# Managing digital photos on a Mac



## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

What do you Mac users use to manage your digital photos?

I've been using digikam (plus GIMP for advanced editing) on Linux and it works really well.

On my Mac I've been playing with iPhoto and the Aperture (v1.5) trial - when it expires I'll d/l the Aperture 2 trial.

My feeling is that iPhoto offers less than Digikam whereas Aperture offers more - maybe too much more as it is aimed at Pros - and I wonder whether I'll use sufficient of it's features/capabilities to justify buying it.

One thing that I've made extensive use of in digikam is tags (keywords in iPhoto and Aperture) and while both iPhoto and Aperture have keywords the big difference is that iPhoto only allows a single level, whereas Aperture supports nested/tree-structured keywords which I'm used to - and make much use of in digikam. I've got something like 11k photos taking up something like 14GB of space so tags/keywords are a very useful - essential even - for quickly finding specific photos.

Any advice/suggestions welcome.

P.S. Just loaded the iLife '09 u/g and the face recognition feature in iPhoto '09 is really cool and seems to work well :thumb:


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## dubnut71 (Jul 25, 2006)

Aperture all the way for me, features are just too good to ignore and its easy to use the lightable etc and export to your storage devices. Also basic workflow corrections such as exposure, cropping and defects are made simple by using the loupe which is a great feature.

V2 on its way to me too hopefully


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

I have Aperture v2, and its great, if a little complex and with a bit of a learning curve , but it spanks all the competition. The original Aperture was one of the reasons I got my original iMac :thumb:

Best bit is the superb image organisation capability, exporting versions etc and the non-destructive editing. Couldnt imagine managing my 20k+ images without it now


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Thanks dubnut. I think Aperture is probably the way to go - guess it just seems a bit daunting when you first dive in there. One thing that I really do like is that it never deletes the original image (and I believe you have to go around the houses to deliberately do so) plus the multiple Vaults :thumb:

I guess that with the 30-day trial of 1.5 and another 30 days for v2 I should be well on the way to mastering it by the time it gets to spending money 

Oh yes, and I love the loupe - the most useful feature I've found so far (at least until I get my 30" Cinema display  ).

BTW, what exactly are Workflows? Seen it but not got round to investigating yet.


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

workflow is a generic term meaning the process from getting an image from your camera, through editing etc to the final output, whether print or soft copy etc.

Workflow is simply the term describing the various steps like RAW conversion, cropping, touch-ups etc :thumb:


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> workflow is a generic term meaning the process from getting an image from your camera, through editing etc to the final output, whether print or soft copy etc.
> 
> Workflow is simply the term describing the various steps like RAW conversion, cropping, touch-ups etc :thumb:


I understand that, but I get the impression that it is something that can be scripted/automated on Macs - or maybe just in Aperture. Is this not the case? Like I said, not got that far yet.


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## NickP (Nov 20, 2005)

Any suggestions for photo management progs for us non mac people


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

NickP said:


> Any suggestions for photo management progs for us non mac people


buy a mac and get Aperture


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## JasonRS (Aug 8, 2006)

Lightroom 2 all the way, then it doesn't matter if you're on a PC one day, Mac the next.


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

I'm surprised no one has suggested Photoshop, that's all I've been using. Although I have used Aperature but I prefer Photoshop..just because I'm used to it though.

Just my input.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Nica said:


> I'm surprised no one has suggested Photoshop, that's all I've been using. Although I have used Aperature but I prefer Photoshop..just because I'm used to it though.
> 
> Just my input.


The issue with PS is the cost. Cheap it ain't 

Mind you, Lightroom2 is twice the price of Aperture


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## NickP (Nov 20, 2005)

I already have Photoshop CS3, would Lightroom give me any benefits over this?


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## JasonRS (Aug 8, 2006)

parish said:


> The issue with PS is the cost. Cheap it ain't
> 
> Mind you, Lightroom2 is twice the price of Aperture


Are you suggesting that poor people own Mac's...

