migrating photos from Photoshop to iPhoto

My new iMac is on it's way to me and I'm starting to get the jitters about transferring my photo library of 3000+ pictures. I do have it double backed up (external hard drive and cd), so I won't lose any data if it all goes terribly wrong I am switching to Mac essentially for the seamlessness and 'can do' attitude of the programs for photos, video, web publishing etc.

I would appreciate if someone could soothe my worries away!

1) Would it be easier if I went ahead and installed Photoshop for Mac on my new iMac before transferring data? This isn't necessarily the app I would like to use and Aperture also interests me, but for ease of transfer I would buy & install Photoshop. I like the way Photoshop organizes my pictures.
2) If it makes no difference for the ease of transition, I will keep iPhoto for now to avoid another computer related expenditure. If that's the case, will my pics from Photoshop magically appear in iPhoto, with or w/o still tags attached?
3) Assuming I would like to upgrade (and if I know me, I will!) to a higher grade photo app at some point, is it really a seamless integration between iPhoto to Aperture (etc) to .mac?

Thanks for your help!

I like iPhoto myself, it works great with .mac. I am not a professional photographer by any means though so I can get away with sticking with iPhoto. I haven't used Aperture or Photoshop so I can't tell you which is better or how the photos will transition. There was an article in MacWorld a few months back that compared Aperture and Lightroom though, it would probably help you make a decision. Here is the link.

http://www.macworld.com/2007/06/features/digitaldarkroom/index.php

I switched to a Mac recently and I just can't get behind iPhoto. I've used Photoshop for many years and there is really no comparison between the two. In conjunction with Photoshop I use Lightroom. I love Lightroom and rarely ever use iPhoto anymore. Lightroom is quite a bit more expensive than iPhoto, but you get what you pay for, right? The good news is that Adobe will do a cross-platform transfer of your registered copy of Photoshop for under $200, so you don't have to buy the full version from scratch when you switch.

AZrunner

Thanks for your reply - just going to pick your brain a bit more, if that's okay

I currently use Photoshop Elements (sorry - should have been more specific in my original post) so I can buy a new copy for Mac $129CAD and that is affordable enough (but before I do that I would like to try Aperture and Lightroom.) I assume Photoshop works the same on Mac as a PC? ie if I migrate my photos to iPhoto, decide I don't like iPhoto and install Photoshop on my Mac, it will grab all of my photos and organize them?

Also, when I migrate to my iMac, will the photos show up in iPhoto organized in the same chronological order I currently have on my PC? I am *terrified* that I am going to lose the organization of my photos and have them appear randomly in in iPhoto, which would require dozens of hours to fix.

sweetpea_mom said:

AZrunner

Thanks for your reply - just going to pick your brain a bit more, if that's okay

I currently use Photoshop Elements (sorry - should have been more specific in my original post) so I can buy a new copy for Mac $129CAD and that is affordable enough (but before I do that I would like to try Aperture and Lightroom.) I assume Photoshop works the same on Mac as a PC? ie if I migrate my photos to iPhoto, decide I don't like iPhoto and install Photoshop on my Mac, it will grab all of my photos and organize them?

Also, when I migrate to my iMac, will the photos show up in iPhoto organized in the same chronological order I currently have on my PC? I am *terrified* that I am going to lose the organization of my photos and have them appear randomly in in iPhoto, which would require dozens of hours to fix.

Click to expand...

My experience with iPhoto was pretty limited, it just didn't work the way I wanted it to, unlike Lightroom which fit my needs perfectly. After seeing how iPhoto saved individual photos as separate events, I was afraid to import my well organized photo library into it. Sounds like you're in the same boat. I could also never figure out how to browse my photos in iPhoto. I could view thumbnails or watch a slideshow, but I really need to be able to browse full size photos quickly by just hitting the arrow keys to move onto the next one.

My suggestion is to try iPhoto by saving some images off of the web to see how it works for you. You can also try Lightroom free for 30 days.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

Photoshop works the same on a Mac and PC, just a few differences in keyboard shortcuts, I had no trouble at all with the switch in PS. I've never used PS Elements, so I don't know exactly how that differs. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your insight. I think I will just try the trial versions of different software before I import my pics. I really wanted to get everything up and running asap, but I might have to summon some patience and caution first

lightroom and aperture are only for RAW images, they're fairly useless for jpegs.

Lightroom is not just for RAW, it supports jpeg, tiff, RAW, etc, etc, and it allows non-destructive editing on all the formats. Your statement is misleading.

Yes, I shoot RAW format with my Olympus evolt-E410 SLR. I just started using the SLR, and still use my secondary digital camera (jpeg) for some things as well.

Like AZrunner suggested, I will try trial versions and see which fits my needs best.

To the OP, yes if you have photos on your Mac then install PSE it will import all of you photos into it. I don't think the current Mac version of Elements comes with the Organizer though, so I'm not sure how it organizes photos. In that case, maybe you could use iPhoto for organizing the pics, and Elements for processing them.

FWIW, Lightroom and PS (full-blown or Elements) go hand in hand very well. PS gives you the option to selectively edit, work in layers, sharpen to a greater degree, and just work more at the pixel level, but for most stuff LR will probably be all you need, plus it's a great organizer and speedy. Aperture, on the other hand, is much more system intensive.