Should I import to iPhoto or to Aperture?

I am new to Apple and have just bought a 27 inch iMac. I have both iPhoto and Aperture. Currently my photos - about 18,000 are on a USB drive (backed up twice). I store them in a calendar sequence. One folder per year, each year has 12 sub-folders for each month, then each month has its own Project sub-folders. Should I import them straight into Aperture and ignore iPhoto? Or import them into both?

If you shoot in RAW then use Aperture only -- ignore iPhoto.
If you shoot in JPEG then the choice is yours.
But Terence is right. PIck one and stick with it. I generally never use iPhoto. About the only thing that iPhoto can do that Aperture cannot do is order greeting cards and calendars. But iPhoto can access the Aperture library, so if you wanted to do that, you still could even if all of your work is in Aperture. In every other area, Aperture offers far more control.

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Could someone please help me import my iphoto photos into aperture? They are now just referenced files.

Hello,
I am a longtime iphoto user and installed aperture this past december. At that time I imported all my iphoto photos as referenced files and kept them in their iphoto location. Since that time, every photo I took was uploaded directly into aperture and stored there. I am now comfortable enough with aperture that I would like to use it as my primary photo viewer / manipulator and would like to merge my two libraries into one single aperture library. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to do this.
I tried consolidating all originals yesterday, however this did not seem to have any effect. I then tried reimporting my iphoto library, however, this simply duplicated many of my events (and the duplicated ones were not even adjustable via aperture, and each photo had a little exclamation point in the lower right corner). Both of these attempts did nothing to combine my aperture projects and my iphoto events (which are now seen as a seperate iphoto tab under projects). I am aware that I can now switch to my iphoto library within aperture in version 3.3, but I just want everything stored in one place and in my aperture library. Can someone please help me with this?
The only thing I can think of is deleting all of the iphoto events from aperture and then reimporting them, but I am scared I will either delete something permenantly or that they will simply reimport as referenced files and remain within iphoto.
Please help!
Thanks,
- Mike

Mike,
I am not quite clear about the current state of your iPhoto and Aperture libraries. It looks like you have plenty of broken links to referenced masters in either library. Whatever you do now, it is very important to ensure that you have a working backup, both of your iPhoto Library and your Aperture library, before you try a major reconstruction.
I tried consolidating all originals yesterday, however this did not seem to have any effect.
In what way did it not have any effect? From the effects you are describing, it looks like all your original master images have been removed from the iPhoto Library and are now inside the Aperture library as managed masters - at least, this would explain, why trying to import the iPhoto library resulted in duplicated projects (and the duplicated ones were not even adjustable via aperture, and each photo had a little exclamation point in the lower right corner). You removed the original masters from the iPhoto library, and now you could not import it, since the originals are now in Aperture.
For me it looks, like you simply need to delete the iPhoto images marked with an exclamation mark, for these are already bound to images that you imported earlier. It is perfectly o.k. that the recently imported iPhoto Library appears in a separate section of the projects in your Library Inspector Panel. Each iPhoto event should appear as a project. Aperture will put them there, so you can find them easily.
You should check now, if the originally imported images, that you imported as referenced, are now managed. If you enable badge overlays you should see no longer any arrows on the thumbnails of your earlier imports. Also, if you select one of these images, you should be able to toggle between original master and version by typing the "M" key.
Define some smart albums (File > New > Smart album) based on the file status: Add a rule: File status is.
One smart album: File Status is referenced
One smart album: File Status is managed
One smart album: File Status is missing
The first album should be empty.
The second album should show all your images you originally imported from iphoto as managed, and that you recently consolidated.
The third album should show your recent import - the images imported from iPhoto after you consolidated the originals to Aperture and removed these images from iPhoto.
Post back, when you have checked the file status of your images in Aperture and we can be sure were the images are exactly.
Regards
Léonie

