Where does iPhoto store imported photos?

I think you misunderstand what the poster means by

If I import all the pictures to iPhoto, and then delete the original folders,

In this case I believe he means that if he deletes his own pre-existing folder system, not the iPhoto Library/ Originals folder...

Regards

TD

You seem to know enough that you might be able to help me. I'm trying to figure out how to access photo files so I can attach them via my web email. If one does not use Mail or another software email client, then one has to be able to access the photo file in order to attach it. Using Mac OS 7, can you please let me know if this is possible, and if so, how I might go about it.

Btw: When I do a search for the file name of the photo it does not appear. It seems like on this system there is no access to the file. On my other system, 10.5.8 I have easy access via searching the file name. However, I use an external hard drive to house my files and I'm not sure if that is why I can access them.

Looking forward to your expertise on this issue!

This seems to me 10 pages of bull. The basic question underlying the discussion here is to what extent I'm allowed to store my JPG and MP3 files the way and where I want them to be stored. When, once in a while, I need a particular file, I need to know the name of the file and the exact location where it is to be found. In this context, iPhoto is completely useless.

Good evening- I hope you all can easily help me, seems that you have been able to help some others. Full disclosure- I don't use iPhoto regularly and am not an expert with this. Here's the situation- I'm trying to clean up my hard drive and free up some space. There are a lot of old pictures stored in iPhoto on my system that I'd like to clear off. I regularly backup using my external hardrive with Time Machine. The photos in iPhoto are not ones I need to access on a regular basis but I don't want to lose them forever.

So, tonight I did another backup with the intentions of cleaning out the majority of what is in iPhoto. Backup is done. Before I went ahead and deleted images from iPhoto, I dedcided to do a "test" to see if I could locate a few files so I know what to do when I want to access them. I deleted a few pictures from iPhoto and then went into my external hard drive to try and find them/reload them but I can't seem to do this.

So here are my questions/ points of confusion (again, this is not something I'm knowledgeable about and you probably need to talk to me in a very elementary fashion):

1. Is there a way for me to access the files of the images or does it all have to be through iPhoto? When I right-click on a photo in iPhoto and select Show File, it seems that the path takes me through iPhoto, which isn't an option when I then go into my external hard drive and try to locate it. All I get on my external hard drive is Pictures -> iPhoto.
2. When I go into my external hard drive and double-click the iPhoto icon that shows up in my Pictures file, it will not open and instead gives me the following error message: The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another library. But again, I can't seem to get to the images that I have backed up and then deleted, so if I can't open iPhoto from my backup, how do I do it?

This is as clearly as I can try and formulate my questions- if you can help please feel free to talk to me like I'm a 5 year old because I just can't figure this out (but under normal circumstances would consider myself an intelligent person, I promise.)

Thank you.

You simply do not understand how Time Machine works

1. Time Machine is NOT an archive system. Anything backed up via TM will be deleted from the TM backup so if you do what you are suggesting you will lose your photos

2. You do Not access the TM backup. You restore from it

3. With iPhoto you can not restore single photos from TM You restore the entire iPhoto library

Probably the best solution to your space problem is to purchase another external hard drive and move your iPhoto library to it.

LN

I also made the mistake of using iphoto to organize the photos and movies I took during our recent vacations. I sounded like a good idea, compared to the manual management using folders that I used to do.

But now I want to copy them to a USB memory stick - for sharing them with friends and family (they do not use MacOS).

I was hoping that this would just be copying files as I was doing on Linux and Windows, but that is not the case. I read through the 10 pages of comments and none actually says where the original jpeg files are stored.

Looks like the only option is to export everything and so get the original files. Is that the only way ?

Albert

I kept reading..."go to iphoto library" but as you've (user: noula) educated us...more is needed...FINALLY...someone who knows how to share their knowledge - which is truly needed for these support sites! Thank you kindly!

@noula. Note that what you suggest is not a supported access method and is extremely dangerous and ineffective. Any change made to the structure or content of the iPhoto library can corrupt the library and cause loss of photo and/or data. Recommending dangerous methods with no warning of the danger is a bad disservice to users who may destroy their library due to your advice

LN

Wrong

It destroys your iPhoto library

It loses all edits, projects, metedata changes, etc. it is uncessary, unsupported, and dangerous. Advising people to do that without explaining the negatives is very out of line

LN

You're making assumptions there that are not necessarily the case. We see this kind of query from folks who just want to upload or email their photos. For instance, the person you responded to simply wanted to share. S/He makes no mention of not needing iPhoto any longer...

Much as I like iPhoto in terms of functionality, I am worried about committing my photos to be managed by iPhoto in the long term. I feel much more confortable knowing that I can get at my photos via a plain file structure that I can move to and use on pretty much any file system that understands nested folders.

