Apple have upgraded Aperture to version 2.1

This is a quick update after the recent launch of version 2.0 and not only includes a number of bug fixes and performance updates but also adds a new plugin architecture. To demonstrate this, a dodge and burn tool has been included.

If you already have Aperture 2 installed, it is well worth hitting the ‘Software update’ button for this!

Adobe announce Lightroom 2

Hot on the heels of Aperture 2, Adobe have made the Beta version of Lightroom 2 available. This worked well for Lightroom 1 as the feedback from users prior to launch really helped focus the development based on feedback from ‘real’ users. Initially, the Library module has been redesigned and includes most of the features you can find in Aperture such as multiple monitor support.

Press ‘p’ whilst in the Aperture browser and you will find that ‘Quick Preview’ is displayed underneath the picture.

With this on, try skipping through pictures and check the speed difference. As soon as you want to slow down again and begin working on the images, press ‘p’ to toggle quick preview mode off.

I downloaded the demo about 2 minutes after it was released and not being one for impulse decisions, about 2 minutes later I decided that I will move my workflow from Lightroom to Aperture! Within those 2 minutes I discovered that the performance, tools, integration and overall feature set will suit me more. Lightroom is a great application and I have nothing but respect for it but when I used Aperture to very quickly add images to my gallery then access the photos from Pages, I realised I had already saved a lot of time compared to the equivalent Adobe workflow. A few more tests along these lines and I was confident that Aperture is the way forward!

When I have finished ruining the sample photos, I am going to look at importing my 8,000 images as referenced files. I plan to keep all the original images on my external drive and the library file on my Macbook Pro. This gives the benefit of being able to access the library when travelling but also saves HDD space which is starting to get quite low! When I originally moved to Lightroom, I lost all the keywording I had done on the PC but luckily I manage the files in a logical way which helps me find the images I need. I know there are a lot of rubbish images in my library so I may take this opportunity to tidy things up a bit. From there I will decide if I am going to keyword everything again. At some stage in the near future, Aidy and I are going to design a keyword tree for the images on Encaptured. I will recreate this tree in Aperture and ensure that I use it as I go so that when I get round to uploading images, everything is cohesive.

I’ll report on my progress as I get round to each part of the transition as I am sure there will be other users out there that may make the same move. With any luck, my experiences will provide some guidance!