sdpg

Q: iPhoto v. Photos:  Should I switch over?

Hello all,

 

I'm very happy with iPhoto & would prefer not to switch over...

 

  • Do I run any risks if I stay with iPhoto?

 

  • Can you refer me to a list of what functionality is given up by switching to Photos?

 

  • Any general thoughts / opinions between the two - or recommended strategies?

 

Thank you!

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), '10 2.8 GHz i5, 20GB ram, 480GB SSD

Posted on Jul 20, 2016 3:31 PM

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Q: iPhoto v. Photos:  Should I switch over?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by LarryHN,Solvedanswer

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 21, 2016 10:34 AM in response to sdpg
    Level 10 (84,056 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 21, 2016 10:34 AM in response to sdpg

    Yes - some day when you do an OS upgrade iPhoto will quit working - you already can not order print products with it

     

    not much - and a lot more added - work flow is different  --  Photos 1.5 vs iPhoto 9.6.1:  Features and Capabilities

     

    make sure you are up to date with iPhoto 9.6.1 - rebuild your iPhoto library before migrating and remember it is a new program  --  Moments in Photos are the New Events  --  Details of how Photos handles the migration from iPhoto  --  Notes on Migrating an iPhoto Library from iPhoto to Photos for Mac

     

    LN

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 21, 2016 10:40 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 21, 2016 10:40 AM in response to LarryHN

    That was helpful, thanks Larry!

     

    Glad to hear that you perceive "not much" functionality missing.   Curious as to what is missing though.

     

    Can you, or somebody else, tell me:

     

    • what the main missing features will be (based on other experiences with Apple, I'm sure there will be some)?
      • less editing options?

     

    • What, if any, metadata will be lost transferring over existing iPhoto library?
      • ratings?
      • faces?
      • albums?
      • Flags

     

    Surely doesn't matter, but I still organize mine under "Photos" (used to be "Rolls", I believe), as opposed to "Events".  Still not sure what the difference is between those two are, apart from the initial "Icon" vs. "List" look.

     

    THANK YOU!!

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 21, 2016 10:48 AM in response to sdpg
    Level 10 (84,056 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 21, 2016 10:48 AM in response to sdpg

    if you read the links I provided you will see the answers to your questions - that is why I took the time to provided them for you

     

    LN

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 21, 2016 11:20 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 21, 2016 11:20 AM in response to LarryHN

    That's fair Larry, thanks for clarifying that all of those questions are covered in the 4 links.  I was being lazy, I suppose, not wanting to read through all of the content for answers to just those few questions.

     

    Part lazy, but also thought that those questions are common enough that having a short list of the answers would be helpful for others too.  I couldn't find this info in Apple Discussions myself.

     

    Cheers.

    DG

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 21, 2016 11:45 AM in response to sdpg
    Level 10 (84,056 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 21, 2016 11:45 AM in response to sdpg

    You could have easily read then links in the time it took you to post your questions that are answered in the provided links

     

    LN

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 21, 2016 1:13 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 21, 2016 1:13 PM in response to LarryHN

    Noted!  Fair.

     

    Those links were great. 

     

    I don't see any reason not to switch over. 

     

    If anyone else has an opinion re. what they prefer in iPhoto vs. Photos, I'd appreciate hearing it.

     

    The only obvious things that I think I will miss are:

    • batch change
    • sort by Keyword or Rating

     

    Cheers!

     

     

    Previous questions, now ANSWERED IN BOLD:

     

    re metadata of iPhoto library transferred to Photos

    • star ratings - will be converted to keywords
    • faces - will transfer over.  (Not sure what "albums & events" feature is in iPhoto that goes away in Photos)
    • albums - will transfer over
    • Flags - will be converted to keywords

     

     

    editing - no functionality lost

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 21, 2016 1:15 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 21, 2016 1:15 PM in response to sdpg

    (PS:  I click on "This solved my problem", for each of LarryHN's replies, but nothing happens...  ideally would select his first.)

  • by Terence Devlin,Helpful

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jul 27, 2016 4:34 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 10 (139,470 points)
    iLife
    Jul 27, 2016 4:34 PM in response to sdpg

    Your iPhoto Events are converted to Albums when you migrate to Photos. They're available in the sidebar.

     

    Editing is significantly enhanced over iPhoto.

     

    Batch Change is available - just a bit different.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 21, 2016 3:42 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 10 (84,056 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 21, 2016 3:42 PM in response to sdpg

    Photos has batch change change

     

    as I said

     

    work flow is different

    rather than a batch change command in Photos you select the photos to change and get info and enter the information in the info window - it is applied to all selected photos

     

    and I'm not clear on what you mean "sort by key words" - to see all of the photos with a certain set of keywords use a smart album 9file menu ==> new smart album) for the keywords you want to see

     

    Photos does not have ratings so you can not sort on them but you can simulate rating using keywords - How to Simulate Star Ratings in Photos

     

    And there is much more editing functionality in Photos than in iPhoto - in the edit window ==> adjustments you may need to click on "add" and add the ones you want and for some of them there is a v to the right - clicking it will expand to show more detailed controls

     

    LN

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 27, 2016 4:35 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 27, 2016 4:35 PM in response to LarryHN

    Thank you Larry & Terrence - I'm sold!  


    AND, I have a lot of good reference material in this thread.

     

    MUCH appreciated, have a great day.

    David

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jul 27, 2016 4:45 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 10 (84,056 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 27, 2016 4:45 PM in response to sdpg

    you are welcome

     

    LN