Aperture and Photoshop

I am trying to get up and running with Aperture. But I am perplexed at how to put photoshop in my workflow and to have aperture keep track of my versions of images that are processed in PS and "saved as" .jpegs, or websized resolutions etc. Also, when I open a RAW file from Aperture in photoshop how do I get the RAW file to open in Camera RAW? Presently, I am not committed to using referenced or managed files. Please give me some guidance on this!

To expand just slightly: Once you're in PS (if you got there from Aperture by choosing Open with External Editor), you have two paths, and they make a big difference in workflow:
-- If you Save, your image with its PS edits will show up back in Aperture. (Note that it will be in the Ap Library even if you're using referenced images. You can then Relocate it to your referenced-image file tree if you prefer, but it won't go there automatically. Also, be careful of alpha channels -- search on this forum for details.)
-- If you use Save As instead, the result will go wherever you indicate, but it won't go into the Aperture Library. Of course you can then Import it into Aperture by hand if you want.
So if you're trying to keep all your image management inside Aperture, you want to use Save in PS. I'm pretty sure that also means that (after the choice of PSD or TIFF in Aperture's Preferences) you're leaving file-type up to Aperture. This implies that you can't do the combination you mentioned: having Aperture keep track of everything, but saving as JPGs etc from Photoshop. Of course you can export JPGs etc from Aperture, which makes more sense anyway if you're organizing all your work around Aperture.
If the PS part of your work tends to be elaborate and full of big multilayered files, you might want to keep all that work separate from Aperture by using Save As. There are other options too, like (instead of Open with Exernal Editor) using Export Master or Export Version from Aperture to make a freestanding file you can edit in PS separately.

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Newbie asks: Aperture and PhotoShop - why have both??

Though this is more of a general question regarding photo editing, I'll post it here as this seems to be where most of the shutterbugs hang.
I just bought my wife a Nikon D200 for Mother's Day. Though she's definitely not an expert photographer (she barely knows how to use her current Nikon N60 film camera), she seems to have a real knack for taking beatiful shots of the kids, vacation vistas, etc.. I bought the D200 not because I felt she needed all of it's features, but more because I wanted something that was built like a tank, and would hold up to years of use in a variety of outdoor/indoor environments. Though very expensive, I thought the D200 was worth it if it lasts longer than the more affordable offerings. ..I mention all this only to avoid being criticized for "over-buying".
Anyway, what is the ONE essential picture editing software package that we should buy to take advantage of this wonderful camera?? I say one, because I don't think my wife will be too keen on moving images through three or four different applications to make fairly minor adjustments. ...She may take 30 pics/month, so were not talking huge project sizes. ..Perhaps a starting point would be if someone could briefly explain the differences between Aperture and Photoshop and why someone would have both. ..And if forced to pick just one of them, which would you chose? The iPhoto that came with our new iMac is outrageously cool! ..But it offers very limited adjustment tools.
IMAC (early 2006) Mac OS X (10.4.4) 1.5 G Ram
IMAC (early 2006) Mac OS X (10.4.4) 1.5 G Ram

