iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual [Paperback]

David Pogue (Author), Derrick Story (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 059652725X | ISBN-13: 978-0596527259 | Publication Date: April 4, 2006 | Edition: Fifth Edition

If you used iPhoto when it first came out, you'll remember the way it slowed to a crawl once you loaded it with about 2,000 photos. Compare that to this year's model: iPhoto 6 can handle as many as 250,000 images and still have the power to run a host of suped-up features. Its new software engine lets you make changes with a drag & drop editing tool, find photos with a robust search feature, and manipulate images without affecting the originals in your master library. You can also:

• View and work on full-screen images
• Make quick edits with one click
• Work with RAW images
• Create cool new calendars, greeting cards and books
• Post photos online with the new iWeb application
• Use a method of sharing called "Photocasting"

Apple makes it all sound so easy: just drag this, click that and you're done. But, as intuitive as these features are, you can still get lost, especially if you're new to iPhoto. Not to worry. iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual gives you plenty of undocumented tips & tricks for taking advantage of the new version and every little feature packed into it.

It's the top-selling iPhoto book for good reason. With wit and objectivity, David Pogue and Derrick Story start you out with a crash course on digital photography, complete with tutorials on buying a camera, composing brilliant photos in various situations (sports, portraits, nighttime shots, even kid photography), and making digital movies. From there, you'll dive into every detail of iPhoto, from camera-meets-Mac basics to storing, searching, editing, and creating books, calendars and greeting cards. You'll learn to build a personal web site built with iWeb, and discover "Photocasting"-the new service that allows. Mac subscribers to publish photo albums online so that others can use the photos, even if they work on PCs.

With iPhoto 6, you could add 1000 photos a month for the next 20 years and not fill it. With iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual, you can get going in no time.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Pogue, Yale '85, is the weekly personal-technology columnist for the New York Times and an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News. His funny tech videos appear weekly on CNBC. And with 3 million books in print, he is also one of the world's bestselling how- to authors. He wrote or co-wrote seven books in the "For Dummies" series (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music). In 1999, he launched his own series of amusing, practical, and user-friendly computer books called Missing Manuals, which now includes 100 titles.

David and his wife Jennifer Pogue, MD, live in Connecticut with their three young children. His web site is www.davidpogue.com.

Derrick Story has more than 25 years as a photojournalist, including serving as managing editor for O'Reilly Network. He speaks at technology conferences including Macworld, PMA, PhotoPlus, and Santa Fe Workshops. He is the author of Digital Photography Hacks, Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 3rd Ed., The Digital Photography Companion, and his latest, The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. He coauthored iPhoto: The Missing Manual with David Pogue.

Derrick likes to keep his shooting skills sharp by running his photography business, Story Photography. You can listen to his photo podcasts and read his tips at The Digital Story (thedigitalstory.com) and follow him on Twitter. Aperture fans might want to check out his co-authored video training on Lynda.com: Aperture 2 Essential Training.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Fifth Edition edition (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059652725X
• ISBN-13: 978-0596527259
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #758,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Computers & Technology > Apple > iPhoto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for newcomers as well those in need of an update, March 30, 2006

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

Part one of the book is dedicated to working with a digital camera and the basics of digital photography. There is good advise here regardless of whether you are using iPhoto 6 or not. Photographing action, theatre performances, underwater photography, weddings and events, as well as nighttime photography are all covered thoroughly.
Next, the author digs into using iPhoto itself. While iPhoto 5 focused on editing features such as the Adjustment Panel and RAW file support, version 6 focuses on output and organization. The library can now hold up to 250,000 images. Also, iPhoto 6 sports some new buttons. Alongside the old Info and Keyword buttons you'll now find an "Enter Full Screen" button. Click on it, and iPhoto's interface-along with your desktop and any other windows-will completely disappear, replaced by a solid black field in which your image will be displayed as large as possible. In full-screen editing mode, which is covered well in this book, you can edit your photo without the distraction of other interface elements or colors.
Also there is the new Effects palette, which is iPhoto's only editing addition, and Pogue does a good job of covering it along with old familiar interfaces. With the Effects panel, you gain single-click access to black-and-white conversion, sepia-toning effects, simple saturation changes, and edge effects such as vignettes and blurs. These tools won't help images with serious problems, but the Effects panel is handy for quickly applying simple adjustments to most images, and there is good advise here on appropriate uses of these tools.
For years, iPhoto has allowed users to share their photo libraries with other iPhoto users on the same local area network. With version 6, you can now easily share your photos with other users anywhere on the Web, whether they use iPhoto or not. The instructions on how to do this are covered in detail. Also covered is the feature of photocasting, for which you must have a .Mac account. Once set up, iPhoto will use your .Mac storage to host the photos you choose to share.
Complementing the improved book-making feature of iPhoto are two new output options that let you design and order custom cards and calendars. The Calendar feature is particularly impressive, thanks to its ability to automatically import iCal calendars and Address Book birthday entries. Again, there are new entries in this updated edition that cover these features.
For Web-gallery creation, Apple has replaced iPhoto's HomePage integration with automatic export to iWeb, iLife's new Web-building application. Simply select an album and click on the iWeb button, and your photos will automatically be poured into one of iWeb's page designs. Other output improvements include options for borderless printing on printers that support it, the ability to export 16-bit TIFF files, and the option to tag images with a ColorSync profile while importing. Again, this is all covered in the new edition, along with the little tricks you have come to expect from the missing manual series. There is also supposed to be a "Missing CD" along with this new edition, but it is not yet up and running at the book's website at O'Reilly and Associates.
I think this book does a good job of updating veteran users of iPhoto on the new features of version 6 plus introducing first-time users to iPhoto. I highly recommend it.
Amazon does not show the table of contents so I do that here:
PART 1: DIGITAL CAMERAS: THE MISSING MANUAL
1. Composing Brilliant Photos
2. Beyond the Simple Snapshot
PART 2: IPHOTO BASICS
3. Camera Meets Mac
4. The Digital Shoebox
5. Editing Your Shots
PART 3: MEET YOUR PUBLIC
6. The iPhoto SlideShow
7. Making Prints
8. iWeb, Photocasting, and Network Sharing
9. Books, Calendars, and Cards
10. iPhoto Goes to the Movies
11. iDVD Slideshows
PART 4: IPHOTO STUNTS
12. Screen Savers, AppleScript, and Automator
13. iPhoto File Management
PART 5: APPENDIXES
A. Troubleshooting
B. iPhoto 6, Menu by Menu
C. Where to Go From Here

