The auto-launch of iPhoto is a real pain for Mac users

Step 1
Go to Applications and launch Image Capture
Step 2
When Image Capture has opened, click on the Image Capture link text in the menu bar and select Preferences from the pull-down
Step 3
In the Preferences panel click on the pull-down after 'When a camera is connected, open...'; and select No application

How to stop iPhoto launching when you connect your iPhone

This guide shows you how you can stop iPhoto launching automatically when you connect your iPhone to your Mac

For Mac users, one of the most frustrating things about the iPhone is the way that the iPhoto application always launches automatically every time you connect the phone to your computer.

There appears to be no way to stop this happening via the Preferences of iPhoto or the Settings panel of the iPhone OS.

The reason for this is that your Mac has an application called Image Capture which thinks - understandably - that your iPhone is also a camera. And its Preferences panel dictates how iPhoto behaves when you connect a camera.

So now you can stop iPhoto launching automatically:

Go to Applications and launch Image Capture
When Image Capture has opened, click on the Image Capture link text in the menu bar and select Preferences from the pull-down
In the Preferences panel click on the pull-down after 'When a camera is connected, open...' and select No application

Quit Image Capture and the next time you connect your iPhone it won't launch automatically

But remember when you do want to transfer your photos from the iPhone to your Mac you will need to launch the application manually.