Can't import an iPhoto library into Aperture

I'm using Aperture 1.5.2 and iPhoto 6.0.6 and cannot get Aperture to import my iPhoto library. I am following the procedure in the Aperture User Manual (p. 112) but it doesn't work. I don't get a beach-ball cursor or anything... no images, no disk activity, etc. This is regardless of the “Store Files:” or “Version Names:” or other settings in the dialog box.
I saw the Apple Support doc entitled “Aperture can't import iPhoto Library from iPhoto 6.0.1 or 6.0.2” which promises a fix in Aperture 1.1. Is this still the same problem? Or is it a different problem?
I know I can drag the photos from iPhoto into Aperture, but keywords are not preserved. Any suggestions?
PowerBook Al 15 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I recently started using Aperture 1.5.2 and imported my iPhoto Library from iPhoto 6.0.6, so it's not an impossible task. I also had a lot of trouble with it. I can say it was a pain and there were several false starts and once it froze half-way through importing them. I did File -> Import... -> iPhoto Library and I left the files in their current location... but you said this was regardless of settings. I swear the thing just sat their for a good 20 minutes after I told it to import, although I can't recall if there was a spinning cursor or not. I'd get occasional errors about being unable to connect to server at the beginning (after it sat there for 20 minutes) and middle of the process. I just kept hitting Okay and if I had all other applications closed, Aperature finally did it. So... I guess that all amounts to: "I had problems, too, but after several tries it worked so maybe just keep trying and let it sit for awhile if no one else has a more helpful suggestion." Good luck!

Importing from iPhoto '11 to Aperture 3.2 - no keywords imported!

I've tried importing my IPhoto '11 (9.2) library into Aperture 3.2 now THREE times -- the last time via a clean re-install, yet none of my iPhoto keywords show up with my photos in Aperture. Otherwise the import went ok. Any ideas what went wrong and how to fix? Thank you. //Steve

Hello!
Naturally, after I post here, the latest import worked. All keywords seem to be on my photos (along the bottom of my photos).
I imported the photos via Aperture "import" function, and chose "import iPhoto library," "leave in current location." -- The first two times there were no keywords along the bottom of my photos in Aperture, nor in the metadata for any of my photos.
My latest trick was finding the keyword list in Aperture - they are in the Keyword HUD under "iPhoto" and then nested down in there.
A follow up: My iPhoto library seems to be complete in Aperture, but Aperture continues "Processing...." with no further details. Any clue what it's doing? Thanks for your quick reply. //Steve

Does anybody know why I get doubles of every image I import from iPhoto 11 to Aperture?

With the upcoming demise of the MobileMe Galleries, I'm making lots of changes to how photos are organized. I'm moving the galleries to a new host. But, I want to pull most of the events, etc from iPhoto 11 to Aperture. iPhoto 11 has been a nightmare to me, and I just want to be done with it. I find that when I import albums from iPhoto to Aperture, I'm getting doubles of every single image. I've set Aperture not to import duplicates, and messed around in other ways, but it's still requiring a LOT of time to delete all these duplicates. Anybody have an idea to fix this?

There's nothing broken and nothing to be fixed. When you migrate from iPhoto to Aperture it imports all the versions - Masters and previews - to the Aperture Library. This is so your migration is lossless.
When you import from iPhoto to Aperture you'll note the versions are tagged 'iPhoto original', 'iPhoto edited' etc so this means it's simple to find the versions in Aperture and delete the ones you might not want.
Regards
TD

Importing my iPhoto library into Aperture. Best way to avoid duplicates?