I'll relate how I use both Aperture and Photoshop and why I do what I do so you can come to your own conclusions. I have been using Aperture since it first came out and Photoshop for 10 years.
Though Aperture was originally thought to be a Photoshop competitor (back when it was first released), it is not. Rather, it is a very good front-end to Photoshop. I use Aperture to read in my digital photos from my Nikon camera so I can easily go through them and pick out the ones I want. I should note that generally when I go out and do a "shoot", it is not uncommon for me to run through 200 or more pictures. So I have a significant sorting and selecting process when I get home to my computer. Photoshop is NOT good at this, that is why Adobe added Bridge a couple of years ago. Aperture is more of a competitor to Bridge (though Bridge comes free with Photoshop). I should note that though I like Bridge, Aperture has it beat hands down when it comes to letting me review my photos.
As I have learned to use Aperture, it has taken over many of the front-end adjustments I used to make in Bridge and Photoshop. Things like adjusting the saturation, brightness, contrast, levels, cropping, leveling and sharpening were what I formerly did with my Adobe products, but now instead very easily do with Aperture. I prefer doing these adjustment in Aperture since they are non-destructive to my original file, and the adjustments are kept in a XML sidecar file so the adjusted image file is very small and saves me lots of disk space.
If I like what I see in Aperture, then I can easily publish (books or web) or print from there. Aperture has some great web generation features in it. But, these features are not flexible with their format styles and are geared for use by professional photographers who want to show their work to their clients. But still, it is fun to easily create a web site. And if you have a .MAC account, there is a very nice fit between the two productions. (Note: you can also get this same functionality with more page creation flexibility with Apple's iWeb and to a certain degree with iPhoto).
Aperture has also helped me organize my photo library so that I can easily find that one photo, or set of photos, I want, when I want them.
So, if I'm using Aperture more-and-more, what am I using Photoshop for? As good as Aperture is, and it is getting better, it is no competitor for what Photoshop does best. I wouldn't think of using anything but Photoshop when I need to do "serious" work on my photos. Image repair and restoration, patching, touchups, very fine adjustments, special effects, application of filters, noise reduction, to name a few things, are (to me) Photoshop only. Also, for now, Photoshop has a much better zoom and image inspection feature than does Aperture. Though the loop in Aperture is useful, I find it to be a bit more klunky than the zoom feature in Photoshop.
Both programs are pricey, though Apple has made Aperture a lot more attractive with the recent price reduction from $499 to $299.
And, I agree. Elements is also an excellent choice, though I'm not sure if it supports RAW files the same way Photoshop does. I'm sure the Adobe site will have that information.
Good luck, and congratulations on the new D200. Your wife will really like it.
Jeff Weinberg

Leopard running Aperture and Photoshop really slow

I just got Leopard and my Aperture and Photoshop are running slow and crashing, also when I run Pro Tools it won't boot up all the time. This is really frustrating. I keep loosing files images. This is running like Bill Gates made it.

Have you checked what it going on, when Aperture becomes sluggish?
I'd recommend to launch some diagnostic tools, if you have not already done so:
Aperture's own "Activity Viewer": From the main menu bar: Window > Show Activity
This will tell you, how Aperture is spending its time : rendering, previews, scanning for faces or places, raw processing. Inparticulur, check, if Aperture is hanging while processing one particular image or video over and over again.
The Console window: Launch it from the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. Look, if you see error messages or warnings in this window, when Aperture starts to hang.
The Activity Monitor: Launch it from the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. This window will tell you, which processes are using the cpu, the RAM, and doing page outs to the disk. You can see, if other processing are competing with Aperture and slowing it down, orif Aperture is starved for memory.
How large are images? Do you have very large raw files or scans, or are your photos moderately sized?
Is your library on the internal drive or an external drive?
Do you see this slowness only with your main Aperture library, or also, if you create a new, small library with a few test images?
Regards
Léonie

Does aperture and photoshop migrate?

When I migrate everything from my old 24" mac to my new 27" mac, will it migrate aperture and photoshop?

They should, but if the new Mac is running Lion, any PPC apps you may have running under Rosetta now will not work on Lion.
Check in System Profiler to see if you have any apps marked as PPC. There may be more than you realise.
Edit:
And do be sure to use Setup Assistant on first boot - not Migration Assistant later as that's fraught with permissions problems.
Message was edited by: noondaywitch

Different colors in Aperture and Photoshop - trying everything

I'm having problems with color in PS CS2 looking a bit flat after doing "edit with" from Aperture. I shoot raw and do most processing in Aperture 2.0, where I have on-screen proofing turned off right now. I "edit with" PS, which exports to a 16-bit .psd file that opens in PS; I understand I have no control over the embedded color profile, which is always Adobe RGB, I believe.
On the Photoshop side, I have selected "preserve embedded profiles" and turned on notification of mismatch, just in case. I have selected Adobe RGB 1998 as the RGB color setting in PS. I have Proof Colors turned off. I have also deselected "Desaturate Monitor Colors" in PS Advanced Color Settings.
In Aperture, the adjusted raw and the managed psd file, sitting side by side, look identical in color. If I compare those two images to the same psd image I just opened in Photoshop, the one in the PS window is less saturated. I have the Aperture and PS windows open on the same Cinema monitor, so it's not a monitor difference.
I'm no expert in color management, for sure...what else can I try? I’m going crazy!

