iPhoto, Aperture, LightRoom, PS Elements ??

New switcher here with a digital photo question or two. Before I download and try some of these applications, can someone answer the following? Below is what I did in Windows.

- When I copy or import photos from my camera, I put them in a directory called "Unprocessed". After editing these photos (leaving the original alone), I put them in a directory called "Processed". I then put them in sub directories as appropriate. I usually store the originals on an external drive.

- I also had another directory structure for resized or lower resolution photos that I use primarily for web or email postings. This makes for duplicate photos which can be a hassle.

What I'm looking for is an application that will allow me to edit my photos, leave the originals untouched, and categorize them as I see fit. I assume photos can have multiple tags.

Thanks

What application were you using for this purpose in Windows?

For the folder setup, just Windows Explorer. I was using Photoshop for editing photos. I didn't do any "tagging" of photos, this is something that I'd like to start doing with my new iMac.

MarkY said:

For the folder setup, just Windows Explorer. I was using Photoshop for editing photos. I didn't do any "tagging" of photos, this is something that I'd like to start doing with my new iMac.

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You can do the same manually with Finder, if you wish. Then just use whichever image editor you find works best. The only one I would recommend against using would be iPhoto, since you wish to maintain your own file structure (and iPhoto actually takes this ability away from you and does it on its own).

As far as image editors go, I would HIGHLY recommend Pixelmator. The trial version is free, but the full version is only $59. It works extremely well, is very fast and fully utilizes the GPU and core technologies of OS X.

If you shoot a lot of photos then do yourself a favour and buy Aperture, not only is it a great app for image adjustments but it is a brilliant app for organising your image collection and quickly finding the image you require.

You can do everything you want from within iPhoto. Set your preferences to use whatever external editor you prefer. Then when you edit a photo, the modified photo will be saved right back where it belongs. iPhoto keeps the original of every photo so that you can "revert to original" at any time.

For organization, create folders -- for instance "Vacations". Then create albums for each vacation "San Francisco", "Summer 2008", etc. and put them in the folder. You can create smart albums and, using keywords for your photos, the photos will automatically be put into the correct album. For instance, if you have a photo of Bob and Betty, you could keyword that photo with the keywords "Bob" and "Betty". Then, a smart album for each would automatically put the photo in the correct smart album.

As for lower resolution for emailing, etc., just use the email function in iPhoto -- you will be prompted for what size you want to send. For uploading to Facebook or the like, use the export function and you will similarly be asked what resolution you want to use.

There is no need to keep all those folders, etc. iPhoto is meant to do all of that for you, and it does it brilliantly! Give it a chance to do its work and keep you from doing all of the heavy lifting!

skybolt said:

You can do everything you want from within iPhoto. ... using keywords for your photos...!

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skybolt,

The one frustration I have with iPhoto is that I can't export or import keywords and comments with photos, even between versions of iPhoto on diff Macs. Am I overlooking something? Can this be done?

I work primarily on an older PowerPC Mac (10.4.11) with iPhoto 6.