Hi,
I'm a new Mac user. I have been in the very slow and tedious process of transferring my photos from my HP hard drive to my Mac. I used iPhoto for a very brief time before purchasing Aperture 3. (I've used photoshop for years.) I haven't yet Imported or consolidated or whatever the correct term would be the iPhoto library into the Aperture library. I've been avoiding it because I know there are some duplicates. Mainly just a few "Events" from the last few weeks before starting using Aperture. Now with the new update, it seems like it's a great time to get it all consolidated into an Aperture library that I can use in both iPhoto and Aperture. What's the easiest way for me to proceed? I'm sorry for my lack of proper Mac terms....I'm learning!
Thanks so much for your help!
Christy

Clear as mud??
If you want to see all your images - those now in your Aperture Library and those in your iPhoto Library- then you need to merge both Libraries into one Library - I'd import your iPhoto Library into the Aperture Library.
This combined Library will be compatible with both Applications.
To merge your iPhoto Library into the Aperture Library do the following:
Make a backup of your current iPhoto library (libraries)
Upgrade to iPhoto 9.3, if you have not already done so.
Open your iPhoto Library at least once in Photo 9.3 to upgrade the Library.
Unhide all hidden images. You cannot unhide them when viewing the Library in Aperture.
Quit iPhoto.
If you have not already upgraded to Aperture 3.3, do it like this:
Backup your current Aperture library.
Rebuild the Aperture Database using the Aperture Library First Aid Tools: Launch Aperture with the cmd-options-key combination (⌘⌥) firmly held down, then select "Rebuild Database".
After rebuilding upgrade to Aperture 3.3 and launch Aperture to upgrade the Aperture Library.
With Aperture still open, double click your iPhoto Library. Aperture will prompt you, if you want to add or merge your iPhoto Library - choose "Merge". This will avoid importing duplicate images, as far as Aperture can tell that those are the same images - same filename.
You will have to weed out some duplicates yourself - this is best be done by sorting the images by capture date, then duplicate shots will appear side by side.
Post back, if you have more questions.
Regards
Léonie

After importing my iPhoto images to Aperture, edited RAW files render strangely

Hi,
Yesterday I imported my iPhoto 09 library to Aperture 3. I have a problem with my RAW files (from a Sony Alpha 55). I have done some edits to these photos in iPhoto 9 and these edits did carry over to Aperture. Unfortunately the resulting image looks absolutely overly contrasted, I can fix most of it by turning down the Black Clipping, which is set to about 25% of the slider. I don't remember adding black clipping in iPhoto though.
Maybe someone here knows about this problem?
Jonathan

oh, and it's iPhoto '11 not 09, sorry about that.

Unable to import my iPhoto library to Aperture.

I am trying to switch over to Aperture from iPhoto. I wanted to import around 50,000 photos from iPhoto, however every time I tried (3 to date) the library gets corrupted and the photos are unusable. Is there a limit as to how many photos you can import? Obviously the "Import iPhoto library" option is non functional. I have the latest version of both iPhoto and Aperture.

Would you consider doing an Import From iPhoto in which you leave the masters in iPhoto?
As suggested, you may also have corrupt images in the iPhoto database. If you have Aperture’s Activity Window open, did it give you any indication where the problem was occurring.
I understand you may be getting frustrated, but your description of the problem has me wondering what you are seeing. You can try to repair any problem and redo the import (first select the option: “do not import duplicates”).
"Photos unusable" may be describing the weird image Aperture displays when it cannot find the master. If your Aperture Library is functional, you can use the iPhoto Browser within Aperture to import individual photos that had a problem. But I’m not sure if you are at the stage where you have already generated Previews and if it’s just the Previews that are weird and need to be regenerated, or the Thumbnails that need to be redone. If only the Thumbnails are bad, post back for further instructions to save correct them.
Be sure and disable Faces and Places in Preferences while you are initially building up your Aperture Library; you can turn them on later if you wish.

Should I move from iPhoto 11 to Aperture?

I've been using iphoto for probably around 7 years. During which time I've experienced a couple of catastrophic library corruptions but was able to restore from backup. The most recent of which was today!
For me the safety of my photo library is probably the most important thing on my computer.
I'd like to hear opinions if it's a good idea to move to aperture. If I do it will be for photo organization and tools rather than photo editing. I do have a copy of Elements 10.
Thanks for the opinions in advance
Steve.