I'm no expert in color management
An expert in colour management engineeri can fail in configuring any two ICC-enabled applications for compatible assumptions. Understanding the architecture is one thing and understanding the current conditions for configuration are another.
In such situations as this, the best bet is to ask the Apple ColorSync Users List.
/hh

Picture file handling between Aperture and Photoshop

Hello
I have transferred several photos via "edit in external editor" from aperture to photoshop.
In photoshop I made different operations:
a) just looking (no special manipulations) -> no saving
b) manipulations on a particular photo -> saving via "save" in PS
c) combination of different photos -> saving via "save as" in PS
Meanwhile I have learned, that option C just saves the file in the file system, but does not update the database entry in aperture. I have also found different versions of photos in the file system, which I had just opened in PS (case a). "File system" means in that case, that they are under the folder "masters", when I drill down the Aperture Data File. Case b seems to work OK.
I have now different questions:
why are photos, which I have just opened in PS, still in the file system (even when I have deleted them) in Aperture? Seems that those versions are kept. Is'nt that blowing up my database? (case a)
when I reimport pictures from case c, are they stored a second time in aperture or does the aperture database point to the particular file (because the file already is under the folder "masters")
Any feedback to data handling between PS and Aperture?
Thanks in advance,
Vanillia

IMO today you are very likely to be best served by the inexpensive Photoshop Elements. However, Adobe's world is changing at the end of this month (March 27) with official announcement of MacIntel versions. You may want to re-ask this question then, being careful of April Fool's Day wags.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17399
Also, version 2 of Aperture is expected in the next few months, and I will be surprised if simple color tools such as you describe are not included.
-Allen Wicks

Aperture and Photoshop Layers

I did a test by importing some layered Photoshop files into Aperture. These were saved as PSD files using "maximum capability" yet when I "Export" or use "External Editor" from Aperture back to Photoshop, the files are flattened. I have heard that the layers should be retained so I must be overlooking something. I had low hopes for the export, but I thought using "external editor" would keep the layers, but it did not. Advice is appreciated.

No problem. The first test I exported as a PSD.
I just went back and tested again and I got it to work although I'm not sure what I did that fixed it. The one thing I did differently was to save as a layered tiff in PS rather than a PSD. I thought it would be safer to keep it as a PSD, but ??
I am testing this because I'm working on a large project and I want to keep everything filed in my Aperture managed library. I tried this a while back and when everything became flattened it set my work back many hours so I cannot let it happen again. I will probably try this one more time just to be sure.

Conflict Between Aperture and Photoshop/Bridge CS2?

Recently, I noticed a problem in Photoshop/Bridge CS2, that I think may be caused by Aperture.
I shoot D2x .nef's that are fully supported by both programs.
Here's what's happening.
If I go into Bridge and go into a folder of images, some show up as images and others as generic .nef icons. They cannot be opened by either Bridge or ACR. Everything in the CS2 Suite is up-to-date.
After purging all the Bridge caches, and finally reinstalling the entire CS2 suite, I noticed something:
The files that were not working in ACR or Bridge were files that I had played with in Aperture. They are in my Aperture library (wherever that is).
Is there any way that this can be the problem I am trying to solve? If so, how do I get Aperture to "let go of them"? To forget it ever touched them?
I love Aperture, am loyal to Apple, am not unhappy that I invested in this program and am sure it will improve. But, I really need to be able to use all of my images in ACR. Right now, that is my priority.
Thanks in advance for suggestions and help.
sjh
Dual G5 2.5, 12"PB Mac OS X (10.4.3)

