Own and use PS CS3...do I need Aperture2?

I purchased a copy of PS and am slowly getting the hang of things, although I think I will still be discovering things for the next few decades. I also use iPhoto, and love it because of it's simplicity, and the fact that everyone in the house is able to use it without the slightest problem. (Thank You, Apple!) With the ability to use Bridge as main filing program, and using iPhoto to store the finished versions of the photos that will be used by the family, would there be any benefit to using Aperture2?
What actions or processes does Aperture offer that PS doesn't? Or does it do fewer processes in a simpler, more "Apple-esque" fashion. Or does PS plus iPhoto equal or exceed Aperture?
Thanks for any input or personal opinions.

I have LightRoom (Adobe's competitor to Aperture 2) and CS3. I can get much more done in LightRoom quicker than if I used Bridge.

Some days (like when I'm out at the race track), I come home with over a thousand images to download, sort, select, and process. Getting LightRoom has vastly increased my work-flow productivity.

I now use CS3 as a secondary program for when I really need it, or want to do something artistic with my images. LightRoom is now my primarily cataloging and editing software.

Since you're familiar with CS3, why not experience the free trial download of LightRoom or Aperture? Compare for yourself to see if you really need it for your purposes.

Think of Aperture (and Lightroom) of iPhoto on steroids. I use Lightroom first to import everything, tag the photos, do minor adjustments across whole series of shots (lets say white balance for a whole set, over 1000 pics), then if I need to do major edits I open up Photoshop.

When you are working with LARGE sets of photos and have to do minor edits across all of them, Lightroom (or Aperture) is a godsend!

I use Lightroom then CS3 to finish off things, if needed...

Thanks for the replies. Just one more question, I promise. If I use Aperture, and use PS for more complex editing, saving the edited photo back to Aperture, will the edited photo be saved just like Aperture saves it's own edits. I mean as the full unedited original, while the edited photo is saved as the instruction set for the changes to the original resulting in a smaller file size.. Jeez, could I have made that sound any more clumsy? I hope that you can figure out what I am trying to ask.

I'm not sure on aperture, but lightroom is very intertwined with PS being as they're both adobe products. You can browse in lightroom and opt to edit in PS and all edits are saved to lightroom, but lightroom keeps an original on the stack so you can always go back to it.

Both are really useful if you take tons of pictures and need a program to help with the workflow. Very useful for people like wedding photographers.

I have Aperture 2 and will be getting PSCS3 soon, I'll bookmark this thread and report back later.

If you are wanting something that is more powerful then iphoto, and are used to the photoshop interface, I would go for lightroom over aperture, especially if you are a RAW shooter as the raw processing interface is very similar (between ps cs3 and lightroom).

The intergration between lightroom and PS is very good. As soon as you save a file in photoshop, that saved file gets automatically updated in lightoom. For most of my work, I can do all the editing I need in Lightroom. For what it is worth, IPTC tagging is more efficient in lightroom too.

Thanks so much for the input, guys.
FranchiseJuan, I am not overly familiar with PS, as I just purchased it. However I have used PS elements in the past, so that gives me a running start at PS. My biggest consideration is the final integration with iPhoto for the family's use. Will Aperture integrate better than Lightroom with iPhoto, Safari, and iWeb, or will it be an equal proposition.
An example that I can give is when my wife is using Safari or iWeb, it is so easy for her to get any photos by clicking the "photo" button. She is immediately given the choice of photos from iPhoto. If I use Lightroom, will that library be offered as source for photos, or will she (meaning me!!) have to go digging through file libraries to find the photo to be included in the e-mail?
It should be understood by all that if something doesn't appear easily or instantaneously, then my name is immediately called. I must immediatly stop what ever I am doing (cutting up the cadaver, wrestling the alligator, or calculating the vector co-ordinates for the missile launch) and solve the much larger problem of the photo that needs to be included in the e-mail. I am sure that may of us are in the same situation and can feel my pain.

caqmr: I cannot answer that question as I have owned a mac for less then a week, and I actually don't use iphoto, iweb or any of those things. I am mainly XP user, and my main workstation is still an XP box (not about to change).

caqmr said:

It should be understood by all that if something doesn't appear easily or instantaneously, then my name is immediately called. I must immediatly stop what ever I am doing (cutting up the cadaver, wrestling the alligator, or calculating the vector co-ordinates for the missile launch) and solve the much larger problem of the photo that needs to be included in the e-mail. I am sure that may of us are in the same situation and can feel my pain.

