iphoto: rotation image size change

Question

iphoto: rotation image size change

Browsing old pictures (2001) in iphoto I've just discoverd something very strange. Please bear with me:

One image that I've rotated years ago 90° is 687kb.
If I revert to the original the image size is only 231kb.
If I apply the same rotation to the original it says 231kb re size.
I quit iphoto and open it again (the original I've just rotated in # 3) and the picture size is now back to 687kb.

I do not understand why is there such a difference? I was assuming rotation was a lossless process without any compression between done?

I've done some research on the forum but nothing came and any help would be greatly appreciated as I am considering reverting a few thousands pictures back to their original state/size.

Cheers, Géraud

iPhoto '11, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Sep 4, 2013 1:10 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Sep 4, 2013 2:59 PM in response to geraudfrompompano beach

The problem is that different versions of iPhoto have handled these tasks in different ways and there are legacy issues trying to match the different versions.

as I am considering reverting a few thousands pictures back to their original state/size.

What happens if you export one of these as an original?

Reply

Answer 2

Sep 4, 2013 11:57 PM in response to Yer_Man

Hi Terence,

Indeed I saw a few messages re iphoto '07 and '08 related to this issue.

If I export the original picture, size is 231kb; for the rotated its 687kb. I've more than 10,000 pictures and I believe nearly 3,000 have been rotated. I am a little bit afraid of what could be a solution 😢

I was wondering:

Is it possible to highlight/find/view all the pictures that have been modified in iphoto? I don't think so but that could help.
Is there a function to revert all the modified images in their original state (maybe a script or a software)?
Do you think exporting all pictures and then re-importing is the way to go? I guess I'll lose all the meta-data (tags, places, faces, date, etc.)?

I'll do some additional DD today but would appreciate your advices 😀

Reply

Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Sep 5, 2013 12:55 AM in response to geraudfrompompano beach

Couple of things here.

1. If the rotated images re turning out larger than the originals it's only because less compression is used on the newer version of the shot. It's not actually a bad thing.

2. To find all the edited photos is simple:

File -> New Smart Album

Photo -> Is -> Edited.

3. You can revert the images from this Smart Album. I would not do them all at one go as you'll likely overwhelm your Ram and cause the app to crash. I'd do it in batches.

4. I'm not sure what your desired end product is here. Why would you revert all these images?

5. If you can preserve all your metadata on Export, but not if you export as Original...

Reply

Answer 4

Sep 5, 2013 10:37 AM in response to Yer_Man

Many thanks for your 5 tips.

Everything started when I ran "clean my mac" on iphoto. It pointed out to 2 Gb of "hidden service copy" pictures (1,500 out of 11,000) that could be deleted. Most "hidden service copy" are 2 times larger than the final pictures (e.g. 4.4 Mb instead of 1.9)

What puzzles me is only 100 pictures have been edited based on your smart album query. All the other 1,400 have been only been rotated. And when I looked at these pictures in iphoto there's no original to revert to since they have only been rotated! I've a hard time believing iphoto creates a physical copy for a photo that is just rotated. It must be only an attribute in a metadata file somewhere?

My objective was to clean a little bit my 30 Gb library but following your points I don't trust this "clean my mac". Not sure how to deal with these legacy issues anymore.

Reply

Answer 5

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Sep 5, 2013 11:22 AM in response to geraudfrompompano beach

Right - do not trust any automated "clean up " program - they have wrecked many iPhoto an Aperture libraries by breaking the primary rule of databases - never make changes with any program except the database manager 9iPhoto in this case)

As for rotation - iPhoto creates a preview for use by other programs and a thumbnail for each edited photo including rotated ones

With Aperture this preview is options - with iPhoto it is not

LN

Reply

Answer 6

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Sep 5, 2013 12:04 PM in response to geraudfrompompano beach

Everything started when I ran "clean my mac" on iphoto.

Well that's easy to finish. Delete that app. It's clueless and you risk dataloss.

Reply

Answer 7

Sep 5, 2013 11:37 PM in response to Yer_Man

Done, it's gone. Thank you all. G

Reply

Answer 8

Zeonman

Level 1

4 points

Oct 12, 2013 9:08 AM in response to geraudfrompompano beach

Just as effective would have been turning off the iphoto scan in Clean My Mac preferences.

Reply

Answer 9

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Oct 12, 2013 10:11 AM in response to Zeonman

No, Clean My Mac is an app dedicated to solving problems that don't exist. Macs don't get "dirty".

Reply

Answer 10

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Oct 12, 2013 10:55 AM in response to Yer_Man

And Clean My Mac if run in its default mode destroys the iPhoto library

It is not needed and is dangerous to your photos - it is best to just get rid of it

LN

Reply

Answer 11

Zeonman

Level 1

4 points

Oct 12, 2013 7:09 PM in response to Yer_Man

We will have to agree to disagree.

Reply

Answer 12

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Oct 12, 2013 7:12 PM in response to Zeonman

They many usersw who have destroyed their libraries I suspect also diagree with you - since Clean My Mac is a very dangerous porgram and has damaged many libraries you need to at least add a warning to your recomendation

LN

Reply