Alternative to iPhoto?

Hi Kevin,
If Graphic Convertor cam installed on you Mac, give it a try. You organize the images in folders the way you want in the Finder. Graphic convertor will browse those folders, not import them into a database.
Most others here use iViewMedia and iViewMedia Pro as an alternative.

Lori

Kevin,

PS Elements is not a substitute for iPhoto but it is an excellent photo editor. iView Media Pro is an excellent media management application. You may be able to get away with the less expensive non-pro version if you don't need RAW file support. Although iView MP is my current choice for photo management (until my Aperture arrives later this week), its photo editing capabilities/features are not my favorite. You may find you need iView and Elements.

That being said, iPhoto really isn't a bad option and it's extremely well integrated into the iLife suite.

Hope this helped!
Sam

I have similar issues. I need something that works well with photoshop. I am running PS7 and would like to be able to see my psd files in the main browser that I use. Currently using iphoto. The main issue is around psd files that will not save as jpg such as duotones. They go back to grayscale if converted to jpg unless saved as pst files first and then converted to jpg. Kind of a strange issue but I would like one browser that shows all types of files and does slideshows and integrates with the screensaver. The main reason is that i have several duotone psd files that i would like to be able to work with outside of photoshop without converting every one of them.

Just to clarify what the others have already said, the Mac version of Elements does not include the Organizer that is in the Windows version. It's strictly for editing.

Kevin,
1.You can get to the actual files through the finder, but it is difficult if you don't know the date they were created.
iPhoto is meant to have everything done within the application.
-If you want to use an image in another application you would Share/Export the photos to the desktop. You can then navigate to the desktop to use the photos (example: web uploading from online photo site)
If your application supports drag and drop, you can drag the photo from an open iPhoto Library window into your application.
For email you can also use the email icon within iPhoto to open a message with the highlighted photo attached.
You can also use spotlight to find images in an Album...

This is what I have done using Spotlight to find my images that are in iPhoto albums without opening iPhoto..
In iPhoto, select the album, then select all, go to Photos/batch change.
Change the comments to text. In the text field I put the name of the Album.
Do this for each album.
Close iPhoto.
Open Spotlight and put in the name of the Album ( you have to remember the names of the albums or have then written down)
In the spotlight search results. click on "show all"
Under "Images" click on the "xx more" to show all the images in the album.
Make sure you have it in icon view, the icon view box is the last one on the blue images line.
Now you can control click on the image to "reveal in finder", open in iPhoto or Mail, etc.
One important thing to know is you can set up a graphic program to be an external editor (when you double click an image in the library} such as PhotoShop or PS Elements. You set up that within iPhoto Preferences. Just make sure you save the image flattened and with the same name. The edits will then be relected in iPhoto when you hit "save".
2. Maybe these apple kb articles might clarify what is happening.

Working with iPhoto sharpness tool

Adjusting the sharpness of a photo
iPhoto: sharpness adjustment may not be apparent when viewing at less than 100 percent

Lori

You might give iView MediaPro a try. It will run in demo mode for about 20 days. It lets you create your own folder system and move photos in and out of those folders. It can even catalog your existing iPhoto library - iPhoto to iView MediaPro Workflow. It is more in line with Aperture's capabilities so is a little costly but not as much as Aperture.

Hope this has been of some help. Good luck.

I've been using GraphicConverter for years and much prefer it over iPhoto. The file browser in GC is faster and more direct. As mentioned, it allows one to organize photos at the Finder level. The program has a wide range of editing functions as well.

I also prefer GraphicConverter's more standard interface.

Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.3)

I switched about a yr ago and was also very used to moving around photo's via file structure... now I've become accustomed to working thru iphoto and it's not bad now.
However I just got a pentax camera that comes with acdsee for mac- which is the program I used on windows and really really liked it and now it's available for mac too...
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0005/00050902acdseemac.asp

I see I moved to quick.. that link is from yr 2000 and isn't active
Now I'm not sure if acdsee has current mac version?? But I know pentax does because I'm using it... not sure how the upgrade situation works
http://www.pentaximaging.com/customercare/showsoftware?softId=3

I like Graphic Converter, too. I use iPhoto, but sometimes I also use the Canon software included with a Rebel XT I purchased. When I connect the camera to my iMac and iPhoto launches, sometimes I quit iPhoto and launch Digital Photo Pro or one of the other two Canon applications.

But I con do lots of things relating to photo manipulation with Graphic Converter, and save the photos in a large array of formats.

If you're working with a Nikon digital camera, you might want to try Picture Project, which is a free download from the Nikon web site <www.Nikonusa.com>.

I just loaded it today, took a quick look, but will probably stick with iPhoto. When used (sometimes) in conjunction with PS7, as well as by itself, I find iPhoto5 does what I need.

Best wishes,
Dennis

Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Another possible alternative is QPict. It will create catalogs of thumbnails of the images, link to an external editor, etc. The price is right also, $35.

What about Shoebox? I just downloaded the free trial and can't believe what i'm seeing so far. Apple needs to stop pretending and hire these guys. I don't know how long Shoebox has been out there, but they seem to an excellent product.

i like to be able
to get to the actual files on the HD as well as
through the program, but i understand that's a big
no-no with iphoto.

The applecript "Show Image File" will switch to the finder and locate the currently selected photo in iPhoto. (But yeah, iPhoto will get confused if you edit it outside of iPhoto.)

http://www.apple.com/applescript/iphoto/


tell application "iPhoto"
activate
try
copy (my selected_images()) to these_images
if these_images is false or (the count of these_images) is not 1 then ¬
error "Please select a single image."
set this_image to item 1 of these_images
set this_imagefile to ((image path of this_image) as POSIX file) as alias
on error error_message number error_number
if the error_number is not -128 then
display dialog error_message buttons {"Cancel"} default button 1
end if
end try
end tell

tell application "Finder"
activate
set visible of (every process whose visible is true and frontmost is false) to false
reveal this_imagefile
end tell

on selected_images()
tell application "iPhoto"
try
-- get selection
set these_items to the selection
-- check for single album selected
if the class of item 1 of these_items is album then error
-- return the list of selected photos
return these_items
on error
return false
end try
end tell
end selected_images



Mac OS X (10.4.3)