iPhoto 08 vs Adobe Photoshop elements 6

They are totally different - iPhoto is a photo management system with some editing - Photoshop Elements is a photo editor with some photo management (using Bridge)

So my main question is, what is the main differences between the two? Is one a better photo editor than the other? Does one have more options from the startup (basic install)? Does one have more things to add on down the road.

PSE has many more editing options - iPhoto has many more organizing options

Other things I was curious about was photo organization. Is one better than the other? What is the difference?

iPhoto has many more organizing features - Key words - non destructive editing - always having the original avaliable - easy to use books, calendars etc - many more features

Lastly, perhaps it is possible to use them in conjunction?

You can use iPhoto as your photo organization with PSE as the editor - you can not use Adobe bridge and iPhoto together

LN

HI JW: I use both iPhoto and PS Elements. iPhoto is very good at sorting, organizing, and viewing your photos, but is at best a very basic editing program. PS elements is a very good editor, with 3 different ways of working on photos. Ranging from basic hand holding to leaving all the decisions to you. The new Mac version (6) is pretty much the same as the PC version. The 2 programs do play very well together. You can set the editor program to be PS Elements from within iPhoto. You then select "Edit in External Editor" from the iPhoto menu. If you decide to purchase the Mac version os PS Elements, check out Amazon for prices. I got mine from Amazon.ca for about $40 less than I had seen it at local retailers.

Enjoy
Stedman

So almost looks like it comes down to what I want and personal preferences.

Yes

Almost sounds like if I rule out Elements,

I use both - elements is a much more comprehensive editor - iPhoto is very basic - although I probably do 95% of my editing with iPhoto - PSE only for advanced needs

Does Elements do anything that iphoto cannot do, when creating things like slideshows? What about adding effects to photos (cartoon figures, making fun pics etc.)

Not in organizing or consumer things like slideshows - but lots in editing and adding effects

combo of Aperture and iPhoto would be a nice way to go as well.

Some people do and will chime in hre - I do not use Aperture - to me you would choose either iPhoto or Aperture and still use PSE with either

You mentioned Lightroom in another post - it does not work well with iPhoto and it is recommended that you not mix iPhoto and Lightroom

LN

Following on, I a using PS Elements (just upgraded to 6) and I still can't find a way to see iPhoto a copy that I have created in Elements. In iPhoto all I see is the original or if I overwrite it in Elements, the resultant change. On the PC, Elements holds all the edited copies together. How do I get iPhoto to show the edited copy?
It's also useful to see that Bridge is no use with iPhoto. I have to say I thought they were going really to upgrade PS for the Mac but from the file handling point of view I can't see any changes and I think I'd rather go back to the PC unless I'm missing some features that will allow me the same amount of control (eg batch changing of time taken, batch changing of names etc, cataloguing etc)
Any thoughts or steers would be gratefully received
Thanks

ThomDennis

You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.

I'm not sure I understand your comments here:

unless I'm missing some features that will allow me the same amount of control (eg batch changing of time taken, batch changing of names etc, cataloguing etc)

These are available in iPhoto, but I'm not sure if you're referring to iPhoto or Elements.

Regards

TD

Using Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) as Your Editor of Choice in iPhoto.

1 - select Photoshop as your editor of choice in iPhoto's General Preference Section's under the "Edit photo:" menu.

2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.

3 - however, if you get the navigation window that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.

This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..

NOTE: With Photoshop Elements 6 the Saving File preferences should be configured: "On First Save: Save Over Current File". Also I suggest the Maximize PSD File Compatabilty be set to Always.

If you want to use both iPhoto's editing mode and PS without having to go back and forth to the Preference pane, once you've selected PS as your editor of choice, reset the Preferences back to "Open in main window". That will let you either edit in iPhoto (double click on the thumbnail) or in PS (Control-click on the thumbnail and seledt "Edit in external editor" in the Contextual menu). This way you get the best of both worlds

2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.

3 - however, if you get the navigation window that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.

This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..

TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

iPhoto has many more organizing features - Key words - non destructive editing - always having the original avaliable - easy to use books, calendars etc - many more features

Just for the record, Adobe Bridge, which comes with PSE, lets you assign IPTC metadata keywords, rather than the proprietary keywords in iphoto, and PSE 6 lets you make photo books, online calendars, and other projects.

Be warned that you can't use Adobe Bridge and iPhoto on the same photos. They are incompatible. Keywords and other metadata that is written to photos will crash iPhoto when those photos are accessed in iPhoto.

Also when photos are exported from iPhoto the keywords, titles and descriptions can be written to the appropriate IPTC fields by iPhoto.

OT

I have never heard of that happening (crashing) OT. I regularly assign all my keywords in bridge and then only put into iphoto those pics I want to use in a project and I haven't heard of anyone else with this problem. Or did you mean for pics already in iphoto?

I do agree that you need to choose between the two programs for photo management or you will make yourself crazy.

It's been discussed many times in the forum. Maybe not crash iPhoto but corrupt the file and mess up the library. Terence Devlin seems to have the best handle on it. Here's one of the threads: Re: iPhoto and Adobe Bridge Workflow. You can find others by searching for "bridge" and user "Terence Devlin".

OT

That's it, blame me 😉

My point is that it's too easy to damage the library with Bridge by renaming files and foldrs so on, that's all. And with the advent of the pkg file the question is moot for managed libraries.

Regards

TD

So it's the renaming that's the danger and not the metadata, right?

OT