Does editing pictures in iPhoto alter the original file?

I just bought iLife '09 and am excited about the faces feature in iPhoto. However, i was also wondering if i crop a picture, will it crop the original file? or just the image on my event list?

 

The original files are stored within the iPhoto Library (Macintosh HD > Users > Yourusername> Pictures. You can right click on it and go > Show Package Contents, and there's an 'Originals' folder).

Also, when you edit a photo, you always have the option to "Revert to Original" by right clicking on it.

 

Thing is, i selected not to copy my pictures when importing.. i have a separate folder for that.. so does it still create an "originals" copy? or are these "originals" simply smaller versions of my pictures?

 

The "Originals" are the untouched .jpg or whatever files you imported into iPhoto. They are the very size and properties as your files on the camera (or whatever).

But you said you selected not to copy your files when imported. I don't think iPhoto makes an "Originals" copy if you don't select that.

I'm not sure mate...

 

its cause the photos were already in my HD before i imported.. so i opted not to copy the files..

so when i edit, does it create a new file? or edit the original?
i know in windows, it alters the original, but you can revert it.. even after closing the program

 

Just check if you have that originals folder. I would still think that it would make a copy of them, because otherwise you wouldnt be able to revert the changes you made in iphoto. Thats one of the key features.

 

there is an originals folder

i dont understand, i selected no to copy the pictures and still it did

 

It may have done one of two things. It may have only copied the files you changed or they may just be small files that can restore your modified files back to the originals. Go into the originals folder to see if they are the full size photos. If that is the case consider moving the location of your library to your external drive after importing all of your photos.

 

OT but somewhat related; If you're serious about your photos then you'd be much better off with using something other than iPhoto.

While it doesn't alter the originals so you can always revert back to them, any edits you do, even simple cropping will cause it to heavily compress the edited version, in many cases introducing artifacts. The downside obviously is that it's the edited version that you'd want printed or published and it's this version you want to at least control compression on. And there's no way to disable compression or even control its severity (at least in iPhoto '08, maybe '09 is different).

That's why I ended up buying Aperture as it has full non-destructive editing, not to mention the far superior cataloguing features and options in Aperture over iPhoto.

Most consumers would be fine with iPhoto and a lot of them can't even tell the difference between a compressed image file and a non-compressed one, but photography enthusiasts should look elsewhere IMO.