Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How do I not import RAW files into iPhoto

I shoot RAW + Jpeg with my cameras... Up until a recent upgrade to Mavericks... I would put the SD card in the iMac and it would import all the JPEGs, and then say something like 75 files could not be downloaded.

Those were the large RAW files and I would then just move them to an External Hard-drive and use Lightroom and Canon's DPP to edit them.

After the OS upgrade the RAW and JPEGs now both import into iPhoto and onto the Mac Hard-drive.

I can't seem to find a way to not import the RAW file into iPhoto. Is there something I am missing? I do not want those large RAW files wasting space on the mac, and I have notice iPhoto is really slow since the upgrade.

Thanks for any help

iMac

Posted on Nov 24, 2013 9:12 PM

Reply
7 replies

Nov 24, 2013 9:33 PM in response to Lawn Vulture

Don't shoot them? There is no point in sooting RAW + JPEG as iPhoto imports RAW and immediately creates a JNPEG of the image


If this was no happening before it was only because you were not up to date and iPhoto did not suppor tyur Camera's RAW


Other than that you can use the select photo screen during import to choose which photos are imported


Or you can upgrade to Aperture which lets you choose imports by photo type - that is not a feature of iPhoto - pay more and get more capability


LN

Nov 24, 2013 10:31 PM in response to LarryHN

Thanks Larry,
In my mind there is a point to shooting Raw+Jpeg, If I am shooting my kids sporting events I may take 50 shots in burst mode, but there may be 400 raw files... I do not want to try and select which of those I want to use from a thumbnail on the select photo screen... and I do not want to dump all those large RAW files onto my Mac Hard-drive just to check the jpegs


Is there another way I should be importing these files?

I am fairly new to RAW editing... I use Lightroom for the Fuji and Pentax RAW files, and DPP for the Canon RAW files. Up until now I have used iPhoto for the quick edit of jpegs and as a viewer to see which RAW files I want/need to work with.


If I choose the import photo screen to select the Jpegs, is there a way to get the RAW files onto the ext hardrive as I have been doing up till now


And the JNPEG produced from the Raw File... Does that look exactly the same as the jpg that is produced in camera?

Is there a way to turn of the RAW functionality in iPhoto?

Nov 24, 2013 10:53 PM in response to Lawn Vulture

No, there's no way to "turn off" the Raw functionality in iPhoto, nor, with iPhoto, can you import Jpegs to one place and Raws to another.


However, with Image Capture (in the Applications Folder) you have more options on what you move from the camera and where to.


Also with a Card reader, and the Finder's sort by Kind, that you could easily drag the relevant files to your preferred location.


I'd be surprised if you could find a perceptible difference between the camera's and iPhoto's Jpeg preview.


If disk space is a problem then you can run an iPhoto library from an external disk.





I am fairly new to RAW editing... I use Lightroom for the Fuji and Pentax RAW files, and DPP for the Canon RAW files.


And along with iPhoto that's a mighty complex workflow. You're generating two kinds of data on three different cameras and trying to somehow manage them on a $15 app designed for a guy with a point and shoot. Frankly, from tha lot, I'd dump eveything except Lightroom and make your life a lot more simple.

Nov 24, 2013 11:27 PM in response to Yer_Man

You may be right Terence. Lightroom may be the best option. I just have not spent enough time with it as a main editor.


Up until 9 months ago I shot Jpegs...


Once I figured out how some of the photos could be saved and or improved with RAW, I started using RAW. But for 80% of the snaps I take, jpegs do just fine with a quick little tweek in iPhoto. When iphoto was not letting me dump the RAW files, it was easy to just edit jpegs in I photo and if I had one I wanted to fix or really go into I could always just get the raw file into the ext drive and fix it.

I was looking for an easy way to keep working the way I have been.


Thanks for all the help.


And thanks, I will look up how to run iPhoto from an external hard drive.


One final question. The RAW editing capabilities in iPhoto is pretty minimal, If I want to grab a RAW file that is

already on the mac in the iPhoto library and drag it to an external editor, where can I find the RAW file on the mac? If I try dragging it out of iphoto it seams to be a the jnjpg that Larry mentioned.

Nov 25, 2013 12:38 AM in response to Lawn Vulture

A. To move an iPhoto Library:


Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)


1. Quit iPhoto


2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.


3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.


4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.



B. iPhoto and Raw


1. The Raw processing engine in iPhoto the same one used in Aperture, but with less fine control. (Think of the differences between Word and TextEdit, iMovie and Final Cut).


2. Processing Raw in a 3rd Party Application


You can also process your Raw with a 3rd Party app like ACR or Photoshop. But iPhoto does not handle this gracefully and it's a bit of a kludge.


First off set your preferred app as an external editor in iPhoto:


You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.


Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.


Next: In the iPhoto Preferences -> Advanced, elect to use Raw with your External editor:


Now when you go to edit the Raw it will be sent to your external editor.


Now for the kludge:



You cannot save a Raw. The work you do must be output to a new file, in a new format (jepg, tiff, whatever). However, as the External Editor is making this new file iPhoto has no knowledge of its existence. Therefore you must save it to the desktop and then import it back to iPhoto as a new file.



This means that you will have your Original Raw and the processed version in iPhoto but they will not be recognised as version and original. iPhoto will see them as two separate shots.


Further - and this is quite a consideration: Lightroom is not an editor. Like iPhoto it's a database app and images need to be imported, processed and exported from it. It occupies the same place in the workflow (manager/non-destructive processing) as iPhoto does so in makes zero sense to use both...


Regards



TD

Apr 17, 2014 5:52 PM in response to Lawn Vulture

I figured this out on my own, and I just had it confirmed by an Apple tech on the phone that this is the best (only?) way to import JPGs but not RAWs into iPhoto:


1. When you insert the memory card into the MacBook memory card reader slot, don't allow iPhoto to do the import.

2. Open Finder and select the memory card.

3. Go to the memory card folder with the image files.

4. Sort the images by file type by clicking on the appropriate header.

5. Select only the JPG images.

6. Drag and drop the images into iPhoto.


I've tried this several times, and it works. It would be nice if iPhoto would give you the option of importing just JPGs, but until it does this procedure seems to work well and is only slightly inconvenient.


Evan Zucker

San Diego, California

How do I not import RAW files into iPhoto

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.