Managing photos

I think I have found various versions of photos in iPhoto.
Aperture has a truer non-destructive format (basically an action to enable/disable adjustments) whereas with iPhoto it is an all or nothing once you move to the next photo.

conamor said:

When I was using a PC, I had folders with the name of the event and all the pictures inside - not renamed but with the IMG_number.

SNIP

Should I simply use the picture folders with events folder name and "rename" all my photos using the name of the event?

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I know where you're coming from, and I've basically battled the same question for years. Everyone has slightly different needs and may resolve his/her problem in different ways.

What I think is *really* critical are three things:
- how much do you need to go delving in your archive
- the amount of control the solution offers you
- the amount of work, which is necessary for processing a shoot.

What I'd really recommend is:
- first thing, take a backup of your entire collection.
- try out different solutions. Get trials the legal or illegal way (Just as long as you pay for the software you end up using)
- import a number of archived shoots into the different solutions (iPhoto, LR, Aperture etc.) Most "real" DAM's have more or less the same functionality, but the look and feel as well as the workloads may differ in different uses. Get a feel of the benefits as well as the drawbacks.
- Next time you come from a shoot, which necessitates the whole shebang (import, tweak, tagging, PP, export) and have the time, do the whole process in all candidate softwares.
- repeat until you've found what suites you.

I know that with 50G of pics, there will be a lot of people saying you definitely need a DAM-solution, but people's mileages tend to vary a lot. I have a few hundred gigs and I have not DAM'd anything except money shoots and have not touched my backlog. I also know some professional salaried and freelance photographers who do not DAM (it's about 50/50) and swear eternally for the nested folders approach (which is what I use as basis with DAM selectively on top of that), often using a thumbnail viewer (like Bridge etc.) as a visual aid.

RGDS,

conamor said:

Hi again!

I know this is user preference "but!" should I use Aperture or Lightroom...

Is there any of them easier with plugins?

I would like to use plugins to make my photos looks better, the fast and easy way... .
Where can we get them and how much they usually cost each?

Thanks!

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I am all for Lightroom and version 5 just came out with some very slick editing features. The reason I prefer it over Aperture:

1. It stores the native image file without wrapping it in a database structure like iPhoto and Aperture.
2. Apple seems to be slow upgrading Aperture. Look at some of the threads out there and you'll see numerous complaints about Apple's commitment to the product.
3. Lightroom integrates easily with Photoshop and lots of other plugins
4. With their new tools, particularly their straightening tool, the editing is great.

Lightroom costs $150. It is available from Adobe.com as a 30-day free trial. You can download it, work with it for 30 days and see how you like it. Your photos will still be in their original format on your hard disk when you're done so if you want to switch to Aperture importing them will be simple.

conamor said:

Hi again!

I know this is user preference "but!" should I use Aperture or Lightroom...

Is there any of them easier with plugins?

I would like to use plugins to make my photos looks better, the fast and easy way... .
Where can we get them and how much they usually cost each?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Aperture vs Lightroom is a very difficult question to answer (and the basis of many heated debates on this very forum). As you said, it comes completely down to personal preference. Nevertheless, I'll try to give you my thoughts:

First consider where your priorities are – do you plan to use your chosen app mainly for editing images, or for managing them?

If you want to do absolutely all your image editing inside the raw editor then go with lightroom. It's a great app and now has LOADS more features than the current version of aperture. When comparing similar editing tools that do appear in both aperture and Lightroom you probably won't see much difference in the quality, however Lightroom just has MORE.

If you want to use it mainly for image organisation, but with some editing features then the decision is based more on user experience (and the way in which you want to organise your images). I used Lightroom for years on PC and also when I first switched to mac, but have recently switched to Aperture. In my opinion, the aperture interface is infinitely better than Lightroom's. It's neater, easier to navigate, and offers a more flexible approach to organising your files.

File management is handled differently by default: Aperture's default setting is to import all your images into one location (inside the aperture library) and then let aperture manage all your files for you (similar to iPhoto). Lightroom's default is not to move your photos at all, but instead make referenced links to the folder structure on your computer. (If you prefer to work in this way then Aperture can work with referenced files too. I'm not sure whether it's possible to get lightroom to work like aperture and import all photos into it’s library; I've certainly never used it this way, or even heard of anyone who does).

If you’ll use the DAM mainly for image organisation, and send photos out to an external editor (like photoshop, or pixelmator) to make your edits then I definitely recommend aperture. Personally, I don't make many edits in my DAM, I send everything to photoshop so the extra tools in lightroom are no advantage to me - I'd much rather have the software that's a pleasure to navigate (lightroom's modules and menus can be downright frustrating at times - I definitely recommend downloading the free trial to get the hang of it before spending any money).

