cindy11 Loc: Honeoye Falls, NY

My cameras will no longer download their photos to my MacBook Pro. I probably have well over 22,000 pictures so iPhoto reflects. It has automatically kept my raw pictures and then my pictures I "tweak." And then saves them in events and again saves them in folders I make. So mostly I have them saved four times it seems. If I delete the raw, will this furnish the space I need on my computer to keep downloading or is that space "done." I don't know anything about storage so am not sure how to approach this. I can't "live" without downloading my daily pictures-----if you know what I mean.

snowbear

I archive (ZIP) the raw files to a n external hard drive. Once they are there, I delete both the raw and the zip files from my MBP's hard drive. You could also put the archives on DVD or CD.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Cindy, you'll need to check the capacity of your Mac Book Pro's hard drive and whether it's close to full. If it is close to full then you'll need a back-up external drive, which you should have anyway and use Time Machine regularly to back up your documents. If your internal drive is not full then the problem is with iPhoto. iPhoto works off of a database which means that all of your 22,000 photos are in memory (instead of 1 at a time) every time you open iPhoto. The solution is to create several databases (sort your photos into several). Then each database would require less memory and you shouldn't have the current problems.

kmchenry69 Loc: Lawrenceburg, TN

Cindy,
I, too, struggle with storage. A backup hard drive strictly for pictures is a good idea along with a back up drive for Time Machine (that backs up everything) Also I have iPhoto and Aperture. The latter takes up much less space for photos because it stores the master as is, but all the versions are stored sort of like a thumbnail. If you have an Apple Store nearby, ask them to explain the difference to you. BTW I still use iPhoto for some projects, but you can do a LOT more with Aperture.

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

I don't store any pictures on my computer's hard drive. Filling that up will slow the operation of your computers' applications.

I use external hard drives for originals and backups. The backup drive is only "live" when doing a backup. Other than that it remains disconnected from both the computers (network) and surge protector. Now my only fear is fire, tornado, or other natural event. I am protecting over a million files, most of which are RAW. This is overkill for most photographers, but we use two DROBOS for our hard drives they have 5 bays each and hold 5 - 3tb drives in each one. The Drobos work nicely as well, if one or more goes bad, I can replace it with new a HD and will not have lost any information.

Incidentally, we just pulled the HD's from the Drobos, they were 2TB drives and replaced them one at a time with 3TB drives. It worked like a charm.

CooledgeR Loc: Sunny (Hot) Arizona

Go to http://macperformanceguide.com/index_topics.html
and you'll find solutions.

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

Be careful! iPhoto stores the "current" version of your photo in an Event. If you alter a photo, it stores the unedited copy in an Originals folder. What you see in Albums or other Events with the same photo are not duplicates, but smaller versions suitable for quick viewing, with links to the others. Throw out the wrong copy or copies, and all you'll be left with is the dinky versions.

One suggestion already made above was to create separate iPhoto libraries, and to migrate some of your older photos or subjects to those libraries. They do not have to reside on your MacBook Pro, you could get an external drive for them. That way, you could keep your most important ("I ALWAYS want access to these") photos and your most current work on the MBP, and the rest of your photos on a separate drive.