iPhoto Quick Directions  

Open iPhoto:

-Click the iPhoto icon in the Dock at the bottom of the screen. OR double click the system hard drive. Click “Applications.” Then double click “iPhoto.”

Importing photos from a camera:

-Make sure iPhoto is open and running

-Connect the camera to the computer using a USB cord and turn the camera on.

-iPhoto usually will switch into Import mode when it detects the camera. If not, click the “Import” button at the bottom, center of the screen.  Information about the camera and the pictures will be displayed at the bottom left side of the screen.

-Click “Import” at the bottom right hand of the screen. At the bottom center of the screen there will be a small thumbnail version of each image and it will show how many images remain to be imported

Importing a photo from e-mail:

-In e-mail double click on the photo attachment and save the attachment onto desktop as a file

-Click on the photo file and hold down the mouse button

-Drag the file to the left side of the iPhoto window where the albums are listed and release the mouse button.  The photo will import.

-The file was copied and now is stored in the iPhoto Library. The file can be deleted from the Desktop by clicking on the file and pressing “Delete” on the keyboard.

Creating a “Smart” Album (only available on iPhoto 4 +):

-A smart album means that certain criteria are set and then the album is made automatically, rather than adding photos one at a time.  This is a great way to round of photos with similar dates etc. 

-Choose “New Smart Album” from the File menu OR press “Option” “Apple Key” and “N”

-Specify what to look for by clicking on the blue drop down arrows and then clicking on the desired criteria. Click on the plus sign at the right to add another criterion. Type a name for the album in the top box beside “Smart Album Name”

-Click “OK”

Cropping Photos Free Hand:

-Select a photo by clicking on it. Then click on “Edit” in the bottom center of the screen. Or double click on the photo to be edited.

-To crop unwanted parts of a photo, hold down the mouse button. Drag a box around the portion of the picture to be saved. Release the mouse button.

-To move the box which contains the area to be saved, Click on the box and hold down the mouse button. Drag the box to the desired location and release the mouse button.

-To extend the area to be saved, move the mouse to a corner of the box. Click on that area and hold down the mouse button. Drag the area to the desired size and release the mouse button.

-If cropping does not turn out as desired, click anywhere outside of the box to start over.

Getting the Red Eye Out:

-Select a photo by clicking on it. Then click on “Edit” in the bottom center of the screen. Or double click on the photo to be edited.

-Make sure the “Constrain” box says “None” in it. If it does, click on the blue arrows above “Constrain” and then click on “None.”

-Click on the picture and hold down the mouse button. Drag a box to encompass the subject’s eyes and release the mouse button. Then click on the “Red Eye” button at the bottom of the screen.

Enhancing Photos:

-Select a photo by clicking on it. Then click on “Edit” in the bottom center of the screen. Or double click on the photo to be edited.

-Click on the “Enhance” button at the bottom of the screen. Continue to click the “Enhance” button until the image looks its best.

-To see what the image looked like before it was enhanced, hold down the “Control” key.

-If the “Enhance” button is pressed too many times, the image might start to look grainy. To get rid of enhancement choose “undo Enhance Photo” from the Edit menu as many times as needed to get the photo back to a desired look.

Removing Flaws:

-Select a photo by clicking on it. Then click on “Edit” in the bottom center of the screen. Or double click on the photo to be edited.

-Click the “Retouch” button at the bottom of the screen. Move the mouse so that the crosshair pointer is over the flaw. Click and hold the mouse button. Drag away from the flaw in a short stroke and release the mouse button. Repeat this until the flaw is sufficiently gone.

-To see the photo before it was retouched, hold down the “Control” key. To undo individual mouse clicks choose “Undo Retouch” from the Edit menu. To undo ALL retouching at once, choose “Revert to Original” from the iPhotos menu. However, be aware that if this is done any other editing including cropping will also be lost.

Customize a Slide Show (only available on iPhoto 4 +):

-Select an album by clicking on it in the left column OR select individual pictures by holding down the “Apple” key while clicking on them

-Click on “Slideshow” at the bottom of the screen

-Click on the blue arrows next to “Transition” to select a transition style for the pictures. Move the blue arrow next to “Speed” to adjust the picture’s transition speed. Click on the blue arrows next to “Play each slide for:” and click on the desired length each picture is displayed. Click on the box next to desired options such as “Repeat slideshow.”

-Click on “present slides in random order” to displays photos in random order rather than the order they appear in iPhoto. Click “Repeat slide show” to repeat the slideshow until the “Esc” key or the mouse button is pressed. Click “Scale photos to fit screen” to make each picture adjust so that the screen is completely filled with no black edges. However, be aware that vertically oriented shots and photos that have been cropped may display strangely if this option is selected. 

-Click display titles, display my ratings, or display slideshow controls to view information about each photo while the slide show is playing.  This can be a useful tool in doing some housekeeping while the slideshow plays.  Slideshow controls will also be displayed if the mouse is moved while the slide show is playing.  These controls can be used to rotate, rate, and delete the currently displayed photo.  Clicking the trash icon in the control panel while the slide show is playing will remove the photo from the slideshow and the album the slideshow is made from. However, it will not remove it from the iPhoto library.

-Click on the “Music” tab at the top of the screen

-For a silent slide show uncheck the box next to “Play music during slideshow.” To choose music from iTunes for the slide show, click on the blue arrows to the right of “Source” and click on iTunes. To assign an entire Playlist to a slide show, click on the Playlist name. To hear a song, double click on the name of the song OR single click on the name of the song and click on the Play button at the bottom left of the screen. The name of the currently displayed Playlist will be above the “Save Settings” button.

-To make searching for a song easier, sort the song list by clicking a column heading such as “Artist” or “Song” OR click in the oval button above the name of the slideshow.  Then type part or all of a song or artist name and hit enter

-Click the “Play Slideshow” button at the bottom right

Note: To view a Slide Show on a TV, connect the TV to the computer using an S-video jack

Exporting Photos as Movies (a portable slide show):

-Select a set of images by holding the “Apple” Key while clicking on the pictures OR select an album by clicking on its name in the left column

-Choose “Export” from the File menu. Click the “QucikTime” tab at the top of the window

-Enter dimensions for the movie, the preset values generally work well but to disperse a movie over the internet the settings 320 by 240 work best. In the “Display image for” box, type in the desired duration for each photo to be displayed.

-Select a background color (it will be displayed before and after each picture and also behind pictures that don’t fit the screen) for the movie by making sure the circle to the left of “Color” has a black dot in it, if not click on the circle. Click on the box with a color displayed in it and hold down the mouse key. Click on the desired background color.

-The current song assigned to the library or selected album will play during the movie, to turn this off click in the box to the left of “Add currently selected music to movie”

-Click “Export” at the bottom right of the window. Type in a name for the movie.

Jenni at the HOB © 2005