One thing to bear in mind is that many users expect a new version of Aperture to be released in the next few months (perhaps alongside the new mac pro). You might want to hold off a couple of months before making a purchase just to see whether that comes to fruition - even if it doesn't, you'll still have 2 fantastic choices available to you with Lightroom5 or Aperture3.

At the end of the day, this is like a Nikon vs Canon battle – you’ll have die-hard fans from both camps, but in reality they’re both so good that you can’t go wrong with either.

conamor said:

Does it import like aperture? I mean, I import my 100 pictures taken from my Nikon, both JPG and RAW, will it merge both in the software?

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Yes, it doesn't care what format your photo is in - Jpeg or raw. It builds its own catalog that points to the locations of the images on your disk.

During the import process you also have the option of renaming photos to some more meaningful scheme than DSCXXXXX.jpg, etc. You can also apply keywords during the import process. You have the option of storing an extra copy of the images while you import for backup purposes -- say to an external volume. And you can, if you choose, convert raw images to a .DNG (digital negative format) as a hedge against obsolescence of the camera specific raw format.

I went directly from iPhoto to Lightroom so I can't speak to all the features of Aperture. Judging from the user base it has, it can't be a slouch of a product. I can say, however, that the management features of Lightroom are superb and I have noticed no degradation is speed as my library has grown. I have over 21,000 images in my catalog.

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oldgeezer said:

I have over 21,000 images in my catalog.

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Correction, almost 23,000 images -- just loaded images from two weeks in France. My photo files occupy over 272gb.

conamor said:

Hi again!

I know this is user preference "but!" should I use Aperture or Lightroom...

Is there any of them easier with plugins?

Click to expand...

Swordio777 gave a great response. Like him... I think both A3 and LR are both great products. Between the two... I love Aperture. It's flexible workflow is second to none.

Personally... I get MUCH more value organizing and using the DAM features... MUCH more so than editing. That is where A3 shines. I also love the fact that A3 fully integrates into everything Apple. This gives you direct access to your Aperture library from lots of applications such as iTunes, all the iLife and iWork apps. Even Apple TVs have direct access to your library projects if you so choose.

Once you go to an external editor (I mostly use Nik Software... but I do about 1% (or less) in Adobe CS6)... the experience is pretty much the same with both LR and A3.

So, I would rate the two as:

• Built in editing functions: LR currently has a slight advantage, but LR & A3 leapfrog each other. This is like watching a tennis match
• External editing: Essentially the same with either
• Internal workflow: Strong preference for A3
• Integration with Apple: Strong preference for A3
• Apple & PC (dual platform): LR only

For me... A3 is the obvious best choice. Even though I own both PCs and Macs... I've moved my workflow to a Mac and I have no intention of ever going back to PCs.

conamor said:

I would like to use plugins to make my photos looks better, the fast and easy way... .
Where can we get them and how much they usually cost each?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I highly recommend Nik Software. It is only $150 for the entire suite and it will dramatically improve your photos. The suit contains:

• Define: Noise reduction
• ColorEfex: Color filters
• SilverEfex: B&W filters
• Viveza: Lighting effects
• Sharpener Pro: Output sharpening for specific print or display media
• HDR EFex: High Dynamic Range processing

The suite is incredible, and it universally supports their "U Point" technology. Go to the Nik site and watch the training videos. This suite will improve your photos more than you can imagine.

I also own Adobe CS6. It was expensive (about $1800)... and I hardly ever use it. I got it because of one very specific project that I worked on... so it was not an out of pocket expense for me... but personally, I would never personally buy it unless I was making my living as a graphics artist of some type. As a prosumer... I would stick with Pixelmator which is very inexpensive.

In my priority order... I would get Aperture, then Nik Software Collection... and then Pixelmator.

/Jim

conamor said:

This is really great! Thanks so much for all the info, I will definitely look at the nik software and use aperture.

Being able to integrate it with all other osx software is what I want the most I think!

I will try to import folder by folder to aperture and see how it manage it, I will keep you guys posted!

Thanks!

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Try the ebooks I pointed you toward earlier. I can guarantee that it will save you tons of effort. Boyer has a very "edgy" style... and instead of describing things in useless boring way (ex: This button does X, this other button does Y)... he instead projects a very opinionated description of what is possible... and why to do things in a certain manner... as well as the benefits of doing so. He is a "why" guy, only bringing in the "what" to illustrate the points. It is almost an antithesis of a typical "how to book"... and about 10X as valuable.

/Jim

conamor said:

Will do! Tell me, which of the guides should I buy, there is around 7? I think.

