Got photos? Better yet, want to make your photos (past, present, and future) better? Then you've come to the right place.
You have the iPhoto software and a Macintosh, and you've probably already tried out your camera and have a few photos, maybe quite a few. Taking photographs is lots of fun, and you want to ensure that the ones you take are the best they can be. After all, they're treasured moments you want to preserve and share.
My goal is to make you a better photographer, regardless of the camera equipment you use or your photographic experience, by using iPhoto '09. And you're going to have fun doing it.
In this book, I show you how to reach your goals — to make your photos the best that they can be. A number of key areas are discussed, including
The power and capabilities of iPhoto '09
Taking your photos from input, through editing, to final image
Editing tricks to enhance your photographic capabilities
Printing and electronic sharing
Creating photo albums, calendars, cards, and slideshows
Along the way, I'll also give you some techniques to apply before you ever press the camera shutter. They'll improve your ability to capture what you see through the lens and enhance the outcome of using iPhoto '09's powerful toolset.
If you can, take this book with you when you're out photographing your favorite subjects. Although not written as a broad digital photography guide, it's a handy reference and is full of information that will make your photographic excursions even more enjoyable and rewarding.
I tried to make as few assumptions as possible about you, the reader. However, there are some which are inescapable. I assume that
You have a Mac and iPhoto (part of the iLife suite).
You're familiar with using a Mac: specifically, that you know how to use menus, dialogs, and windows; that you can open, close, and copy files; and that you know how to navigate the Mac environment.
You have information on your camera's operation. If an operation with the camera is required, you know how to do it or can look it up.
You're using iPhoto '09, for which this book is written. This is the latest version available at the time of writing. Although some capabilities that are described will work in multiple versions of the software, others might not.
Before you begin your iPhoto adventure, I need to discuss how information will be presented to you in this book. Although pictures are worth a thousand words, it's the words and symbols presented in this book that convey a great deal of information — if you know what you're looking at.
Because this software runs on only a Mac, there are no PC conventions to discuss. For the Mac, the primary shortcut keys used are the Command (
For instance, when you wish to initiate the Print sequence for your photo, there is usually a button in a window labeled Print that you can click. Or, you can select the Print command from the File menu or use a keyboard shortcut (
Menu commands are given in the order in which you select them: for example, "Choose File
Options in dialogs use initial caps even if they aren't capitalized on your screen to make it easier to identify them in sentences. For example, what appears as
Check for iPhoto updates automaticallyin a dialog will appear as Check for iPhoto Updates Automatically in this book.Web site addresses appear like this:
www.scenesfromthewest.com.Context menus are also used from time to time in this book. They appear at your cursor's position when you right-click (or for those with a one button mouse, Control-click) your mouse.
I included some information that is somewhat technical. This information is presented in the book's sidebars. Although this information isn't absolutely required reading, I recommend you give it a quick look and decide for yourself whether to read it. It's all relevant and will enrich your photographic experience.
This book contains five major parts, each of which is divided into chapters. Each chapter is then divided into smaller pieces to help you quickly find the information you're looking for.
The book covers a logical progression of subjects, and I encourage you to take advantage of all the information available. That being said, I've written this book so that you can read any section without necessarily knowing what was covered in previous sections. If you just want to look up a particular subject, find the chapter you need and go there.
Here's a breakdown of the parts of this book and what you'll find there.
Part I: Getting Ready to Roll with iPhoto
Part I opens with Chapter 1, familiarizing you with the iPhoto '09 interface, discovering where things are, how to move between the various modes of operation, and checking out the technical specifications of the iPhoto software. Chapter 2 gets you using the software by completing a simple iPhoto project, practicing photo importing, simple editing procedures (including cropping and straightening), and printing your first photo. You can download the example photo used for the simple project in Chapter 2 from the book's companion Web site at www.dummies.com/go/iphotofd.
You can begin making the software preferences for iPhoto reflect your own preferences and spend time understanding the import process in detail, including connecting your camera or flash card to your computer, in Chapter 3.
Part II: Manipulating Photo Organization
Organizing is something you know you should do but often don't.
