this?

Thanks VERY much

 

[chscag]

I don't know how you can name a photo or group of photos prior to downloading them from your camera to your iMac or any other computer unless the camera has built in software to do it. What you can do is download the photos or group of photos from your camera to your iMac but not to iPhoto or Photos. You don't have to directly import the photos first. I have done that myself with photos from events. Once the photos have been imported to your iMac, rename them or group name them and then further import them to the iPhoto or Photos program.

 

[digital]

Thanks chscag

Once you've imported them, don't you have to change the photo names individually? Because then it would require, say, 20+ photo name changes which is a nuisance. Know what I mean?

I wonder why nobody's found an app that can do this??

 

[Sawday]

Digital - check out 'Automator' that came with your mac. I use this regularly - Copy photos from your camera to a folder, run an Automator workflow script and then import to iPhoto. The workflow that I use consists of three steps 'Find Finder Items', 'Sort Finder Items' and 'Rename Finder Items'. Hope that helps.

 

[bobtomay]

Any particular reason the photos need to be renamed vs creating a folder with the name you want and import the pics into that folder where they are then all organized into a particular event, place, etc.?

 

[Sawday]

Any particular reason the photos need to be renamed vs creating a folder with the name you want and import the pics into that folder where they are then all organized into a particular event, place, etc.?

An example of why I need to do it. Following a recent cruise around the Baltic we had photos taken with six different devices (cameras, iPads, iPhones) and not all having date stamps set up correctly. It was easier to sort by location outside of iPhoto and to use Automator to renumber, thus removing any duplicate file names. (thus Copenhagen 1-240, St Petersburg 1-600, Tallin 1-135 etc). We can then play around with images in iPhoto in a more orderly manner.

 

[chas_m]

For such a specialized use that you may need a batch renaming program, there are a few dozen such apps available from the Mac App Store and elsewhere that can handle this easily. For example, A Better Finder Rename to name but one. I use a program called PhotoBatch to handle this and other such chores, like batch resizing, batch watermarking, etc.

 

[digital]

Thanks VERY much everyone.

I ended up downloading A Better Finder.

On this page it costs $19.99

A Better Finder Rename for Mac | MacUpdate

BUT on this page you can download a trial for free. I've looked through the page and I can't see a reason why it's free - I can't see what it's holding back to be able to give it for free .....

A Better Finder Rename (Mac) - Download

Can anybody see what conditions there are for the free trial?

From my quick look it seems good ..... I'll look at it over the weekend

 

[bobtomay]

Instead of going to those sites - some of them load their own little malware / browser hijackers and other stuff into the software - go directly to the developers website to get it - here - where you can also get a free trial.

Once you try it and decide to buy it, check out the pricing and info at their own site vs buying it through the Mac App Store.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Funnily enough I was going to ask a similar question. In iPhoto, when the pictures on the camera were displayed prior to uploading, at the top left of the import screen was an area where you could name the group of pictures, a folder. This has disappeared in Photos, unless I've missed something?
The other thing that would be useful would be the ability to re size pictures prior to exporting them in Photos. I find I'm exporting huge files for eventual use on Facebook or similar. Can they be resized prior to export?

 

[digital]

Thanks Bobtomay - you're right .... I should have known better. I don't even want to go to the Developer's site in case it's a problem. Silly me thought that the macupdate site would be OK. I have Avast antivirus but of course "prevention is better than cure" .... On that question ..... is macupdate a fairly reliable site to get apps from?

A question about the imac and photos specifically .....

I'd like to change the location of the "Photos" download folder for when you download the photos (the photos ?app? automatically pops up and shows the photos that have been downloaded and those still left to download ....)

I don't like where they go now ..... it took me ages the other week to find the folder (but I found it) and I can't find it tonight when I want to use it ..... I'd like to create a folder that isn't about 3 subfolders into another folder (if you know what I mean)

Can anybody tell me how I can change the default folder that the photos get downloaded into?

Thanks!

 

[Sawday]

digital - Don't mess with the folder that Photos/iPhoto use to store images. You'll screw up the database. By all means keep copies of photos elsewhere if you want to. You can then either import the images into Photos/iPhoto (thus creating duplicates) or you can have those programs 'point to' the images you have outside. Be aware that any edits you make will be stored within the programs folder (so you will need to export the updated image if you want 'your' library to be up to date - but don't overwrite the originals that Photos is referencing) and that if you move or edit you images outside of Photos then it won't be able find them so you'll need to re-import.
Whatever way you manage your photos - make regular backups!!

 

[debellichew]

I used Total Manager which is a powerful file manager with a classic double-window and multi-tab interface. Also, it is good at batch renaming files.

 

[chas_m]

On that question ..... is macupdate a fairly reliable site to get apps from?

Yes. MacUpdate.com is a totally safe, legit, developer-supported place to get programs from.

I'd like to change the location of the "Photos" download folder for when you download the photos (the photos ?app? automatically pops up and shows the photos that have been downloaded and those still left to download ....)

I don't like where they go now ..... it took me ages the other week to find the folder (but I found it) and I can't find it tonight when I want to use it ..... I'd like to create a folder that isn't about 3 subfolders into another folder (if you know what I mean)

Can anybody tell me how I can change the default folder that the photos get downloaded into?

If you're going to use Photos, then let Photos put the images wherever it wants to. It's of no concern to you at all -- they are all right there in Photos where you can get at them, do anything you want to to them from within the program. If you muck around in the database Photos (or iPhoto, or Aperture, or Lightroom) relies on, you will -- repeat WILL -- regret it.

If you want to reorganize images in Photos, do it within the program. If this is not what you want, I'd suggest changing to another photo manager instead.

 

[digital]

Thanks everyone ..... thanks a LOT!