iPhoto creates modified file

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Level 1

9 points

iPhoto creates modified file

I'm a lightroom user for the editing part of my photos.

Now I've created smaller versions of my pictures and set them up in a special folder so I can have an easy way to transport them over to my mobile devices.

My issue is that sometimes when I import photos (to iphoto), it creates a modified file which is quite a bit larger then what I want in iphoto. It's about 400% larger then the photo that I have imported to iPhoto. I have not asked the program to modify anything or create any kind of copies of my pictures. I have even made sure that iphoto doesn't copy the pictures I import. I don't want more copies. I have them in my "ipod-ipad" file and that is all I need.

It's all very strange cause it no rime or reason to when it doesn't it. There is a few picture here and there that end up changed and with a modified file that is stored on my hard drive (all my originals are on an external hard drive).

The only reason I discovered this is cause one pictures was cut to only show 2/3 of the actual picture.

Does anyone know why iPhoto does this and is there a way I can stop it?

Thank you

Sophie

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Apr 18, 2014 1:50 PM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

207,439 points

Apr 18, 2014 2:07 PM in response to Soffan73

By larger do you mean in file size or image size?

Since you're running a "referenced" library (not recommended by the way) all imports will create a preview file for viewing in the library.

Any portrait oriented photo that's imported into iPhoto will create a modified file with the portrait orientation. The original file is in landscape orientation with a flag telling applicaitons how to rotate it for viewing.

OT

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Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 18, 2014 2:46 PM in response to Old Toad

and all RAW images reate a JPEG

The only reason I discovered this is cause one pictures was cut to only show 2/3 of the actual picture.

That needs to be explained in detail

LN

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Answer 3

Soffan73 Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 18, 2014 3:25 PM in response to Soffan73

By larger I mean file size. Say the original (I use that word loosely since it's not my original but it's the only original iPhoto knows exists) is 250kb the modifies file might be 950kb.

It looks like the portrait photos all have a modified file but it's not exclusively the portrait pictures that have that. Some of the landscape photos have them as well. When I say revert back to original the color of the photo changes slightly. It's like iphoto has done modifications in the color as well (I have done that in Lightroom and since it is a published service maybe iphoto can sense that it has been changed).

There is no flags anywhere so not sure what you mean by that.

When I say the picture has been cut to 2/3 I mean that the left 1/3 of the picture has been cut out. Very strange. When I press revert to original, it goes back to what it should be.

None of the pictures I've been looking at for this (haven't gone thru all of them) is ordinary jpeg (not RAW) taken with my iPhone.

Thanks for you help

Sophie

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

207,439 points

Apr 18, 2014 3:30 PM in response to Soffan73

Evidently iPhoto creates a less compressed jpeg file than what Lightroom uses.

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Answer 5

Soffan73 Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 18, 2014 3:34 PM in response to Soffan73

So you think even thou I made sure that when I created the published folder from my originals with much less file size, iPhoto can find the original and use that as a refference point?

I mean when I created the published service I made sure that no picure is bigger then 1mb. I want small versions for my mobile devices so I made sure it's only about 10-15% of my real originals.

Do you think this problem would go away if I removed the published service but kept the files where they are? Sureley then iPhoto can't make the modified file bigger then the original that I'm sending it?

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Answer 6

Old Toad

Level 10

207,439 points

Apr 18, 2014 3:39 PM in response to Soffan73

No, iPhoto may have created new jpeg from the one you provided but with less compression. In iPhoto's Export pane there's a Quality level of 'Maximim' which is larger than the original jpeg file. Not sure how they do it.

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Answer 7

Apr 20, 2014 6:09 AM in response to Soffan73

I might have just stumbled on a related problem (see below).

Maybe your file contains unapplied "XMP" changes from Lightroom. Then iPhoto automatically applies those changes and creates a new edited image.

... My recent problem: some older photos in iPhoto annoyingly go to the wrong place after exported to iPhone library. EXIF date and other dates seemed to be OK...

Obvious cause: iPhoto honors the slight crop originally done in iPhone (or Lightroom -- I'm not sure about that) and automatically creates a similar edit in its library, and exports that to a wrong place iPhone library timeline (the iPhoto-edited image gets a timestamp +3 hours local time).

Fix: use GC to delete XMP metadata. Then import to iPhoto and export to iPhone (or revert to the original in iPhoto and re-export).

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