Photo Editing

[talmy]

Originally Posted by James Craner

One of the advantages of using iPhoto or Aperture is all the images are available in the media browser that is built into many OS X applications - all Apples iWork Applications support it, as well as Microsoft Office. Within the Application you can browse your library in the Application and even filter via a simple search field. Then just drag and drop to insert the image.

In the interest of "full disclosure" it should be pointed out that there is a difference between exported images from Aperture and using the media browser. Aperture maintains a preview image of each image version that is used within the application to display images quickly (without having to reprocess). When you select an image from the media browser that is what you get. When you export a version, it is processed from the original and you can generally get greater resolution. The resolution of the previews is settable in Aperture's preferences and should be large if one makes use of the media browser. Of course you then lose the feature of Aperture that its libraries are more compact than iPhoto's.

[James Craner]

Originally Posted by talmy

In the interest of "full disclosure" it should be pointed out that there is a difference between exported images from Aperture and using the media browser. Aperture maintains a preview image of each image version that is used within the application to display images quickly (without having to reprocess). When you select an image from the media browser that is what you get. When you export a version, it is processed from the original and you can generally get greater resolution. The resolution of the previews is settable in Aperture's preferences and should be large if one makes use of the media browser. Of course you then lose the feature of Aperture that its libraries are more compact than iPhoto's.

Talmy, thanks for the clarification. I must confess I learnt something there.

[dtalksall]

Originally Posted by James Craner

One of the advantages of using iPhoto or Aperture is all the images are available in the media browser that is built into many OS X applications - all Apples iWork Applications support it, as well as Microsoft Office. Within the Application you can browse your library in the Application and even filter via a simple search field. Then just drag and drop to insert the image.

Ok, but Wordpress & most forums are not OS X applications...

[trigonometry]

Lots of good information in this thread. I recently made the move to Aperture from iPhoto and love it. Aperture and Pixelmator > Photoshop.

[James Craner]

Originally Posted by dtalksall

Ok, but Wordpress & most forums are not OS X applications...

Agreed. However if you post to Wordpress, you might want to take a look at MarsEdit, which is a great Mac Blog Editor.

For me, most of my exports out of Aperture are either creating a photo book, or using a direct export using built in Flickr tools or via a plugin. I do understand that you may have a different workflow.

[flynz4]

Originally Posted by trigonometry

Lots of good information in this thread. I recently made the move to Aperture from iPhoto and love it. Aperture and Pixelmator > Photoshop.

Glad to hear it. If you have not done it already... you might want to buy Robert Boyer's ebooks. They are only a few dollars each, and I still learn more every time I re-read them... even after 3 years of using A3 fairly extensively. I think the url is photo.rwboyer.com

Also... if you ever decide to buy plug-in filter programs... I predict that Nik Software will blow your socks off. They are a bit pricy... but what a difference they make!

/Jim

[phrehdd]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Get Pixelmator. I know you don't want an advanced editor, but at the same time you're sorta asking for too much. There isn't one good basic app that does all that very well without drawbacks. It's only $15 too.

http://www.pixelmator.com

It works with Automator (built-in OSX), so you can make watermarking/resizing easier for you by making a few one-click scripts/apps. If anything, I recommend you check out Automator, it rocks.

Always keep your pictures in the picture folder. Don't litter your desktop with stuff, it'll keep your Mac running smoothly that way.

While I use Photoshop, I would have to absolutely agree about recommending Pixelmator. It is by far the best bang for the buck with plenty of great tools. I understand the latest upgrade is outstanding.