iPhoto 6 for Mac OS X

7. Cards, Books, and Calendars

If I had to pick a single feature that sets iPhoto apart from most photo management programs, I'd choose the way iPhoto creates custom photo albums, calendars, and cards that can be professionally printed and bound. Numerous programs can help you edit and organize photos. But iPhoto is the undisputed champion of creating high-quality printed products in an easy fashion.

The beauty of iPhoto's cards, calendars, and books, apart from their quality printing on heavy, glossy paper, is that they help bridge the gap between the analog and digital worlds. Those of us who have grown up with computers are happy sharing our photos via slideshow, a digital camera hooked to a TV, or a Web page. But many people are still more comfortable with prints ensconced in acetate in a traditional photo album or appearing in a calendar or on a greeting card. Forget all the advantages of the digital world; for these people, the images somehow aren't real unless they're on paper. It's the "That's nice, dear" syndrome.

By the time you're done with this chapter, you won't have to worry about your digital photo collection being a second-class citizen when you're showing it off to a relative for whom an album is something you hold in your lap while sitting on the couch.

Similarities and Differences

Cards and calendars are new to iPhoto 6, but in designing how you work with them, Apple drew heavily on the book-creation interface. As a result, if you've created a book in iPhoto 5 or 6, you can create a card or calendar with no trouble. In the interests of avoiding needless duplication in this chapter, then, I first give the overview of creating each, followed by details that are specific to each (such as adding photos to dates on a calendar), and then I finish up with general instructions (such as how to enter and edit text) that are common to all three.

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