Aperture and Lightroom Library

rookies

rookies

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Andrew
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Ok Folks... At the moment I am using Aperture and Hate the way the Library works as all photos are in there own folder right into the library and get fed up of digging into it all.. This is when I use a Online Photobook creator...

So i am wondering how does the Lightroom Library work compare to Aperture
 
Are you talking about how the files are stored on the HD or how they're presented within the library itself?
 
What I mean is when I connected my Camera can i get lightroom to store them on what HD i want into folders like DD/MM/YY and leave the original there rather than having them into the Lightroom Library. Also how do they present in the Lightroom Library? is it easy to get the modified pictures over with the rest of the Original Photos?
 
Rookies, I don't have the originals in my Aperture library, they are stored only in the HD structure based on yyyy/mm/date. There are pro's and con's to both ways. In your way, when you create an Aperture vault all your originals are backed up along with the edits. In my method, the vault only contains the edits, and I have to backup the originals manually. I found when I was using LR on the PC that it followed the second method for storage and library use.
 
Jgs001 so which did you prefer Aperture or Lightroom... Also how I get Aperture to leave the Original in the place where I want them? As I use Lightroom to get my photos off my camera or have I to use a different software for this? Also after they been edited in Aperture can I get the edited version to the folder where the original are on my HD?

Also another thing I find anoying is when I want to export the photo from Aperture to CS3 it wont export as a Raw File it Export as a Tiff. I wonder does Lightroom Export as Raw
 
I think you don't understand the point of Lightroom or Aperture. Its a picture management library and integrated raw converter. The raw stays intact and you export a JPG or TIFF for further editing or printing.
 
Not an easy one to answer, they are both good in their own way. In terms of picture results Aperture, when we went Mac, I downloaded the LR trial (we got Aperture bundled) and I carried out as close as I could, the same edit on the same file in both (not easy when of course all the sliders are different). I use Aperture to import the photos directly, I'm not sure where the setting is for whether Aperture is going to store the photos in it's library or on the harddisk (it might be in the import dialog, I can't get at the machine at the moment to check). I've also set Aperture to use a directory structure that both the Canon ZoombrowserEX and LR used for importing on the PC, it was what I was used to, this is adjustable in the Aperture import dialog.

Yes, Aperture produces a TIF for passing the file to an external editor and LR to PS doesn't (I believe, I can't remember now sorry), but when you save the results from PS you can't save the changes back to the RAW file anyway, so I don't see this as too much of an issue. If I want to use ACR on the RAW file directly, I'll open it straight in PS instead of using the Aperture Edit With dialog. As with LR, Aperture doesn't make any changes to the image files, and only saves the changes to a resulting image file on export. You can specify in the export dialog of Aperture where you want the resulting files to be written, same as LR.
 
andrewc said:
I think you don't understand the point of Lightroom or Aperture. Its a picture management library and integrated raw converter. The raw stays intact and you export a JPG or TIFF for further editing or printing.
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I do understand what they do of course I do but I seem to not like the way it bundle all the photos into many different folders with in the Aperture Library file... As some time I want to be able to browse all the different folders that i have in the Aperture library on a different software such as photobook software but it hard since the photoes are all over the place in the library file..
 
Also another thing Aperture does not have Curve Fuction does Lightroom?
 
LR has a curve function, Aperture has levels.
 
I don't know anything about Aperture but I don't think you would want all your files in one folder or you would eventually never be able to find anything. Why not watch some of the tutorials for Lightroom and then download the trial version (if you watch the tutorials first you can then refer back to them and get more use out of the trial).
 
rookies said:
What I mean is when I connected my Camera can i get lightroom to store them on what HD i want into folders like DD/MM/YY and leave the original there rather than having them into the Lightroom Library. Also how do they present in the Lightroom Library? is it easy to get the modified pictures over with the rest of the Original Photos?
Click to expand...

When you import in LR you choose where the images are stored, in can be in the same folder as the catalog file or anywhere else you want.

In the library module all the images are presented for each folder (sub-grouped by HD if they're spread across multiple drives). You can also create collections based on selection or image data such as keyword, date, etc. which is another way of sorting in addition to the folders.
 
On my install of Aperture all photos are within the pictures folder. I can pick up unedited raws and open in CS3, Lightroom trial, iphoto etc., I can't pick up aperture tweaks so easily as that is kept in a different file, but the same is true with lightroom.
 
So if I connect my camera can lightroom import them for me like put the photos in a folder i want within the HD and also add the picture to the catalog for me to edit. But does the edit version stay in the Lightroom library folder or does it go to the folder i got the original?
 
andrewc said:
On my install of Aperture all photos are within the pictures folder. I can pick up unedited raws and open in CS3, Lightroom trial, iphoto etc., I can't pick up aperture tweaks so easily as that is kept in a different file, but the same is true with lightroom.
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Hmmm wonder how you manage to do this as all my photos seem to gone into the aperture library not in there own folders if this is what you have
 
Both Aperture and LR work in the same way. Edits are not carried out on the pictures. The Adjustments you make in both are only stored in the library until such time as you export the results. This means you can make multiple versions/snapshots (to use each programs terms), adjust as much as you like come back and make more changes, and your original image is untouched.
 
andrewc said:
do you start a new project for each new photoshoot?
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Nope not at all... How do you get photo off your camera to your Mac? Using Aperture??? IF so how do you get aperture to store the photoes in the folder of your choice on your HD?
 
In the import dialog, on the right hand side, under picture information, there's a drop down option list called "Store Files", you have this set to Aperture Library. Set it to pictures, then you can either use a pre configured naming convention, or create your own using the "subfolders" option.
 
jgs001 said:
In the import dialog, on the right hand side, under picture information, there's a drop down option list called "Store Files", you have this set to Aperture Library. Set it to pictures, then you can either use a pre configured naming convention, or create your own using the "subfolders" option.
Click to expand...

Ah that would do the trick... Oh god i got crap load pictures in the Library to get out of it and put them into folders I like... Bet this going to take me ages?

I have just downloaded trail of Lightroom too see what it like as I have Aperture 2 that i bough last year
 
Out of interest if you guys have used both aperture and Lightroom which did you prefer and why
 
Might be worth taking a look here. before doing this it would probably be a very good idea to backup the library file...

I prefer some of the edit tools in LR and some in Aperture, but the end result in Aperture. Therefore I'm sticking with Aperture, it'll also save me money as I won't need to then go buy another license for LR on the Mac, having had Aperture bundled with the Mac (there may be a deciding factor in appreciation of the end result too I spose :))
 
When Lightroom 2 beta came out I compared it with Aperture 2 (30 day trial) to decide if I was going to upgrade my Lightroom or buy Aperture, but coming from using Lightroom for a year it felt much more natural to me.

Functionality wise there isn't really anything in it though, it is just a case of which feels best, both of them have got more than one way of doing everything so it is just a case of getting used to the commands and options etc. I used the video tutorials for Aperture and found those useful, but when I was learning Lightroom 1 I had a really comprehensive book, that went through all the features/options and found that really useful, that is certainly worth a go for the price of a book (or free from a library).
 
As I already have aperture and to save my money on getting lightroom in which would cost me £200 since I am not a student... I was just trying to find out if lightroom was better in any ways such as can it export to CS3 as Raw..

But as mention on here is to get my Aperture sorted to store files in it own folder in picture folder this could be better and more easier to navigate...
 
LR doesn't export to CS3 as raw, only as jpg, tiff or PSD. You can't "edit" a raw file in CS3 only in ACR which basically the same as LR's develop module. To further edit in CS3 you need to export the raw to a bitmap file such as jpg or tiff.
 
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