Impossible to say, really.
Believe it or not but iPhoto 11 uses the same database engine as Aperture 3, so it should be equally robust. It is certainly true that there are a lot less of the "Oh No iPhoto Lost All My Photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" type posts on this forum - and a lot less exclamation marks too - but then it's reasonable to infer that many of the users here are more experienced users than on the iPhoto forum. That may account for the difference.
Aperture is a much more powerful app than iPhoto and there is a learning curve. The opportunities for organising are more varied and flexible, but also more complex. It's much much better with Referenced Libraries.
Aperture is geared to the Pro shooter who shoots high volumes and probably Raw. If you're shooting Jpeg and low volume it may be overkill. If you're a serious hobbyist it definitely has value. If you're taking snaps of the kid's birthday party to send to GrandMa it may be overkill. So it really depends on the kind of photographer that you are.
The best thing to do is to download the free trial -
http://www.apple.com/aperture/
import a few hunderd images and explore. The tutorials here
http://www.apple.com/findouthow/photos/aperture.html
are well worth a look too.
Regardless of which you choose you will always need a good back up - or several...
Regards
TD

Image problems when importing modified Iphoto pictures to aperture 3

I seem to have a bit of strange problem with modified pictures after they are imported in A3.
I am using Iphoto 8.1.1 and have just bought Aperture 3. I decided to import all my iphoto pictures using the import iphoto library function.
I noticed that all images that had (in iphoto) been edited using the retouch function to reduce blemishes have problems in Aperture. The problem appears to be where the brush was used is now pixilated in that area and it just looks like a cluster of "noise". This only seems to happen when I used the import iphoto library. I tried to replicate the issue importing some of the same pictures individually and there was no issue. Than I made a new library tried to import iphoto library and same issue ones again. Exporting the picture out of aperture keeps this error. It's quite a worry as I have several hundred of these pictures and I am not sure what to do. Any suggestions?
Please have a look at the links below for an example of before and after import.
http://files.me.com/dan_801/rlebic (the original file)
http://files.me.com/dan_801/s0zn6d (after importing into A3)

ok quick update - I opened up the aperture library in finder and located the image. The master appears to be the correct image but in Aperture itself it's showing a different image. The picture in Aperture appears to be pointing to the preview directory within the library structure. I tried re building the review and thumb and same issue again. When I export from aperture it also seems to export the preview version as oppose to the master. How do i fix this issue

Import from iPhoto: how does Aperture manage videos?

This is relevant to some persons migrating from iPhoto to Aperture. My iPhoto Library contains a few small camera videos. I know Aperture doesn't handle these. When it does the import into Aperture, does it let the user know that there are some files it can't handle? Does it make it easy for someone to discard their iPhoto Library without losing the videos?

So someone who wished to dump their iPhoto Library after migrating to Aperture, might unwittingly lose videos they'd forgotten about -- they have to know to search for the videos and set them aside. Aperture does not help avoid that error.
(I saw your note on needing to keep iPhoto. It's true that one may use iPhoto for its many unique secondary services, but keeping two libraries of the same images is ridiculously inefficient.)
I've long been tempted to migrate to Aperture, but the inability to change 'image acquired' dates, concerns about how trustworthy the iPhoto migration really is, and Aperture's lack of official support for the MacBook have all held me back.
This lack of attention to detail wrt to iPhoto import reinforces the sense I have that Aperture isn't where I personally need it to be (not that iPhoto is perfect, but that's the devil I know). I know it works well for many others and I may yet migrate --- probably in a year or two and then only if they decide to support the MacBook.

HT201340 So I imported my iPhoto library into Aperture.

I had hidden photos in iPhoto, but they can't be found in Aperture. The "projects" show the correct number of photos (i.e. 684), but there are only two photos. None of the hidden ones. What's up? I have more than 30,000 photos, with quite a number of hidden ones that I just don't need to see on a regular basis...

