Q: What to do with iPhoto after installing and migrating to Photos?
I'm basically trying to understand what goes on with the pictures after migrating to the new Photos app:
- After migrating to Photos I tried to open iPhoto which warns me that changes will not be visible in Photos. Fine, but will changes still be present in iPhoto? There are some pictures in the trash bin, which I guess will stay until I remove them from there?
- I see both an iPhoto and Photos library among in my Pictures folder, about the same size. From the total disk space I do not think they are duplicates. How does it work?
- Can iPhoto be removed, removing all traces, with no adverse effects on my photo library?
Another related issue that I haven't figured out: I heard that when editing in iPhoto the application would create a new image and save it on disk, while e.g. LightRoom would just store the edit information? Is it true, and how is it done in Photos?
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), Mac OS X (10.7.5)
Posted on Apr 10, 2015 3:41 AM
- I see both an iPhoto and Photos library among in my Pictures folder, about the same size. From the total disk space I do not think they are duplicates. How does it work?
iPhoto and Photos are sharing the image files using hard links. The photos are only once on your disk, see:
Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support
After migrating to Photos I tried to open iPhoto which warns me that changes will not be visible in Photos. Fine, but will changes still be present in iPhoto? There are some pictures in the trash bin, which I guess will stay until I remove them from there?
The changes will stay applied in the iPhoto Library, yes. And empty the iPhoto Trash, if you want the trash deleted.
- Can iPhoto be removed, removing all traces, with no adverse effects on my photo library?
It could, but I would wait a bit, before take this step. Check your photos library thoroughly, before you delete if.
If you should discover later, that the migration of your libraries has been faulty and you need to repeat it after repairing your libraries, you will be out of luck.
Remember, it is is just a few days after the first release of Photos as version 1.0. There are very likely some bugs and I would not burn all bridges before the library has been thoroughly tested and you are very confident, that this early Photos release is working well on your Mac.
Another related issue that I haven't figured out: I heard that when editing in iPhoto the application would create a new image and save it on disk, while e.g. LightRoom would just store the edit information? Is it true, and how is it done in Photos?
iPhoto and Photos have a lossless workflow like Lightroom. They store the sequence of edits, and create only a preview image of the edited version. When you add further edits, all edits will be applied starting from the original image, and all edits can be removed and the photo reverted to the original. With Photos this works also with iCloud Photo Library across all your devices. Edit a photo on your Mac and change the edits on our iPhone.
Posted on Apr 10, 2015 4:05 AM