Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

What happens to Aperture Projects in new Photos?

I have 550 Projects in Aperture, organizing 22,000 photos. Each project has a name, key photo, and they are ordered in a custom order. If I upgrade to new Photos, what will happen to my Projects, their names, key photos and order? I've loved the photo organization in Aperture and don't want to lose it!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on May 4, 2015 8:30 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 4, 2015 1:02 PM

If I upgrade to new Photos


Photos is not an upgrade to Aperture.


The Primary objective of Photos is an easy way to share your images amongst all of your Apple devices.


>> I've loved the photo organization in Aperture and don't want to lose it! <<

Keep using Aperture.

12 replies

May 4, 2015 9:28 AM in response to Sdcarnell

If you love Aperture's organization then don't downgrade to Photos.


Photos is a 'toy' in comparison to Aperture. It is so bad that I have decided to stop using any photographic applications from Apple and will be going with a third party solution instead. Right now as I in the research mode, the main contender for me is Capture One Pro 8. It appears to be the Aperute 4 we have been waiting for such a long time.

May 4, 2015 9:39 AM in response to Sdcarnell

Photos has a very different library structure. There are no more projects - just the library, and you can define albums.


Projects have been replaced by Moments, and the moments are created automatically, based on the dates of your photos and the location. A Moment is a set of photos taken at the same time at the same place. Related moment will be visible as a collection.


When you migrate your Aperture library, Photos will create moments, so make sure all photos have location data. You cannot add locations in Photos, but they are important to have meaningful moments with some descriptive title. So assign locations in Aperture, while you still have Aperture.


All your projects will be replaced by albums with the same name as the project. You will find them in a folder called iPhoto Events.


See this Help text: How Photos handles content and metadata from iPhoto and Aperture - Apple Support


Photos will not suffice for your needs, if you used Aperture's power - see my comparison here:


Photos - Is it worth the hassle?


Photos has some nice features, by I do not see, how to manage a large photo library with it in an efficient way.

May 7, 2015 3:51 PM in response to Sdcarnell

Eventually it will not run on a new version of OS X and then you will be forced to migrate to something else. When that will happen there is no way to tell. It could be the next version after Yosemite or the one after that. There really is no way to tell. It all depends on exactly what changes in all of the newer versions. Eventually something will change so that Aperture no longer works.


I don't want to wait for that to happen so I am migrating now. That way apple can do what they want and have little or no effect on me.

May 7, 2015 1:44 AM in response to Ziatron

HI,

Leonie is right. If i were you, I would not "upgrade" to Yosemite OR "Photos" right now since you have an extensive amount of projects. If you do, what will happen is that "Photos" will automatically, disable both iPhoto and Aperture apps. My situation is an illustration of this. I had used iPhoto for a couple of years and had a number of older projects there; but for the last 5-6 years I used Aperture and loved it.


Then, my iMac died (it was a damaged drive which overheated). Anyway, I bought a new iMac, which came with Yosemite installed. But at the time it included iPhoto, so I figured my Aperture would work fine. What happened was that an update–without a choice–installed Photos, which supposed to transfer photos from BOTH iPhoto and Aperture, but missed all of mine, except those from my iPhone and iPad. Was it because I had a number of iPhoto & Aperture Libraries? I can't even imagine how I will find all my masters and latest versions, even though I still have the libraries intact (since I had multiple backups).


So frustrating! I think I will go with Adobe's Lightroom... Apple clearly is little interested in supporting old applications, which leaves me, you and so many others in a terrible situation and our photos and projects totally messed up. Photos is really only for the casual photographer, PERIOD.

May 7, 2015 10:47 AM in response to salspix

salspix wrote:

HI,

If you do, what will happen is that "Photos" will automatically, disable both iPhoto and Aperture apps. My situation is an illustration of this. I had used iPhoto for a couple of years and had a number of older projects there; but for the last 5-6 years I used Aperture and loved it

That is not true. If both iPhotos Aperture are upgrade to the latest version that is supported 10.10.3 then both app work.

May 8, 2015 12:53 AM in response to Allan Eckert

Just to make clear, I had not yet upgraded to Yosemite when my iMAC DIED. I was not expecting it and I was not paying real close attention to whether or not they would kill iPhoto (and I'd only just heard that Apple was not going to be supporting Aperture anymore). In any event, I had up to date versions of both iPhoto and Aperture, though I had been using Aperture exclusively for a log time, and had backups of the photos and both programs. Anyway, when I bought my new computer (a 21.5 iMac) I migrated my programs and files and Yosemite (which came preinstalled) disabled both iPhoto and Aperture, and without any request for permission or which libraries.


So I can only speak to people who find themselves in a situation like mine. Aperture was great, but putting my many thousands of files (masters, versions, etc.,) back together is like trying to put old Humpty Dumpty together again. I am quite unhappy with Apple over this–and I'm sure I'm not alone.

What happens to Aperture Projects in new Photos?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.