Digital Asset Management with Affinity Photo Beta

[jedorme]

I've been using Aperture 3 on my iMac for a while now, which also shares image files with iPhoto.  And I have Lightroom 4 & Photoshop CS5, but have not used them at all for some time now.  Downloaded the Beta of Affinity Photo & also just upgraded to Yosemite OS on the Mac, with the latest iPhoto App as well.  But now I can no longer run Aperture 3 on my machine.  Not entirely familiar with how iPhoto might store my Raw + JPEG files from my Fuji X-E2 (e.g., does it do it like Aperture where both files are kept & you have to designate the primary), but thinking about maybe using iPhoto (or new Photos App when it is released) for DAM only, while working on the images with Affinity Photo Beta.  Before just jumping into this to see how it might work, I thought maybe I should ask if anyone has had any experience doing something like this.  Or with my situation if there are any other ideas or suggestions - like maybe just using the Bridge in PS for DAM purposes.  Basically, what are the real alternatives for DAM when using Affinity Photo Beta or the final App when it is released? 

[AndreaR]

As long as Bridge is a separate product, you can continue to use it. Or you asking for a Bridge substitute?

 

I think it is better use a dedicated product, rather than something integrated on an image edit software. So I will be free to use my editing software of choose without touching anything about my assets.

 

That makes me think it will be great have such a piece of software, dedicated only to the asset and metadata management, I only can guess that will be a tool of far better quality than all things I see on the net, that they are "do-it-all" but excels on nothing.

[billtils]

Hi jedorme.   I am one of the many long-time Aperture users who are mad angry at Apple for dropping support for it!   But here's my plan and comments for you.

 

First up, I am running OS X 10.10.2 (and also have run the public beta of 10.10.3, of which more later) and Aperture 3 runs no problem on it, so I'm at a loss as to why you can no longer run Aperture 3.  I like Aperture as an image editor but even more importantly, as a library manager.  Of these 2 functions, it's hard to see how the DAM capability could be improved, but as time goes by there will be better editors available.  The plan (already in action!) is to keep Aperture as the DAM, and use its external editor call-out to send images to another program for editing.  I have tried several, mainly using their 30-day free trial options.   AP and Pixelmator are the ones that have been kept.   (There are a bunch of reasons for dropping the others, mainly perceived value for money - and an aversion to Adobe's "rent an app" model).  I have made a bootable copy of OS X 10.10.2  and Aperture on a 2TB external drive for protection against the day when Apple come up with a version of OS X that Aperture won't run on.

 

You can try "Photos" on the public beta of OS X 10.10.3, but responses have been very mixed.  I don't know where you live, but it has been described as like Vegemite - you either love it or hate it, and the balance in those emotions is clearly on the "hate" side for the group that could be described as "serious photographers".  And it will mess with your iPhoto library!

[LilleG]

Thank you, billtils.  That last sentence is invaluable.  I'd been thinking about trying Photos in my Yosemite partition but the last thing that I need is a trial app that will mess up prior arrangements.

[LilleG]

As for DAM apps, I use and like MediaPro by PhaseOne.  I started with iView MediaPro a looong time ago and followed it all the way through its acquisition by Microsoft who called it Expressions then sold it to PhaseOne who renamed it MediaPro.  There is a newer version called MediaPro 1 but the one I have stilll does everything I need it to.

[jedorme]

billitis - Thanks much for your input & it sounds like we are similarly situated in preferring Aperture, deeply regretting Apple's decision to stop supporting it, & uncertain about Affinity Photo when finally released as a replacement for it.  And you were right about still being able to use Aperture with my Yosemite 10.10.2 upgrade.  What happened was I had heard Aperture might not be compatible & right after the upgrade my desktop icon for it was X'd over, along with a couple other Apps (including iPhoto).  But all I had to do was download/upgrade them again & they were restored.  Is the Beta OS X you are running the one that contains the new Photos App?  I have a separate hard drive that I store my photos on & it has an older OS X on it so I might also use that to keep Aperture available down the road. 

 

LilleG - I looked at MediaPro 1 which seems quite capable but a bit pricey ($199).  And I know that Capure One has a good reputation as a Raw developer for the Fuji X-Trans sensors that have been a challenge to other editors.  So I will see if C1 has some kind of combo to buy both the editor & library manager with better pricing.  But right now Affinity Photo is looking very good price wise & also feature & capabiity wise.

