iPhoto

=iPhoto=

[|Manual] [|Video Tutorials]

//**Lori's Notes:**//

toc

What is it?

 * Digital photo software

Use it to

 * **store** digital photos that you have on a camera, SD card, flash drive, CD, DVD, the internet, or your computer
 * **edit** photos (red eye, crop, color balance...)
 * **organize**photos
 * by **event**, date taken
 * by **album,** create albums based on holiday, life event, occasion...
 * by **keyword**, assign labels to photos to make them easier to search
 * by **rating,** assign 1-5 stars for your photos based on how well you like them
 * **create** slideshows or books

Importing Photos

 * Connect your camera and turn it on, insert your SD card (if your computer has that capability - if not, you can purchase a usb card reader to plug into your computer), insert CD, DVD, or flashdrive.
 * When connecting a digital camera, iPhoto should recognize the camera and open by itself. Follow the prompts.
 * For SD card, CD, DVD, or flashdrive, open the source to show the photos. Drag your photos into iPhoto. You can even just drop them on the iPhoto icon in your dock. Do the same with images saved to your computer.
 * Make sure you properly eject your media when you are finished with it.

Editing Photos
Depending on your version of iPhoto, the location of these tools may be located in different places. The EDIT button is usually a pencil icon. Editing tools available to you:
 * **rotate**
 * **enhance** (iPhoto automatically adjusts the picture for you)
 * **fix red-eye** (Make sure you use a small dot for this. The tool uses green to counteract the red in the red-eye. If you choose a dot that is too large and don't hit the eye exactly, you might just leave the person with a green dot on his/her face. Some newer versions take care of all of this automatically.)
 * **straighten**
 * **crop**
 * **retouch** (clearing blemishes, that sort of thing)

Organizing Photos

 * **events -** folders of photos sorted by date taken (done automatically - but you can merge events together). Mouse from left to right to get a quick visual of the photos in each event.
 * **photos** - a visual list of every photo in your library, arranged automatically by date taken
 * **albums**- self-created folders of photos (by life event, holiday...)
 * To create an album, go to File -> New Album, click the little + (depending on version) or click create (depending on version)
 * When you find photos you want to include and drag them onto the name of the album or directly into the album.
 * **keywords**- assign labels to photos to make them easier to search
 * To add keywords to photos, select a photo and click on the little i "info" button. You can also add a name/description here.
 * **ratings**- assign ratings to your photos (1-5 stars) which can also help you in your searching
 * To add a rating, select the photo(s) you want to rate, click the i "info" button and click a star that represents your rating OR go to Photos -> My Rating OR select a photo and press command and a number form 1 - 5 to assign stars. If you press command and zero, it removes stars.

Creating Slideshows
Slideshows display selected photos one at a time. There are two types, instant slideshows and saved slideshows.
 * Select the photos you would like to use, either from an event or album.
 * Click on CREATE or ADD (depending on your version).
 * Name the Slideshow.
 * You can rearrange photos, add effects, transitions, Ken Burns effect (panning), adjust timing, and even add music from your iTunes library.
 * Finished Slideshows can be viewed full screen or even exported as movies.
 * For a quick, instant slideshow, select your photos by highlighting them and clicking slideshow.

Creating Books
iPhoto has the ability to take your photos and create a book, complete with text and captions. It is not printable, you need to order it from Apple. I think of it as digital scrapbooking. There are other websites that do this same task, and it is worth comparing prices if you are looking to do this. My absolute favorite is http://mixbook.com

Creating Other Projects
Depending on your version of iPhoto, you might be able to create and order cards and calendars as well.

For specifics on how to do some of these things, click iPhoto help, view the links at the top of the page, or contact me.