Better way to organize my images?

Hide photos means, simply, remove them from this view. They don't go anywhere and you can show them/hide them with an instruction in the View menu. It's handy if you want to show someone a few pics, but just leave these other ones temporarily out of sight.

There are two related but different types of Photostream. Let's assume you have an iPhoto, and iPad and a Mac.

My Photo Stream:

Take a pic with the iPhone and it shows up on the iPad and Mac - if you opt in to the process. (For instance, I don't. It's just not a thing I'm into). Basically it's a way of getting your shots onto every device without having to import them first to the Mac and then to the iPad. There are two key limits on this:

The photo is removed from the Stream after 30 days or 1,000 images - which ever limit comes first. This doc has a lot more detail

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4486

So, think of it this way: take a snap with the camera and it's available on the other devices for 30 days (or until 999 more have been taken). You have that time to decide to add the photo to your iPad. It can be automatically added to the Mac, as that has more space.

iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> iCloud

Check the box at Automatic Import

In the case of photos you add to iPhoto on the Mac these can also be streamed to devices under the same terms. So, as you add photos to iPhoto they are streamed to the devices. This might be the one you want to shut off.

iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> iCloud

Uncheck the box at Automatic Upload

Now, images you add to iPhoto on the Mac will not be pushed automatically to the devices.

Shared Photo Streams

These are a way of selecting images to share with the devices. So, pick the favourite 45 images from your holiday and Click on the Share Button lower right. More on that here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5903

That's really really helpful - one question - If photos are automatically uploaded from devices, via photostream, to my mac, then they will still exist on the original device (which is probably a good idea in case the 30 days flies by without getting round to sorting) and in photo stream (from the original device) until they push over the 1000 limit?

So, now the big question is how and when to delete them from the original device as this is the only way to keep photostream alive (device > mac) and stop them being pushed back into photostream from the original device?

(If I have understood what you said correctly?)

f photos are automatically uploaded from devices, via photostream, to my mac, then they will still exist on the original device

Yes they will. They are only deleted from the stream when the limit is reached.

now the big question is how and when to delete them from the original device as this is the only way to keep photostream alive

Once a shot has been offered over the photostream it won't be offered again. If you take Shot 1 on the phone it is offered to the other devices over the stream. 30 days (or Shot 1,000) later it drops off the stream. It doesn't come back.

So it's not under my control. Some photos could miss the 1000 limit (but now I've set them up to autoupload from the stream to my mac, they will automatically upload).

But more importantly, it seems I have no control over photostream so better just turn it off altogether and manually import via iTunes.

Although, now iPhoto and I are friends, I can import via USB and delete immediately from the phone, that's tidy enough for me.

I'm getting there.

BTW, Export is nice if you want to reduce phisical size or reduce digital size (I do all my web pictures on Medium/Medium, which is 640x480 and gives a good screen picture), if you want to put a bunch of pictures on a thumb drive, folder, or another computer through their drop box, just highlight all you want and drag them to the folder in Finder. This will also drag videos. Exporting a video will only export the jpg image you see.

Couple of things:

if you want to put a bunch of pictures on a thumb drive, folder, or another computer through their drop box, just highlight all you want and drag them to the folder in Finder

Remember that drag and drop only accesses the iPhoto preview and exporting will get more options, including better quality and more of the metadata.

Also:

This will also drag videos.

This works only on some versions of iPhoto and not on others. So if you're dragging out a video make sure that it does play after being dragged out.

Exporting a video will only export the jpg image you see

No, exporting a jpg will get you a jpeg, a tiff will get you a tiff and exporting the original will get you the video.

This User Tip

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921

has details of the options in the Export dialogue.

THanks, that's very important to me as I have quite a few videos

I have made some progress with sorting my photos - you have to be very careful with distinguishing between albums and folders and dragging them around, but I can see the wood for the trees and the smart albums is helping heaps.

I have some residual issues though

- how do you know where the original photo is so that you can delete it from the device altogether?

- how can I add phots that are stored in finder, but not in iPhoto?

- what are 'moments' and 'collections' on mobile devices?

- how do you know where the original photo is so that you can delete it from the device altogether?

Can you clarify "device"?

- how can I add phots that are stored in finder, but not in iPhoto?

Add to where? DO you mean import photos from the Finder to iPhoto? Drag and drop to the iPhoto Window, to the iPhoto icon on the dock or use the File -> Add to Library command

- what are 'moments' and 'collections' on mobile devices?

Crude basic forms of organisation, based on date and time. But I'd ask on the forums for the iOS devices for more.

Device = iPhone iPad or Mac

Thanks for the drag and drop info, will crack on with that.

On the iPad or iPhone they'll be on the Camera Roll. You can delete them from the device or with Image Capture (in the Applications Folder) or iPhoto when you import.

I'm guessing the Mac will be pretty obvious...

Did some drag and drop.

Then disaster. I had a few photos with 1970 dates (some errror somewhere, probably a camera with a date not set up). They were coming up in a barmy place in events, so I tried to change the date to something like an appropriate date. Uh oh. ALL my photos were given a new date and I have no idea of the logic behind it. Worse still, trying to re-date the same three photos seems to take the date back around a hundred years each time. The guy at hte apple store witnessed this and couldn't explain it. I've had to book in next week to see if we can fix it.

Due to this, all my smart folders are nonsensicle as they are date based. So rain has stopped play.

Any ideas anyone?

The problem with the dates is usually related to the format of the dates you've chosen in the SystemPreferences / Date and Time.

How were you trying to change the dates?

Using edit date/time on the photo menu in iPhoto.

Shouldn't the date time in System preferences be in sync with iPhoto so that what you do is reflected across the system. Actually, as the only thing I changed was the year (from 1970 to 2012), then I cant' see why the system prefs issue is related - the input is YYYY. The dates move back roughly a century each time and it has propagated across the 8000 photos, not just to the one or two I selected.