Organizing photos on more than one computer

Question

Hello,
I would like suggestions on organizing photos.  I am a professor of architecture and have several thousands of photos of buildings and cities that I have visited and designed.  I use some of these photos for lectures and other professional work, but many of them go unused.  The total amount of space taken is about 100GB and is growing fast.  My main computer is a 15" MBPro, but I have begun to use an 11" MBA for lecturing.  The problem is that neither drive is able to hold my complete photo library.
My question is:  How do I best organize my photo library so that I can keep the same "5 Star" photos on both computers, but still be able to see images on a back-up hard drive when connected?  I have both Aperture and iPhoto.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
Matthew Jelacic

Answer 1

You are asking two questions in one.  You'll get a more successful set-up if you address them separately.  The question you stress is file management.  Put simply, you want to be able to use an Aperture Library (or a subset of same) on two portable computers with insufficient built-in storage space.  Secondarily, you are also asking about image management: how to structure your Library for best use providing source material for a professor of architecture.
The file management questions is more easily answered, esp. as you have specified that your top need to have 5-star (and presumably only 5-star) images on the second computer.  First, read the User Manual chapter on Library files.  That will almost certainly provide you the information you need to answer your question with more specificity than we can provide here.  (Click heading for link.)
Working with Library Files
Aperture exports projects, albums, and folders as a library file. You can transfer the library file from one Aperture system to another and then merge the transferred library file into the library file on that system. All links between versions and their masters are maintained when library items are transferred. This is particularly useful if you use a portable computer when on location or away from your studio, and a workstation at your studio. Any work done in the field can be exported from your portable computer as a library file and then merged with the library file on the workstation at your studio.
When the library file becomes large and requires more disk space than is available in its current location, you can move it to a hard disk with greater storage capacity. To change the location of the library, you move the library file to a new location and then double-click it to open it in Aperture.
I think you'll it easiest to use one of your portable machines only, both in the office and at the lectern, with all of your images having Referenced Masters on an external FW800 drive.  Either set you Previews to the size you need in the lecture hall, or if that is insufficient, convert all 5-star images' Referenced Masters to Managed Masters using the "File→Consolidate Masters" command.  If you do that, you'll have your Library on your laptop, your 5-star images Masters inside that Library (as Managed Masters) and all you other image's masters on your external drive.
There are many posts on the forum re: Managed and Referenced Masters (search -- good stuff there).  Two things to know from the get-go: 
Every image has a Master
Image's have Masters.  Libraries can contain all of one kind of Master, or may be mixed.  Libraries contain images; images are linked to Masters.
Good Luck.
PS: Ditch iPhoto, or ditch Aperture.  They are not practicably compatible.
Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger