My Photos Are So Large! Is this why I am running out of room on iPhoto so fast?!

[Kre8ivOne]

I just downloaded some pictures to iPhoto. Some were 3.5 MB and others were 6 MB 3456 x 5184 (even pictures that are right next to each other and are almost the same shot). Why is this? And is there a way to change the settings on my camera to automatically take slightly smaller pictures without significantly decreasing the quality or size so much? (to where if I want to go back to that photo down the road and do something different to it or enlarge it, I won't be able to, or it won't look as good) 

It's getting the point where I probably have room for only a few more pictures on iPhoto. And I am HUGE into taking daily photos of my family! So the fact that I am having to keep my photos on my camera instead of being able to download and erase them, is really stressing me out! PLEASE HELP! 

[TCampbell]

Which camera are you using and what mode are you using for images?

If you are heavy into taking photos in high resolution then he images are going to be large. Hard drives are fairly inexpensive and Apple makes it very easy to drag the iPhoto Library to a new location. I keep my photos on an external drive... just make sure you are backing them up because Apples Time Machine backup system does not backup external files by default (you can tell it to do this but it wont happen unless configured to do so.)

[Skirball]

The photos are large because humans by nature want more.  🙂

Cameras with larger sensor sizes sell more, so camera manufacturers stuff as many pixels as they can on, even when dealing with small camera phones and whatnot.  It’s a good thing mostly, but there are some tradeoffs.  But I digress…

The intent is that you will “post process” your photos to some extent, using a computer program to crop/adjust/resize as necessary.  If you’re just sharing your photos online there’s no need for huge files.  You have two options:

1)      I’m not sure what camera you’re using, but yes, pretty much every camera allows you to take smaller pictures.  Look in your manual, or tell us what camera you have, it’s usually pretty easy.

2)      Use photo software (some most likely came with your camera) to edit your photos, and then resize them for upload to iPhoto.  It takes more work, but the results will be better than letting your camera do it, and you can choose to crop out pixels you don’t need to make a better shot.

[hsbn]

Size of a file depends on its content. An image of a gray wall with no texture will be much smaller than the image of colorful flowers. I don't know your camera model, but every camera has a setting for JPG. For Canon, it's LARGE, MEDIUM, SMALL1, S2, S3. See what setting it is on right now, change to a lower setting, take some photo see if it is still good. Then down size once more, shoot some photo, check again. Do that until you get the smallest file that you're happy with the quality.

But JPG is "small" in general already. So if you buy a good camera and only use the smallest setting then it is a waste. Also, if you decide to crop the image later, it is going to be hard because you don't have a large file to begin with. A 500Gb external hard drive for $50 can store about 25,000 photo at around 5Mb each. So if every day you take around 70 photos, then it takes a whole year to fill up that drive. Don't throw away data.

[Kre8ivOne]

Hsbn: Thanks so much for all the helpful and detailed information! I have a Rebel T3i. Buying a drive would be my absolute first choice!!! But i don't have a spare penny right now 😞 That is why I am desperately searching for a (free) alternative to buy me some more time while I can save up for a drive. Which will probably be a while! Is there anything else I can do in the mean time??

[Kre8ivOne]

TCampbell: I have a Rebel T3i. Eventually, when I do save up for an external drive, how would I go about backing it up? I am an eager learner, but I am no computer tech! Lol

[Kre8ivOne]

Skirball: So basically, if I went with option 2, I would first have to install the software that came with the camera. Then how would I go about downloading them to it? And then, furthermore, sending them to iPhoto?

[Kre8ivOne]

Anyone: And is it possible to resize the images already in iPhoto (preferably resizing a large group at once, vs one-by-one) to create room for more photos??? Or would that be a bad idea seeing as how hsbn mentioned that JPG's are small to begin with? Would I risk messing with the quality of the photos or editing possibilities later?

[ebiggs1]

Software and post processing is the answer. The suggestion of, since you have a great camera, to not throw away data is spot on. You know, why buy a Rebel T3i and us cell phone settings? Pretty lame, right?

You want a free one, how about Picasa from Google? Matter of fact, google Picasa!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Skirball]

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@Kre8ivOne wrote:
Anyone: And is it possible to resize the images already in iPhoto (preferably resizing a large group at once, vs one-by-one) to create room for more photos??? Or would that be a bad idea seeing as how hsbn mentioned that JPG's are small to begin with? Would I risk messing with the quality of the photos or editing possibilities later?

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Most likely it is, resizing is a pretty simple and standard feature.  Unfortunately I'm an Anti-Apple kinda guy, so I can't help you with the software.

And yes, you do not want to edit on your originals, you want to edit copies that you save seperately.  Most [good] editing software will do this for you, and make you "export" your edits.  Something that confuses new users.  This exporting makes you save a separate file, encouraging you to save it in a seperate location.  Organization is the key.  I use a program called Lightroom to organize my files (and edit), but before that I used to make folders by the year, then within that folders by date with a description of the shoot (e.g. "2013-02-27 Billys Birthday").  Within that I would have a folder called "RAW" that had my photos straight from my camera, but I would save my edits in the main folder.  Organization, organization, organization.  It only takes a moment, but after a few years as a photographer it's the only way to ever find anything again.