Using iPhoto '11

Get comfortable with viewing, editing, enhancing, printing, sharing, and creating photo projects using your digital photos and the popular iPhoto ’11 software on your Mac. Don’t just read about it: see it and hear it with step-by-step video tutorials and valuable audio sidebars delivered through the Free Web Edition that comes with every USING book. For the price of the book, you get online access anywhere with a web connection–no books to carry, content updated as iPhoto ‘11 changes, and the benefit of video and audio learning. Way more than just a book, this is all the help you’ll ever need…where you want, when you want!

learn fast, learn easy, using web, video, and audio

Show Me video walks through tasks you’ve just got to see–including bonus advanced techniques

Tell Me More audio delivers practical insights straight from the experts

Table of Contents

Introduction    1

How This Book Is Organized    3

Using This Book    4

Special Features    5

About the Using Web Edition     5

Part I:    Introduction to iPhoto ‘11

1    What iPhoto ’11 Is and What It Does    8

What iPhoto ’11 Can Do for You    8

The Main Functions of iPhoto ’11     10

Viewing Your Images    10

Organizing All Your Digital Photos     13

Searching For and Locating Your Images     18

Editing Your Photos to Achieve Professional-Looking Results    19

Enhancing Your Images to Make Them Stand Out    21

Printing Your Digital Photos in Many Different Sizes    21

Sharing Your Photos with Friends, Family, and Coworkers with Ease    23

Securely Archiving Your Images     24

Creating Photo Projects Such as Greeting Cards and Photo Books    25

iPhoto ’11 Works Seamlessly with Other Mac Software    26

Taking Advantage of as Much or as Little as You Need     27

2    Upgrading to iPhoto ’11: What’s New and Noteworthy     28

It’s Time for an Upgrade    28

Welcome to iPhoto ’11    30

Overview of iPhoto ‘11’s New Features and Functions     32

Full-Screen Viewing Mode    32

Sharing Photos on Facebook Has Never Been Easier    34

Sharing Photos with Individuals via Email    35

Creating Professional-Looking Slideshows     36

Traditional Photo Albums Are a Thing of the Past; Photo Books Are the Wave of the Future    37

Customized Photo Greeting Cards Replace the Need for Generic Store-Bought Cards     38

3    Loading Your Digital Images into iPhoto ‘11     41

Loading Images Directly from Your Digital Camera     41

Importing Images That iPhoto ’11 Detects     42

Wirelessly Transferring Images Between Your Camera and Mac    45

Importing Images from a Memory Card Reader Using a USB Connection    45

Adding Images into iPhoto ’11 from Your Computer’s Hard Drive     46

Importing Photos Received via Email into iPhoto ’11    48

Importing Digital Photos from Your iPhone or iPad     51

Importing Digital Photos from Your iPhone or iPad     51

Transferring Images from MobileMe to iPhoto ’11    52

Using a Scanner to Transfer Hard-Copy Prints into iPhoto ’11    53

Importing Photos from the Web into iPhoto ’11     54

Changing Image Filenames After They’re Loaded into iPhoto ‘11    55

The Next Step...     58

4    Organizing Your Photos    59

iPhoto ‘11’s Source List    59

The Library    61

Events    61

Photos    63

Faces    67

Places     71

The Inside Scoop on Albums    75

Creating a New Album    75

Adding Images to an Album     75

Working with Smart Albums     77

What Else You’ll Find Under the Source List    80

Recent    80

Accessing Photos That iPhoto ’11 Transferred to the Web     82

Deleting Images    83

Part II:    Improving Your Picture-Taking Skills Using Any Digital Camera

5    Taking Professional-Quality Photos     85

A Good Photographer Is Always Prepared    85

Taking Advantage of Your Camera’s Auto Shooting Modes     88

Choosing the Right Shooting Mode for the Situation    89

Dealing with Shutter Lag     90

The Basics of Photo Composition     91

Using the “Rule of Thirds” When Shooting and Framing Your Shots    93

Prefocusing on Your Subjects    96

Choosing the Best Subjects, Foreground, and Background When Taking Pictures     97

How Light Impacts Your Photos     99

Positioning Your Subject Based on the Sun’s Position    101

Planning Your Shots    101

Posed Photos    101

Candid Photos    103

Taking Advantage of Your Camera’s Zoom    104

6    Overcoming Common Mistakes and Mishaps     106

Setting the Right Shooting Mode     106

Avoiding Common Shooting Mistakes and Mishaps    109

Blurry Images    109

Camera Autofocuses on the Wrong Objects    110

Color Problems Within Images     112

Glare and Shadows     115

Shooting Through Glass or in Front of It     116

Red-Eye     118

Specks or Dots Appear in Your Photos     120

Part III:    Using iPhoto ‘11 to Edit and Enhance Your Digital Images

7    Using iPhoto ’11’s Simple Photo Editing Features     123

Finding Quick and Easy Ways to Improve Your Photos    123

Exploring iPhoto 11’s Edit Screen     125

Using Full-Screen Mode When Editing     126

Improving Your Onscreen View with the Zoom Feature    127

Using iPhoto 11’s Edit Window    130

Using the Quick Fixes Editing Tools     131

Using the Six Quick Fixes Editing Features    131

Rotate     132

Enhance    132

Fix Red-Eye     133

Straighten    134

Crop     136

Retouch     142

8    Adding Effects to Your Images     145

Discovering the Edit Window’s Effects Options    145

Lightening or Darkening an Image     147

Adjusting the Contrast in Your Photos     149

Tinkering with a Photo’s Coloring     149

Easily Adding Special Effects to Your Pictures    151

Adding Special Effects to Your Photos     152

Transforming a Color Image into B&W     152

Making a Photo Look Old Using the Sepia Effect    153

Instantly Aging an Image with the Antique Effect     154

Adding a Matte or Vignette to the Photo    156

Drawing Focus to Your Subjects by Blurring the Image’s Edges     158

Fading or Boosting the Colors in Your Photos    158

Removing Special Effects You’ve Added     160

9    Advanced Photo Editing with iPhoto ‘11    161

Discovering the Edit Window’s Adjust Options     162

Understanding How the Levels Histogram Works     163

Manually Fixing Your Photos Using the Adjust Sliders    167

Using iPhoto ‘11’s Shadows Tool and Other Editing Tools to Quickly Fix an Underexposed Image    167

