How to store files in aperture and on my computer?

[rajjejosefsson]

Hi, I was wondering how I import photos from my camera, Should I import them to the computer first or should I just import them into Aperture libary. What is the safest?
and would it be faster if the images are on the computer?
What takes minimum space on the computer?

I have a Late macbook pro 2013 16GB ram

 

[r.harris1]

Hi, I was wondering how I import photos from my camera, Should I import them to the computer first or should I just import them into Aperture libary. What is the safest?
and would it be faster if the images are on the computer?
What takes minimum space on the computer?

I have a Late macbook pro 2013 16GB ram

People go both ways and it ultimately depends on how you have your workflow structured (or would like to structure it) and how much time you want to spend implementing it. Aperture allows you to use referenced files, so you can either keep your RAW files / JPGs in Aperture or outside without a huge space or speed penalty. It might be simpler to just use Aperture as your DAM and let it do the import, though there are other approaches (I'll outline mine shortly).

Safety-wise, you're as safe as your backup strategy. If your images are important to you, there are many rabbit holes you can go down for doing backups. Some folks keep multiple copies in on and off site locations, but regardless of what you do, it's important to give it some consideration as part of your process.

My own process is keeping RAW images on disk in a structure that makes sense to me and to use Aperture more as one of many (though my primary) RAW processors and as my main gateway to Nik/OnOne/Topaz suites. Here's my own process:

* Ingest with Photo Mechanic. It's blazingly fast and outstanding at file naming, metadata, rating, initial backup. As my images are ingested, they get renamed based on a number of shoot / camera criteria and sent both to my main working disk and to a backup disk.

* For images I want to work with a bit further, I'll import those into Aperture for use in a specific project, or, if they are particularly difficult, I may try a host of other RAW processors.

* For printing or sharing, usually Aperture.

* Images on the main work disk are further backed up with Time Machine and less frequently with CCC.

For me, as a very low volume shooter, disk space isn't really a concern, as you can tell from my flow. If you shoot gazillions of images, choosing Aperture as your main control point would be a great way to go.

 

[Macman45]

My own workflow FWIW goes thus:

I import my photos from my cameras into Aperture choosing the appropriate project, or creating a new one if required.

Once a week, I select all projects from the edit menu, and export them to an external HDD. If I want to distinguish between backups, I choose a different name....if not, I simply overwrite the previous export.

I actually keep two exported copies, and make sure to tick " keep original files" or you will only get previews and not your actual photographs.

Once in a routine, it's a simple process. I've actually just done an export and noticed that my main projects now run in at 12GB. Not huge by some standards but thousands of files.

Knowing I have these backup exports means I can trim things down if I need to.

 

[rajjejosefsson]

that sounds good, i'll try to export files to my external, do i just mark all my projects then right click and then export? thats all?
do i need to keep the original images now that i got on my mac in finder structured? or is it okey just to go with the apertures ones?
can i edit raw files and so on if i do so?

the .aplibary file that i exported ar only 2GB, don't have that musch photos.
Have i exported it in the right way now, just afraid to lose all my images.

 

[Macman45]

that sounds good, i'll try to export files to my external, do i just mark all my projects then right click and then export? thats all?
do i need to keep the original images now that i got on my mac in finder structured? or is it okey just to go with the apertures ones?
can i edit raw files and so on if i do so?

the .aplibary file that i exported ar only 2GB, don't have that musch photos.
Have i exported it in the right way now, just afraid to lose all my images.

Keep the originals or you won't get photos, only previews...select all projects, then go to the edit menu then " Export as new " to the location of your choice. Making sure you tick that box for the photos is super important as if you don't, you'll only get previews and not the whole photographs

NOTE:

Exporting will not remove or interfere with your current library at all, just make sure you then go to edit>deselect after the export is complete.

 

[rajjejosefsson]

Keep the originals or you won't get photos, only previews...select all projects, then go to the edit menu then " Export as new " to the location of your choice. Making sure you tick that box for the photos is super important as if you don't, you'll only get previews and not the whole photographs

NOTE:

Exporting will not remove or interfere with your current library at all, just make sure you then go to edit>deselect after the export is complete.

