OriginalCyn Loc: Connecticut

I finally bit the bullet and ordered my first Mac...iMac to be precise. I am so excited...but would like to know what people use for photo editing. What's your preferred software?

snowbear

Welcome to the dark, I mean fun side!

I use Lightroom for the basics and Photoshop for more intricate editing. If you are buying new software, certainly look into Aperture, Apple's answer to Lightroom. When I was evaluating them, it was a toss-up for me. I went with LR only because thats what we were using in my digital photo class and I wanted consistency when working at home.

You can run Windows natively on the newer Intel Macs - you just use bootcamp (included) to boot windows. If you absolutely had to, you could continue to use the PC software. The only problem that I have found with bootcamp is Windows XP is not supported on OS-X Lion (10.7), and I don't have the budget for Win 7 now.

ShakyShutter Loc: Arizona

Double check all software purchases to ensure they run on your Lion operating system is the only major advise I can offer other than make an appointment for a new eye exam for the new glasses you will want to purchase due to fine type and screen graphics.

14kphotog Loc: Marietta, Ohio

Your PC.

Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida

I use Lighroom 3, Photoshop CS4, and various plug-ins from Nik, OnOne, Topaz to do my PP on my MacPro Laptop. Arnold

J. R. WEEMS Loc: Winchester, Virginia

I threw out Lightroom, and view NX, when it wouldn't open my NEF files from my then new D700. Went with Aperture, and up graded from CS2 to CS5. No more problems. :)

dparker708

iphoto on the mac for basic editing, and PSE and Lightroom. You will love your mac...congratulations!

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Congrats on the iMac, you will curse the Windows darkside and never look back. Of course you know or should by now that iPhoto is given, and can do simple editing and importing of your files. I use Lightroom and Photoshop PS5, I also use plug ins from Topaz that work well with Lightroom and PS5. You can download a trial version of Lightroom and see how it works for you. Lightroom will allow you to toggle between Photoshop, and also you can select to use iPhoto as a default external editor. Adobe has a beta version of Lighroom 4 a new beta version available, a caveat here is the although it is the newest version and has some great improvements vs Lightroom the files you store in the beta version should be files you want to try. Another word If you should decided to use Adobe for post processing, purchase CS5 now. The future plans by Adobe will allow you to upgrade at a far less expensive rate. In the past Adobe would allow you to upgrade from most any version of Photoshop Elements to a higher version. Their latest plans are gong to restrict purchases upgrades to CS5 or later versions.

hj Loc: Florida

YES, you will absolutely love the iMac. Before you buy any additional software, try using iPhoto which has always been included on Mac computers in the past. I assume it still is and does a creditable job...may be all you will need . It does the following: enhance, red-eye, retouch,exposure, contrast, saturation, definition, highlights, shadows, sharpness, de-noise, temperature and tint.

andesbill

I read Shutterbug magazine. (I too have an iMac). In their digital forum, they note that photos that look correct on the monitor invariably print too dark, because the monitor is set much too bright.
I used color eyes pro to correct the monitor to his recommended 90 brightness, I think the gamma was 1.8? If you need the exact recommended numbers I'll look for them later when I get home. Also I'm not sure if color eyes pro has a fix for Lion.
And when you use this fix, the monitor looks way too dark for everything else. If you don't get a second monitor and can't or won't change to a Mac mini with the recommended NEC monitor, you are going to have to play around with settings in pp to print the way you want.
The iMac will be fine though for email, web & tv viewing.

Tony R Loc: Westport, CT

You might try Pixelmator. It's a fairly complete system and easy to use. They offer a free 30 day trial through the App store.

Millie Loc: New Jersey

My recommendation would be to get comfortable with your new iMac first and use iPhoto which comes with it. Once you've done that, consider Aperture or LR. I think both have 30 day trials. Congrats and enjoy your new Apple!

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

Aperture ... Hands down !! You can get One on One training at Apple to get the most out of it.

I'm not sorry I changed up.

winfordb Loc: Georgia

Guess I am kinda lost as I have a D-700 and shoot raw. View NX opens NEF files just fine. Do you have the latest updates for View NX?

daplight Loc: Kansas

Congrats on new iMac, I too just got mine-upgraded to 16GB Ram and it is fast! I also am looking at editing/archival programs to share with other volunteer photographers in a community-service organization. This would be a software on a pc platform however. Looking at Lightroom 4, but thankful for UHH members input.