I'm not sure I know enough to answer the question.
The images are on my G5 on a second internal hard drive (not the boot drive).
They are in a folder with a lot of images from the same shoot.
That folder shows up in the Library in Aperture, also. I think I imported them. But, as best I can tell, they do not "only exist in Aperture" because I can see them, and their .xmp files in the original file on the second internal hard drive.
Thank you so much for trying to help.
sjh

What is the different between Aperture and Photoshop

Are these comparable programs? Can I do everything in Aperture I can do in Photoshop? I am trying to decide whether of get Aperture 3 now or await PS CS5/
TIA,
Bill

Bill,
Both previous posters to your question have more experience than I with Aperture, so I won't comment a lot on that one (although I really like Aperture because it can be a one stop shop for the casual photographer who just wants to get the best shots organized, touched-up and perhaps posted to a web site or printed in a book or to paper).
I am not positive of how the adjustment brushes really work (but they seem to utilize 'masking' - something found and used in PS a great deal for artistic reasons). This would be a similarity, although Aperture appears to do masking on the fly while the user applies brushed in edits, where Photoshop is (in many cases) a manual mask created on a layer above the image (this takes more time but offers a bit more control).
I can tell you a few things about Photoshop:
1 - You would use 'Bridge' to ingest and organize your image files (this is not nearly as competent as Aperture for organization, but it will work well for someone organizing, keywording and rating up to a few hundred images per folder).
2 - You would be using the 'Adobe Camera Raw' plug-in to veiw and edit any RAW files you plan to work with in your photography (it is also capable of working with .jpg and .tiff files). All work done inside this plug-in is 'non-destructive' and is not applied to anything but the preview until you save it out as a supported image file type (Aperture does the same).
3 - Photoshop allows editing above and beyond the RAW edits due to layers and the ability to manipulate pixels on each layer. It also has all the tools you might need to create graphics from scratch with pen tools, brushes, text tool, etc.
So in summation, your RAW workflow in PS would be 'Bridge > Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop', compared to Aperture's 'all-in'one' RAW workflow design.
I can't say a lot due to NDA, but we are now allowed to confirm PS CS5 and I can say that the beta performs at least as well as the current release of PS CS4 on my Mac Pro.
You might use the trial of Aperture to get a feel for the program and then (assuming there will be a trial version of PS CS5 released soon after full release) - you could try that for 30 days and make a decision.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.
Peace.

Aperture and Photoshop Filters

Photoshop CS2 is my external editor. When I open it from Aperture, all of the filters are not available (Artistic, Brush Strokes, Pixelate, Sketch, Texture are dimmed and not available). Is this normal when using with Aperture 1.0.1 of am I doing something wrong? Any help will be appreciated.

I guess you exported in 16bit.
Some filters in Photoshop are not available in 16bit.
Quad 2.5 - PB 12" 1.5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Using iPhoto, Aperture 3 and Photoshop Elements 9 together...

Hi everyone,
I recently upgraded from iPhoto to Aperture. It does almost everything I need but there are some much more advanced editing tools in Photoshop Elements that I need occasionally and also I like to be able to quickly create attractive template based e-mails using iPhoto, so I need all three apps.
Currently I have my photo library in Aperture 3 but it's really clunky to create attractive photo emails using iPhoto because I have to click 'Show Aperture Library', which is very difficult to navigate and is pretty much unusable. My next attempt is going to be to see whether I keep all my pictures in an iPhoto library and then browse and edit them in Aperture and Photoshop Elements.
Has anyone got any tips on this topic?
Thanks,
Jim

