Aperture or PSE + iPhoto?

[DELTAsnake]

The burden of looking after family photo's looks like it fallen to me. I don't want to spend a lot of money but I want basic photo editing like red-eye, exposure and color correction. I may have to make the occasional major edit like a repair or remove someone also.

With Aperture so cheap I'm wondering if I should go with that or if I should buy Photoshop for edits and use iPhoto for photo library management?

 

[Jessica Lares]

iPhoto alone could do all that for you, even the red eye correction.

 

[jlode]

I have iPhoto/Aperture/CS5/PSE and find Aperture by far the most useful software for 95% of all my editing needs.

Much more capable than iPhoto and has most things I ever need for editing + way faster to work in than any of the Photoshop versions.

Compared with iPhoto, Aperture has much better organizing features as well as deeper functionality. It's way better.

Johan

 

[Vantage Point]

I am a Photoshop CS5 user and have been a Photoshop user for many years. It is the king of the hill, best of the best, and most powerful, but like a car, few people need all that power. Aside from the price tag of Photoshop or the more affordable price tag of Elements, the learning curve for Photoshop in any form is a bit steep because little is intuitive.

For your stated needs I would suggest you either cut your teeth on iPhoto or invest in Aperture for only $80. It is more powerful and flexible than iPhoto and is not something you can expect to outgrow. There is a learning curve but a good book and some on-line videos can help.

BTW, I played with the trial version of Aperture for a few days and then bought it earlier this week to use in tandem with Photoshops added power

 

[carlgo]

I have also decided to go with Aperture and Elements. Apple seems to be promoting Aperture and there is the hope that it will be the more properly supported program over time.

Adobe or someone may prove to be the more interested and interesting provider at some point, but Aperture is a deal in the App store and is certainly worth a try.

 

[talmy]

I've got Adobe CS5, Aperture, and of course iPhoto. Since Aperture 3 I've basically stopped using PhotoShop, but I still use Bridge for imports as I still like referenced rather than managed libraries. iPhoto has been relegated to making cards, which Aperture doesn't do.