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Need to reclaim photos.

I have been organizing and editing pictures for over 10 years with various versions of iPhoto, Aperture, and Picasa. My inventory of photos is a mess. They are scattered all over 2 devices, not found in some software, and in need of serious organization. Where do I start? I do have most of my inventory in Time Capsule. I would like to use only one of the aforementioned tools to move forward with . . . what do you suggest?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Jan 15, 2013 1:16 PM

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Posted on Jan 15, 2013 1:34 PM

One way to go - upgrade to the latest versions of iPhoto and Aperture. Both applications now share a unified library format. You could merge your iPhoto libraries and Aperture Libraries into one consolidated library on a dedicated external drive, and open these libraries either in Aperture or iPhoto, until you are sure, which of the apps is the right application for you:


Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture


Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

(BTW: A similar approach will work to merge iPhoto Libraries into Aperture libraries).


Regards

Léonie

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jan 15, 2013 1:34 PM in response to harvdog

One way to go - upgrade to the latest versions of iPhoto and Aperture. Both applications now share a unified library format. You could merge your iPhoto libraries and Aperture Libraries into one consolidated library on a dedicated external drive, and open these libraries either in Aperture or iPhoto, until you are sure, which of the apps is the right application for you:


Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture


Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

(BTW: A similar approach will work to merge iPhoto Libraries into Aperture libraries).


Regards

Léonie

Jan 15, 2013 2:02 PM in response to harvdog

Roughly:

  • Upgrade your OS and your app versions to the most recent ones.
  • Use Aperture, if you are comfortable with it.
  • Consolidate everything in one Aperture Library.
  • Create a top-level Folder called "Old Structure".
  • Move all Projects into this Folder (in Aperture, every Image must be a Project).
  • Select the Photos container. Sort by date. Look for dupes. Use the Info tab (or the Info tool tip metadata overlay) to compare dupes. Save the largest; delete the others.
  • Identify your storage and your retrieval needs. Think on this. :-) .
  • Add new Projects and Albums, and new Folders to organize them, to build a Library structure that meets your needs.
  • Move Images and/or Projects from "Old Structure" to the new structure you are creating.
  • Continue until there are no Images left in "Old Structure".
  • Delete the Folder "Old Structure" and all its contents.
  • Enjoy you newly organized photo collection.

Need to reclaim photos.

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