Best workflow - iPhoto + Photoshop (Elements) or simply drop iPhoto?

Question

Hi everyone.
I am an amateur photographer but I like to take good pictures and have them look at least semi-pro. My wife and I have been using iPhoto for years to organize our photos. Some basic editing is also done in iPhoto.
However, the biggest reason to use iPhoto is the ease of organization and the sharing features (share via email, Facebook, etc. right from iPhoto).
I am ready to move to Photoshop (via Photoshop Elements, I don't need the full program). But I am not sure it is easy to go from iPhoto to Elements.
Would you recommend:
1. using iPhoto + Elements (how? right click a picture in RAW and "edit with external editor"?)
2. simply organize and edit it ALL with Photoshop Elements and forget iPhoto (is there an easy way to import the iPhoto Library with at least some of its organization elelemtns like albums, RAW pictures and dates into Adobe Bridge or Elements?)
Please help, what would be the best workflow?
Maybe Lightroom or Aperture? (which don't seem to offer the same features as Photoshop or Elements)...

Answer 1

We need to clarify a few things.
You cannot edit a RAW file.
A RAW is a dump from the camera's sensor. All the data that the sensor "saw" is poured into this container. Nothing can be done with this data. It can't be printed or anything else. All that can be done is to process this data into a usable form - that is to a recognised graphic format: jpeg, tiff, png etc.
In a point and shoot camera this process is done automatically by the camera. With high end P&S and with dSLR you can either have it done for you in the Camera or do it yourself.
When you use Aperture you are doing it yourself... Processing the RAW into a working format.
So, in the iPhoto version you would send the RAW to the Elements, +process it to a jpeg (or whatever)+ and save that jpeg to the desktop and then import it.
Oddly, iPhoto and Aperture share exactly the same engine for processing RAWs. You've just got more fine control (read: knobs and sliders) with Aperture. If you're content to process your RAWs in iPhoto then it's the same machinery as Aperture.
With Aperture here's what happens:
You import the RAW and process it. Aperture records your processing decisions +in a database+ and next time you view the pic applies them live as you view it. (This is why the Hardware requirements for Aperture are much higher than for iPhoto). Again, if you want to print, Aperture makes a printable version on demand.
There is nothing to be gained (that I know of) from sending the RAW to Elements from Aperture.
If you want to further edit in Elements Aperture will send a processed tiff to Elements for work (or psd - it's a setting in the Preferences).
1. I have a lot of pictures which were RAAW and I edited in iPhoto without knowing it would convert them to JPEG as soon as I hit the "edit" button. Now, when I import to Aperture, will Aperture import BOTH the original RAW file AND the edited JPEG version?
iPhoto did not convert those files to Jpeg. It preserved the RAW and processed the file and saved the output as a jpeg. Want to see your actual RAW? File -> Export: *Kind: Original*.
Yes, if you use Aperture's Import iPhoto Library option it will bring it all over. But experiment first, because some folks don't like this and prefer to only bring over the RAWs and re-process them in Aperture.
3. Will Aperture preserve the organization I had in place (e.g. tags, albums, faces, etc.)?
Yes and No. I'm fairly sure that it brings over Events and Albums. It definitely brings over tags and keywords. It certainly does not bring over Faces. Faces are not part of any standard metadata at this time, and Aperture (and LR) has no way to work with them.
My advice always when considering a change like this is to download the trial, import a couple of hundred pics and explore and see what happens when you press this button or that.
Regards
TD