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A3 Organization and A3 File Management

/Jim

I just got my first DSLR and am playing around with photo management. I have uploaded all of the photos I have taken into iPhoto and have let the program create most events for me. I have not really figured out what I am doing, though. Is there a tutorial or something that is out there for a beginner to learn to use iPhoto or is it better to not start with it and go ahead and jump to Aperture? The more pics I take, the more I feel my collection is getting really unorganized. I have a few events that I created myself but I'm afraid that I'm going to get to where I have so many events that it's hard to manage. What did most of you do when you started? Obviously, I am a hobby photographer, not any kind of professional whatsoever. I just don't want to end up with such an unruly collection that I don't want to deal with it! Suggestions greatly appreciated!

ladytonya said:

I just got my first DSLR and am playing around with photo management. I have uploaded all of the photos I have taken into iPhoto and have let the program create most events for me. I have not really figured out what I am doing, though. Is there a tutorial or something that is out there for a beginner to learn to use iPhoto or is it better to not start with it and go ahead and jump to Aperture? The more pics I take, the more I feel my collection is getting really unorganized. I have a few events that I created myself but I'm afraid that I'm going to get to where I have so many events that it's hard to manage. What did most of you do when you started? Obviously, I am a hobby photographer, not any kind of professional whatsoever. I just don't want to end up with such an unruly collection that I don't want to deal with it! Suggestions greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

I used the book "iPhoto '11 - The Missing Manual" by David Pogue & Lesa Snider to learn iPhoto. It covered the program and its capabilities quite well. Chapter 2 is all about how to organize photos. Another source of training is Lynda.com. I've been watching some of their Aperture videos and have been fairly pleased. Cost is just $25 a month.

Aperture would only add to your confusion. The upgrade from iPhoto to Aperture is fairly easy so starting in iPhoto is easier for most.

Before you decide on how you want to organize your library, it helps to really understand how the program handles them. Then you can customize it to your particular needs.

glenthompson said:

Aperture would only add to your confusion. The upgrade from iPhoto to Aperture is fairly easy so starting in iPhoto is easier for most.

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I actually find iPhoto to be more confusing than Aperture. There are a few basic things to learn with either... but iPhoto just seems to get in the way... while Aperture just enables easy organization.

glenthompson said:

Before you decide on how you want to organize your library, it helps to really understand how the program handles them. Then you can customize it to your particular needs.

Click to expand...

Totally agree... and once you understand the few basic concepts... Aperture is a joy to use.

/Jim

conamor said:

This is really great! Thanks so much for all the info, I will definitely look at the nik software and use aperture.

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I would also recommend the Nik Complete collection.

I also have the OnOne Perfect Suite 7.5 which is standalone & a plugin. In other words will work even if you don't have Aperture or LR yet. You can get a 30 day free trial and youtube is your user manual.

http://www.ononesoftware.com/downloads/

I also recently got a copy of DXO software (the people who evaluate the lenses for http://www.dpreview.com among other things. Again its available as standalone and free trial

http://www.dxo.com/intl/photography/download

Not really had a chance to play with it yet though. Been to busy getting to know my lovely new camera.

I got free codes through work for all of the above which is a bonus for me!

I have been playing around with iPhoto some, may look for that book someone earlier suggested. The other piece of software I have is the program that came with my Nikon camera, can't remember it's name off the top of my head but a lot of people on a DSLR board I've been reading seem to like it a lot. Anyone with any experience with Nikon's software on a Mac?

jazzer15 said:

Is this true of iPhoto? I had thought that one of the advantages of Aperture was that iPhoto made a duplicate photo when you edit the original. Am I incorrect or is that something that changed with iPhoto 11?

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You are correct. iPhoto saves a full size JPG after an edit. It is only non-destructive in the sense that it does not over write the original. I had to go back and check to be sure.

But JPGs are never really large like a RAW or TIFF files might be.

ladytonya said:

I have been playing around with iPhoto some, may look for that book someone earlier suggested. The other piece of software I have is the program that came with my Nikon camera, can't remember it's name off the top of my head but a lot of people on a DSLR board I've been reading seem to like it a lot. Anyone with any experience with Nikon's software on a Mac?

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View NX2 is what shipped with my Nikon. I haven't installed it yet (and probably won't). I'll either get Aperture or Lightroom soon. Until then iPhoto is good enough for me with all the other software I have.

ladytonya said:

I have been playing around with iPhoto some, may look for that book someone earlier suggested. The other piece of software I have is the program that came with my Nikon camera, can't remember it's name off the top of my head but a lot of people on a DSLR board I've been reading seem to like it a lot. Anyone with any experience with Nikon's software on a Mac?

Click to expand...

I used the Nikon View NX software as well as Capture NX2 on the Mac. There were no problems with the hardware/software combination and I really, really liked the control point editing features of Capture NX2.
The software from Nikon totally fell apart when it came to image management so despite my infatuation with Capture I switched to Lightroom 4 and, now, Lightroom 5, and am very happy with that software, although I would like the control point editing of Capture. I tried using NIK's Viveza to get that functionality but it required generating a TIFF from Lightroom so all of a sudden I had to manage not just my raw files but also the TIFFs that were edited in Viveza. I decided the huge TIFF files were too much of a pain for the functionality I got so dropped the idea.
Lightroom 5's editing is great and there are few images that I would want to take further using Photoshop.

