One more first impression if I may. The more I use Photos the more I dislike it.
I needed to grab some stills off a video. Since I can no longer use Aperture, I imported the video into Photos and was relieved that a feature was included to export frames to Pictures (the folder).
This alone is a very cumbersome and odd workflow: Select still frame - export out of Photos app to the Pictures folder - leave Photos and launch Finder - Navigate to the Pictures folder - drag still frames back to Photos app - Navigate to import and import them. Seems like it would be easy enough to just have these photos appear in the Photos library. But it is even worse. Like most things I need from my Apple products these days it simply doesn’t work.
When the frames are exported the only format option is as a .Tiff. No biggie, except when we try to import these files back into Photos, they are rejected as an unrecognizable photo format. Unbelievable! I won’t rant on any more about the numerous bugs in this program. I just expected basic functions to work and the more I use it the more things I find just don’t work.
I was triggered by your comment, so I tried for myself. Not that I don’t believe you, but I am providing workshops and tutorials for Photos, and I didn’t figured this one out yet. 1. Indeed odd that the still goes to your pictures folder, and there is no option to directly move/copy it to Photos. 2. In Photo’s when choosing import, I could navigate directly to the picture (.tiff). (I didn’t have to leave Photos). 3. It imported the .tiff fine.
Thanks for trying this feature. I tried again this morning using the same three stills from the same video and they imported fine. Yesterday I tried to import three times and each attempt there was a message to the effect that the files were either in an unrecognizable file format or there was missing data (paraphrasing). I don’t know why it worked this morning and yesterday that it didn’t. The only thing that was different was that the Photos application had been closed and reopened. The iMac hadn’t even been restarted as far as I know.
I hope this was just a one-time import quirk but I’m reserving judgement. I also have a separate ongoing issue working with .pdf files in OS X that sometimes an important feature works but most of the time it doesn’t. It has been reported countless times and there are forums galore regarding the issue, but it doesn’t consistently present itself. Hopefully this isn’t the case with this error and I won’t see it again.
Regarding the navigation, initially I didn’t realize that the still frames were being exported outside of Photos, so when I couldn’t find them in Photos, I ended up in using Spotlight and Finder to locate them, which is when I drug them over to the Photos application. From there there is only an import button (last on the right) and no ability to navigate to the Pictures folder. I see now that if I instead navigate to File - Import that I can import the photos that way. I still think that it is needlessly cumbersome that the stills must be saved outside of Photos and then imported, but going forward I’ll use File - Import to save a few steps.
I indeed experience sometimes (when switching libraries, or turning on/of the “sytem-library” in preferences) Photos doesn’t always work “on the fly” to, for example, be able to approach the right library from within iMovie or iTunes. Quitting and restarting will help, though most of the time it works ok.
By the way, I discovered a ”handy procedure” to switch libraries for Photos: in stead of quitting and relaunch with the option key, you simple can double click the other library in the finder. Photos will then ask you if you want to restart and use the other library. So I guess the feature to do that immediately from the menu in Photos will be soon available again (hopefully).
I am starting to get quite enthusiastic about the new Photos and its potential ;-), Just moved over one of my entire libraries from Aperture to Photos.
i’ve found myself a nice workaround for the “location” problem. My camera doesn’t have GPS as many DSLR’s don’t. So I found my self an app for my IPhone. (€ 3,95,-.) It is accompanied by a free app for the Mac. You can add easily metatdata (also for RAW), you don’t even need to synchronice date and time of your trip and the shoots you make. The only thing I had to change is my workflow. I import my RAW footage with this app and then have that app add the GPS data (including even hight) The RAW-picture stays untouched only GPS is added to the metadata. After this procedure I import the tagged RAW-photos in Photos. Works great, saves me a GPS-device and adding locations afterwards. I am new at this forum, so I don’t know if it is allowed to mention the app (I don’t have any connection/relation to those guys but I love the concept of the app)
After using it a while (also beta testing) I have decided it does have a place in my workflow. I have decided I will use Photos to store organize and share my mobile phone images.
I like how it re-creates the same photos and albums on all my Apple devices. It solved a problem there. Using Photos is much easier than other methods of getting images from my phone to my computer. And also vice versa.
For example, I want to include some iPhone pics in photos I took on a hike with my micro 4/3 camera. The iPhone has a GPS stamp on the photos so I can use that to geo-tag the other photos. Or maybe I have some iPhone photos that I want to include in a permanent album. They’re all automatically on my computer now, for easy export to a permanent place. Alternatively, I might want to put a collection of images I have taken with my DSLR on my iPad or my AppleTV, to show friends. Now it’s easy. I just import them into a photos library and they appear on all the devices. When I’m done I remove it. They all disappear from the devices.
So for now I’m using the iCloud as a “mother ship” for temporary storage, collecting and sharing photos on my idevices. But not a permanent storage location for all my photos.
I also liked how the Projects Tab worked in the beta version and now that it’s been released, I also plan to try that and see how I like it.
And (a shameless plug follows) I think taking Joeseph’s Photos Training will be a good way to learn more ways to use Photos.
I decided to try again with migrating to Photos. This time rather than migrate iPhoto, which didn’t work too well, I migrated the Aperture Library.
Success…
All of my 26000+ photos came over. The initial problems was the extreme slowness of Photos.
A call to Applecare support sorted that out, had to get rid of a lot of iPhoto related rubbish on the HD.
Once that was done, all is running well. Now, with the help of the Basic Training video tutorials I hope to sort out the mess I have of lots of created events from Photostream.
One more first impression if I may. The more I use Photos the more I dislike it.
I needed to grab some stills off a video. Since I can no longer use Aperture, I imported the video into Photos and was relieved that a feature was included to export frames to Pictures (the folder).