Part III introduces you to the iPhoto tools that produce a well-organized and maintainable archive for your photo collection. Chapter 4 helps you group photos by the event they represent — or, thanks to iPhoto's new facial recognition and GPS technology, uses the Faces and Places features for grouping photos based on the people in them or the location where they were captured. Chapter 5 covers creating Albums, including Smart Albums for having iPhoto automatically organize types of photos in one place. Chapter 6 provides all you need to know about searching so you can find that favorite shot taken at your recent anniversary celebration.
Part III: Making Your Photos Look Even Better
In these four chapters, you can expand your depth of knowledge about the iPhoto editing process. Chapter 7 introduces you to the iPhoto Editor. Then, in Chapter 8, you effectively deal with what I call the usual suspects: photos that are too light or too dark, red eye, and spots or imperfections in the photo.
You see the heart of the editing process, including a concise but useful discussion of the histogram, its meaning, and uses, in Chapter 9. In Chapter 10, take advantage of the advanced editing functions available in the Adjust tool in which you can work with the histogram to correct exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, and saturation, as well as sharpening and noise removal. You also try out some of the wonderful effects you can create with the simple click of a button and also see how to save the corrections you have made so they can be easily duplicated on other photos.
Part IV: Showing and Sharing Your Photos
It's only natural to want to share your photos with others, and in this part, you'll explore the many ways to do that.
You can send e-mails to your friends and relatives, burn photos onto CDs and DVDs, and — if you have the MobileMe service — exhibit your photos in your own Gallery. You can even send your photos directly to Facebook and Flickr, which are two popular social networking sites. All this is covered in Chapter 11.
Of course, another way to share is by printing your photos, and that's what Chapter 12 is all about. You'll see the entire process, from selecting borders, layouts, and backgrounds to choosing the correct printer settings. But just making a print isn't the only way to share a hard copy of your photo. In Chapter 13, I show you how to create a photo book (including travel maps showing the location of your photos), a calendar (replete with your photos), cards containing your favorite vacation shots, and even a slideshow set to music.
Part V: The Part of Tens
Traditionally, the last part of a For Dummies book is its Part of Tens, whose chapters each contain . . . you guessed it, ten items. This book is no exception.
In Chapter 14, I identify and describe ten terrific Web resources and software add-ons that can help make your experience with iPhoto even more rewarding. Chapter 15 presents ten helpful hints, tips, and shortcuts, all aimed at making iPhoto even more powerful in your hands.
I didn't write this book expecting you to sit down and read it through, cover to cover, in one sitting (although you can do that if you like). It's written and arranged to provide both thorough and practical knowledge of iPhoto and to be a source for finding quick solutions to immediate photographic problems and questions.
To some extent, what you read first will depend on your experience with iPhoto. If you're familiar with the layout, menus, and functionality, you can start with Chapter 2 and become involved with an actual iPhoto project.
If you've been using iPhoto for some time and just want to get help with advanced editing tools and techniques, you can go to Chapter 7 and start there.
To explore sharing photos electronically or in print, go to Chapters 11 and 12, respectively.
The book is ordered in a way I think makes sense, but each chapter stands on its own as much as possible. That said, you might have to go to other chapters from time to time to review the basis for a particular tool or technique being discussed.
Throughout this book are icons that appear in the left margin that provide extra and often vital information regarding the topic at hand. Here's what the ones I use in the book look like and mean:
Tip
These shortcuts and ideas can help you make better photographs or keep you from doing extra work. They're often undocumented operations that I discovered during my years as a professional photographer and want to pass on.
Warning
These nuggets are reminders of what not to do, or at least what will happen if you do perform an action. They might not always be detrimental actions, but you should at least slow down and tread lightly.
Note
Information denoted with this icon reinforces information that you need to retain. For these topics, it's going to be important later.
Note
This is material that you don't have to read, but I can assure you it's at least interesting and certainly informative. This can vary from information about camera formats and what they mean to how the camera and the eye see things very differently and how that can affect your photos.
I'll do my best to give you all the tools and information needed to enhance your photographic skills and enjoy photography to the fullest. The rest, as they say, is up to you.