iphoto and photoshop..HELP...I don't get it

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Can someone please in very simple (because that is all I can process right now) terms tell me how you organize/import your photos if you use a Mac and Photoshop?  How do I easily get my photos into PS from iphoto?  Do you put your pics straight from your camera into PS or do you import them into iphoto or do you import them somewhere else?  I have been putting all of my pics into iphot straight from my camera....now I am finding it very difficult (okay, I don't know how) to get them from iphoto to PS if I want to edit one.  I am not sure I am even making sense I am so frustrated.....  I guess what I want to know is:

1. How do I get a pic out of iphoto and into PS

2. When you download your pics straight out of your camera where do you put them and how do you organize them?

THANK YOU....for any help..and for not laughing at me as I am about to have a breakdown and throw my imac out the window.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Hi, Ronna!

I am no expert, but I have an iMac. I'll try to help--but I don't use iPhoto. I have it, and I have Photoshop CS5 as well.

I use a card reader which connects to my iMac via USB. When I have it connected with the card from my camera in it, it shows up as a drive on my iMac. Depending on the kind of camera you have, you could also just connect the camera to the iMac via USB. It will also show up as an available drive on your desktop.

In the Finder, I "select all" in the Edit menu to highlight all the photos, then "Copy."

I create a new folder in my photos folder on my hard drive. (If you don't have a photos folder, just create one. Finder, File menu, New Folder. Then name the new folder, click on it to open it up, then follow the same steps to make a folder for today's photos inside it.) Then I select "Paste" from the Edit menu and paste the photos into the new folder.

Once the photos are copied over, I trash the card and card reader so I can disconnect them. I am very bad at organizing photos, so I just label the new folder with the date. That way, I can be sure I'm not accidentally overwriting anything.

Then I open Photoshop, go to the File menu, and choose Open. This opens a window so you can browse to find your new folder and select the file(s) you want to open. You can use shift-click to select more than one at a time, and they will all open in your Photoshop window.

Basically, I find that, if the iMac wants to launch something to view a file (like Preview or iPhoto), I just tell it not to. Then I open the program I want to use and browse to find the file I want to work on.

This is very basic, and may not be what you need. I'll be glad to try again, if I've missed the point!

Best of luck with this!

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Are your photos automatically going into your iPhoto Library?

If you don't know where to find it, double-click on the Macintosh HD icon on your desktop. Double-click on "Users," then on your name (or whoever owns the computer). Then doubleclick on the Pictures folder, then the iPhoto Library.

I have never used iPhoto before, so I have nothing in my library. But I am hoping it will just show  you the files and let you copy them to a "neutral" folder on your hard drive so that any  program can use them.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

They are going directly into iphoto.  I just don't understand why I can't get the ones I want to edit out of iphoto directly into PS. PS says it doesn't recognize iphoto.  I am sure I can copy them to a different folder but I don't see why my pics should be in iphoto and a neutral folder and in PS.  I either want to get them straight out of iphoto into PS or I want to forget about iphoto and put them somewhere more accessible with less steps.  Does that make sense?  Also, why do you use a card reader?  Does you imac not have a card reader built in?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have a Mac Book Pro. But I only use it with Windows 7 : ) I take the card from my camera and download it all to my Picasa. But I think I could send it all to PSE if I chose to and someday I might do that. But Picasa is so easy for quick editing. I don't know if that helps even a little : )

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Thank you F.  Maybe I should check out Picasa.  I feel like since my DH bought me CS5 ten months ago I ought to actually learn to use it.  Had I known it wasn't for dummies I might have asked for something a little easier :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

I do use PSE, the easier version, but I find it challenging. For quick fixes, posting on line etc. I use Picasa. Laurie will say I own stock but I don't.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

No, my iMac doesn't have a built-in card reader. That's why I go the USB route.

My mouse has only one button, too! *^_^*

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Thank you Elizabeth and Camilla...it just doesn't seem like it should be this hard...I don't get it.    I thought photographers loved Macs and PS.....but doesn't seem like they are very compatible to me.  Of course I am positive it is user error..LOL.  UGHHHHHHHHHH..... I still have a PC but no PS on the PC.

Would love to hear from others...Linda and Toby, are you out there?

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Most of the professional photographers I know don't use iPhoto. They just do basically what I outlined--copy/move the files over to the hard drive and edit with Photoshop.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Probably not the right Linda, but I have some thoughts... I can complicate things.  My pictures go from the card reader into Aperture where I do simple edits.  If I want to do something more (read: more difficult) I just drag them out of Aperture onto the desktop and then inside Photoshop I select file,  "open", go to the desktop and click on the photo I want to import.  Aperture is just an iPhoto upgrade but it does more than iPhoto and isn't as difficult as Photoshop. Yes, I think a lot of Photographers use Photoshop but it has a steep learning curve and I still can't remember how to do the layers!  My son uploads all of his photos to a file on the desktop and then brings them into Photoshop.  I think you can ask the MAC not to automatically upload your photos into iPhoto. Another thing you can do is type your question into Google.  Like: How do I get photos out of iPhoto and into PS CS5.  I guarantee you someone has posted the answer.  Good luck.

[Camilla and Darwin]

No advice on the iphoto. Apple software is notoriously hard to move things in and out of... I don't ever deal with it. My process is pretty simple/rudimentary.

I open the files on my computer, preview them in the original folder (the memory card folder), then narrow them down as I go, clicking and dragging them into the permanent folder. Then I just open them from the permanent folder into Photoshop, which is simple. Easy as right click> open with Photoshop. :-) I have considered purchasing lightroom, so that I can start doing batch processing though. 

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Camilla, are you using a two-button mouse on a Mac or do you have a PC?