Manually Fixing the Exposure of Your Photos    168

Adjusting the Contrast in Your Images     168

Fine-Tuning an Image’s Saturation    169

Altering the Definition of an Image    169

Using the Highlights Slider to Improve a Photo’s Clarity     170

Using the Shadows Tool to Brighten an Image     170

Eliminating Blurriness with the Sharpness Tool    170

Using De-Noise to Clean Up an Image’s Clarity    170

Adjusting a Photo’s Temperature and Tint with the Sliders    171

Using the Eye-Dropper Tool to Fix Temperature and Tint    172

10 Exporting Your Images    174

Your Exporting Options     176

Exporting Individual Photos    177

Exporting Entire Events     179

Exporting to a Web Page    180

Exporting to QuickTime     184

Exporting a Slideshow     186

What You Need to Know Before You Export     187

Choosing the Right File Format    188

Selecting the Appropriate Image Quality     189

Understanding That File Size Does Matter    189

Keeping Your Filenames Straight    190

iPhoto ‘11’s Export Window     191

Exporting Multiple Photos    192

Part IV:    Printing Your Photos Using iPhoto ‘11

11    Printing Photos Using Your Own Home Photo Printer     195

What You Should Know About Photo Printers    195

What to Consider Before Buying a Photo Printer    196

Choosing the Right Photo Paper to Meet Your Needs    197

Using iPhoto ‘11’s Print Function    199

Creating a Contact Sheet     202

Customizing Your Print Job     203

The Print Command Icons and What They Do    203

12 Creating Prints Using a Professional Photo Lab    211

Using the Order Prints Feature in iPhoto ’11    211

Ordering Prints in iPhoto ‘11     215

Setting Up Your Apple ID Account    216

Exporting Your Images and Uploading Them to Another Online-Based Photo Lab    216

Taking Your Digital Images to a One-Hour Photo Processor     217

Taking Your Digital Images to a Professional Photo Lab    218

13    Creating Photo Projects and Photo Gifts    220

Creating Photo Projects Using iPhoto ‘11    220

Publishing Full-Color, Professionally Bound Photo Books    222

Creating Your Own Custom-Imprinted Greeting or Holiday Cards    232

Keeping Track of Important Dates with a Picture Calendar Featuring Your Images    236

Creating Photo Projects and Photo Gifts Outside iPhoto ’11    239

Part V:    Sharing Your Photos Using iPhoto ‘11

14    Emailing or Publishing Your Photos Online    242

Sharing Photos via the Web    242

Sending Emails from iPhoto ‘11    243

Sending an Email in iPhoto ‘11    247

Publishing Photos on Flickr.com    247

Sharing Photos on Facebook     250

Uploading Your Photos to Facebook     251

Managing Your Photos, Tags, and Comments on Facebook Using iPhoto ’11     254

15    Creating and Sharing Slideshows    257

Creating a Slideshow That Tells a Story    257

Incorporating Titles and Text into Your Slides    260

Giving Your Slideshow Pizzazz Using a Theme     261

Using Animated Transitions and Special Effects    265

Adding Music to Your Presentation     266

Sharing Your Slideshow     268

Using Your Other Slideshow Options     269

16    Using Apple’s MobileMe with iPhoto ‘11    270

An Introduction to MobileMe    270

What’s an Online Photo Gallery?    271

Creating a MobileMe Online Photo Gallery from iPhoto ’11     272

Creating an Online Gallery Using MobileMe    277

17    More Ways to Share Your Photos    279

Creating a Web Page with iWeb     279

Customizing Your Mac’s Desktop Wallpaper and Screen Saver     282

Transferring Photos to Your iPhone, iPod, or iPad    284

Transferring Photos from iPhoto ’11 to Your Apple Mobile Device    286

Part VI:    Backing Up and Archiving Your Images

18    Burning Photos to CD or DVD from iPhoto ‘11    289

Burning Photos to DVD Using iPhoto ‘11’s Share Using iDVD Command    290

Copying Photos to CD or DVD Using the Burn Command     291

Burning Photos to a CD or DVD That Can Be Read by Any Computer     293

19    Photo Backup Solutions    294

Apple’s Time Machine     295

Backing Up Images to CDs or DVDs    296

Using Online Photo Services     296

Using Remote Data Backup Services     298

Choosing the Perfect Backup Solution     299

What to Do When Disaster Strikes    299

What to Do If Your Camera’s Memory Card Malfunctions    300

Part VII:    Appendixes

A    Digital Photography Websites     302

Digital Photography Information, News, and Product Reviews     302

Digital Camera Manufacturers     302

Online Photo Services for Sharing Images, Creating Prints, and More    303

Specialized Photography Websites     304

B    iPhoto ’11 Keyboard Shortcuts    306

Index    311

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 3 and Index)