iphoto vs adobe bridge. Orginizational headaches.

09/17/2006 03:36:33 PM · #1

I'm having a problem understanding how to organize my photos. I like the iphoto interface because browsing thru my collection is not as confusing, but am getting tired of dragging things into photoshop, then saving them and then dragging them back into iphoto. I'm getting angry just typing this. Anyway, one of the most important things for me is to be able to delete files so that I can free up hard disk space. I need to truly delete the file, not just remove it from a library. I also should probably start keeping some of the photos on an external drive, so I need a system that can easily access them where ever they are. What should I do? I've downloaded adobe lightroom's beta version, but I don't understand how it differs from bridge. Please advise.

09/17/2006 06:17:19 PM · #2

bumpy

09/17/2006 06:34:26 PM · #3

I use iPhoto exclusively to manage camera originals. When I want to work on an image in Photoshop (for a challenge, to print, whatever) I load it (simply by right-clicking, BTW, no dragging necessary) in Photoshop, save it immediately as a PSD file in a "working photo" area on my hard drive.

It's as easy as that.

09/17/2006 06:42:43 PM · #4

One other thing. I have an extensive folder dedicated to edited images. When I open a pic to edit, and then rename it to save in my "working" file, I always preserve the original camera filename. For instance, if the original from camera image was CRW_3345, the edited version would be CRW_3345.psd. If I continue working this file and save multiple copies, they would be CRW_3345.1.psd, .2, .3 and so on. Save for web versions would be CRW_3345web.jpg, or CRW_3345dpc.jpg and so forth.

I can never "lose" a file because in OSX, all I have to do is type the four numbers of the filename into Spotlight and instantly every version of that file is listed.

It's a bit idiosyncratic, I know, but it works very well.

09/17/2006 07:54:51 PM · #5

Thanks strangeghost. That is sort of what I do, but I don't have any folders. I just use spotlight. When you delete something in iphoto, is it gone?

09/17/2006 08:04:30 PM · #6

Originally posted by bvoi:

Thanks strangeghost. That is sort of what I do, but I don't have any folders. I just use spotlight. When you delete something in iphoto, is it gone?

It depends. If you select a photo in iPhoto and delete it from the library, it's totally gone. If you delete a photo from an album, it just removes if from that album, but it still stays in your library. I do this after a shoot. If I come home with 140 shots, I go through them as soon as possible and may delete half or more as unsuitable for any further editing.

I don't use iPhoto albums very much. I literally only use iPhoto as a stopping place for my originals. Anything that I'm working on for print or web gets saved in my working area.

09/17/2006 08:46:56 PM · #7

I don't use the albums at all either.
Last question for you then strangehost. Let's say you want to browse your library or show someone your work. Do you load your finalized images back into iphoto or just open the folder?