There are two plugins for Aperture or Lightroom that can do a far better job than LR's Clarity. The first is Nik's Detail Extractor filter in their Color Efex Pro plugin. It is part of the Nik Collection. Google owns Nik now.

https://support.google.com/nikcollection/answer/3298009?hl=en

The second one is Perfect Effect's Dynamic Contrast filter. Perfect Effect is part of OnOneSoftware's Perfect Photo Suite 8.5

http://lightroomkillertips.com/onon...e-a-new-killer-tonal-contrastclarity-plug-in/

I have and use both sets of plugins on both Aperture and LR. Remember both Aperture and LR are primarily librarians for our photos with some basic non-destructive editing capabilities. To go the extra step, you need other apps acting as plugins in Aperture or LR.


In Aperture you can create negative clarity via one of the following:

In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Quick Brushes > Blur from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.

In the tool strip, choose Blur from the Quick Brush pop-up menu (with a brush icon).

The Blur Brush HUD appears, and the Blur adjustment controls appear in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, if both are shown.

Specify the brush stroke settings using the controls in the Blur Brush HUD.

For more information about the controls in the Brush HUD, see Working with Controls in the Brush HUD. For more information about applying brush strokes to an image, see Working with Brush Strokes.

Brush the adjustment on the area of the image where you want to soften or obscure detail.

The visual details are softened in the area of the image where the Blur Quick Brush adjustment is applied.

To modify the Blur adjustment after it has been applied to an image
Select a photo with the Blur adjustment applied to it.

In the Blur area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Blur adjustment by specifying the amount of the adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Amount slider and value slider.

conamor said:

Thank you, didn't know it was called "DAM". I am used to Windows... and finally made the move to MacOS.

How is it getting managed by the software? It might sound weird but not having "total" control of my photos, I am afraid I can lose them.

Click to expand...

There is nothing barbaric* as it were about using traditional directories and folders. What is primitive is doing a manual search through them. What Aperture and Lightroom can do (as well as a few others) is allow you to search for your photos in multiple ways. This is a leap of comfort for many who want to be very specific on location. Consider it as having a database of files and you can do all sorts of searches and get matches. One found, you can operate on the files themselves in various capacities.

If you have an image, you can tag it with various ways for look up. Date, location, subjects, job ID, and more. It really is far more about search criteria than location on a drive (as it were). This is what a DAM can do and can make work a lot easier.

FYI - I certainly do have actual folders per job for specific reasons. I also use a DAM to access these folders. I don't rely on the DAM to place them other than within the given folders.

conamor said:

Good day,

...

... I have some old pictures taken with webcams or old birthday pictures with a point and shoot and I store them in the Aperture library but I find it weird to be in the same library as my new photos taken with my DSLR...

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This is the beauty of a well designed DAM. Though it does take a mental shift to start really leveraging it. Mind you I use LR (Lightroom) not Aperture... but the theory is the same. Let Aperture use its managed image system and its default date ordered folders. Saves you some time. The time you save you use to create the nested album/folder system you like. As top level 'folders' (which are not real folders, just virtual folders inside the database) create folders for 'WebCams' - for reach P&S you used to use, and finally your DSLR. Inside these top level folders 'nest' the albums. Now, you can go back and browse these older folders in a way to that makes sense for you. However, it is still possible to have some of those older images in current albums too. For instance you may have a folder of yourself on your birthday going back to age 1. Some will be scanned from paper photos, some will be webcam and P&S images, and the latest ones will be your current DSLR. These photos can also be put into a album that is used for this one subject. I am pretty sure that Aperture lets you locate where else an image is located - so if you find an old photo of yourself you can also easily locate other photos taken by the same camera, or in the same week, etc etc

conamor said:

Oh quick question on RAW vs JPEG; I currently take photos in RAW + JPEG and I am not sure why...... What you would suggest me?

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Most suggestions are to edit the RAW image - it has all the information, whereas the JPG has been compressed and some data lost. Because Aperture is a DAM it does not actually modify the 'original' image (JPG or RAW). Instead it merely records the edits. When you display the image it shows you a preview version of the image with edits applied. When you export it makes a new copy of the image with the edits applied. However the original image just sits there untouched.

Many people also suggest not bothering capturing both JPG+RAW. There are some good reasons to... but if you don't know why, then you probably don't need it for yourself. You'll save a lot of space capturing just the RAW. And then training yourself to accept that an unedited RAW file can look pretty awful, even if there is a good image inside waiting to come out.

conamor said:

You guys are very helpful!

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Hope this helps too....