Files sizes reduced on import

1 - Nothing is changes on import - it is a bit for bit copy

2 - How are you burning? That is where your issue is

3 - What does "looking them up in the finder" mean?

LN

Have you edited the photos? or is autorotate set on your camera? this sounds like you are looking at the preview (jpeg) rather than the original - try exporting with kind = original and I am sure you will have he same size file (BTW file size is NOT a mearsure of quality of the photo)

Again - importing is simpy a bit for bit copy = no changes of any sort

LN

This exact thing recently happened to me... to be clear...

1) Imported photos

2) viewed info of photos

3) clicked and dragged select photos from iPhoto to desktop and checked file size

4) looked up photos by showing contents of iPhoto package in Pictures folder. Selected Originals, Modified, Data and Masters folders...

In essence, I cannot find the full res photo that was imported anywhere..it appears ALL imported photos in the 6-8MB range are now 2MB or less.

Can anyone help us get to the bottom of this issue. LarryHN, I am sure you are trying to help, but simply stating that iPhoto doesn't do what by all evidence it appears to be doing is useless in helping us solve the issue. Can you tell us where the full res file is located and how to prove it in iPhoto.😢

Thanks 🙂

Bear with me on this, as I'm not doubting you but can you explain where you get the initial file size?

i.e. Where do you get the information that the file is "6 - 8" MB?

3) clicked and dragged select photos from iPhoto to desktop and checked file size

This is accessing your Previews not your original images.

Hi Terence,

Sure. Before I import the files... I Get Info on them or view them in Finder and each photo is between 6 and 8 MB

Then after import (within iPhoto). I click and drag a photo to my desktop (iPhoto lets you drag items to your desktop). But the. When you get info on that newly created file, it's quite a smaller in size.

Lastly... When you navigate to the folders where iPhoto stores the "originals", the file size is about 2MB (th same size as when you click and drag the file from iPhoto to the desktop).

This never used to be. It happens now but only after a recent update I believe.

Sure. Before I import the files... I Get Info on them or view them in Finder and each photo is between 6 and 8 MB

What is the source of these photos? How are they getting to your computer?

Then after import (within iPhoto). I click and drag a photo to my desktop (iPhoto lets you drag items to your desktop). But the. When you get info on that newly created file, it's quite a smaller in size.

As TD explained that is not your original but the preview of the photo

Lastly... When you navigate to the folders where iPhoto stores the "originals", the file size is about 2MB (th same size as when you click and drag the file from iPhoto to the desktop).

What folder is that? in iPhoto '11 it is named "masters" -- and the photos there are bit for bit copies of the original photos

Somewhere you are missing something or making an incorect assumption - with our knowing your exact detailed work flow one can only guess - but knowing how iPhoto works does let one know what to expect

LN

Then after import (within iPhoto). I click and drag a photo to my desktop (iPhoto lets you drag items to your desktop). But the.

As I said above, that's not your original file, that's the iPhoto Preview.

What size do you get when you go File -> Export and set the Kind to Original ?

Lastly... When you navigate to the folders where iPhoto stores the "originals", the file size is about 2MB (th same size as when you click and drag the file from iPhoto to the desktop).

What's the exact location of these files?

What size do you get if you go one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original.?

To answer your questions, I copied the files from my Camera card (Flash) to my Desktop. Then checked the file size...they copy over at full resolution (e.g., 7MB). Then clicked and dragged the files to iPhoto...they import successfully. But then the picture file size in Originals, Modified AND Masters of the file are ALL at least 3 times smaller.

I am wondering if there is some new level of compression in iPhoto or something. All I can tell you is that in ALL three of the above folders...there is no full res picture.

I can also say without any hesitation, that in previous versions of the software, it was no problem getting the full resoultion of the picture back out...even by the crude method of dragging it from iPhoto back to the desktop.

I don't think you need to be here to understand my workflow...but I appreciate your comments all the same. Just wish you would test it out on your updated version and tell me what happens with yours.

Terrance... you are brilliant. Thank you. When I both "Revealed in Finder" and Exported from the File menu, I located the full res version. The thing that was throwing me off is that when I hunted for the picture manually in Masters, I found a lower res copy of the picture I tested. I am not sure why lower res copies are also under Masters, but they are. (see image below with info showing Masters location and file size showing 1MB...what's up wiht that??) It's hard to navigate properly of course without doing the "Reveal in Finder" trick.

The crazy part I can't get my head around, is that when I import a 7MB file, then modify the settings of the picture (exposure, saturation, etc), then iPhoto ends up making up to 4 copies of the photo (at varying resolutions). That totals over 10MB per picture. That's insane space for my pics.

But I am happy to know it retains them.

Thanks Again both of you for oyur help.

What version of iPhoto? Helps in navagiation - does not affect the bit for bit copy that all versions of iPhoto do

And what camera? Are you shooting JPEG or RAW?

I don't think you need to be here to understand my workflow...but I appreciate your comments all the same.

The reason again is

Somewhere you are missing something or making an incorect assumption - with out knowing your exact detailed work flow one can only guess - but knowing how iPhoto works does let one know what to expect

Figuring it out required the details - if it were simple and straignt forward then it would be finished - given that it is not finished how else would you try to figur it out other than to look at the details of teh process being used?

Just wish you would test it out on your updated version and tell me what happens with yours.

I have - and the imported photos match the original photos exactly (16+ MB RAW in my case) - in iPhoto they show exactly that way if nothing has been done to them - if they have been modified they drop to the preview JPEG size of around 4 MB in iPHoto info

And you have not yet reported back on teh export results with kind = original

try exporting with kind = original and I am sure you will have the same size file

We are happy to help but to help we need exact and accurate information - you are not working from facts but assumptions and we are trying to get you to test and share teh facts

The bottom line is that you are not getting the results you want and nothing is going to change until we get adaquate information to explain or change that -

LN

Glad it is sorted now

BTW - iPhoto does not make any copies of a photo - for iPhoto '11 when you import a photo there is a bit for bit copy made and stored in the "Masters" folder, a small JPEG thumbnail is made and stored in the thumbnail folder and when any modification is made including auto rotation a JPEG is made and placed in the preview folder - a preview is also created for each RAW photo imported

You never have any copies of photos within the iPhoto library and at most you will have three versions of it - master, preview and thumbnail

As to insane space - no - this is critical to the operation of iPhoto - it provides the capability of lossless editing, always haveing the digital negative available to revert to, of having a small thumbnail for quick display and of haveing a preview available for other software to use

It is important, is common for DAMS (Digital Asset Managers) and is the way iPhoto works - if you do not wnat these important features there are may other solutions available - pick one and use it instead of iPhoto

LN

PS - and disk storage is cheap so there really is no need to worry about it

Very useful education here. Thank you!!

ScotteWilson -- I know it's been a few months since you last posted about this, but I just upgraded to iPhoto '11 and am experiencing some of the same oddness as you did regarding filesize changes upon export (either drag-and-drop or the Export function), and I am wondering if you are satisfied now.

I have not found the Export --> Original to be a particularly helpful way to export photos because this command does not export the edited versions. The Export --> Current command does, but I have come across times (seemingly at random) when the filesize was reduced from the original version, even though I only added editing info and did not crop.

I have not found the Export --> Original to be a particularly helpful way to export photos because this command does not export the edited versions.

Well that is the point of exporting the Original...

The Export --> Current command does, but I have come across times (seemingly at random) when the filesize was reduced from the original version, even though I only added editing info and did not crop.

The Currnent setting gets the same as drag and drop - that is the preview.

Have a read of this User Tip

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

It has details of the options in the Export dialogue and explains how things work.