iPhoto ‘09 Tutorial
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Importing your pictures into iPhoto ‘09:
To import your photos into iPhoto ‘09 you can either upload directly from your digital camera or import photos from your computer. To import from your camera, connect it to the computer using a USB connector cable. Turn your camera on and launch iPhoto ‘09 by clicking on its icon in the dock.
iPhoto will identify your camera and it will appear on the left side of the main window. Thumbnail images of your photos will then appear in the import screen.
Under the images you will have different import options. Enter a name for this event and decide if you want iPhoto to automatically divide your photos according to when they were taken. After you have entered these preferences, you can either select photos to import by clicking on their thumbnails and choosing “Import Selected” or choosing “Import All” to bring all of your photos into iPhoto.
To import pictures from your computer, launch iPhoto, go to “File” and choose “Import to Library…” This will open a new window and you can search for the photos you would like to import.
Hint: Select multiple photos by clicking on one photo and then holding the “Shift” key and using the arrows to highlight all of the photos you would like to include.
When you have highlighted all of the pictures you would like to import, click on the “Import” button and iPhoto will upload your pictures. Once your photos have finished importing, they will open in the “Last Import” section on the left panel of the main screen in iPhoto.
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Organizing your photos:
The easiest way to view your photos is by selecting the “Photos” tab on the left side of the window (circled at left). This will show all of your photos under their event heading, including those that you just added.
Click on the title to change the name of the event. If your photos did not divide correctly into events, click and drag your cursor to highlight the photos you want to move. A yellow box will appear around selected photos.
Now go to “Events” on the menubar and select “Create Event…” This will move all of the selected photos into a new event.
Another way to create a new event is by selecting the first picture in a group you would like to divide. All of the photos behind this one will be automatically moved into a new event when you click on the “Split” button in the bottom left corner of the window. You can then name your new event.
iPhoto automatically assigns date and time information to your photos.
If this information is incorrect or you would like to change it you can select either an entire event or and individual picture and then choose “Photos” and “Adjust Date and Time…” You can now enter new time and date information for your photos. If you do this for an entire event all of the photos in that event will be labeled the same.
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Using the Faces feature:
With the addition of the Faces feature, iPhoto has created a new way to organize and search through your pictures. You can access these new features on the left panel of the main window.
To begin using the Faces feature, go to the Photos section, select a photo with people in it, and click on the “Name” button in the bottom left corner of the window.
iPhoto should auto-detect faces in the photo and a small bubble that says “unnamed” will appear. Click on this bubble and you will be able to type in each person’s name. As you add names to your photos, iPhoto will get better at recognizing people and may make suggestions, as seen below.
If the iPhoto’s suggestion is correct, click on the checkmark (√), if not, select the “X” button and type in the correct name. Sometimes if there are several people in one picture or if a face is partially obscured iPhoto may not detect it. To manually add a face, select the “Add Missing Face” button in the bottom left corner of the window. You can now drag the box around the face you would like to mark and type in the person’s name.
When you are done tagging people in your photo, click the “Done” button in the lower right corner of the window or move from photo to photo using the arrows. As you add names to faces, a group will be created for each person under the “Faces” tab referred to at the top of this page. By double clicking on a person’s main photo (shown at right) iPhoto will display all photos that this person is tagged in and possibly suggest other photos of him/her.
You can also add more information about a person by clicking on the “i” icon in the bottom left corner of the photo (circled at left). The window shown at right
will open and you can add name and email information. You can also set the key photo by scrolling over the photos and clicking on the one you wish to use.
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Using the Places feature:
The “Places” feature allows you to tag your photos according to where they were taken and sort them by location. If the pictures you import do not have GPS information attached, you can manually tag the photos by clicking on the “i” icon (circled below) on an event or a photo.
The window shown below will open and you can add information about the location in the “event place” box. You can be as specific about a location as you wish, from an entire country to a specific hotel or restaurant. Then click on the “Find on map…” button.
You will now see the window at left, with a map of the location you entered and a pushpin that you can move to point to a specific location. When you have marked the correct location, finish by clicking on the “Assign to photo” button.
You can now view your “Places” by selecting the “Places” tab on the left side of the main window. There are two viewing options—map or list.
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Editing your photos:
When you double click on the event’s thumbnail you will open the entire folder for that event and be able to view all of the photos.
The next step is to edit your photos by rotating, cropping, retouching, and more. Begin by selecting a photo and clicking on the “Edit” button along the bottom of the window.
This will open the edit window and scroll bar that allow you to move easily from photo to photo to edit.
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Editing your photos (continued):
To rotate your photos, click the Rotate button located on the far end of the editing bar until your photo is aligned the way that you would like it to be.