Hi Ernie,
Thanks for your post. I will try to explain in a little more detail what the problem I'm having is. If I want to create an iPhoto picture template e-mail, say a postcard, then I select File/Show Aperture Library. A browser window pops up. If I browse to 'Projects' then the previews of each project are huge - about 6 fit on a screen with the window maximised. I can't find a way of zooming out in order that I can browse the hundreds of projects in my Aperture library. Is there a way of doing this? Also, I can't seem to control the sort order. The options in View/Sort Order seem to sort the iPhoto album, not the Aperture library browser.
If I select Photos from the navigation tree then I get previews of all my 13'000 pictures and about 100 fit on the screen. Again, I don't seem to be able to zoom in/out nor control the sort order.
What surprised me this morning is that I finally deleted my old iPhoto library and then opened iPhoto to see how it would react. I selected whatever the default was (forgot already!) and now I see my iPhoto library as it was before I deleted it. However, I can't find the library in my Pictures folder. Could it be that iPhoto is reading it from the trash can??
Finally - is there a way of adding pictures to my posts in this forum? Perhaps I could illustrate the views i'm getting in iPhoto's Aperture library browser.
Yours,
Jim

Aperture or Photoshop Elements?

I am an amateur photographer and photography is a keen hobby of mine. I have recently been pondering the idea of purchasing a photo-editing package from the app store and have come across both Aperture and Photoshop elements. I enjoyed using iPhoto but it felt a little limited. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Aperture and Photoshop target different needs - if you are a serious photographer you should get them both, see Re: how to combine breketed photos in one like in photoshop
Aperture serves two purposes:
It is an excellent tool to manage and organize huge photo libraries for fast retrieval, tagging, geocoding, and efficient storage of different versions of the same photo.
And it has excellent image processing tools to develope high resolution photos (raw, tiff, jpeg) into a rendered version and to adjust the photo (noise reduction, contrast, retouche, white balance and color color correction, sharpening, ...).
But Aperture deals only with image files taken with a digital camera, not with graphics. It does not support transparency for example. For this the program offers an interface to use plug-ins or external editors, like Photoshop or the free Gimp.
Photoshop is a graphics compositing program; it offers basic image processing tools, but you can use it to add graphics annotations to your image or two combine parts of different images - it is great to work with transparency, layers, arbitrary shaped selections.
I use Aperture do organize my photos - my Aperture library now includes all images I own, reaching back to 1910, the including the first photos my greatgrandparents have taken. Developing the raw images or adjusting jpegs Aperture is very intuitive and easy to do. And if I need to do compositing I use a plug-in or Photoshop.
You may want to have a look at Gimp. It can do similar things as Photoshop, but is free. Also, have a look at the Aperture tutorials on the Aperture Support page: Aperture Support
Regards
Léonie

I cant roundtrip from Aperture into Photoshop

Hi,
I am having significant problems with Aperture and Photoshop interaction. As a working professional photographer it is a serious issue that is causing me real stress and it is commercially important that I rectify it quickly.
After extensive testing I am unsure as to the root cause of this problem, different things point towards different causes, however at this stage I am unsure as to wether this is being caused by an Aperture software issue, a Photoshop software issue or indeed a hardware problem.
Mindful of this, I am sending this email to Apple, Adobe, the NAPP help desk, Aperture Expert forum in the hope that somebody can resolve this issue.
THE PROBLEM
When I try and roundtrip images from Aperture v3.3.2 to Photoshop CS6, Aperture prepares the files as tiffs (8 bit) as per the export settings in my preferences dialog box. I can see them being duplicated in the Aperture window but when Photoshop opens only 1 image is available, the others whilst sitting in Aperture are not shown in Photoshop CS6?
I have run the same round tripping process with images sent from Lightroom 4 and they DO all appear in Photoshop? This does point towards an Aperture problem rather that Photoshop.
I have tried the same process using Photoshop CS5 from Aperture 3.3.2 and the situation is the same.
Thinking that it could be a hardware issue or old preference files etc, I did a completely clean install of OSX Mountain Lion, Aperture 3.3.2 and Photoshop CS6 and still all is the same. Additionally I tested the problem on different hardware (MacBook Air) and the problem is replicated there?
There was a time in recent months before the introduction of Aperture 3.3.2 and Mountain Lion that this problem did not occur and the process did work on both bits of hardware that they are being produced on now...
I have trawled painfully through all my preferences in Aperture and Photoshop to see if this is a simple setting issue but to date cannot identify one.
I have posted the problem on the web in various forums and can only find a very small handful of people having this issue, it doesn't seem to be widespread.
Please can you help me to rectify this significant issue. I am a professional trying to get work done and this problem is increasing my workflow exponentially.
Best regards
Richard

