Whether you're a seasoned Mac veteran or a brand new Mac user, chances are you use iPhoto to keep track of those precious memories. But regardless of your Mac user status, there's a good chance you're not using iPhoto to its full potential. We've gathered together 20 helpful tips and tricks to totally utilize iPhoto's features and become the ultimate power user. Your friends will never look at your photo albums the same way.

1. Full Screen Image Editing

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Use this feature to remove the clutter of the Desktop, Menu Bar, Dock and other photos by editing a photo in Full Screen mode.

To enter full screen editing mode, you have three options:

Option #1: Select a photo to edit. in the Menu Bar select View > Full Screen and your photo will grow to fill the screen. You have access to the photo slider when you mouse over the top of the screen, and when you mouse over the bottom of the screen you will gain access to the edit menu. Press the Escape key to return.

Option #2: Select a photo to edit. Right-click and select, "Edit Using Full Screen."

Option #3: You can set iPhoto to automatically open all photos you want to edit in Full Screen mode. To do this, in the Menu Bar select iPhoto > Preferences (or press Command + comma). Select the General tab and select “Using Full Screen” from the Edit Photo drop-down menu.

2. Creating and Using Multiple Libraries

When you’re dealing with large amounts of photos, it may be necessary to create multiple libraries to handle all of your photos. This can also be handy if you wanted to separate family photos from photos you might take for work.

To create a new library, hold down the Option key while opening iPhoto. A new dialog will popup asking if you want to choose another library, create a new library, or choose another library (including the default) that iPhoto already knows about. Click Create New and specify a name and save location in the box that drops down. iPhoto will now load and display the new library. To switch libraries, hold down the Option key on startup and click the Other Library button, navigate to the other library, then select Open.

3. Step Through Effects

When editing photos, iPhoto provides several effects that can spice up your collection. These effects include Black and White, Antique, Edge Blurs and others. You can apply the effects by selecting the Effects button at the bottom of the edit panel. To apply multiple effects, just click on the effects you want applied. But what if you want to step back through, or reduce the intensity of the effect, without losing the other effects.

Most effects will give you a number representing the level of the effect you have applied to your photo; to move backwards, hold down the option key while clicking the effect. The number will decrease, decreasing the effect level in your photo.

4. Edit Images side-by-side

Editing images can be improved when you can see multiple pictures side-by-side. iPhoto will greatly oblige, too. To open multiple pictures in edit mode, simply select two or more photos in an album and then select the edit button in the bottom toolbar.

The resulting edit window will display the three photos. The photo framed by the white box is the photo that you’re currently editing. You can move between the photos you’re editing by clicking the other photos. You are able to add up to eight images to the edit mode window.

5. Add Location Information Manually

Photos taken with your iPhone, a GPS-enabled camera or an Eye-Fi Card may contain location information about where your pictures were taken; however, if you have a camera without GPS functionality, this particular metadata will be missing from your photos.

There are three ways to add this information manually: by album/event, by photo, or by multiple photos. When you mouse over the lower-right corner of an event, album, or photo you’ll notice a small i. Clicking this will result in a popup panel that will allow you to specify metadata information like location. Type in a city in the location field and iPhoto will search to find your location. When you’re finished, select Done to save. You can select multiple photos, albums or events to change the location.

6. Use Time Machine to Bring Back Deleted Photos

Ever get that sinking feeling that you've deleted some important data on your computer? If you have Time Machine enabled, you can at least restore your important data, including photos, albums, events, and more from iPhoto.

To look for deleted items in iPhoto, simply open the iPhoto application and launch Time Machine from the menu bar or dock. When you do, iPhoto will open up in the Time Machine interface, letting you search for deleted items. Click an item and select Restore to restore it to your current iPhoto library.