Hello,
I am working on finally organizing my images that I have collected over the last few years. When editing, importing , etc.. I use a combination of View NX, Capture, NX and Picture Project. I also use Photo Mechanic when I shoot an event and have a large number of images to import and sort. I have about 2,500 images that I want to add keywords to and put in a "library" of various albums on my computer and then back up on a second hard drive. In addition, I am looking for the best online storage and viewing option for my images. I'm on a IMAC. So the question that I have are:
1) Editing and Organizing: I am looking at Lightroom and Aperture. Any thoughts from those that use them regarding positive or negatives on Nikon files, etc. Ease of use for organizing and tagging.
2) Online storage and viewing: Looking for a site that has a clean viewer experience and one that will hopefully be around for a while. Digital Railroad and Photoshelter have folded so any thoughts on this would also be appreciated:
+1 for Lightroom, it's cataloging capabilities have greatly improved in 2.0 Depending on the speed of your iMac it may be faster than Aperture. Try the demo.
Hi Jammy,
Thanks for the input. I did check out the lightroom demo before and I liked the interface better than aperture for pure viewing purposes. In addition, I checked out your work. You have some really great shots there, nice job!
Jack
Same here... I use LR 2.1 for 95% of my digital workflow!
Every once in a while I need to add a logo, or an overlay but I managed to keep everything into LR otherwise.
For online storage, I use both Flickr (owned by Yahoo), and Photobucket. Flickr Pro comes with my DSL package though (AT&T/Yahoo partnership) I've also used Shutterfly, but not extensively. They have free as well as pay services, check them out and see which ones you like. Do be sure to check out all the options though, to make sure you retain copyright to your images. They also have downloadable tools to speed the upload process
Did Expressions Media fall off the charts when iview was bought by Microsoft? I'm also in the market for library software and a smooth workflow. Cataloging is my primary need.
I currently use pc but most likely will convert to Mac soon.
I prefer Aperture to LR (latest releases), I find that Aperture is much more streamlined for the type of work I do. Also I find it easier to get better RAW conversions with Aperture than LR.
Download the trialversions available, and give them a try.
You may already have done this but a critical issue is to spend some time arranging things in a logical directory structure on your hard drive. I use year and then shoot name but the structure will depend on how you are organized.
You cannot depend on being able to migrate your library to whatever the fancy new approach will be in 5 years. If you have to start over, you will at least have a reasonable starting point.
LA_Sportsman wrote:
Did Expressions Media fall off the charts when iview was bought by Microsoft? I'm also in the market for library software and a smooth workflow. Cataloging is my primary need.
I currently use pc but most likely will convert to Mac soon.
