Manage or Reference iPhoto Library?

what is the consensus about doing a hard import (manage) of my iPhoto library?

What's a "hard import (manage)"? Are you asking should you copy the files into the Aperture Library or leave them Referenced in iPhoto?

If so, a key question might be, what future do you plan for iPhoto? Are you planning to use both? Then leave them where they are. If not, then why would you?

Other than that, there is no consensus until you explain what your usage is.

Oh, and what are "miscellaneous pictures"?

Regards

TD

As for miscellaneous photos I meant stuff that I have collected from sources other than my camera - photos sent by friends in emails, texture jpgs that I use in other programs, etc.

What do you do with them now?

Regards

TD

Again, it's a bit of an impossible question: why not leave them in the Folder? Why not import to Aperture? You can do either, but it's rather impossible for us to advise if we don't know more. What if I asked you "What car should I buy"? Wouldn't you need to something of my car usage before you could make a suggestion?

Regards

TD

Part of the answer will rest on how you plan to use your pictures. Another part depends on your personality.

As a rule, I don't use external editors (photoshop, photoshop elements, etc..) very often. I find the editing features in Aperture to be sufficient. On occasion I will use PSE and/or a plug-in. If I was in a situation where I found myself using a lot of external editors, I would most likely consider using referenced files.

Also, how disciplined are you? Using referenced files might require you to be pretty disciplined in how you set up/manage your folders and how you set up your images. I no longer remember, maybe somebody can clarify, but I wonder if Aperture/iPhoto behaves like iTunes in that any file/folder deletion has to be done via Aperture or else it gets very confused very quickly.

Personally, I like iPhoto/Aperture for its organizational and management features. When I work with my images I prefer for Aperture to take care of the image storage. One less concern.

Of course there is a question of personal preference. Many prefer to deal with referenced files. It gives them more flexibility. For example, a person will have a much easier time switching from iPhoto/Aperture to Lightroom if they use a referenced file system.

Just my $0.02 worth, and of course YMMV. Good luck with your quest.