iPhoto s Modes

iPhoto's Modes

When you use iPhoto, you'll find yourself in one of five modes at all times. The rest of the book looks at these modes, focusing on the tasks you perform in each mode. Here's a quick summary of the modes.

Import mode

To add photos to your photo library, you import them, either from files or directly from a digital camera. There isn't much to do in import mode, since iPhoto 6 still lacks selective import, but at least you can keep working while iPhoto imports photos.

Organize mode

Once you have images in iPhoto, you'll want to organize them into albums, assign them keywords, and delete the lousy ones. All that and more happens in organize mode, where you'll probably spend the bulk of your time.

iPhoto's organize mode also provides tools for exporting photos, printing them, ordering high-quality prints online, printing books, running slideshows, creating Web pages, setting your screen saver and Desktop picture, emailing photos, and much more.

Edit mode

Even the best photographers edit their images. iPhoto provides a few simple image-editing tools so you can crop pictures, enhance colors, remove red-eye, retouch unsightly blemishes, and apply a variety of effects. iPhoto 6 provides some more advanced editing tools that let you adjust brightness and contrast, play with the colors in your photo, and change the exposure, among other things. If you need even more advanced tools or tools that let you work on only selected portions of a photo, iPhoto can work with another image editor like Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Slideshow mode

With iPhoto's powerful slideshow tools, you can create highly customized slideshows containing music, elegant transitions, perslide timings, and of course, the Ken Burns Effect for panning and zooming photos. Once you create the slideshows, you can replay them as many times as you like, or even export them to QuickTime movies that you can share with your friends and relatives.

Book/calendar/card mode

One of iPhoto's great strengths is the way it helps you design and print professional-looking photo albums. Book mode provides the tools you need to lay out these books and order copies from Apple for your friends and relatives. New in iPhoto 6 is the capability to create equally gorgeous calendars and cardsboth folded greeting cards and postcards.