Jobu_Sparks

Q: Apertrure or iPhoto on a new iMac? Photo Storage? HELP!

I just purchased a new 27" iMac and before I did anything, I upgraded to Mavericks on a clean install out of the box.  My "old" computer is a first generation Intel iMac (Jan 2006) running Snow Leopard.  The internal 250GB hard drive was becoming labored with files, so I stored all of my photos, videos, and music on an external hard drive and simply directed my respective programs to look for their libraries on that hard drive. Made a MASSIVE difference on the computer and it ran wonderfully all along due to a light load on that internal drive.


Since the new iMac has a 1TB internal drive, I thought I would put everything ON the internal hard drive and just use the 1.5 TB Drive as a backup.  Importing photos to iPhoto has proved to be a rediculous nightmare with Faces and quadruplicates of pictures.  I have just dumped the whole file and want to start over from scratch. 

 

My question is this:  I have intentions of downloading Aperture anyways.... should I just download it and use it as my primary, by importing all pictures off my external drive into Aperture, then direct iPhoto to look at my Aperture library?  I have nearly 50,000 pictures to put on the computer so I can start to clean them out.  One of the BIGGEST complaints of iPhoto is Faces.  What a mess!  Another reason to want Aperture even more so I can disable that!  I was also thinking of just directing the libraries to look at the external again and getting ANOTHER external drive for JUST Time Machine backups.

 

So many choices.... don't know which way to turn.  Any advice? 

 

(and NO, I don't want to hear how crazy I am to have or want to import 50,000 photos..... which, with Faces and unruly duplicates became 275,000 files transfered.  Ugh.)

Aperture 3, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Jan 11, 2014 6:26 PM

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Q: Apertrure or iPhoto on a new iMac? Photo Storage? HELP!

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  • by daikambu65,Helpful

    daikambu65 daikambu65 Jan 11, 2014 7:19 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 7:19 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Also have a brand new 27" iMac. Don't know anything about iPhoto. But have learned a buch about Aperture since getting it 6 months ago. Your statement/question covers several areas.

     

    I feel it is best to have my primary Aperture library onboard the computer. This, in Apple-speak, is refered to as a "Managed Library". The advantage is that access is real fast. A Referenced Library is located on an external drive and, while slower, offers some safety. If your main hard drive dies, a Managed Library is a dead duck.

     

    Offsetting this, however, is your option to select a 'backup' for the library on an external. This is actuated when you import. There is a little check box for you to choose a backup location.

     

    The other thing you mentioned is size the size of your image library. These days, storage devices are cheap. I bought a Toshiba 2Tb external drive for $80, and my backup library lives there. Can't answer any more of your questions. Personally I am gunshy about 'Faces' in Aperture. It really S.L.O.W.S. things down. Or, so I am told.

     

    Gary Curtis

    Santa Monica

  • by Najinsky,Helpful

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 11, 2014 8:14 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 8:14 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Jobu, I think you have over-complicated things with the import approach.

     

    Your iPhoto Library on your old iMac is simply your iPhoto library. There's no reason to import it, just copy it to the new computer and open it on your new computer. It should upgrade it to the latest library format and then you're done.

     

    Andy

  • by Jobu_Sparks,

    Jobu_Sparks Jobu_Sparks Jan 11, 2014 9:17 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 9:17 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Okay.... so I chose to 'import' instead of copy. This next effort will be to copy.   What about faces?  I understand it is unavoidable in iPhoto.  Aperture lets you disable it.  I hate it.  It bogs down the system and creates way too many extra files that are useless. 

     

    Am I correct in that I am able to disable it in Aperture?

     

    So basically, because I am starting fresh with a blank slate.... I can purchase Aperture and "COPY" my library to the internal hardrive Aperture Managed Library and use it just like I used to use iPhoto all these years, but more capability AND I can turn off Faces.

     

    Then figure out how I am going to deal with a backup - whether it be on a new drive or my re-purposed external.

     

    How does this sound to you guys?

  • by Najinsky,

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 11, 2014 10:26 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 10:26 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Not quite. Unless you were on one of the latest versions of iPhoto, your library won't initially be readable by Aperture. You have to upgrade it using the latest iPhoto first (which comes with your new Mac). Once iPhoto has finished upgrading it, you can then open it with Apeture and disable faces.

     

    Aperture has much better organisation tools, so once you start using it you'll be able to kick your library into shape pretty easily.

     

    But you need to spend a little time understanding Apertures basic terminology or else you may create problems for yourself.

     

    For example;

     

    Because your images are stored on a seperate drive when you have upgraded the library and then open it in Aperture, your images will be 'Referenced' images'. If you decided to move them to the internal drive yourself, Aperture would lose track of them so you'll need to understand how to use 'Locate Referenced Files'. But if you decide to let Aperture move the files for you, you need to decide wether to keep them as Referenced Images (by using the 'Relocate Originals' menu, or make them 'Managed' Images by using the 'Consolidate Originals' menu.

     

    So you can probably see how getting to grips with the right terminology will be important for you.

