options for storing and organising photos?

[femi fan]

I've only just begun coming here, although i don't know why it took me so long. I've already had some welcome help from one or two members this year, and i think i better spend more time here!

I've just treated myself finally to a new camera (em1) and it seems a good time to investigate what options are available these days for organising and storing my photos. For a long time i used ACDSee which i really enjoyed using, but when i went for an imac computer i lost that and simply settled with iphoto, which i've never really enjoyed much. I didn't upgrade to whatever apple offer (can't recall the name for now), but i guess that's an option.

I don't do a lot of editing, at least i've never done before, my main requirements are ease of making various albums, ease of cropping, and finding pictures i want to find.

I want to create a website very soon which will showcase my work and sell it (i'm not fussed about how easy/difficult/competitive it is to sell photos, just that i will be able to do so if mine are good enough), so this may have an impact on what option i go for.

I also would like to be able to share photos with friends, rather than laboriously sending them by email, but have worried in the past about having them stolen, or shared with people i don't want to view them.

I've heard of icloud things, and have a rough idea what they refer to, but on the whole it's confusing to me. It seems if i store them all up on a cloud somewhere in cyber space that if the cloud went wrong somehow, i'd lose all my pics. I've only ever been 'average' at getting my way around creative aspects of the internet. I do try to research things, but often the language bamboozles me.

I could upgrade to the apple software which is better than iphoto.

I could use the olympus software that came with my camera, but i suspect it's fairly basic.

Did i read somewhere that lightroom might be what i'm looking for?

Or what else comes recommended? I'm starting this thread because i'm always more interested in personal stories to help me make my choices, so I wonder what photography posters here use? I don't mind paying a bit, if it's good enough. I suppose i could get ACDSee for macs?

cheers for any ideas and tips.

[FracturedRabbit]

Lightroom.

It catalogues all your photos using a variety of options including keywording. I have more than 100,000 photos catalogued and I can pretty much find anything.

The "develop" module allows you to easily work on the photos. Cropping of course, plus other tools which are easy to use, very powerful and specifically designed for photo processing.

Those are the two features you would use most, but there are also options for creating web galleries, books and slideshows.

There are endless videos on YouTube which will help, or you can ask here; but it is pretty intuitive.

You can buy from the Adobe SE Asia store for around 5,000 baht; but if you are going to buy it then I would wait for a few weeks because the latest version is about to be released (you get regular and free upgrades within a version, but every couple of years there is a new version which you have to pay for). Alternatively...:

Sign up for the Creative Cloud package which costs 300 baht a month and gives you both Lightroom and Photoshop (Lightroom will give you 95% of what you want to do to a photo; but it can be fun to play with Photoshop too). Both Lightroom and Photoshop are updated automatically on a regular basis.

The Apple software that is better than iPhoto is called Aperture and Apple have discontinued it; so stay away! Lightroom is so much better anyway.

That's a view from an EM1 owner who uses a Mac!

Please ask if you have any other questions.

[fimgirl]

To add to the above take a look at Smugmug.com for creating your website. It enables you to store full resolution images (added protection) and you can password your images for selected viewing thus preventing theft.

I use this for my website http://reeray.smugmug.com/

All or any of those gallery's can be restricted to friends only should I wish.

[femi fan]

Lightroom.

That's a view from an EM1 owner who uses a Mac!

Please ask if you have any other questions.

Thanks mate! I think i can recall reading a bit about lightroom on this forum a few weeks ago when i was researching what camera i was going to buy. It was in my head to look up once i'd let this thread run its course. I was also going to pm you soon enough with a few more questions on the EM1 which i've now tested out for the first time down in krabi. I"m so impressed with the quality of the shots - in part i'm sure due to the lens you recommended!! But i think a lot for me to learn about using the camera, with an instruction book that's not always obvious.

Does lightroom have anything to do with cloud storage, or is it all on your computer? 100k photos is a lot, i presume you have a back-up and/or storage system on external drives, and this was where i was wondering about icloud stuff. Having said that, i've just seen i have 20k photos.

I will wait a few weeks, i can afford to do that, but with my new camera i'm keen to get started on a new system from the outset and get to grips with it like i used to enjoy ACDSee. I think lightroom will give me much more licence for changing things around, it sounds good.

[femi fan]

To add to the above take a look at Smugmug.com for creating your website. It enables you to store full resolution images (added protection) and you can password your images for selected viewing thus preventing theft.

I use this for my website http://reeray.smugmug.com/

All or any of those gallery's can be restricted to friends only should I wish.

Nice name for a site! I'll look at it in a mo. I liked your shots on your site, the black and white worked well.