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Manual Does It Again!!!, May 1, 2006

By 

Daniel McKinnon "Dan" (Tewksbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

I have showered so much praise on these 'Missing Manual' books it may seem like I am getting paid by David Pogue himself to write these reviews, but I guarantee you that is not the case!!

Full of crisp, clear, color photos that jump off the page, a writing style that is fun and easy to follow, and a layout that is second to none, there simply is no line of books for learning applications on the market that is better than the 'Missing Manual' series.

If you use an application (whatever it is) and you want to learn to use the tool in question, forget going online or taking a class. Either it will be a waste of time, money or both!!! Just look at the name of the app you are interested in, see if there is a Missing Manual book for it and BUY IT.

These books are that good, that impressive, that well written, and that well published. I put the highest stamp of approval on this line by O'Reilly.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IPhoto6 Review, August 4, 2006

By 

Robert W. Humphreys (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual
By: David Pogue and Derrick Story
Published by: Pogue Press/O'Reilly

Reviewed by: Robert W. Humphreys

iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual is much more than just a book on the use of iPhoto. It is also a comprehensive introduction to digital cameras and good photography in general.

The book is divided into 5 parts, each on a major subject and with individual chapters providing detailed information on a portion of the main subject.

Part One consists of three chapters about how to purchase a digital camera, the various features to look for and what they will do. Included are chapters on the basics of good photographic composition and how to set up and obtain that special shot.

Part Two introduces the basics of iPhoto and includes three chapters on downloading photos from the camera, organizing them into albums and using keywords to locate a specific photo at a later date. The final chapter explains how to edit, repair, retouch, color correct and crop photos to correct any problems that may have occurred during the actual taking of the picture.

Part Three moves on to the publishing of photos for viewing by others. It explains how to create slide shows, make prints, publish to the web, and make cards, books and calendars - all from within iPhoto. It then moves on to making QuickTime movies and creating iDVD slide shows.

Part Four consists of a number of "iPhoto stunts." It explains how to convert photos to screen savers, saving and exporting photos in several different formats, the use of Apple Scripts and Automator to back up libraries and files and how to burn CD and DVD discs.

Part Five provides appendixes on troubleshooting, a complete list of iPhoto menus and a list of additional resources for expanding one's knowledge of photography and iPhoto.

The book has a complete index to help find a particular subject. Throughout the book, there are tips on the subject being discussed. There are numerous full-color figures with screen-shots explaining the various topics and showing what to look for in order to accomplish a desired action. Each page is marked near the top edge with the subject of the section in order to make it easier to find by just leafing through.

I whole-heartedly agree with the statement on the cover - "The book that should have been in the box." I believe on-line help files to be too restrictive and difficult for readily finding the information I need. I much prefer a written document, which permits me to look through and jump from section to section in order to find an answer to my question. I can also frequently discover new tidbits by just stopping and looking at an interesting page that I happen to notice as I skim past. While reviewing iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual, I discovered numerous capabilities of iPhoto that I hadn't realized were included in the program.

I found iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual to be a valuable addition to any library on digital photography and a comprehensive text on the use of the iPhoto program itself. I recommend the book for all iPhoto users. The book is easy to read, either by starting at the beginning and reading it from cover to cover, or by just opening to a section and reading an item of interest. The book is priced a little high at $29.99 (US), especially for a subject that will most likely have a major update or even be replaced within a year. However, for all the good information on the use of iPhoto and digital photography in general, the book iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual is well worth the cost.