Calling all Mac users!!

[momtutu]

I just got a Macbook Pro (yea me!) and funny enough, I had only had it a couple of weeks (luckily hadn't switched anything over from my pc and it had a bad RAM and the computer died - UGH. I took it back yesterday and they gave me a new computer. BUT...because the model I bought has now been replaced, I got an upgraded model (bigger HD and more RAM) - YEA!

Anyway, I'm a new Mac person and I haven't yet figured out how I want to do my scrapbooking stuff. I used ACDSEE on my PC but I'm pretty sure I would lose all my tags by putting it on my Mac (thousands of tags - hours, and hours of work, right?). So, maybe I don't want ACDSEE. What do I want?

I'm going to get PSE 10 (currently have 7 on my old PC but that isn't what I used to organize - only edit and do my pages.

Do I use iPhoto to organize? What about Aperture? Both? I don't know and understand enough about these programs to know if I need to buy Aperture or just stick w iPhoto. What do I use to tag my scrapbooking stuff with? I've seen a couple of apps that look cool - "Deep" and "Leap" but I may be in over my head with these.

I still haven't moved any of my pictures over yet - I'm trying to decide whether to bring them all over (years worth) or just the past couple of years and leave the rest on an EHD for later.

I just don't know where to start!

[BrattyMeg]

You'd have to get a different version of ACDSee anyways so I'm betting you would lose all that work. I don't really tag my stuff so I'm no help..but welcome to the Mac Side

[momtutu]

That's exactly what I was thinking so I'm about ready to ditch Acdsee instead of starting all over although I really liked the program. I suppose I don't have to use tags as I generally scrap with kits but boy, it sure is nice when I need a piece of red paper to just click "red" and "paper" and get a list of choices!

I'm so overwhelmed!!

[dana]

ooh - i hope you love your mac! i loooove mine

re. tagging - i'm no help either b/c i don't tag, although i did buy acdsee for mac b/c it's so inexpensive. i use iPhoto for my true pictures only - i've never heard of anyone importing all their scrapping supplies in so i'm not sure how that would work. i have aperture as well, i am planning on migrating to that sometime this summer (again, just for my pictures) ...

i'm not sure how you store your scrapping supplies - on your HD or on an EHD - i *think* you have to have aperture to store photo libraries on an EHD, so if you decide you want to use iPhoto to tag scrapping supplies that is something to think about.

[Lyd]

I'm on my phone, but I'm just popping in to say that I'm gonna come back later with an explanation of what I do. It's just too much to type on my phone. Welcome to the Mac side!

[joelsgirl]

I don't have mine tagged, but I just use the Mac search feature. It works for me.

[Nettio]

I use Aperture for organizing my photos which is kind of like iPhoto pro. You can edit RAW photos with it and it gives you the option to save your photos in either a managed library (like iPhoto) or a referenced library where you can store your files elsewhere (like on an EHD).

I don't do any tagging regularly anymore but one program I've used before was called Tags. It's pretty similar to Leap, I think. I liked it because one, it was based on OpenMeta tagging so the tags could be read by other tagging programs and two, it was integrated into Spotlight and Finder. So I could actually tag files from within Photoshop and then use a spotlight search or Smart Folder later to see all those tags. To me that was a lot easier than having to have ACDSee open all the time like on my PC.

I haven't tried Deep or Leap but I have looked at both of them before and I would think either would work. I've always been super curious to try Deep's color search because if it worked with digi supplies, that would rock my world. Maybe I should see if they have a trial...

[momtutu]

Yikes!! The only organizing for photos I tend to do is just by month and year. I label each folder with the date and a general idea of what's in the folder so I don't generally tag photos.

I have all my scrapbooking stuff on my HD on my old PC but from what I'm reading, most of you work off of an EHD. I am willing to do that but have to buy one for my Mac. Can I transfer my digital supplies easily onto an EHD for Mac? I'm assuming so.

Spotlight? Finder? Tags? Oh boy...I've got some researching to do. I'm still very confused! I want to start out organized so I can stay that way.