I wonder if this is purely for photography, this site? I'm going to be a writer too, so need have space for various aspects of my creative exploits. Finding a website allowing easy to set up websites is a big mission of mine at the moment too.

I presume you can watermark (correct word?) your images at full resolution to stop copyright theft?

Was it an easy experience setting up your site?

[FracturedRabbit]

Lightroom.

That's a view from an EM1 owner who uses a Mac!

Please ask if you have any other questions.

Thanks mate! I think i can recall reading a bit about lightroom on this forum a few weeks ago when i was researching what camera i was going to buy. It was in my head to look up once i'd let this thread run its course. I was also going to pm you soon enough with a few more questions on the EM1 which i've now tested out for the first time down in krabi. I"m so impressed with the quality of the shots - in part i'm sure due to the lens you recommended!! But i think a lot for me to learn about using the camera, with an instruction book that's not always obvious.

Does lightroom have anything to do with cloud storage, or is it all on your computer? 100k photos is a lot, i presume you have a back-up and/or storage system on external drives, and this was where i was wondering about icloud stuff. Having said that, i've just seen i have 20k photos.

I will wait a few weeks, i can afford to do that, but with my new camera i'm keen to get started on a new system from the outset and get to grips with it like i used to enjoy ACDSee. I think lightroom will give me much more licence for changing things around, it sounds good.

Current year is stored on the computer with back-up to another drive using Time Machine. Older stuff sits on a network drive with Raid. That's another good thing about Lightroom, it is happy to access files from multiple locations.

Feel free to pm me with any E-M1 questions. It's a great camera, but it can take time to understand all the options and set it up the way you want to use it.

[femi fan]

wow, smugmug does look good! I need to investigate it more, but it seems i can simply use them for showcasing my photos to whoever, and for protecting them and for using the site as a back-up for my images. Clearly i can sell too, but just on their simple version it seems a great way to be able to share my photos with whoever i want, for five bucks a month.

Do you sell as well through your site?

[FracturedRabbit]

wow, smugmug does look good! I need to investigate it more, but it seems i can simply use them for showcasing my photos to whoever, and for protecting them and for using the site as a back-up for my images. Clearly i can sell too, but just on their simple version it seems a great way to be able to share my photos with whoever i want, for five bucks a month.

Do you sell as well through your site?

I know your question is directed at fimgirl; but....

I have used to use Smugmug for sharing and selling photos. It is very powerful. You can not only sell downloads and prints; but also weird stuff with your photos printed on them (e.g. mugs and jigsaws!). The photo printing is done in the States by a very good lab. I had some samples printed and they were very high quality. Your customers deal directly with Smugmug and the lab; you just set the prices and take your share; works very well and everyone who bought photos was very happy. The ability to set up quick galleries with password protection is very useful for sharing photos directly with individual customers.

I only left Smugmug because I stopped selling photos. Now I use Flickr which is fine for hosting photos but useless for selling.

[Whale]

As "Photos" (Apple) will be released soon and will be free - and you are not tied into another program yet, you may want to wait and see what is (or isnt) available in Photos re DAM.

It seems at the moment it will be a replacement for iPhotos rather than have the capabilities of Aperture (similar to Lightroom) but it will be free.

[fimgirl]

wow, smugmug does look good! I need to investigate it more, but it seems i can simply use them for showcasing my photos to whoever, and for protecting them and for using the site as a back-up for my images. Clearly i can sell too, but just on their simple version it seems a great way to be able to share my photos with whoever i want, for five bucks a month.

Do you sell as well through your site?

Used to sell a few from time to time but really now only interested in showcasing my B+W work. I use the proprietary stock agencies to sell my other commercial work which I don't showcase.

FR said it all in his response. Smugmug is very good.

[femi fan]

As "Photos" (Apple) will be released soon and will be free - and you are not tied into another program yet, you may want to wait and see what is (or isnt) available in Photos re DAM.

It seems at the moment it will be a replacement for iPhotos rather than have the capabilities of Aperture (similar to Lightroom) but it will be free.

Thanks for that, i didn't know that was coming. But what is DAM?

[fimgirl]

DAM = digital asset management

[femi fan]

FR and fimgirl: thanks for your info on this site, it looks better and better.

In terms of just being able to host and post up my own photos for friends family and strangers to see, it looks great, and i assume i would only need the cheapest monthly option. But if i wish to sell through it, i imagine it's best to the get the rather more expensive option?

[femi fan]

FR… been looking at the south-east asia site of adobe.

Lightroom is all i'll need, i have too many things i want to be doing that will never let me find the time to learn photoshop properly. However, at 300 baht a month, it would take me 17 months to reach the cost of 5000 baht alone for lightroom, and if a new version comes out every couple of years or so, i wonder if i should go for the creative cloud anyway. I assume that getting the monthly payment option means that any new version will just be supplied at no extra cost, just the continual monthly fee? If that's the case, then buying lightroom outright alone means i'll never get newer versions without paying for them?