You may have an invisible filter set. This can be cleared by the method described in Frank Caggiano's User Tip:
Images not appearing in browser, search filter is cleared
If that does not work, I'd try to repair or rebuild the Aperture Library using the First Aid Tools:
Launch Aperture with the cmd-option key combination (⌘⌥) firmly held down. From the "First Aid" panel that appears try the three options: Repair Permissions, Repair Library, and Rebuild Database in turn. Hopefully one of them will bring your images back.

Going to buy but should I import/embed or reference my iphoto library?

I have a complex mixed bag of photo situations. I have photos on my hard drive in Finder.
I have a few iPhoto libraries as well. And I want to avoid duplicates.
Should I import all my photos into Aperture and archive/delete my iPhoto libraries or should I keep iPhoto around and just reference the files in both my iPhoto and my Finder. Then is there a good tool to help with getting rid of duplicates?
Unfortunately I use to have an iPhoto reference library to save space but found the changes were not placed in the Finder file but in the iPhoto file so I really couldn't rely on going to the Finder to get the latest changes of the file (if I wanted to change using Photoshop for instance). I heard Aperture uses an non destructive XML file change tracking system which might make referencing a good way to go.
Ideas welcome. Thanks.
Dave

Hard to tell you what to do until we know what you want to do.
Unfortunately I use to have an iPhoto reference library to save space but found the changes were not placed in the Finder file but in the iPhoto file so I really couldn't rely on going to the Finder to get the latest changes of the file (if I wanted to change using Photoshop for instance).
You'll have similar issues with Aperture.
You need to set Photoshop as an External Editor in either (or both) apps.
Regards
TD

Failure to import iPhoto library into Aperture 3

I am trying out a trial version of Aperture 3. When I tried to import my iPhoto Library into Aperture (and into the Aperture folder) I get an error message saying that it cannot import iPhoto libraries if they are in a version of iPhoto that is older than 7.1.5.
I have a brand new computer and I have the most recent version of iPhoto so what is this all about?
LD

Keep in mind you need to select the iphoto library. To make sure you have selected it should be highlighted in gray.
You may run into additional trouble importing if the library is large. Here is the thread with a crude resolution.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11094080#11094080

Importing iPhoto library in Aperture

Hello this is the step that i follow to import the iPhoto library in Aperture
1- File>Import>iPhoto Library
2- Store Files in the apeture library
3- Import
When the importing process is finished from the image folder in Finder I can see that my iphoto library is 30gb but the Aperture library is 15gb (even if the aperure window when I import the iphoto library say that aperutre will import 30gb)
So I go in aperture and try to consolidate files but aperture say
The selection doesn’t have any referenced files
Any help?

My master folder in iphoto is 25gb in aperture is 13
So either quite a few masters have not been imported, or the masters have been imported with the wrong resolutzin, or your iPhoto "Masters" folder contains additional files - duplicate versions, or raw files.
@TD, any more suggestions?
So, please, look into the "Masters" folder in iPhoto and Aperture - navigate down the folder structure , until you finally find the actual images. Compare the sizes of the master image files, and look in the iPhoto library if there are duplicates.
If the sizes of the master files in iPhoto are larger than in Aperture, then something went wrong.
If on the other hand, there are duplicates in iPhoto that are not there in Aperture, then never mind.
You confirmed that the numbers of images are correct. When you compared the numbers of images in iPhoto and Aperture, did you make sure that iPhoto was set to show "Hidden Photos"? (in the main menu bar: "View -> Hidden Photos" should be checked)
Ps. How do I get bigger icon in left side if finder?
When you have a Finder Window selected, you can customize the View by pressing Command(⌘)-J, short for "View -> Show View Options". In the pop-up window set the Text Size to a higher value.
That will increase the size of the icons as well.

Should I import to iPhoto or to Aperture?

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