Okey thanks again, so i can do like this, mark all my project, file,export, save as project as new library then this?

after i have saved it to my external hard drive as above, can i then remove the my picture structure in finder?
and just go with the .libary file i get after exported to the external?

am i right now?

 

[Macman45]

Okey thanks again, so i can do like this, mark all my project, file,export, save as project as new library then this?
Image

after i have saved it to my external hard drive as above, can i then remove the my picture structure in finder?
and just go with the .libary file i get after exported to the external?

am i right now?

Wel, sort off, but remember that if you delete projects and files from Aperture itself, you'd then need to IMPORT the library you exported as a backup.

 

[rajjejosefsson]

Yes i understand, and once in a while i overwrite the exported file on my external to keep it updated?
or have i missed something now?

and when i import new pictures from my camera i just use import "in the aperture library" and then delete the pictures from my camera?

thanks for your help.

 

[BJMRamage]

Sorry if this is a hijack on this thread but reading through it caused me to question something.

I use Aperture. I let Aperture import and save the images with Aperture's plan (NOT referenced if I have the wording correct).

I keep the images on my internal Harddrive on the iMac. I have an external HD for Time Machine.

Will Time Machine then be a backup of the Aperture Photos or do I specifically need to do separate backups or Vaults??

I understand I probably should do a separate backup of just the photos and have off site or somewhere in case of fire/flood/etc.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

 

[Designer Dale]

I'm afraid you're going to get really confused trying to make Aperture do this. It's a digital asset management system that works as a database. When you connect your camera card, it takes command and imports your images into a pre determined structure of projects to organize and store your images in a way that can be easily located and edited. Trying to put some files here and some there, which is what you seem to want to do, messes this up. Just let Aperture do it's thing unless you know a lot about the program and digital photography in general like some of the other posters in this thread.

I do it the easy way. I import my photos directly into Aperture, choosing project names in the import window, then delete all the really bad ones. Aperture has it's own Trash so you won't remove anything until you delete it from Aperture Trash in the sidebar.

I use Carbon Copy Cloner as my general backup software with a dual drive dock. One of the drives is just for Aperture and backs up the Aperture Library every day. I maintain a total of three copies of my A3 library on three seperate drives. One in the computer, one in the big external that backs up the system and one in the small external that backs up the aperture library.

Dale

Ramage: Time Machine will back up your Aperture Library and everything in it along with your complete system every time it runs. No need to have a seperate backup unless you want to like I have done with CCC.

 

[BJMRamage]

Thanks for answering my question. I had thought that was the case but then keep hearing people do there backups and began to worry.

I've excluded things on Time Machine like desktop and downloads as they can fill up with junk and stuff but keep all else "checked"

 

[rajjejosefsson]

I'm afraid you're going to get really confused trying to make Aperture do this. It's a digital asset management system that works as a database. When you connect your camera card, it takes command and imports your images into a pre determined structure of projects to organize and store your images in a way that can be easily located and edited. Trying to put some files here and some there, which is what you seem to want to do, messes this up. Just let Aperture do it's thing unless you know a lot about the program and digital photography in general like some of the other posters in this thread.

I do it the easy way. I import my photos directly into Aperture, choosing project names in the import window, then delete all the really bad ones. Aperture has it's own Trash so you won't remove anything until you delete it from Aperture Trash in the sidebar.

I use Carbon Copy Cloner as my general backup software with a dual drive dock. One of the drives is just for Aperture and backs up the Aperture Library every day. I maintain a total of three copies of my A3 library on three seperate drives. One in the computer, one in the big external that backs up the system and one in the small external that backs up the aperture library.

But thats what i do? i go in aperture. Take import at the top left. then i select the project name and i select to store files in the aperture library before i press import

after this i can remove my photos on my sd card on my camera?

And after that i mark all project, export, and check copy originals and previews into exported library. then I'm done? or where am i doing wrong?

 

[Designer Dale]

But thats what i do? i go in aperture. Take import at the top left. then i select the project name and i select to store files in the aperture library before i press import

after this i can remove my photos on my sd card on my camera?

