iPhoto and information on our digital photos

[karavite]

Dear Apple,

First, thank you for iPhoto. My whole family uses it (on many Macs) and it is a lot of fun. At first, I was really nervous about giving up control of organizing my own picture files, but I am totally sold now - on pics that is!

Any way, there was an article in the NY Times a few weeks ago discussing how people will deal with and save all their digital media. I'm not really writing about this specific issue, but it got me thinking. You see, currently I am using my Mac to archive and digitize all my family media - slides, super 8 movies, pictures and even audio recordings. In archiving family photos, it is really important to include information about the photo - who is in it, date it was taken, context... you know, "tell the story" of the picture. Far more than the current keyword feature.

It would be really cool if iPhoto had more capabilties like this. In effect, let users create a little database to go along with their image collection. I think such a thing would be useful not just for anal retentive people like me, but anyone and everyone who takes digital pictures. I mean, wouldn't it be nice to have ones photos all meta tagged (essentially) so you could get information about each picture, but also filter, search and sort through your entire image collection?

The reason I thought of this is I did just this in File Maker for my family movie files - I transferred over 140 super 8 movies into my Mac and am editing them with FCP. This is a lot of video! I created the File Maker db to really help me manage AND retain information about these movies. It is really useful in helping me create DVDs for specific people and/or for different events (all my little brother's birthdays, Christmas for every year from 1962 to 1975... and so on).

Another idea - let us attach/record a little voice annotation for a picture - sure, it won't be "searchable", but it might also be a quick and easy way to annotate a picture - "This was Uncle Bob from Nevada who visited us in 2004..."

I don't know - just a thought.

[Convert]

A very cool thought at that. I hope Apple listens to this

[Satcomer]

Oh please tell this to iPhoto feedback. It's such a great idea!

[Ceroc Addict]

Originally Posted by karavite

Dear Apple,

First, thank you for iPhoto. My whole family uses it (on many Macs) and it is a lot of fun. At first, I was really nervous about giving up control of organizing my own picture files, but I am totally sold now - on pics that is!

Any way, there was an article in the NY Times a few weeks ago discussing how people will deal with and save all their digital media. I'm not really writing about this specific issue, but it got me thinking. You see, currently I am using my Mac to archive and digitize all my family media - slides, super 8 movies, pictures and even audio recordings. In archiving family photos, it is really important to include information about the photo - who is in it, date it was taken, context... you know, "tell the story" of the picture. Far more than the current keyword feature.

It would be really cool if iPhoto had more capabilties like this. In effect, let users create a little database to go along with their image collection. I think such a thing would be useful not just for anal retentive people like me, but anyone and everyone who takes digital pictures. I mean, wouldn't it be nice to have ones photos all meta tagged (essentially) so you could get information about each picture, but also filter, search and sort through your entire image collection?

The reason I thought of this is I did just this in File Maker for my family movie files - I transferred over 140 super 8 movies into my Mac and am editing them with FCP. This is a lot of video! I created the File Maker db to really help me manage AND retain information about these movies. It is really useful in helping me create DVDs for specific people and/or for different events (all my little brother's birthdays, Christmas for every year from 1962 to 1975... and so on).

Another idea - let us attach/record a little voice annotation for a picture - sure, it won't be "searchable", but it might also be a quick and easy way to annotate a picture - "This was Uncle Bob from Nevada who visited us in 2004..."

I don't know - just a thought.

Very cool. I had this idea just last week and was thinking of writing a letter to Apple myself, with one modification.

I wish there was a way of adding annotations via the digital camera itself that could be imported into iPhoto. That's when you really want to add these - directly after taking the picture. i.e. I wish Apple made a digital camera "for the rest of us", because the camera companies are way too focused on the megapixel war.

Kap

[karavite]

Hey Satcomer, I didn't know Apple had direct feedback like that - thanks!

Ceroc, that is a great idea. I mean, when you take a pic is when you know the most about it! Funny, but most of my pics are emailed from my family (lots of nephews and neices...) or scanned from old photos and not my camera, so I didn't even think of this, but that is yet another and great opportunity to do something to help add information to all our pictures. We are all "archivists" of our media, and just having the media on the computer isn't enough. We need to be able to include information about the media. Glad I am not alone!

[Satcomer]

Originally Posted by karavite

Hey Satcomer, I didn't know Apple had direct feedback like that - thanks!

Here is a kicker for you! If you want any kind of ANY Apple Product Feedback then go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/.

note: Strangely the iBook is not list though.