Editing Software for Mac

vt1122

I just made the switch from pc to mac and am trying to set up my editing/workflow programs. With the pc I was using Picasa for my photo library and minor editing and Capture nx and Paint Shop Pro for more detailed edits.
On the mac I have set up Picasa and Capture nx and they are working fine. Since Paint shop is not available for the mac I am now looking for another option.
I have downloaded the trial of Aperture 3 and like the feature set but I have not been able to get it to integrate well with Picasa.
Is anyone using Aperture with Picasa or can recommend a similar program that will work better?

MarkR

CaptureNX and Aperture are both raw converter tools. If you really want to integrate them, you can try a program called "Catapult." Aperture's library feature should exceed Picasa's offerings. How are you trying to integrate the two?

What I think you are looking for is a pixel level editor to replace PSP. You have several options: Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Pixelmator, GIMP. You could round trip an image through Aperture to any of the listed options by setting it as your external editor.

vt1122

MarkR wrote: »

CaptureNX and Aperture are both raw converter tools. If you really want to integrate them, you can try a program called "Catapult." Aperture's library feature should exceed Picasa's offerings. How are you trying to integrate the two?

What I think you are looking for is a pixel level editor to replace PSP. You have several options: Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Pixelmator, GIMP. You could round trip an image through Aperture to any of the listed options by setting it as your external editor.

With both Capture and PSP I could just right click on a photo in Picasa and select "open with" and start editing in either capture or PSP. When done I closed the file and the edited version showed up in Picasa. Would elements work like this as opposed to Aperture?

MarkR

In Aperture you can set an external editor (Photoshop, Gimp, whatever.) When you click "edit with..." it will open in your selected editor. Once you finish editing, it will automatically re-import your image back into your Aperture database. I don't use Picasa, so can't comment on that aspect.

One final thought: it sounds like you are trying to map your old process into your new system. Now is the perfect time to review your process, look at your software options, and decide if the old system makes sense or needs tweaking. You can then map out a future state, do a gap analysis, and identify what software needs to be purchased and/or configured.

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of jargon, but done with some thought, it can make things flow better and save you a lot of time in the long run.

mercphoto

MarkR wrote: »

In Aperture you can set an external editor (Photoshop, Gimp, whatever.) When you click "edit with..." it will open in your selected editor. Once you finish editing, it will automatically re-import your image back into your Aperture database.

Correct, just hit "save" in Photoshop/whatever and it goes back into Aperture, stacked with the master image that your edit was done from. Very nice how that's done.

One final thought: it sounds like you are trying to map your old process into your new system. Now is the perfect time to review your process, look at your software options, and decide if the old system makes sense or needs tweaking. You can then map out a future state, do a gap analysis, and identify what software needs to be purchased and/or configured.

Agreed and I was going to bring that up as well. Applications like Aperture and Lightroom (which are basically the same) really work best when you workflow more closely matches what they had in mind. Think of it as a "nearly all in one" stop for your photo needs, from importing to keywording, from raw conversion to basic edits, to cataloging and exporting.

vt1122

I would want to keep Capture NX as my raw editor so maybe Aperture isn't the right program to fill the hole left by PSP.
I think I'll try the trial version of Elements tonight. If anyone has any suggestions on how to set up this workflow it would be appreciated.

javierplumey

vt1122 wrote: »

I would want to keep Capture NX as my raw editor so maybe Aperture isn't the right program to fill the hole left by PSP.
I think I'll try the trial version of Elements tonight. If anyone has any suggestions on how to set up this workflow it would be appreciated.

How do you like working with Elements? I'm looking at revamping my workflow and I also downloaded the trial. I'm kinda liking the Organizer to replace Picas altogether.

vt1122

javierplumey wrote: »

How do you like working with Elements? I'm looking at revamping my workflow and I also downloaded the trial. I'm kinda liking the Organizer to replace Picas altogether.

I haven't used the organizer yet but what I have tried in the editor I really like. The content aware healing brush is worth it's weight in gold. I shoot a lot of sports picks and there's always an extra hand or foot in the photo that this tool makes it easy to get rid of.

mercphoto

vt1122 wrote: »

I would want to keep Capture NX as my raw editor so maybe Aperture isn't the right program to fill the hole left by PSP.
I think I'll try the trial version of Elements tonight. If anyone has any suggestions on how to set up this workflow it would be appreciated.

You'd want to run everything through Capture NX, creating TIFF files perhaps, then import into Aperture and let it do all the rest of the stuff its good at, such as keywording, organizing, searching, etc. Not sure that would be worth it but its a thought. Basically you'd use Aperture for everything but raw conversion.

MarkR

mercphoto wrote: »

You'd want to run everything through Capture NX, creating TIFF files perhaps, then import into Aperture and let it do all the rest of the stuff its good at, such as keywording, organizing, searching, etc. Not sure that would be worth it but its a thought. Basically you'd use Aperture for everything but raw conversion.

The Catapult Software, which I (mis-)linked to in an earlier post, (link should now be correct) is supposed to help facilitate an Aperture-CaptureNX workflow.

Since I don't use either program, someone else will have to tell you if it's worth the time and effort to set up.

omirosh

I am currently considering to switch to Mac. The only reason I haven't done that yet is because I use Photoshop CS5 for windows on my PC and so far I haven't found a way to be able to use it on my new-to-be mac without purchasing a brand new CS5 for mac (700 bucks!!!) Any suggestions? Thanks!

MarkR

omirosh wrote: »

I am currently considering to switch to Mac. The only reason I haven't done that yet is because I use Photoshop CS5 for windows on my PC and so far I haven't found a way to be able to use it on my new-to-be mac without purchasing a brand new CS5 for mac (700 bucks!!!) Any suggestions? Thanks!

I think you can just contact Adobe and have them switch the license.

BinaryFx

omirosh wrote: »

I am currently considering to switch to Mac. The only reason I haven't done that yet is because I use Photoshop CS5 for windows on my PC and so far I haven't found a way to be able to use it on my new-to-be mac without purchasing a brand new CS5 for mac (700 bucks!!!) Any suggestions? Thanks!

You could use the free Apple BootCamp (pros/cons) or virtualization software (pros/cons) such as Parallels or Fusion (commercial) or Oracle Virtual Box (free) to run MS Widows and CS5 on the Mac.


Regards,

Stephen Marsh

http://binaryfx.customer.netspace.net.au/ (coming soon!)
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

Andy

MarkR wrote: »

I think you can just contact Adobe and have them switch the license.

omirosh

MarkR wrote: »

I think you can just contact Adobe and have them switch the license.

I appreciate this advise - I contacted Adobe and they provided me with the link to where I can request "a platform or language swap" by requesting a destruction of the windows license first (I must give up all licensing rights to your current platform or language version; provided it was purchased directly from Adobe) and then they will send me the mac version. For everyone who is looking for this to be resolved too - see the link: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405819.html. Thanks!