And after that i mark all project, export, and check copy originals and previews into exported library. then I'm done? or where am i doing wrong?

It just sounds like you don't have Aperture set up right in the first place. Go to Aperture Preferences under the Aperture Menu and select items like in the screenshot below. When you hook up your camera, everything will come up automatically. Aperture will launch itself with the Import window open ready for you to name the project and make other choices. When it's done with Import, it will ask to keep or delete the photos on the source (that's your camera) see below...

Most of us don't connect our cameras directly to our computers to import photos. We use media cards or built in SD or CF card slots if our computers have them. When import is finished, we tell the program to keep the images on the card and then we reformat it in the camera to free up space. The reason for this is that the camera is best suited for formatting and erasing the images. it is the one that creates them, after all. Let it do the work. Cameras create images and computers store and edit them.

Dale

 

[rajjejosefsson]

this is just a example, i get the camera automatic at the top-left when i have the camera connected and new pictures from the camera pop ups.
yes i usually delete them from the camera itself. and will keep doing it as u say. thx
is it better to connect the sd card into the computer?

 

[swordio777]

But thats what i do? i go in aperture. Take import at the top left. then i select the project name and i select to store files in the aperture library before i press import

after this i can remove my photos on my sd card on my camera?

And after that i mark all project, export, and check copy originals and previews into exported library. then I'm done? or where am i doing wrong?

To answer your question: Yes. After importing your files and choosing to keep the files inside the aperture library, you can delete the images from your memory card.

But I don't understand why you're exporting your images again.

Are you trying to create a referenced library? That's where you use Aperture to look at your photos, but they don't live inside the aperture library.

If this is what you want to do, then you don't use "export" you need to go to "File > Relocate files". This will allow you to move the photographs anywhere on any hard drive, but Aperture will still know where they are and you can still edit them.

If you are are actually trying to export the images, then why use Aperture at all? You could just drag the files off your memory card straight to the location you want to save them using the finder.

Sorry if I'm missing something.

 

[rajjejosefsson]

Hmmm I'm sorry I'm new to mac, i just want to have backup, does my Time Machine do the trick maybe?
just don't want to loose my pictures if something would happened to my computer.

and sometimes get the photos to a external hard drive thats not in my home.

 

[flynz4]

Hmmm I'm sorry I'm new to mac, i just want to have backup, does my Time Machine do the trick maybe?
just don't want to loose my pictures if something would happened to my computer.

and sometimes get the photos to a external hard drive thats not in my home.

I personally have a managed library. All of my pictures are imported into my Aperture library directly into projects.

There is no need to also store your pictures in you file system. They do get backed up.

For back-up... I do several different and independent... and automatic backups.

1) Hourly Time Machine Backups to a Time Capsule
2) Continuous (15min) cloud backups to Crashplan
3) Nightly clones of my library to an attached HDD using CCC.

I also do independent and NON-automatic backups after big changes to my library to a pair of external HDDs using CCC. The most recent always gets moved to my office (off-site)... and is a failsafe backup just in case options #1 - #3 all fail simultaneously. These manual backups only get me back to my most recent manual backup... which (like virtually 100% of the population who back up manually)... is typically out of date.

/Jim

 

[rajjejosefsson]

I personally have a managed library. All of my pictures are imported into my Aperture library directly into projects.

There is no need to also store your pictures in you file system. They do get backed up.

For back-up... I do several different and independent... and automatic backups.

1) Hourly Time Machine Backups to a Time Capsule
2) Continuous (15min) cloud backups to Crashplan
3) Nightly clones of my library to an attached HDD using CCC.

I also do independent and NON-automatic backups after big changes to my library to a pair of external HDDs using CCC. The most recent always gets moved to my office (off-site)... and is a failsafe backup just in case options #1 - #3 all fail simultaneously. These manual backups only get me back to my most recent manual backup... which (like virtually 100% of the population who back up manually)... is typically out of date.

/Jim

okey thanks, do i need ccc? or can i just export the file from aperture to the external and check that original images comes with it.