It's not a lot of money either way, but useful to know about things i might not have thought about.

I think i'm going to try out the free trial anyway, nothing to lose and by the end maybe the new version will be ready!

[ETatBKK]

I own stand-alone Photoshop licence and a Lightroom licence and a Premiere licence in different purchase timing. I really suggest you considering a Creative Suite subscription instead; it is more economic and is more simple to manage and is more flexible when you need something suddenly. and Creative Cloud is part of the service.

by the way, there is a Creative Cloud seminar on Mar 26, Thursday, at Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel. you may interest on it.

https://ccseminar15bangkok.creativecloud.adobeevents.com/?trackingid=KRUQG

[femi fan]

I own stand-alone Photoshop licence and a Lightroom licence and a Premiere licence in different purchase timing. I really suggest you considering a Creative Suite subscription instead; it is more economic and is more simple to manage and is more flexible when you need something suddenly. and Creative Cloud is part of the service.

by the way, there is a Creative Cloud seminar on Mar 26, Thursday, at Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel. you may interest on it.

https://ccseminar15bangkok.creativecloud.adobeevents.com/?trackingid=KRUQG

Thanks for the suggestions. That's my birthday! However i live in chiang mai, so a bit far to go for me. But with the awful smog here this month maybe an idea...

I assume by suggesting i consider 'a Creative Suite' you mean, for example, the Creative Cloud package i see that has lightroom and photoshop for 300 baht a month? I've got confused by the word 'Suite' in this context.

[ETatBKK]

RIGHT, the Creative Cloud - Photography plan is at THB300 per month, THB3,600 per year for BOTH Photoshop and Lightroom; not including Creative Cloud storage.

https://creative.adobe.com/plans/photography

in a promotion, Adobe also offers the Complete plan at THB900 per month for the first year, for existing Creative Suite user.

https://creative.adobe.com/plans?store_code=th ( change currency to THB )

p.s. 'Creative Suite' is an individual product package; and 'Creative Cloud' is a subscription-based service with various plans and applications. well, better ask Adobe.

[femi fan]

It seems to me that if i basically rent lightroom then if i wish to no longer use it for whatever reason, i lose all my organising and storage? Am literally stuck with lightroom therefore? It looks like what i want, but i don't want to be stuck anywhere!

I'm trying really hard to find the price for just lightroom itself, but it seems adobe just want me to get a monthly plan. I have failed miserably to find anywhere selling me at a one-off price! If anyone has a link, that'd be most helpful.

[ETatBKK]

It seems to me that if i basically rent lightroom then if i wish to no longer use it for whatever reason, i lose all my organising and storage? Am literally stuck with lightroom therefore? It looks like what i want, but i don't want to be stuck anywhere!

I'm trying really hard to find the price for just lightroom itself, but it seems adobe just want me to get a monthly plan. I have failed miserably to find anywhere selling me at a one-off price! If anyone has a link, that'd be most helpful.

YES, standalone perpetual licence is available, THB4,676.81 for a single Lightroom licence. it is about 15.5 months of the subscription. as said, I had standalone licence, and I did paid for a new licence from Lightroom 4 to Lightroom 5; there was no upgrade on Lightroom.

http://shop.adobe.com/DRHM/store

the earlier suggestion on smugsmug is an excellent online frontend. Lightroom is a good DAM backend. Lightroom has a very powerful catalogue structure, but indeed it is a proprietary database.

[MJP]

I second Lightroom as part of Creative Cloud Photographer's suite. Don't be scared of Photoshop CC, once you get into it it's not that tricky. Loads of tutorials on YouTube, take a look a Phlearn.

https://www.youtube.com/user/PhlearnLLC

[hanno]

This. Sure, costs money but Photoshop/Bridge CC and Lightroom are an awesome combo and well worth the money. Heck, the way prices are going, the monthly subscription is the equivalent of a pint of IPA these days .

[MJP]

This. Sure, costs money but Photoshop/Bridge CC and Lightroom are an awesome combo and well worth the money. Heck, the way prices are going, the monthly subscription is the equivalent of a pint of IPA these days .

All my regular software is cloud based now, from MS Office to Adobe and CAD. Saves a lot of hassle.

[femi fan]

The thing i can't quite grasp is that if i get the monthly option, then what happens if, say, in a couple of years i don't want lightroom any more? Will i not lose all my folders and albums and whole organization of all my photos? If i've catalogued all my pictures on lightroom, then surely all this would go if i ceased using it?

Now, clearly it may be a great software, but it seems that i'll be almost signed up till my death bed!