     

    Here's the user manual that explains Apertures basic components:

     

    http://documentation.apple.com/en/aperture/usermanual/index.html#chapter=3%26sec tion=1%26tasks=true

     

    Andy

  • by Jobu_Sparks,

    Jobu_Sparks Jobu_Sparks Jan 11, 2014 10:49 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 10:49 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    I have to break this down to the most basic question:

     

    I have an empty iPhoto, an empty Aperture and an external hard drive with pictures on it.  Which program should I use to copy these images from the hard drive to?

     

    I appreciate all of the feedback, but I think the above question is the root of what I want to know.  After that, it's all about making the right choices moving forward.

     

    Most everyone else would already have an iPhoto library, and then get Aperture.   I have the chance to do it differently.

     

    Thoughts?

  • by Najinsky,

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 11, 2014 11:03 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 11:03 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Have you ever edited a photo in iPhoto? Added a keyword, caption or description? Organised the images into events?

     

    If you have, are you happy to lose all that work?

     

    If so, just import all your original images into Aperture and start again. Before you import, open the empty Aperture library and disable Faces and (and probably Places too) in the Preferences setting. You should also decide if you want previews to be created as this will add considerable time to your import.

     

    But if you have edits/keywords/etc that you want to preserve, then upgrade your existing library using iPhoto, then start using the library in Aperture.

     

    But the comments about learning the basics still applies whichever way you go. If you just start afresh and import your original images into Aperture, you still need to decide if you will use Managed or Referenced Images.

     

    Andy

  • by Jobu_Sparks,

    Jobu_Sparks Jobu_Sparks Jan 12, 2014 12:29 AM in response to Najinsky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 12, 2014 12:29 AM in response to Najinsky

    Thanks for the quick responses!  Wasn't sure how often people answered these questions.

     

    I want to let this soak in for a little bit..... I am leaning towards upgrading the existing library using iPhoto, then when we get REALLY bold, have Aperture look at the library...........  However, I can't stand Faces.  So torn.  The only thing we do is maybe remove red eye, crop, color enhance, and caption for social media.  We DO use images into events..... that could be the back-breaker.  Sick of doing things twice, three times.... just want to make the right choice up front for once.

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Jan 12, 2014 2:11 AM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 10 (105,690 points)
    iLife
    Jan 12, 2014 2:11 AM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    . I am leaning towards upgrading the existing library using iPhoto, then when we get REALLY bold, have Aperture look at the library........... 

    Aperture has better tools to organize your photo library than iPhoto. For example, you can structure your projects (aka "events" in iPhoto) by putting related projects in a hierarchical structure of folders. And yes, you can decide, if you want to use faces, places, previews. You can delete faces, that have been created in iPhoto.

     

    You will want to save as much of your previous work, but start with a new, clean design for your Aperture library, that will be easily mainained and suffice for many years. these goals are a bit in conflict.

     

    If you want to eat the cake, but have it too, start your Aperture library with two folders for projects - old and new. Import the iPhoto library into the "old"  folder, and build the structure in the "new" folder according to your new design by moving items between these two folder sets. Importing the iPhoto Library will save all your edits and tags like Andy recommended, and keeping the imported projects/events in a separate folder, will help you to build a new structure from it.

     

    These two user tips might help you decide on a design for your new Aperture library:

    My little effort:                  New to Aperture? Some Considerations when Designing your First Aperture Library

    And Kirby Krieger's great                  The Well-Trod Path: a Beginner's Guide to how Aperture's major parts inter-relate

     

    After upgrading to Aperture, don't delete iPhoto in a hurry, see:

                     Keep iPhoto - It May Come in Handy!

     

     

    -- Léonie

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jan 12, 2014 3:59 AM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 10 (139,475 points)
    iLife
    Jan 12, 2014 3:59 AM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Re: Faces in iPhoto

     

    A poster called lopezio claims the following will do the job:

     

    This is how you can disable (turn off) Face detection, without deleting faces found so far (just in case you want to restart processing at another time):

     

    1. Quit iPhoto

    2. Open Terminal Application (Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app)

    3. Type the following (exactly as is):

     

    defaults write com.apple.iPhoto PKFaceDetectionEnabled 0

     

    (then return)

     

    4. - Start iPhoto - Faces stops getting on your nerves...

     

    If you ever need to re-enable faces, just do the same again and replace the 0 with 1.

     

    I've not tested this so I'd offer a significant warning to back up first and even if it does work then to be wary if you're updating or upgrading as it may have an impact there too.

     

    What definitely works, and safely, is to upgrade to Aperture as that has an option to disable faces. Pay more get more options.

  • by Jobu_Sparks,

    Jobu_Sparks Jobu_Sparks Jan 12, 2014 12:58 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 12, 2014 12:58 PM in response to Jobu_Sparks

    Thanks to you guys, I made my decision....

     

    I copied my library over to iphoto and upgraded it.  Came out VERY well!

     

    Aperture will be a nice compliment to all that we have done with our iPhoto in the past.  Plus, there is an initiative in the house to keep cleaning up the library of the blurry, and unwanted photos.

     

    Case Closed!