 

[Designer Dale]

okey thanks, do i need ccc? or can i just export the file from aperture to the external and check that original images comes with it.

Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper are selective backup tools that do the work for you. With CCC, you just tell it what to back up, where to copy it to and when and that's all. When it runs, it scans the selected files like my Aperture Library, detects new or changed files and copies them to the designated backup. The current A3 library on my backup drive is an exact duplicate of the A3 Library on my system drive.

My backup system looks like this: Dual Drive dock. One bay has a one TB drive divided into two partitions that backup my complete System and just my Home folder. The other bay has a 750 GB drive that holds just my Aperture Library. These three tasks are run twice every day by CCC. I never have to think about it. If my System ever crashed I could replace my built in drive and boot off the backup, run the copy of CCC on it and replace the blank drive with the contents of the backup. It would be like nothing ever happened. Ive done this during software upgrades.

Your are new to the Mac and most probably Swedish or Norwegian. On both counts, welcome and feel free to ask us questions.

Dale

 

[flynz4]

okey thanks, do i need ccc? or can i just export the file from aperture to the external and check that original images comes with it.

You do not need to export anything out of Aperture to back it up. Just backup the entire Aperture library.

/Jim

 

[rajjejosefsson]

Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper are selective backup tools that do the work for you. With CCC, you just tell it what to back up, where to copy it to and when and that's all. When it runs, it scans the selected files like my Aperture Library, detects new or changed files and copies them to the designated backup. The current A3 library on my backup drive is an exact duplicate of the A3 Library on my system drive.

My backup system looks like this: Dual Drive dock. One bay has a one TB drive divided into two partitions that backup my complete System and just my Home folder. The other bay has a 750 GB drive that holds just my Aperture Library. These three tasks are run twice every day by CCC. I never have to think about it. If my System ever crashed I could replace my built in drive and boot off the backup, run the copy of CCC on it and replace the blank drive with the contents of the backup. It would be like nothing ever happened. Ive done this during software upgrades.

Your are new to the Mac and most probably Swedish or Norwegian. On both counts, welcome and feel free to ask us questions.

Dale

Will try out CCC

You do not need to export anything out of Aperture to back it up. Just backup the entire Aperture library.

/Jim

U mean i just copy paste the .libary file that got stored in my computer?

 

[flynz4]

U mean i just copy paste the .libary file that got stored in my computer?

You could... but that will require copying the entire package every time you make a backup. CCC is much better and will update just the individual files in the package that have changed... and will happen very fast.

BTW: In case you do not know it... your Aperture Library is a "package". It is just like any other folder... except that it is made to look like single file or application. If you right click and select "show package contents"... you will see what I mean. Just do not change anything inside.

/Jim

 

[Designer Dale]

Ditto to what flyn said. Read up on Aperture. It's a Digital Assets Manager - a database for your photos and videos - and handles files like a database handles records. It stamps them with a file code and stores them in it's own file system that is seperate from what you would expect from a computer file system. Especially Windows or Linux.

Read up on Carbon Copy Cloner Here

Dale

 

[rajjejosefsson]

Ditto to what flyn said. Read up on Aperture. It's a Digital Assets Manager - a database for your photos and videos - and handles files like a database handles records. It stamps them with a file code and stores them in it's own file system that is seperate from what you would expect from a computer file system. Especially Windows or Linux.

Read up on Carbon Copy Cloner Here

Dale

Hey, how do i setup to backup aperture using CCC now?
Select source, then what? can't select the .applibary file
Destination is where i put the external what i understand.

the i read something about vault in aperture, should i use that?
and one more question, should i backup to my dropbox account where i have 25GB space?

 

[Designer Dale]

Hey, how do i setup to backup aperture using CCC now?
Select source, then what? can't select the .applibary file
Destination is where i put the external what i understand.

the i read something about vault in aperture, should i use that?
and one more question, should i backup to my dropbox account where i have 25GB space?

If you use CCC you don't need a Vault. It's a copy of your Library but you can't store it on an external drive very easily.

This screenshot might help. Keep asking questions.

Dale