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iPhoto alternative?

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orion90

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I'm looking for a cheap (or free) alternative to iPhoto. I like iPhoto but the only reason I want something else is because to folder setup iPhoto has. I don't like that my photos are spread throughout a bunch of folders. I just want my pictures in one folder where they can easily be accessed. Can anyone recommend something similar to iPhoto with a simple folder setup?
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http://flickr.com/photos/bonkboy90
 
I also would like to know of an alternative to iPhoto for the same reason that I don't like the way it organizes the files in Finder.
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seriously,
m.
 
I think it's the rolls he means. The Rolls are confusing. When you organize them in iPhoto, they don't correspond in Finder. Wish it were more like iTunes organization (and still w/ original backups).

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seriously,
m.
 
as you are clearly missing "how it works".

When you click on Library (under Source) what do you see on the right side? .......

What you do under Library is totally up to you and not mandatory or necessary (although very advisable) to do so. I haven't met anyone who wouldn't use any sort of structure to one's advantage. Sorry it would be just plain dumb to end up with a folder of thousands of images and to have them under some sort of structure (logical not necessarily physical one). maybe that's what you are misunderstanding.

In another words if I want to move all my images instantly (not sure why I would want that ..) I'll just take the whole Library content and am done as soon as the system is done moving them.

Regards

Marek
 
are you looking at your images in your Finder???

Regards

Marek

p.s. you are dismissing a very capable at bargain price app for no good reason. Now if you say that you like more complex adjustments or DAM features, that's a different ball game and I wouldn't blame you.
 
Marek, I'm not talking talking about the stuff in iPhoto, in iPhoto it's fine, I like that I can see all of my pictures in there. But it's the folder structure I don't like. When I go into Finder, I click on my iPhoto library folder. Then I get 2 more folders, Modified and Originals. If I click on one of them, I get 2 more folders, 2006 and 2007. When I click on one of those, I get all of the rolls (roll 1, roll 2, etc). I just don't like my photos scatterred around like that. It's especially hard if I try to upload some photos online. I might not remember if I modified them or just left them unedited, I'll never remember which roll they were in either. So I'll have to either search for it or go back to iPhoto and look at the each image's name. That's very time consuming for me. If there is a method where I can change the folder structure (Which I've been told I shouldn't mess with it) or upload photos online easier, please share it.
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http://flickr.com/photos/bonkboy90
 
orion90 said:
It's especially hard if I try to
upload some photos online. I might not remember if I modified them
or just left them unedited, I'll never remember which roll they
were in either. So I'll have to either search for it or go back to
iPhoto and look at the each image's name. That's very time
consuming for me. If there is a method where I can change the
folder structure (Which I've been told I shouldn't mess with it) or
upload photos online easier, please share it.
Click to expand...
Again - why are you messing around in the Finder?

Option 1 - right-click or control click on the image in iPhoto and pick 'Show File'. This will open the correct folder in the Finder with the image selected.

Option 2 - export a file to the desktop. Unless you want to upload the fullsize version you'll need to reduce the size anyway.

Option 3 - use one of the upload plug-ins for iPhoto. As you've got a Flickr sig I assume that it's Flickr you want to upload to? In that case try http://connectedflow.com/flickrexport/ which seems to be widely used for this.

Ian
 
just to add. Have you heard of tagging? Start doing and use smart filters to locate an image or images.

Looking for images in Finder is like living in ice age .....

Regards

Marek
 
This is the usual issue when users transfer from any folder centric system.

The same comments occur when folk use Lightroom, folders, folders, folders etc....

Trust iPhoto to do the work for you, there is NO need to go digging inside the folders, in fact if you do dig around in the folder structure under iPhoto it will end in tears, really.

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Sid
 
You might like QPict and/ or Microsoft Expression Media, formerly iView.
 
Hey, I can relate to the original poster.

iPhoto has some truly excellent image browsing features, such as scaleable thumbnails, scrollable flimstrips, side-by-side comparisons, and fullscreen view. Yet, the only way you can use these features is by importing your images into iPhoto. For some people, having to import any image they wish to view, into one massive library, isn't an attractive idea. For example, what if you want to compare 2 images on a USB Flash Drive, or view scaleable thumbnails of images on a CD-R?

Is there no piece of software that has all the image browsing features of iPhoto, yet doesn't depend on a library/database?
 
As a relatively recent switcher, I can sympathise with him; that doesn't mean that his respondents don't have a point too.

