Using iphoto

[Suzette]

I am new to photography and macs. All my photos get downloaded into iphotos and i heard to not do this because it is no good. I find it very easy to have all my photos there and i kinda got use to it. From iphotos I drag  the pictures that i am going to edit into bridge and then open into camera raw. If using iphotos is not good how do I get my pictures from my memory card into bridge. Again I am in the learning process and I should probably know this but your help would be appreciated.

[Christina Keddie]

You CLOSE iPhoto as soon as it opens, and never let it touch your files.  Unless you've been faithfully exporting the original files out of it each time, you're actually working with just JPGs, as iPhoto "helpfully" converts raw files to JPG for you. 

Here is a much better way to handle your files and have complete control over where they are at all times: http://www.damiensymonds.net/importing-video

[Suzette]

Thank You