I finally bit and purchased a MacBookPro. I'll be setting up A3 on it and wanted to check in with all to ask for guidance with workflow. I'm just now upgrading my iMac to A3 and use reference on a FW external drive. I'm thinking the easiest/quickest is to daisy chain a FW portable to the existing FW external, but then I start thinking about how my workflow should be in the field, and how it should be when I'm back at my iMac, pros/cons of a separate drive/etc.
I don't know enough yet about merging library's (as I've never attempted it), but I sense there is some level of merging library's/projects that may come into play here. I could use a general explanation (or link to other posts explaining it).
I see myself doing “some” editing/rating in the field, and I'm open to ideas on best ways to set up workflow. I'm just finished reading “15Tips on File Management”, and can't thank you enough. I'll be following your thoughts there. I'm new to using multiple machines and the idea of any possibility of this getting out of control (= a total mess of organization) has me a bit worried. I currently use mobileme for sync the “basics” (iCal, address book).
Any words of wisdom ( = experience ) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
hey mark!
i’ve got a similar configuration as well - macbook and my imac at home. but since i’m not that much into traveling i barely have projects/pictures on my macbook i have to move onto my imac.
but your solution should be very simple: aperture gives you the possibility to export a whole project (also with master raw files and all the editing you did).
i don’t think you absolutely need all your projects on your macbook as well, do you?
so just let the library on your imac be the “master” one and import the projects you’ve been working on your macbook.
just give it a try! create a dummy project on your macbook with a few pictures, edit them, export it and browse through the import project options on your imac.
hope this post is helpful to you! :)
cheers,
günther
Thank You. I’ll be attempting that this weekend. Thanks Again
Mark,
As Günther suggests, just trying out a few experiments on a simple project is a great idea. I had run through all of that once and posted it, but I don’t see it as a post… maybe it’s in one of my books. That’s the problem with doing all this; I forget where I’ve shared what info sometimes!!
Anyway it does sound like a great topic for an in-depth post, so perhaps I’ll work on that soon.
In the meantime, know that Aperture makes it really easy to move a project from one Library to another, and just experiment a bit to see what happens.
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
@PhotoJoseph
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Joseph,
Thanks so much for your help. I’ve been downloading your ApertureExpert Live Video’s and have watched the first two. I have to say, They are Awesome. Thanks for all your efforts in getting this information out. You’re Awesome!
Mark
Thanks Mark, I really appreciate it!
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
@PhotoJoseph
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Hello Mark,
I would suggest having 2 libraries.
Master on the iMac
Travel library on the laptop.
I would keep the iMac the way that you are used to doing things. The laptop would be a little different. I would work managed on the laptop. That way, Aperture would keep ahold of all the files. That would make it easier to export later. Then you could just export the whole project. Once you export it, import the project into your iMac. As long as you use Aperture to do all of the exporting/importing, you shouldn’t lose anything. But as mentioned above, try it first on non-important files. Once you get used to moving things around within Aperture, it gets really easy.
So, I just tried it. I took a current project that was being managed by aperture, and exported it as a new library. I placed this new library on my desktop and gave it the name of the new project.
Next I clicked File> Import>Library/Project
Selected the the “New” library, clicked ok.
At the next dialog I chose to add it to my existing library.
It then imported it into my “iMac” library.
It grabbed all the files and changes. Everything came back in. It did create the same folder/project structure that I had on the “laptop” library. So, it duplicated some of the folders, but that is ok. Aperture added a (1) to all duplicates, which was just my year folder.
Now that it is back into my main library, I can relocate the masters to my external drive, making everything referenced.
All of this seems like a long way of doing things. If I find any shortcuts, I’ll re-post.
Thanks!
Nick
Bonnie,
This may be too late to answer your question, but I hope not…
Glad you’ve sorted out how to do a mini library. Yes you can take the entire library along with you on a portable hard drive, and while that drive is certainly going to be slower than your internal drive, it’ll be fast enough. That’s how most of us deal with large quantities of images in the field, after all.
There are third-party solutions for password protecting a drive, but I can’t give any first-hand recommendations on any, sorry.
Good luck and happy holidays!
@PhotoJoseph
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It seems too good to be true! I’m copying over file from laptop right now, back to the desktop, to try the big “merge/sync/import/export” thing for the first time.
But here’s my question regarding upcoming holidays. I understand the concept of taking portions of library on the road. Before I leave for Christmas trip, I’ll export past three months’ worth of projects for a “travel/temp” Aperture library, onto the MacBook.
But is it possible to take the entire library in a skinny version, to have “Previews only” without Masters/Raw? I understand I wouldn’t be able to do actual edits or adjustments, but I’d like to be able to show pics (Faces, Places) to friends & relatives.
(My ‘main’ library on the desktop is 50 GB+ so I don’t have space on the laptop anymore, to copy and carry the entire Aperture library.) Thanks for any holiday help!
Bonnie Bouman
http://365project.org/bonniebouman/365
Update:
The library merge/export worked *perfectly.* I can hardly believe it! Three weeks’ worth of work merged back into the main Aperture library on desktop, effortlessly.
This Managed Library thread answers my Q about a ~skinny~ Aperture library to bring along for the holidays. A: Use Referenced instead of Managed for the Aperture library leaves a “viewable but not editable” Aperture library working. Converting to Referenced was on my list of things to do for 2012, I am not sure I dare take that on in the next two days. I suppose I could try one with a copy?
Another idea. Today I was at the Apple Store and noticed the portable—small, smaller than a paperback book for 500GB and up—hard drives. $150-$190. Some have FireWire hubs. What if I just copied my entire library file (~60GB) onto one of those portable HDs and took it along for Christmas? Then I could use that for displaying photos to others, plus I could decide as I go along which projects to export to the “Travel Library” for editing on MacBook Pro.
- Is FireWire connection fast enough for easy viewing, or is there annoying lagtime?
- Can you put a password on those little drives, in case you lose it?
Bonnie Bouman
http://365project.org/bonniebouman/365