Keep the ideas coming! Off to research!

[Nettio]

Sorry Kelli, totally didn't mean to overwhelm you!

If you're good with how your photos are organized, dont worry about them. If you've got plenty of space on your drive for your photos or scrap supplies, don't worry about an EHD either. You totally don't need one unless you're short on space. I actually dont use one for my photos or purchased supplies but I mentioned it because I know lots of people do.

Also Spotlight is the Mac search feature - Finder is the name for the Mac file folder system. If you look at the top right corner of the screen on your Mac, you'll see a little magnifying glass - that's the Spotlight search. You'll also find a Spotlight Search bar on all the Finder windows as well. But it works the same as any search bar, it just sounds more complicated.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[Lyd]

Okay - I'm here now - only took all day.

I also use Aperture to organize my photos and for photo editing. I used to use iPhoto, and if I remember right, you can have your photos on an EHD, you just have to tell iPhoto where to find them. If you have enough hard drive space, however, I wouldn't do that. If iPhoto has to pull them from an EHD, it gets kind of clunky and slow. But, as Lynnette said, if you're happy keeping them organized in folders on your hard drive, don't worry about using iPhoto. I do have all my photos tagged with keywords so that I can find photos quickly. I don't love the key wording system in iPhoto, but I really like Aperture's system. That was one of the big reasons that I switched from iPhoto to Aperture for my photo organization. And, I really love the photo editing capabilities in Aperture. I have been really pleased with that purchase.

I don't use an EHD for my photos or scrap stash either. I have plenty of hard drive space, so I love having them on my local drive. I do have an EHD that use for backup through Time Machine (which I absolutely LOVE - it's built in with the Mac OS).

I also use Tags, as mentioned earlier, but I don't actually tag my stash that much. I'm such a kit scrapper that I find I don't need tags very much. If I need little bits and pieces, I kind of have my go-to packs, so I don't need to search through my stash.

Not sure that helped you at all, but . . . I'm happy to help answer any more questions you might have.

[momtutu]

Hmmm...thanks Lydia! I was thinking of not putting on all my scrapping stuff on this computer but maybe I will (since they gave me the next size laptop I have a 750Gb instead of the original 500 Gb that I purchased so I'm sure I have plenty of room (my pc wasn't near this big but it's almost full).

Looks like the consensus is that most of you like aperture. I am so used to editing in PSE and using some basic actions but it sounds like I can do just as much with Aperture.

Thanks Lynnette! After looking around and trying to find "spotlight" in the app store, I realized it was already on the computer! I'll learn this thing eventually!

I started playing with iPhoto last night for the first time. I think I'm trying to make it harder than it is.

[Randa]

Just my 2 cents

I really, really liked iPhoto when I first got my iMac. I noticed though, that as my photos grew it became a little slow to populate-especially when trying to open from PSE. I read somewhere that iPhoto also takes more room on your computer storing photos because it has things in multiple places?? Don't quote me on that one, I read so much I don't remember what I read or where I read it!
I did upgrade to more RAM from the 4GB that came on my iMac to a total of 12 and that was amazing! (only cost me $48 through Crucial on Amazon) And, I recently make the switch to Lightroom and do love it. It works well with the way I was already organizing my files on my computer and the Lightroom catalog doesn't take up much extra space.
There are lots of youtube videos regarding iPhoto (or other programs like LR if you decide to change) that help you figure out the best way to manage the files, etc.

Best of luck! I switched to Mac earlier this year and now that I'm acclimated I LOOOVVEEE it!!!

[Lyd]

Regarding iPhoto, when you import your photos, iPhoto creates a copy and puts them in the iPhoto Library. At that point, you can delete the original photos from wherever they were before you imported them. If you don't delete the original, then you will have two copies of the photo (the original and the one in the iPhoto Library). So, yeah, that can eat up hard drive space and slow things down. But, as long as you get rid of those originals after you import, you should be fine.