This alone is a very cumbersome and odd workflow: Select still frame - export out of Photos app to the Pictures folder - leave Photos and launch Finder - Navigate to the Pictures folder - drag still frames back to Photos app - Navigate to import and import them. Seems like it would be easy enough to just have these photos appear in the Photos library. But it is even worse. Like most things I need from my Apple products these days it simply doesn’t work.
When the frames are exported the only format option is as a .Tiff. No biggie, except when we try to import these files back into Photos, they are rejected as an unrecognizable photo format. Unbelievable! I won’t rant on any more about the numerous bugs in this program. I just expected basic functions to work and the more I use it the more things I find just don’t work.
Hello Keith,
I was triggered by your comment, so I tried for myself. Not that I don’t believe you, but I am providing workshops and tutorials for Photos, and I didn’t figured this one out yet.
1. Indeed odd that the still goes to your pictures folder, and there is no option to directly move/copy it to Photos.
2. In Photo’s when choosing import, I could navigate directly to the picture (.tiff). (I didn’t have to leave Photos).
3. It imported the .tiff fine.
BenB
http://www.videoidee.nl
http://www.benssite.nl
Hi Ben,
Thanks for trying this feature. I tried again this morning using the same three stills from the same video and they imported fine. Yesterday I tried to import three times and each attempt there was a message to the effect that the files were either in an unrecognizable file format or there was missing data (paraphrasing). I don’t know why it worked this morning and yesterday that it didn’t. The only thing that was different was that the Photos application had been closed and reopened. The iMac hadn’t even been restarted as far as I know.
I hope this was just a one-time import quirk but I’m reserving judgement. I also have a separate ongoing issue working with .pdf files in OS X that sometimes an important feature works but most of the time it doesn’t. It has been reported countless times and there are forums galore regarding the issue, but it doesn’t consistently present itself. Hopefully this isn’t the case with this error and I won’t see it again.
Regarding the navigation, initially I didn’t realize that the still frames were being exported outside of Photos, so when I couldn’t find them in Photos, I ended up in using Spotlight and Finder to locate them, which is when I drug them over to the Photos application. From there there is only an import button (last on the right) and no ability to navigate to the Pictures folder. I see now that if I instead navigate to File - Import that I can import the photos that way. I still think that it is needlessly cumbersome that the stills must be saved outside of Photos and then imported, but going forward I’ll use File - Import to save a few steps.
Thanks again,
Keith
You’re welcome Keith.
I indeed experience sometimes (when switching libraries, or turning on/of the “sytem-library” in preferences) Photos doesn’t always work “on the fly” to, for example, be able to approach the right library from within iMovie or iTunes. Quitting and restarting will help, though most of the time it works ok.
By the way, I discovered a ”handy procedure” to switch libraries for Photos: in stead of quitting and relaunch with the option key, you simple can double click the other library in the finder. Photos will then ask you if you want to restart and use the other library. So I guess the feature to do that immediately from the menu in Photos will be soon available again (hopefully).
I am starting to get quite enthusiastic about the new Photos and its potential ;-), Just moved over one of my entire libraries from Aperture to Photos.
BenB
http://www.videoidee.nl
http://www.benssite.nl
@Keith and others.
i’ve found myself a nice workaround for the “location” problem. My camera doesn’t have GPS as many DSLR’s don’t. So I found my self an app for my IPhone. (€ 3,95,-.) It is accompanied by a free app for the Mac. You can add easily metatdata (also for RAW), you don’t even need to synchronice date and time of your trip and the shoots you make. The only thing I had to change is my workflow. I import my RAW footage with this app and then have that app add the GPS data (including even hight) The RAW-picture stays untouched only GPS is added to the metadata. After this procedure I import the tagged RAW-photos in Photos. Works great, saves me a GPS-device and adding locations afterwards. I am new at this forum, so I don’t know if it is allowed to mention the app (I don’t have any connection/relation to those guys but I love the concept of the app)
BenB
http://www.videoidee.nl
http://www.benssite.nl
After using it a while (also beta testing) I have decided it does have a place in my workflow. I have decided I will use Photos to store organize and share my mobile phone images.
I like how it re-creates the same photos and albums on all my Apple devices. It solved a problem there. Using Photos is much easier than other methods of getting images from my phone to my computer. And also vice versa.
For example, I want to include some iPhone pics in photos I took on a hike with my micro 4/3 camera. The iPhone has a GPS stamp on the photos so I can use that to geo-tag the other photos. Or maybe I have some iPhone photos that I want to include in a permanent album. They’re all automatically on my computer now, for easy export to a permanent place. Alternatively, I might want to put a collection of images I have taken with my DSLR on my iPad or my AppleTV, to show friends. Now it’s easy. I just import them into a photos library and they appear on all the devices. When I’m done I remove it. They all disappear from the devices.
So for now I’m using the iCloud as a “mother ship” for temporary storage, collecting and sharing photos on my idevices. But not a permanent storage location for all my photos.
I also liked how the Projects Tab worked in the beta version and now that it’s been released, I also plan to try that and see how I like it.
And (a shameless plug follows) I think taking Joeseph’s Photos Training will be a good way to learn more ways to use Photos.
Second Impressions…
I decided to try again with migrating to Photos. This time rather than migrate iPhoto, which didn’t work too well, I migrated the Aperture Library.
Success…
All of my 26000+ photos came over. The initial problems was the extreme slowness of Photos.
A call to Applecare support sorted that out, had to get rid of a lot of iPhoto related rubbish on the HD.
Once that was done, all is running well. Now, with the help of the Basic Training video tutorials I hope to sort out the mess I have of lots of created events from Photostream.
I think I will be happy with Photos.
Taking Pics in Tassie
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