[nsrduffin]

I downloaded a number of photos to iPhoto from my camera successfully. I opened them in Photoshop CS4, cropped and "tweaked" them and saved them as jpegs with new filenames in a new folder in iPhoto Library/Modified. I have tried to import them to iPhoto by dragging the folder and also dragging individually – I want to create a slideshow – but I get a message that they are either an unrecognized file type or corrupt files. They open OK in photoshop, Preview and InDesign. What am I doing wrong?

Nicholas Duffin

[chas_m]

 nsrduffin, on 26 October 2010 - 08:45 AM, said:

I downloaded a number of photos to iPhoto from my camera successfully. I opened them in Photoshop CS4, cropped and "tweaked" them and saved them as jpegs with new filenames in a new folder in iPhoto Library/Modified. I have tried to import them to iPhoto by dragging the folder and also dragging individually – I want to create a slideshow – but I get a message that they are either an unrecognized file type or corrupt files. They open OK in photoshop, Preview and InDesign. What am I doing wrong?

Nicholas Duffin

What you are doing wrong is bolded above. STOP messing around with iPhoto's database! You are putting ALL your photos at risk.

The *correct* way to tweak photos using iPhoto:

1. Put the photos in iPhoto.
2. In iPhoto's preferences, change the external editor to Photoshop (or what have you).
3. In iPhoto 06-09, double-clicking on a photo in iPhoto will now open Photoshop and the photo in it. Tweak away. Then save (NOT a different filename!).
4. The modified photo is now reflected in iPhoto. The "original" is still there, you just can't see it. If you want both, duplicate the modified photo and then select "revert to original." Now you have both.

In iPhoto 11 the procedure changed slightly. When you select a photo and right-click to edit it in the external editor, a duplicate is AUTOMATICALLY made. I personally don't like this method but I understand the logic behind it.

If iPhoto's way of managing photos is not for you, there are alternatives (see my sig for an example), but iPhoto is fine *if* you don't mess with its way of managing things.