I'm an amatuer photographer using Canon equipment and a Mac computer. Most of my photos are of my extended family and my kids' sporting events with a heavy emphasis on soccer and football.
To this point, I have been using iPhoto for the minimal processing that I do, but I want to move to the next step. After searching this database for software advice, it seems that I should start with PhotoShop Elements or Aperture. Is this correct? Does anyone have a preference? If you have used both, which do you prefer and why?
I have personally found that Aperture is a lot more intuitive and easy to use. That is my opinion which will differ from the next person. Software is more on a personal preference.
Both programs actually have a 30 day trial so I would say the easiest for you to do is to download the trial versions and decide for yourself which workflow you prefer.
Elements will set your up with the PS protocol and, if you want the most flexible program, you will have a big head start on a full PhotoShop program.
Lightroom is, primarily, a photo editor with limited PS features (getting more unlimited over time). Elements can be really cheap if you get an older version (plenty to learn and use at the beginning-Elements is a very powerful program).
Lightroom has a number of modules to give a fairly complete workflow. You start with the Library module to download, sort, cull, keyword and star your images, then move to the Develop module to process the RAW (or Jpeg or TIFF) files, then you can also go the Slideshow, Print and Web modules. It is designed to integrate with Photoshop, either the full version or Elements. The RAW processing engine is the same as ACR in PS but the attraction for most people is the complete workflow, especially the Digital Asset Management (DAM) aspect.
Additionally, as Lr is a data base program, you can take previews (instead of the RAW or PSD/TIFF files) on an external hard drive and show them on different computers, as long as they have Lr installed. Depending on the size of your image collection, you can probably take the whole thing on a relatively small portable hard drive. I have about 25,000 images on one and it takes up about 75 gb. The RAW files would be over 500 gb.
Neither Lr nor Aperture are pixel editors. For that you need something like Elements or Photoshop.
I have no experience with Aperture as I use Windows PCs. There is a free 30 day trial of Lr on the Adobe site.
I tried both Lightroom and Aperture before settling on Aperture. Both can do the job and do it well so it's more a matter of style and usability than anything else. Aperture is - in my experience - significantly smoother and more enjoyable to use than LR. LR suffers some from its cross platform heritage whereas Aperture is completely Mac like and is more elegant. PSE (Photoshop Elements) is a stripped down photo editing program whereas Aperture is a full fledged DAM with increasingly useful editing capabilities.
I don't know how much editing you are doing, but a significant amount of my images never need anything more than the tweaks I give them in Aperture. Get the shot right to start with. Aperture has plug-ins that can significantly enhance its capabilities. I use, for example, SilverEFx Pro from NIK to do B&W conversions. Wonderful program.
The downsides to Aperture include the fact that it still has a few bugs unaddressed and its upgrade cycle is slower than LR. Adobe is close to releasing ver. 3.0 of LR and while the 3.0 version of Aperture has been rumored for a while, it's delivery date is unknown. Apple is also slower at providing RAW translators than Adobe is.
As others have noted, both programs have free 30 day trials so download them and play. (They are both big downloads.) Don't make the mistake of getting new photos stuck only in either program you are just experimenting with. Did that once
Photoshop Elements is a very good place to start. It costs under $100 and gives you a whole lot for your money. Elements itself has a great many of the features of its big brother, Photoshop, and it includes Adobe Camera Raw to develop the photos you take in RAW format, and also, I think, Bridge. Bridge is the Adobe browser and file sorter program, very versatile, which is also included with Photoshop. You navigate to your photo folders and add them to Bridge as favorites and from then on you can open Bridge right to your photo folders, view and sort your photos, and from there, open the photos into the excellent Camera Raw program to develop. If you want to do further editing right then, you can continue on and open photos from Camera Raw into Elements. If you later find you have such a large volume of images to handle as to need a volume processor like Aperture or Adobe Lightroom, you really won't have wasted any money not repaid in learning.
Thanks to everyone for their assistance. I'm registered for an Aperture class this week at the local Apple store and I'll check out the free trial downloads of the various programs so that I can get a feel for the different software.
Again, thanks for all of the advice. It has been very helpful.
Mike, Another STRONG recommendation for Aperture! I did my workflow in Photoshop for several years but made the switch to Aperture about 2 years ago (whenever Aperture 2 was released). I haven't looked back!
In addition to the class in your local Apple store, spend some time watching the Tutorials on Apple's site:
Also, there are several podcasts dedicated to Aperture, including video podcasts. Check out the Aperture 2: Quick Tip video podcasts. They are brief (4-7 minute) videos with tips on using Aperture.
Also, be aware that it is heavily rumored that a new version of Aperture is forthcoming. Some folks believe it will be released before the end of the year (some even say before the end of November). What tipped everyone off was a new book about "Aperture X" that was posted on Amazon with an availability date (for the book) of May, 2010. That listing has subsequently been pulled.
I work in a Mac environment and have used both Lightroom and Photoshop in processing files. I use Lightroom to download files and catalogue them, then develop those images I feel deserve my attention. The vast majority of the processing I do is in LIghtroom. I transfer the revised photo to Photoshop for conversion from 16 bit RAW file to JPEG, resizing for display, cropping to suit my aesthetic taste, for a final sharpening and saving. I find that Photoshop gives me better control over sharpening, which is the final step in post processing before saving.
When Aperture first came out it was acknowledged as a sluggish program that demanded considerable resources from the computer. Since Lightroom was available at the same time I opted to take that path and I have been very happy. I believe Aperture has solved some of its problems but I've invested so much in LIghtroom that I see no need to change my workflow. Take your pick and have fun. My guess is, however, that regardless of which you choose you will wish to have a copy of Photoshop in your kit. From what I read Elements is a very powerful program at an extremely attractive price. If someone hadn't GIVEN me a copy of CS4 Premium I might have bought Elements.