If i simply buy the one-off package, then it's mine, no? What does 'proprietary database' mean?

Thanks for all the tips and links everyone.

Not hearing of many other options! Is lightroom the major choice of photographers for storage and organisation?

[femi fan]

This. Sure, costs money but Photoshop/Bridge CC and Lightroom are an awesome combo and well worth the money. Heck, the way prices are going, the monthly subscription is the equivalent of a pint of IPA these days .

All my regular software is cloud based now, from MS Office to Adobe and CAD. Saves a lot of hassle.

What does 'cloud-based' mean in practical reality? In what way does it save hassle? I understand it to mean you don't have your photos stored on your own hard drive. That sounds wrong to me! And if they are all sitting on a cloud somewhere, what happens if that cyber cloud melts down??

[hanno]

The thing i can't quite grasp is that if i get the monthly option, then what happens if, say, in a couple of years i don't want lightroom any more? Will i not lose all my folders and albums and whole organization of all my photos? If i've catalogued all my pictures on lightroom, then surely all this would go if i ceased using it?

IF you let your membership lapse you can of course still access all your photos but you will not be able to use the developing tools.

[ETatBKK]

The thing i can't quite grasp is that if i get the monthly option, then what happens if, say, in a couple of years i don't want lightroom any more? Will i not lose all my folders and albums and whole organization of all my photos? If i've catalogued all my pictures on lightroom, then surely all this would go if i ceased using it?

Now, clearly it may be a great software, but it seems that i'll be almost signed up till my death bed!

If i simply buy the one-off package, then it's mine, no? What does 'proprietary database' mean?

for organising photos, you may consider between Adobe Lightroom ( Win/Mac ) and Aperture ( Mac ).

all your photos and folders are locally in your harddisk, under native folder system. Lightroom or Aperture adds a virtual catalogue structure on top and manages complex organisation.

whatever Lightroom, Aperture, Picasa, ACDSee . . . the catalogue structure is a low-level proprietary database, and not compatible between applications. in case of switching application, can perform one-off translation.

I also though buying one Lightroom licence for life, but every application upgrade brings solutions that are more useful. within a year I upgraded from Lightroom 4 to Lightroom 5; not a smart decision. I will switch to Creative Cloud subscription in the next upgrade.

for enhancing photos, Lightroom also has a Developing module that is a slightly different concept than that of Photoshop. with the Creative Cloud subscription, you could also apply Photoshop for retouching.

( although for MJP ) ‘cloud-base’ facilitates your licence online and allows transportation of the licence between computers. a bad example, I stuck with a standalone Photoshop CS6 licence and a Lightroom 5 licence on my main desktop; I install older application versions on my laptop.

‘cloud-storage’ is storing data in the cloud storage facilities. the ‘Creative Cloud Photography Plan’ ( THB300 ) not include any cloud storage.

[femi fan]

ETatBKK, thanks for the input. One thing still nags away at me… when i stopped using PCs and therefore ACDSee, and moved over to an imac, i was now on iphoto. This area of computers is not a strenght of mine, but basically all the work i'd done in putting my photos into various albums and so on got lost.

I have seen that in lightroom i can import my iphoto database. I assume this would mean all the albums i've created, the five star ratings i give my best photos, and all the folders containing photos i gave a key word to. Or, does it simply uptake all my separate folders which iphoto calls 'events'?

This is a concern of mine, although with my new camera i'm happy to simply start again at this point in time.

So, if i got lightroom by the monthly option and then decided to stop it in the future, all my photos and main folders remain on my computer, but what would happen to all the albums i organised? If they're gone, that's a new disaster that i never wanted to repeat!

Hope i'm making sense here! Either way, thanks for your help on my thread.

[femi fan]

Incidentally, you mentioned ACDSee. I wonder if you or any other poster has used this before? I used to use it and thought it very good, but i have never once met anybody else who used it.

[femi fan]

I have just been browsing the ACDSee website, and they appear to my limited experience to offer much the same kind of thing to lightroom, but at much cheaper prices! I wonder if anyone would like to skim through this link to offer an opinion on whether i'm assuming things correctly. I note that their springtime offer ends on the 17th, so if i'm to choose them over lightroom, i have to act fast.

http://www.acdsee.com/en/offers/2015/all-packs

[ETatBKK]

Lightroom has couple of core functional modules like Library, Develop, Map, Book, Slideshow and print. the Develop module is as beauty as the Photoshop, yet performing in a slightly different concept. in this thread we just zoomed in for the discussion of organising photos.

Lightroom could be over-sized and over-priced ( than ACDsee ) if just for organising photos. there are couple of discussion on the internet and compare between ACDsee and Lightroom. google it for more detailed information.