When you have finished editing a photo, you can select “Done” to exit the edit mode or use the arrows to begin editing another photo.
Tip: To rotate clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, hold down the “Option”
key when clicking on the “Rotate” button. When you select the Cropping and Straightening buttons in the edit bar another control will open (like the ones pictured below and at left) in the main window that will allow you to make changes and then preview them.
The Enhance tool automatically optimizes and adjusts the color of photos. To see the changes made, open the Adjust window before clicking on the Enhance button.
The Effects and Adjust buttons open small editing windows that allow you to make changes and preview them. A new feature in iPhoto ’09 is that the Adjust feature now has a check box labeled “Avoid saturating the skin tones” (circled). This is helpful for photos that you would like to boost the color on without changing people’s appearance. With these tools you can feel free to make changes and experiment with editing because you can always select “Reset” or go to the “Edit” tab and select the “Undo” option.
When you select the Red-Eye and Retouch buttons a small bar appears along the bottom of the photo and the cursor becomes an editing tool. You can then use the cursor to manually remove red-eye or retouch small blemishes in your photos. To get the most precise edit, adjust the size of the cursor tool (circled) to fit the object you would like to edit.
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Naming your photos:
An important step in organizing your photos is naming them and adding keywords. This allows you to easily sort through your photos and organize them into events, albums, and more.
To add titles, descriptions, and tag your photos, select the photo and click on the “Information” button in the bottom left corner of the main window. This will open the information area where you can add additional information about your photos. Click on the title to rename your photo. To add more information, select the “Description” button at the bottom of the “Information” window and add a description of your photo. To view the information you entered in the main window, select “View” and then select “Titles.”
To apply keywords to your photos, select a photo and go to “Window” and choose “Show Keywords.” This will open a small window that allows you to apply the preset keywords to your photos clicking on the keyword buttons (circled at right).
To add and delete keywords, select the plus and minus buttons in the bottom left corner of the window (circled). When you are finished, click “OK” and you can now click on the keywords you would like to apply to the photo that is highlighted. A letter will appear next to them that serves as a shortcut for adding keywords to your photos.
To create your own keywords, select the “Edit Keyword” button in the small window and that will open a new window that allows you to create, rename, and delete keywords.
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Creating an album and publishing:
iPhoto automatically sorts your photos into events, but you can also create albums as another way of organizing your photos. To begin creating an album, go to “File” and click on “New Album…”
This will open a window that prompts you to name your album. After naming your album, click “Create” and the album will appear on the left-hand side of the window. If you choose, you can create a Smart Album as a different way of
organizing your photos. A Smart Album automatically collects all photos that meet particular criteria that you establish and adds them to the album. To create a Smart Album, follow the directions for creating an album, but after clicking on the “New Album…” button, select the Smart Album tab along the top of the window. Here you can enter criteria for your album and give it a name.
To move photos into your new album, simply select and drag photos from events and drop them onto the album icon on the left-hand side of the window.
iPhoto gives you the option to create and purchase custom books, cards, and calendars using the pictures you have imported. Click on the icon for the type of item you would like to create. A small window will open. For more information, click on the “Options + Prices…” button in the bottom left corner of the window. This will launch the Apple webpage in your web browser to give you more information about creating and purchasing Keepsakes. With iPhoto ’09 you can now
publish your photos to Facebook and Flickr. This is a new, easy way to share your photos. Select the photos you wish to publish and click on the “Facebook” or the “Flickr” icon in the bottom right corner of the window.
You will be prompted to set up your access information, you must now sign in to either Facebook or Flickr and then follow the directions, selecting who will be able to see your photos and finally clicking to upload the photos.
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Exporting your photos:
To save your photos and share them with others you may want to export them as files, or you can send them to iWeb or iDVD. You can also choose to burn them onto a disc.
To export photos to iWeb or iDVD go to “Share” and choose either “Send to iWeb” or “Send to iDVD.” This will launch the application and allow you to import your photos. For further information, refer to the tutorials on iWeb ‘09 and iDVD ‘09. To burn your photos onto a disc, choose the “Burn” option under the “Share” tab and you will be prompted to insert a blank disk. After inserting your disc, hit “OK” and it will begin to burn.
To export photos as JPEG, TIFF, or PNG files, go to “File” and select “Export…”
Tip: To find your photo files if you have not exported them, go to the “Pictures” folder on your computer and right click or hold the “Control” key while you click on the “iPhoto Library.” From the menu that appears, choose “Show package contents.” Inside the “Originals” folder you will be able to locate the JPEG versions of your photos organized by year. Along the top of the window, make sure that you have chosen the “File Export” tab on the far left. When you have selected your settings, click “Export.” You will next have to choose a place to save the photos and then click “OK” to begin exporting.
