bcrawf

On my Mac, I''ve just lost (by "upgrade") my iPhoto use and do not like the new "Photos" library. I know one alternative is LR's catalog, but I'd like to hear some reports of experience and preferences.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

I just upgraded my Mac OS a few days ago; I was 4 generations of OS behind. So far I am pleased with the outcome, but Photos has given me the greatest concerns. Like you, I have some reservations about how it works, and a few things are just totally baffling (like why a photo seems to be out of place despite the catalog being sorted by date; I suspect they are reading the wrong date field in the metadata).

Photos appears to be have been built around how people take and share photographs taken on iPhones and iPads. The developers have made assumptions as to what most people want to do with their images, and the user interface has been built around that. Photos does a great job of doing some things, but I would prefer more flexibility in managing the catalog.

To that end, I do not import my images directly into Photos. Rather, I transfer them from the SD card into a set of folders using the Finder. That way I can organize and manage my "negatives" in whatever way I want, and I can search and find images without using any application. I then import the images into Photos and do whatever I want to them within that application. I suspect they get copied into a Photos Library, so in effect I have a second copy, but I am OK with that.

I don't have enough experience with Photos at this point to say much more. Maybe in a few months I will find a better workflow, but for now I think I can manage on my own terms.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Lightroom, Lightroom, Lightroom. There is nothing as capable for photography. Complicated? Yes. Steep learning curve? Yes. But when you "get it," you'll wonder why you bothered with anything else.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

I hear you, and a lot of others too, but I am not listening... not just yet. It's bad enough that I have to pay what I do already every month just for phone and internet services, so adding another monthly fee to rent software is not appealing. I am willing to give Photos a bit more of a chance before I give up on it. I expect someday I will take the plunge to LR, and I will surely wonder why I didn't do it sooner, but that's just human nature. So thanks for your triple endorsement; it reinforces what I already know, and it is undoubtedly a look into my future.

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

Well, there was once a great piece of cataloging software for the Mac, which was bought by Microsoft because they simply could never have been so ingenious, and then Microsoft put a little spin on it, damaged it a bit, and put it out for the Mac (again) and for the PC. It still is pretty killer, as software goes.

It is called Expression Media (now.) Because Microsoft has poor overall direction, I think Expresion Media might be at end of product life, and therefore free at this point.

What I didn't like about Aperture was the countless files it would create and associate with each image. Apple feels nobody actually takes a lot of photos, or that all hard drives, RAIDS, and so forth, should be full.

I have Lightroom, but have yet to use it. Adobe has lots of programs, but Photoshop is its image king.

The Mac Finder has extensive facility in reviewing images right from a window. For example, click once on an image or video file, and then press space bar. The image or video fills the screen. Then, you can up and down arrow through your folder of images/videos, with each displaying large.

You can further select a whole bunch of images, open them in Preview, and have a slideshow with effects.

chaprick

iPhoto is sill on your Mac. You can Google how to get it back if you want.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Make the plunge to LightRoom. You will love it. Consider buying the last version before CC so you don't need to pay monthly fees. But maybe you want the latest and greatest in LR and will pay CC fees.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Iphoto still works on the latest Mac OS. iPhoto should still be in your Applications directory. It was just removed from Dock. You can drag it back to the dock If you like.

bweber Loc: Newton, MA

Before you jump to Lightroom take a look at Capture One Pro 9. I switched fro Aperture to Capture One and have never regretted it. They have a free 30 day trial period and many free webinar tutorials.
Good luck.

preamm Loc: Minnesota

After using IPHOTO for years I experienced your same frustration when upgrading software. I called Apple for help and they showed me how I could continue to use IPHOTO. It's true you can still access it on your Mac.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

I did not know about this feature -- thanks. I tended to look at the thumbnail in the next column, dragging that column width to give me a fairly large view. The space bar view works much better!!!

I knew about Preview and it's slideshow feature. What has been puzzling with Preview is I sometimes get two windows opened when I select a large number of images to open, and I have no idea why, nor where the split to groups will be.

Apple/Mac is REALLY GREAT for so many things... and then a bit frustrating when "the magic" happens and I don't know why. I like to understand the system so that it behaves in a predictable manner; I don't like surprises.

BooIsMyCat Loc: Somewhere

I just purchased an iMac in August this year. I have Photos in my Dock but it doesn't work. When I try to run iPhoto (via Finder), it tells me the version installed is not compatible with El Capitan and to download the latest version via the AppStore. When I try to do that I get a message that it is not available for this Apple ID because it was bought by a different user or the item was refunded or cancelled.

Apple has some nice features but adding or resolving software issues is not one of them.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

Some of the software on my Mac was "bought" while my wife was using the computer (she got a newer Mac; I got the hand-me-down!!!) and I get similar messages. I simply log in as my wife to get the software upgrades. Managing AppleID is a problem, especially considering we have multiple IDs because of a screw-up (partially my fault) at the time of purchase. I wish Apple would allow me to consolidate everything under one ID, but that seems to be a hurdle they don't like to address.

chaprick

I believe you are correct. El Capitan did away with access to iPhoto. I can still access it in Yosemite.

Stevewayne23 Loc: Sacramento, CA

Aperture (which uses the iPhoto library) still works with El Capitan. I'm prepared to switch my catalog over to Lightroom and/or Photos when I have to, but Aperture still works fine for me and I have such an extensive library with hundreds of folders and albums, that switching is more than I want to deal with right now.