>> but when Photoshop opens only 1 image is available,
That means that Aperture only sent 1 image file to Photoshop.
Photoshop accepts multiple files via command line arguments or Apple Events (or COM on Windows).
If there is a setting, it would have to be in Aperture.

Buy Aperture or Photoshop??

Hi all,
I am about to purchase a new maxed out iMac along with an Adobe Creative CS 3.3 (w/my academic discount), as well as a few other things I need to update my software for the Intel processor.
My question is this: I worked w/Photoshop and Illustrator for years, professionally and for my personal projects.
I also plan on purchasing a new digital SLR (undecided on brand, but probably the latest Canon Rebel version.
I am NOT a professional photographer, but have taken tons of photos w/my old Canon G2 (not to mention my old trusty film SLR that I had forever...) I guess I'd rate myself as a fairly knowledgeable amateur photographer, and w/a good sense of composition from my art and design background...
Point is this: having worked in graphics (my life career). I've done tons of photo & color correction, used layers, filters, curves, etc., etc., etc., in Photoshop, and am comfortable with it. Yet, I use iPhoto quite a lot for it's ease of organization and quick fixes for little projects.
How does Aperture compare to Photoshop? Are they at all comparable? I will most likely buy the CS suite, as I can hardly pass up the savings, esp since it is bundled with Illustrator,etc., so here is the question:
Should I buy both Adobe CS AND Aperture???
I appreciate any/all suggestions!
Thanks-

Aperture and Photoshop aren't really the same thing.
Aperture is more of a DAM program with a great ability to adjust photos. It's really the only thing that I use 99% of the time.
But then again, I don't edit my photos with layers/masks etc. Which is where Photoshop excels and where I need to dabble in that 1%.
But that's me. I have both and try to use the right tool for the job.
Just one word or caution don't buy Aperture on the Education discount, it's not eligible for an upgrade. So when you're done with school you'll have to pay the full price anyway. If I bought the full version when I was in school I would have saved money in the long run.

Aperture and Lightroom - still thinking ...

I'm finding the increased clunkiness of Aperture annoying. Aperture is not the slick trouble free application that I was lead to believe it would be on a high end Mac Book Pro. The feature set is brilliant. The inconsistent speed issues are a pain - even for basic edits.
I'm starting to wonder if Lightroom will be any better. I've tried the beta and the adjustments do appear to be somewhat smoother, which may ultimately result in a more productive workflow application for my purposes.
Releasing the library in 1.5 has enabled Aperture to become another tool in the arsenal - rather than the only tool. From a purely performance based standpoint (and by performance I mean speed of adjustment) I wonder if lightroom will be opened more than Aperture.
Interesting times.
Paul

There must be architectural issues if they are still present on the latest equipment (see the cite above)
On October 13th, the equipment Paul described may have been the latest equipment of the day, but my recently-purchased laptop is a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz with 2MB RAM (and the potential for 3MB). I have the standard 5400 RPM hard drive. Aperture adjustments are smooth on my laptop, with the exception of the straighten tool which has only a slight hint of jerkiness. My RAW images are from an 11 megapixel Canon 1Ds.
BTW, I keep activity monitor open with the dock icon set to a pie chart of system memory. I just adjusted a RAW in Aperture (including straightening and cropping), opened the image from Apterture into Photoshop as a PSD, added several adjustment layers with masks, saved, and back in Aperture did a few more adjustments. Still smooth, with Aperture and Photoshop open at the same time. The combined wired and active system memory never went over 1GB, and there was free memory available the entire time. I can't complain.
-Karen

Aperture and Photoshop

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