iphoto imports upright photos as black

Hi Buadhai, yeah I have edited photos on my iPhone but never faced any issue. It can't be an iPhoto problem.

More confirmation. I chose an old, never-edited photo on the iPhone. I cropped it on the iPhone. When I looked at the iPhone with iPhoto, the old, uncropped thumbnail still showed as available for import. But, when I went to import it I got the following error message:

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Unreadable Files: 1

The following file could not be imported. The file is in an unrecognized format.

IMG_4780.JPG

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Confirmed: Editing a photo on the iPhone using the simple editor renders it unreadable by iPhoto on a desktop Mac.

I also tried editing a photo in iPhoto for iOS. That worked fine. The photo was importable by iPhoto for Mac.

So, others who are having problems with non-iPhone photos have you edited them in anyway before trying to import into iPhoto?

I disagree. I'm sure it has to do with the EXIF data on the photo. I took one of the offending photos, used Graphic Converter to strip all EXIF data and then the photo imported just fine and displayed perfectly in iPhoto.

As you know, "portrait" (vertical) oriented photos are just "landscape" (horizontal) photos that are displayed properly because the photo's EXIF data tells the image display software to rotate the photo.

My guess is that for reasons I don't understand the EXIF data produced by some cameras is not compatible with iPhoto. And, as I demonstrated above, photos edited in Photos app on the iPhone also contain EXIF data that is incompatible with iPhoto.

It would be interesting if someone with a "proper" camera would import a photo directly from the camera to their Mac hard drive, strip the EXIF data (using Graphic Converter or whatever) and then import the stripped photo into iPhoto. If the photo then displays properly (not black) then we know that the problem is with EXIF data.

So it worked OK in the other user account but is still not working in your current account. What could be the cause is a preference file other than iPhoto's in your account. Here's how to test for that:

Trouble Shooting Preferences

1 - close all applications.

2 - open your Library folder, Home/Library, and drag the Preferences folder to the Desktop. A new Preference folder will be immediately created in the Library.

NOTE: if dragging the Preference folder to the desktop only copies the folder then after the copy has been completed go back and drag the contents of the Preferences folder from the Library to the Trash in the dock. You will be asked to enter your Admin password. Then reboot and try again.

3 - run the application again and determine if the problems is fixed.

4 - If the problem is fixed:

A - open the working Preferences folder (HD/Users/your_name/Library/Preferences).

B - Open the Preferences folder on the Desktop, select all of the contents and drag them into the working Preferences folder.

C - When the Copy window pops up check the "Apply to All" check box and then click on the Don't Replace or Skip button.

5 - If the problem is NOT fixed, drag the contents of the Preference folder on the Desktop into the Preference of the Library folder are replace the new one that was created by clicking on Replace.

OT

I also have the original issue reported and I believe this is just an issue with iPhoto. All of the photos I've imported that are portrait rather than landscape appear black in iPhoto. If I view these images elsewhere, including Preview, they display fine. I'm imported from a Nikon 3100, not an iPhone and I did no on-camera editing. It seems odd that this issue would only affect portrait photos.

I have the same issue as OP. I am using a Canon S95, and this problem only started happening 2 weeks ago. Given the various users experiencing the same problem with different cameras, it seems like iPhoto is the common problem (although I too am using a Macbook Air, in case that's the other common denominator). I am somewhat confused by the various threads - it doesn't seem like any of these fixes have worked "permanently" for anyone? Is there a summary of what's worked?

No, I have a Pro on Mac OS 10.7.3 and iPhoto 9.2.3. I think these are all the latest versions. I don't feel like I should be jumping through crazy temporary hoops just so iPhoto displays vertical pictures correctly. I've only tried some of them and nothing has worked. I believe the real problem here is iPhoto and only with the display of the photos. I, and believes others too, can view photos in Preview that iPhoto displays black.

So to add some more context - iPhoto displays black in the thumbnails and the photo display, but, if I go into Edit mode, I can see the proper photo - not black - in both thumbnails and the photo display. Also, when I tried to Export from iPhoto to my desktop and then publish to Picasa, the portrait photos showed up black on Picasa too.

If anyone (from Apple??) can fix this that would be great. I do remember recently downloading some Software Update related to Digital RAW something.

How do you all view the photos in Preview? And how do you even access iPhoto Library in your Finder? Mine just shows up as a logo and I can't get into the actual photos unless I export them first.

Thanks.

I can confirm that photos that appear black, can be displayed properly in edit mode. For viewing photos in Preview, find iPhoto Library in Finder, right-click and choose "Show Package Contents". Then start at the Masters directory and work you way down to the photos you're having trouble with.

I just realized when I did this that the photos all look correct in the Masters directory but in Thumbnails and Previews they appear black. This made me think that if I tried those rebuilding of thumbnails operations noted in previous posts, they might help. So I tried the checked operations in the screenshot below but these did not help.

This is really stupid, but I do not see a "Library" folder in my home folder anywhere. Where is Lion hiding Library and Preferences? There isn't even a system folder anymore.

I'm having the exact same problem wherein all portrait-style photos show up as a black screen, but all landscap-style photos appear as thumbnails and valid photos. In looking through my Pictures folder, I see an "iPhoto Recovered Photos Library" folder which seems to contain all my photos. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Linda

Same Problem with me....

1 - Vertical Photo's in Event view are Black (not viewable) BUT can view perfectly in Edit Mode

2 - I'm using a 2012 Macbook Air OSX 10.7.3

3 - iPhoto 9.2.3 (629.52)

4 - Photo's unedited before import

5 - Using Canon 60D

6 - Spoke with Apple Care today and they stated they had never heard of this problem before and wanted me to call them back to discuss after they had a chance to investigate further....

7 - I will call them tomorrow with my case number to see if they can help.....

8 - Stay tuned as I think this is a problem that Apple are fully aware of but wont acknowledge until they can fix....

I have the black previews as well but only on some and it doesn't matter if they are landscape or portrate and it happens to non-edited photos. It started just a week or so ago. If I import from iPhone or from the SD card from my camera (using the SD reader in my MBA) it happens. But not to every photo, and if I import them again, it will not happen to the same photos as it did the previous time. It's very strange. In fact, if do a re-import from the SD card of my iPhone, iPhoto recognizes that they have already been imported and gives me the diolog box with the choice to import again or not. The kicker is that when it shows the examples of the photos in the box it shows the photo on the card looking fine and the black thumbnail.

Also, all the phtos are in-tact and just find in the library- it is JUST the thumbnails. If I choose one of the black thumbnails and go into edit mode in iPhoto, the photo is now visible. If I go back to the thumb view, it is black again. BUT, if I edit the photo in any way (crop, exposer, anything) the photo thumb is viewable and all is fine.

I have also noticed this behavious. I import my pictures from SD card an take them with an Canon EOS 550D. Portrait photos are black, but they show up, as soon as I go to edit.

Hint: If you just change one of the settings (like lighting or exposure), or even if you do the auto-improve, the pictures show up correctly again!

@tommyc19

I do wonder, why Apple Care said, that they don't know about the issue. I reported that bug 2 weeks ago.

Keep on bugging them! I just did a photoshooting with 500 pics and one third of them are black *grrr*