I don't want to do much with photos right now. I am a linear thinker. iPhoto eludes me for doing any kind of editing, or even importing from the camera. Right now I want to import from the camera, crop, auto-enhance, rotate, re-size for the web, and save in various folders not related to iPhoto.
iPhoto can do all of your list of requirements.
When you connect your camera or memory card (thru a reader), iPhoto should pop up asking if you want to import all or selected pics. After importing, do your editing. When edited, export (File/Export) just the pics you want to use. Here you can control compression quality, size and even give sequential names. These will be your working copies. iPhoto keeps the originals in their original format and quality level, uncropped, etc. just like they came from the camera.
Carol, John has already hit the high points. Let me just add a bit
If iPhoto does NOT pop up when you plug in your camera, try this: Plug in your camera via the Camera's USB camera. Turn on the camera. (Some cameras have a "connect to PC" button, some just do so automatically when you turn them on.) Launch iPhoto. It should just show the camera listed under "Devices", like this:
(ps: open iPhoto's preferences and you can set whether or not it automatically launches when you connect your camera.)
Aside: Oh yeah, these photos show the buttons un-highlighted, because the iPhoto window was not active when I took the screenshots. Sorry, that was just quicker and easier for me...
Select your camera, and then iPhoto should display all the photos on your camera. Select the ones you want to upload and then click one of the import buttons on the bottom right, like this:
It then imports all your pictures and gives you the option to either save or delete them from the camera.
Now you can turn off and disconnect your camera. Go back to the left column and pick the events button from your library and find the photos you just imported. It tags them by date, you might want to rename them to something else. Select the photo you want and then click the "edit" button along the bottom, like this:
Then depending on your iPhoto version you'll see a bunch of basic editing buttons like this:
Usually the crop, enhance, and redeye buttons are enough for basic snapshots that I want to upload here. My wife will play with the "adjust" button on the far right which puts up a sub-menu with a bunch of sliders for controlling the look of the photo.
I hope this is some help, please let me know if you have more questions. Generally iPhoto is pretty slick. I haven't even tried playing with the face-recognition options that iPhoto now offers.
best,
...art