As I said, I just started using iPhoto with photos from our latest vacation. But I have a massive archive of photos that I collected over years. Those I have in a simple file organization (like several mentionned in this thread) - typically folder names reflect albums and events (in iPhoto parlance). I am very reluctant to commit all of those to iPhoto.

I have looked at other photo management systems (e.g Picasa) but they, like iPhoto, are too much of a black box. I have zero trust in Apple (or Google for that matter) to keep iPhoto over future versions, retaining full backwards compatibility and not breaking something that would make my old photos inaccessible. This is why I much prefer relying on my own organisation logic.

Don't get me wrong: I like the way iPhoto lets me organize my photos in events, albums, locations and people (via the face recognition mechanism). From what I understand, iPhoto provides a way that lets me use the best of both worlds, i.e. retain the originals of the photos in my own folder structure, and still record them in its own catalog with all the logical classifications in events, albums, etc.

I will try and explore that approach.

Albert

@agodfrin, @Terence Devlin. The basic issue here is that both iPhoto and iTunes, if left to go the Apple way, will clutter the HDD of your computer filling it up to the rim. Though there is an enormous difference here between iPhoto and iTunes.

iTunes does NOT hide your mp3 files in a library package that you have to control-click to access. With iTunes, you can't change where iTunes puts stuff, but you can move the stuff and tell iTunes to find it there. Typically, I keep my mp3 files on an external 4TB (hard to fill up). Even though I don't store my files in the recommended place (the Apple way), iTunes is a rather satisfying READING tool to read my files when I want to without cluttering the HDD of my MacBook Pro.

My jpg files, typically, are stored either on my external 4TB, on memory sticks or on the camera's original memory card. To access my data on these different locations, iPhoto is a very LOUSY reading device as it clutteres my internal HDD in whatever mode I use it.

Remember, the basic issue here is MEMORY. A person I know that does everything the Apple way just bought a new MacBook because her old one was filled up to rim. As one might have expected, after moving all her files, the HDD of the new MacBook was just as full as the one of the old one.

The basic issue here is that both iPhoto and iTunes, if left to go the Apple way, will clutter the HDD of your computer filling it up to the rim

Actually no, the basic issue here is that you have given information with no warning of the possible consequences of using it. That's all. The information is also unnecessary as the File -> Export option makes it moot.

As for your comments about iTunes and iPhoto. You might want to learn a little about both, and certainly about iPhoto. Perhaps iPhoto is "a very LOUSY reading device" because that's not what it is, nor what it is designed to do.

Just as a little hint: you can run a Managed Library from an external disk.

Remember, the basic issue here is MEMORY.

Uh, I thought the basic issue was iPhoto using Disk Space? Surely you're not confusing MEMORY with Hard Drive space. (And I love the occasional use of BLOCK capitals. Pretty cute.)

A person I know that does everything the Apple way just bought a new MacBook because her old one was filled up to rim. As one might have expected, after moving all her files, the HDD of the new MacBook was just as full as the one of the old one.

So, the shocking news is that she had a Mac with what - a full 500 gig drive? Then she bought a new one with a 500 gig drive? And discovered that the data uses the same amount of space? Couldn't she see that coming? Is that really some kind of argument for... well what? Teaching Arithmetic? Could have saved some money and just bought an external disk...

Regards

TD

Bottom line. You have no idea how to use iPhoto and would rather argue than learn. If you like the power and usefulness of a SQL database manager organizating your photos then iPhoto is an excellent choice. If you prefer a much inferior method of manually placing photos in a file structure the do not use iPhoto. You make the choice

BUT your continuing to argue helps no one especially since you just have no comprehension of the concept

And your giving potentially destructive advice is inexcusable

LN

@Terrence Devlin ~ I'm admittedly a new and very frustrated (dummie) iMac user. I've read through so much of this one question trying to find the same answer as the original poster. I'm not trying to debate what's better Windows vs. iMac....I'm just frustrated trying to learn and figure out how to do things I used to do on my Windows PC which seemed much easier than on my iMac. These forum debates take sooo long to read through for each question I have, that it takes FOREVER to find a simple answer. I do appreciate any and all help I find here though. With that said, could you PLEASE tell me how to make my Finder screen look just like your Finder photo with the addition of a Music icon under Places. And, if I have those icons on the left of Finder, will my photos be in the Pictures folder when I click on it, and will my music be in my music folder when I click on it? If not, how do I get everything in the correct folder (icon) without going through a very long & tedious process of having to move everything into them?? Help from you or anyone else on this Forum on how to do this will be greatly appreciated! 😉