I think that the original poster needs to move past the mechanistic issue of how the folder structure looks, and ask himself what he is really trying to achieve, so he can find out how he can do it- whether or not that involves iPhoto.

Good image viewers include Xee and CocoViewX, but I don't know if either will fulfill his needs, since I don't really know what his needs are, beyond the fact that he thinks his needs require direct folder micromanagement.

I went through the same issue under Windows when I started using iTunes, before I asked myself- why on earth are you trying to manage hundreds of songs, nearly a thousand CD's, manually?

I just let iTunes do it for me, and things are much better.
--

'The camera can photograph thought. It's better than a paragraph of sweet polemic.' Dirk Bogarde
-adrian charles-
barbados.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guttaperk/
 
Actually, if you are using iPhoto 6.0, you don't have to import the images into the library. You can import them "by reference" similar to what you can do with Aperture and LightRoom.
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Only my opinion. It's worth what you paid for it. Your mileage may vary! ;-}
http://www.dougwigton.com/
 
Can you please explain to me this import by reference concept?

I tried once turning off automatic iPhoto library management, and doing it myself. It worked, but as soon as you rotate a portrait photo, it copies the image and puts it in a Modified folder. So, I couldn't see the point of that. If iPhoto is going to still create folders and make copies of images when you've essentially got it in manual mode, then you might as well not bother and use it in automatic mode.

It is weird though, 'cos iTunes lets you manage your own folders and that works really well. I'm very happy with that. So why can't Apple apply the same technology to iPhoto?
 
Open iPhoto. Open iPhoto/preferences/advanced. Uncheck the box that says "Copy files to iPhoto Library....."

When you import now, iPhoto will leave the original image in the folder you put it in originally. So you can have an "outboard" folder structure. Only one problem, and this is the same in any "referenced" library. Do no manually delete an image or move an image from the folders, or iPhoto won't be able to find it anymore.

iPhoto does let you work with folders. They're called "Albums" just like they are in iTunes. The folders (albums) in iTunes do not hold actual songs, they hold pointers to the actual songs. Same as in iPhoto. Might be good to read the manual.

--
Only my opinion. It's worth what you paid for it. Your mileage may vary! ;-}
http://www.dougwigton.com/
 
Orion,

"I don't like that my photos are spread throughout a bunch of folders. I just want my pictures in one folder where they can easily be accessed."

Your photos are all in one place and you and see them in iPhoto. That is where they are. The rest the folders that you can see (note that Aperture does not allow one to these folders and thus avoids these problems) are just digitals bits. You can use keywords and smart albums to display them as you wish. Take a few minutes to learn the program and you will not worry about such things. What is it that you want to do (i.e. manage) that you are unable to do in iPhoto? In Photo you can email, upload to whereever, create a book, make a slide show, delete the bad, display albums of related photos and print. What else is there? Possibly if you are looking to do something spacific we can help.
 
Agree wholeheartedly. Actually though, if you just find the Aperture Library "package" which is a special kind of folder, you can open it by selecting "show package contents" and then it looks a lot like the iPhoto library. I think it's bad Karma to go fiddling around in there though. My belief is that you should either trust the built in database to manage images quicker and easier than you can manually, or you import the images by "reference" and try to avoid screwing up the folder structure or moving and deleting things manually so it confuses either Aperture or iPhoto.

--
Only my opinion. It's worth what you paid for it. Your mileage may vary! ;-}
http://www.dougwigton.com/
 
orion90 said:
I'm looking for a cheap (or free) alternative to iPhoto. I like
iPhoto but the only reason I want something else is because to
folder setup iPhoto has. I don't like that my photos are spread
throughout a bunch of folders. I just want my pictures in one
folder where they can easily be accessed. Can anyone recommend
something similar to iPhoto with a simple folder setup?
--
http://flickr.com/photos/bonkboy90
Click to expand...
i guess you aren't aware that you CAN store your photos in iPhoto where ever you want. if you go into iphotos preferences you can uncheck the box that says copy photos to iphoto library. by doing so they will remain in the folders that you set up. copy your photos to your computer manually to the folder you want, then drag that folder into iphoto.

--
/ john
/ http://www.johngrayson.com
/ http://www.suffocate.us
 
Yeah, that works. But, like I said before, as soon as you rotate an image or modify it in the slightest way, iPhoto automatically copies it and puts the copy in a Modified folder, which kind of goes against the face that you opted to organise your files manually.

Maybe in iPhoto Leopard they'll give you an image browser feature, in addition to the regular library system.
 
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