New to Digital- How to with an Apple.

[jcapphoto]

I have a MacBook and a D80, and I am trying to figure out what I should use for programs, and how I should use everything. For now I have Lightroom Beta, and iPhoto and I have tried a few ways of how to import and bring photos in. I am looking for how I would get the best results.

I have uploaded photos directly to both Lightroom, and iPhoto. When I brought them to iPhoto, I then imported them to Lightroom. Last time I uploaded, I shot RAW and uploaded them directly to Lightroom, cause iPhoto doesn't support RAW files.

For you other Mac users, what is your process, what programs do you use, and how have you gotten the best quality for your pictures. I have thought about buying Apple Aperture, and might do so after I try out some other programs. Give me some tips on how I should run my workflow and my procedures!

Thanks!

[Medley]

Well, you've taken the first step to a proper workflow already- you're using a Mac instead of a PC.:thumbsup:

I use Adobe Photoshop CS2 for all my editing needs. I have a Canon camera, and initially, I import the jpeg's with iPhoto and the raw's with Canon's software. After that, eveything is done in Photoshop. I've found iPhoto to be great for organizing my images.

I'm a tad biased though. I got into photography to increase my Photoshop skills, not vice versa.

-Joe U.

[jcapphoto]

I don't have a place to import my RAW files except Lightroom, which I don't want to use as a library. Is there anyway I could get my RAW files into iPhoto? I love iPhoto for the organization, as do you, but I want to be able to put my images into it, or a program much like this if they are in RAW format.

[Medley]

I don't have a place to import my RAW files except Lightroom, which I don't want to use as a library. Is there anyway I could get my RAW files into iPhoto? I love iPhoto for the organization, as do you, but I want to be able to put my images into it, or a program much like this if they are in RAW format.

No way that I know of. The last time I tried to manually put a Raw (CR2) file into iPhoto, the program crashed. That's pretty much when I gave up trying.

If you find a way though, please share it. I'd love to be able to do that too.

-Joe U.

[Medley]

News Flash! Yes, iPhoto now supports raw images. It appears that support for raw began with iPhoto5. I'm using iPhoto4, hence the program crashes. Don't know much about it yet, but here's a link to a FAQ about iPhoto5:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300876

-Joe U.