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Yes, we can sympathize with your plight as many of us share in your extra-curricular activities (except that I wrestle orangutan in my spare time, and like to write out all the digits in Pi when I'm awake).

I installed Lightroom in my wife's Thinkpad (she uses it for her blog), and she has taken to it like a fish to water. She has utilized basic functions of the program with zero instructions from me.

Take a test drive with the free 30 day download, and also check out this excellent video tutorial HERE.

Aperture - no

Lightroon - yes

soul.glo said:

Aperture - no

Lightroon - yes

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I will go just the opposite there....

I would be interested to hear why you like Lightroom vs. Aperture. Is it a workflow thing? Or features? Usability?

Just curiosity...

What actions or processes does Aperture offer that PS doesn't?

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You are comparing two very different applications, even if they have some functions that are similar. Their intents are completely unique and really cannot be compared to each other.

Photoshop is an image editing and enhancement tool.

Aperture is a photograph management tool that happens to be able to do some editing.

I couldnt live without Aperture

Aperture has almost made Photoshop redundant for me (except for some in depth editing of multiple layers that Aperture can not handle).

Most of it has to do with personal preference. I hate the way Aperture is layed out and it's not easy to figure out. Photoshop takes up time, and I feel like aperture is the same in that regards. Lightroom is setup perfectly and is extremely user friendly. I use ps as well, but lightroom is great when I don't want to spend a lot of time on a photo and only want to make minor adjustments. Just my 2 cents!

soul.glo said:

Most of it has to do with personal preference. I hate the way Aperture is layed out and it's not easy to figure out. Photoshop takes up time, and I feel like aperture is the same in that regards. Lightroom is setup perfectly and is extremely user friendly. I use ps as well, but lightroom is great when I don't want to spend a lot of time on a photo and only want to make minor adjustments. Just my 2 cents!

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Thank you for responding...it is interesting to hear other perspectives on the programs. I suppose it has a lot to do with what you are used to. I would say much the same about Lightroom but that is only because I have used Aperture much more. If I took that time to learn Lightroom I may have a different opinion....but why change/fix something that isn't broken. I definitely agree with your "Photoshop take us time" comment, I have been using/playing with Adobe products for years now and I don't even feel as if I have scratched the surface of their capabilities. Everything is a process and nothing is an easy one with Adobe (at least in my experience) yet it is still one of the most widely used and versatile design/imaging/web/photography packages available. And owning the CS3 Master collection I obviously like their products. I just wish that I could find some really good--easy to understand and sort through--video tutorials that could teach me all of the things that I want to know. I have a collection of books that total nearly 30,000 pages on the subject of "How-to" CS3 and reading and retaining all of that when I don't "use" the products to make a living and I could easily pay someone to do what I want to do with them (i.e. web design) and they can do it in 1/10 the time that I am able to, just doesn't make much sense.

Long rant....but to each their own. Each product has its strong and weak points and to the OP which ever you choose I am sure that you will be more that happy. And to answer a question that you asked about integration with the iLife suite....Aperture integrates much the same as iPhoto does. I cannot answer for Lightroom as I have not tried and my trial has expired.

Best of Luck!

I honestly didn't like Lightroom too much, but i did like iPhoto a lot, which is the way i use Aperture 2 for, just to organize and view my photos. I know i'm not using it to its full potential, but †hat's what i have PSCS3 for.