Apple Mac workflow

HI there peeps. While on a PC I used Canon ZoomBrowser to sort my images and develop images to JPEG as and when I needed them, with CS2 for any adjustments, cropping etc. I've recently moved over to using an iMac (which is great) but I've come to sort my photos and process new ones and am a little unsure of which tools to use.

I have installed:

Eos Utility/CameraWindow
Digital Photo Pro (canon)
ImageBrowser (the mac version of ZoomBrowser)
Aperture
Adobe Lightroom
CS2

Canon ImageBrowser is painfully slow so I am really not keen on using it although the RAW processing is nice. The EOS downloader is nice as it arranges photos in well structured folders according to shooting date. Digital Photo Pro, hmm just don't like it--may as well use CS2 in it's place. Lightroom has some nice features but it isn't that impressive and I don't like the raw development options. Aperture is very nice, I like the inerface and internal workflow--the RAW development options are lacking however and it doesn't see/keep the Canon in camera settings (for example a photo shot in monochrome in the Camera still comes out as color in Aperture). It's also annoying importing from the EOS downloader created folders and importing directly from the card is a pain to organize if there are shots from different days.

I was hoping to hear how other Mac users arrange their workflow, favorite apps and general photo archiving/management tips?

Sorry if this seems quite basic but not having a proper workflow is really slowing me down

My flow is Camera -> Aperture (80%) -> Photoshop CS (20%) -> i9900. I don't use any of the Canon apps. I backup by copying the Aperture database to an external hard drive.

camera > ACR > CS2. i use Bridge for file management.

How do you deal with Aperture not applying the Camera shoot mode?

Do you find Aperture RAW processing is as good as that of Canon or CaptureOnePro?

JF1980 wrote in post #2488843
How do you deal with Aperture not applying the Camera shoot mode?

I don't follow what you're asking - could you elaborate?

On my mini, Aperture renders a RAW image in about 2 or 3 seconds (I have 2 gb RAM). The Canon software is a bit slower, and I've never used CaptureOnePro.

My workflow: Camera > Card Reader > Drag and drop to a folder named "YYMMDD event" > Catalog and add IPTC in iView > Select in iView > Backup to external disk> Process selection in DPP > Post Process in CS2 > output > Backup to DVD.

On a side note: For C1 I highly recommend Magne Nilssens camera profiles.

I fooled with lightroom and aperature, and ended up back on simple ol' iPhoto. The main reason is my wife is able to use it to look over my photos, and she wouldn't put up with the more complex programs.

So here's what I do:
card reader -> new folder (named for the shoot, in my "photography" folder in documents) -> drag that into iPhoto (turn off "copy photos to iPhoto library" in preferences). I use iPhoto's simple raw processor for most tasks, and for more extensive edits, I export as RAW to photoshop. I save the edited JPG back into my named folder, and import those into iPhoto, too.

My system runs DataBackup from prosoft, which I've got scheduled to make automatic backups every 4 hours to duplicate external drives.

Camera -> Macbook -> Lightroom -> CS2/3 -> Web / Print
-> Copy to debian server -> usb disk
-> Backup on dvd


Older images gets streamed into lightroom using the server.

* Upload to a date-based folder system.
* Open raw photos in Adobe Bridge and rate photos. Photos marked 2-3 are definitely keepers and 0 are set for deletion. Photos marked 1 are those about which I am ambivalent.
* Delete photos labeled zero and decide whether to keep or delete the photos labeled one.
* Import photos now marked 3 or 2 into Adobe Photoshop CS2 with its raw converter.
* Make changes if necessary to white balance, exposure, saturation, curves and sharpening in the CS2 Raw Converter.
* Save resultant .tiff files in a sub-folder and import into CS2 proper.
* Make final changes in CS2 and save as .jpeg files.
* Backup set of photos and sub-folders to external hdd and to archival DVD.

DavidEB wrote in post #2494135
My system runs DataBackup from prosoft, which I've got scheduled to make automatic backups every 4 hours to duplicate external drives.

This is a good idea I need to adopt.

DavidEB wrote in post #2494135
drag that into iPhoto (turn off "copy photos to iPhoto library" in preferences).

Slapping my head for missing that one. Thanks for pointing it out. I like to use iPhoto to preview my RAW images to decide which ones I actually want to edit and print. Now I can and they won't get stuck on my hard drive.

Card reader
Folder on external hard drive
preview in iPhoto
DPP to edit white balance
Photoshop Elements 4.0
Print... i960

here is my workflo which involves Aperture for 100% of my images. previews are on so images show up in iPhoto automatically. my Aperture vaults are backed up and moved offsite regularly or as needed.

-open the album or project in aperture i'm adding new images to (or simply create an appropriate new one.
-plug the card into the card reader (or use apple-i) to import the images into the album/project above
-move/copy any images to other album/project if necessary
-keyword
-spot rank '5's and nuke the 'X's
(the above actions take only a few minutes. if i need i can export a full shoot or put it up on the web for a customer to see)
(post process steps next)
-process one image for each lighting condition then lift/stamp onto the rest of that type
- make changes to individual shots as required (this is the longest step, but most of the work is already done through the stamp process)
-roundtrip to CS2/CS3 beta as needed

DavidEB wrote in post #2494135
I fooled with lightroom and aperature, and ended up back on simple ol' iPhoto. The main reason is my wife is able to use it to look over my photos, and she wouldn't put up with the more complex programs.

So here's what I do:
card reader -> new folder (named for the shoot, in my "photography" folder in documents) -> drag that into iPhoto (turn off "copy photos to iPhoto library" in preferences). I use iPhoto's simple raw processor for most tasks, and for more extensive edits, I export as RAW to photoshop. I save the edited JPG back into my named folder, and import those into iPhoto, too.

My system runs DataBackup from prosoft, which I've got scheduled to make automatic backups every 4 hours to duplicate external drives.

Hello David...How does the iphoto trick work? I have the same situation but i also want to have more control over my photos, ex. no more copies and alias's. Can you still preform slideshows, ect. in iphoto? Thanks

daveW -- in iPhoto preferences, turn off "copy photos...." option. Then when you import to iphoto, it doesn't make a copy. It creates a thumbnail only in the iphoto directories. You can still use all of iPhoto's functions. Leaves you in control of your photo storage locations. You can put them on an external disk if you like. When you delete with iPhoto, it deletes the iPhoto database entry but not the original photo.

Well I think I've sorted myself out. Aperture 1.5 and CS2 (set as the external editor for AP). Seems to work a treat, it leaves my files where I want, I can manage and edit photos in Aperture to a large extent and then if I need to use Photoshop; Aperture keeps track of the modified image as a Version.

Sweet, thanks for the advice guys

Now I have a mountain of photos to cull, rate and play with!

1. Take picture
2. Ingest into event-specific directory via Photo Mechanic (i.e. Clients/Red Raiders/Events/March 10, 2007/Game1/)
3. Use Photo Mechanic to cull through and get rid of the garbage ones
4. Open up the keepers in CS3 and then save into the original (i.e. Game1/Edited)

I use Photo Mechanic for all photo browsing, tagging, organizing and culling. It's fantastic. It isn't bloated with useless features I wouldn't use and it's code replacement and IPTC data management is fantastic.

I strongly recommend it.