Re: Digital Photo Management
- From: srm <srm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 14:36:54 +0200
ChrisH wrote:
The obvious answer is iPhoto, but I'd like to hear what other peoples experiences are with this and comparable products.
Speaking as a professional photographer, I ditched iPhoto pronto. Others have recommended GraphicConverter, which is a powerful package. But I eventually ditched that too - it's the kind of package that tries to do everything and I found the kitchen-sink approach makes it cumbersome. It's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades though certainly adequate for the tasks that most amateurs require. In the past, I have tried Adobe Portfolio and ACDsee and didn't much like either one, mainly because they insisted I work their way, rather than being adaptable to my way of working.
Most pro photographers I know, including me, use iView Media Pro (new version due out soon - there's also a simple version called iView Media) for managing photos in a library (Extensis Portfolio also gets some good reviews, I believe). This is very much a professional product and does all the management functions you mentioned but in a way geared towards a smooth, efficient workflow.
PhotoMechanic is also an excellent image management package.
However, you'll need a graphics editing programme (pros use Photoshop, of course, and there is still no substitute yet if you need professional-level functions) for making actual changes to your images.
FWIW, my workflow consists of:
* PhotoMechanic on the laptop to download images from the memory card or camera, automatically rename them and group them in a dated folder.
* I then use PM to make an initial, rough selection. PM is great for this because it's fairly lightweight and fast. Also has good FTP features.
* Images are transferred to the desktop machine and final selections made with Adobe Bridge (part of Photoshop CS2). The selected images are adjusted and converted from Nikon raw format to PSD with Camera Raw (also part of CS2).
* I then use iView MediaPro to manage images - keyword, caption, sort, find, convert to other formats, make contact sheets, etc etc.
There are many packages out there. Your best bet is to download some trial versions and try them for yourself, see what suits your way of working. Naturally, a lot depends on your budget. A combination of iView & Photoshop is the top-of-the-line professional solution but it certainly ain't cheap.
Of course, there's now Aperture from Apple, which looks interesting. But again, only really if you want a professional workflow solution. It would be well over the top for managing your holiday snaps!
.
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- From: ChrisH
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