 

AndreaR - Thanks for the thoughts on the use of Bridge on a stand-alone basis for DAM, & I wasn't thinking of a substitute for it but just stripping it away from Photoshop to use separately.  May give it a trial when time permits.

[billtils]

jedorme - yes, it is the one with the new Photos app, you can read about it and (if you wish) download it at https://appleseed.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/  

 

One wee clarification, the more i use AP and get to know it, the more I like it and suspect it may end being my go-to editor.  The only reservation at this point is that I'd like to see a better UI for printing, more on the lines of what Lightroom offers (but, to be fair, it uses the standard OS X print interface so is not really a step back from Aperture.   Just remember to hit the "Show Details" button if it does not display your printer's default settings and options). 

[10on12]

I used iView Media Pro for about 6 years when managing photographic library.

It handled every type of file imaginable - it became an invaluable tool.

 

It was hands down the best package available back then - nothing came close.

Microsoft then acquired it and stopped supporting Mac which more or less killed it stone dead.

 

It was bought from microsoft a number of years back and is now developed by PhaseOne.

http://www.phaseone.com/en/Imaging-Software/Media-Pro/FAQ.aspx

 

I've haven't used it since as I don't do that type of work any more but it's worth investigating.

 

S

[jedorme]

10on12 - Thanks for this suggestion, & it is something I have been looking at.  A bit pricey for my needs (serious hobby photog), but appears well organized, understandable structure & very capable.  Thinking now of just continueing to use Aperture 3 for DAM by porting it on my separate hard drive running with older Mac OS X when Apple updates Yosemite to stop supporting Aperture.  But if that gets too cumbersome or disruptive of my workflow, then something else may be necessary.

[Old Toad]

As for DAM apps, I use and like MediaPro by PhaseOne.  I started with iView MediaPro a looong time ago and followed it all the way through its acquisition by Microsoft who called it Expressions then sold it to PhaseOne who renamed it MediaPro.  There is a newer version called MediaPro 1 but the one I have stilll does everything I need it to.

I also use MediaPro 1 along with Photoshop or PSE as my editor.  I've used MP since it was iView MediaPro all thru to the Phase One version.  In my experience it is the most complete DAM app out there.  Coupled with Affinity Photo it would make a powerful package. Being cross platform is a plus for those offices that use both. 

 

I don't know how long my Photoshop CS3 will still work with Macs after Yosemite but when it no longer is compatible AF will be one of the first apps I look at as a replacement.  

 

If AF is able to provide the applicable extension so it could be used as the external editor in Photos for Mac there would many Photos users will be looking to AF for both jpeg and RAW editing from within Photos. 

[anon1]

I just googled for "affinity digital asset management" to figure out what google would show from this forum and found this thread to be the first so I think it´s worth noticing that they´ve made an announcement,really exited :)

 

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/13792-feature-request-affinity-lightroom-killer/?p=61067

[ldexterldesign]

BUMP

 

https://twitter.com/ldexterldesign/status/690966573629231104

 

Hope this is useful

 

Regards

[jedorme]

As noted above, I am a Mac user who switched to Aperture after becoming frustrated with the non-intuitive operation of LR, I now use Aperture for my file organization & storage but Affinity Photo for all of my editing.  Aperture also has a feature that allows you to select Affinity Photo as an external editor by going to Preferences & selecting the Export tab; under that you press the Choose button to select the External Photo Editor & pick Affinity Photo.  For the External File Format you can select Tiff (8 or 16 bits as you prefer).

 

Then when you want to edit an image from those stored in Aperture, you right-click on the image & select Edit with Affinity Photo App.  Affinity Photo will start with the image loaded & ready to be edited.  Then to return the edited image to Aperture for storage, select File > Save - a dialog will appear saying the image contains non-pixel elements - Select Save Flattened to flatten the image before sending it to Aperture.  That's it; the edited image will appear in Aperture alongside the original.

 

Hopefully Affinity will soon have its own storage & organization of images so it will no longer be necessary to involve Aperture in this DAM function.  But for now at least, I find this to be a very easy & straightforward way to use Aperture with Photo.

[John Basso]

 Hello jedorme. Avery good posting.I also use Aperture and Affinity Photo.I tried your suggestion,everything works until I have to send the edited photo back to Aperture by selecting File>Save -a dialog that you said would appear  saying:the image contains non pixel elements -select Save Flattened to flatten the image before sending it back to Aperture does not appear in my case. Have you any suggestion what I might have done wrong? Thank you, for looking into this. John Basso.