Careful, the Cupertino Brand Police will be on you


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## JasonRS (Aug 8, 2006)

NickP said:


> I already have Photoshop CS3, would Lightroom give me any benefits over this?


It depends on what you want.

I find it far better than bridge for managing files, and the RAW editing means I can do a lot of adjustments without needing to open PS. There are also a lot of tools for outputing to various formats.

If cost is an issue, and you don't need advanced features (so just basic tagging and sorting etc) then stick with Adobe Bridge, or look at a free / cheap tool.

I use Lightroom for RAW management and integration with PS. It also means that I have the same interface & workflow whether I'm on a PC or a Mac.

There are many alternatives some of which are free, it depends on what exactly you want it to do.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

JasonRS said:


> Are you suggesting that poor people own Mac's...
> 
> Careful, the Cupertino Brand Police will be on you


They weren't poor - until they bought a Mac


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## philworrall (Nov 17, 2006)

Automator can do lots of automation for iPhoto. Its really easy to use.

Phil W


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## Coxy914 (Jan 14, 2007)

food for thought here on this thread.

I have a MAC and am using CS2. The main reason I suppose is that it's a program I was familiar when so when changing from PC to MAC, it made it a little easier. Now, I've heard rave reviews on aperture, but is it a much better program than CS2???

I have some 15k+ pics on my hard drive and use iPhoto at the moment, but not overly impressed with it. Maybe it's because I haven't sussed out how to use it properly, or maybe because it's really not that good and just a basic photo storage software program.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Coxy914 said:


> food for thought here on this thread.
> 
> I have a MAC and am using CS2. The main reason I suppose is that it's a program I was familiar when so when changing from PC to MAC, it made it a little easier. Now, I've heard rave reviews on aperture, but is it a much better program than CS2???
> 
> I have some 15k+ pics on my hard drive and use iPhoto at the moment, but not overly impressed with it. Maybe it's because I haven't sussed out how to use it properly, or maybe because it's really not that good and just a basic photo storage software program.


iPhoto is more basic than Aperture or PS - although vastly superior to anything that comes bundled in Windows. The new face recognition feature in iPhoto '09 is cool and seems to work well.

As for Aperture, there is a 30-day trial of Aperture2 (the latest version) available for d/l on the Apple site so you can try it and see how you get on with it.

*Edit* there are also several text and video tutorials on the site by pro photographers showing how they use Aperture which are very informative :thumb:


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## pardonator (Jul 28, 2008)

You might want to try out Google's attempt called Picasa. It's a great little app and has a windows & mac version. It has pretty basic editing tools but it's quick and works well.

http://picasa.google.com/


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## HJW (Feb 23, 2008)

I am going to dive into a Macworld, and ordered a new aluminium MacBook today. I would like to try Aperture 2, but does it have Unsharp Mask tool, or similar, as Photoshop does. Very useful tool in my opinion.


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## pardonator (Jul 28, 2008)

I've recently gone through iPhoto 09, Picasa, Aperture & Lightroom on the Mac. Without a doubt I prefer Lightroom. It has a ton of features, easy to organise and do a lot of the editing you'd want without having to fire up Photoshop.

I'd recommend giving it a go


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

dubnut71 said:


> Aperture all the way for me, features are just too good to ignore and its easy to use the lightable etc and export to your storage devices. Also basic workflow corrections such as exposure, cropping and defects are made simple by using the loupe which is a great feature.
> 
> V2 on its way to me too hopefully


+1 Aperture 2 is the only way forward, Awesome program


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

HJW said:


> I am going to dive into a Macworld, and ordered a new aluminium MacBook today. I would like to try Aperture 2, but does it have Unsharp Mask tool, or similar, as Photoshop does. Very useful tool in my opinion.


Yes, although it doesn't call it USM, it seems to work the same way (same controls/parameters).

Make sure you try the trial of Aperture2 - you may find that the trial pre-installed on your MacBook is Aperture (i.e. v1).

As for Aperture vs. Lightroom, I guess it's down to personal preference. They are both very capable programs that can do way more than any amateur is likely to need.

I tried both and liked Aperture better; others prefer LR.


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