Photo's Test Strategy

[mic j]

With all of the posts I have been reading in this forum about the new OS Photos app, I am concerned about taking the plunge into it. I am currently an Aperture user, although not a pro user. Can I create a small library with a 100 or so photos and "test" Photos out? Then if my experience is good, transfer more photos from my current Aperture library into the new one?

I am particularly interested in seeing how the metadata, faces, location, etc transfer and whether I find using Photo's is "worth it".

 

[dringkor]

You can export individual photos from your Aperture library and then import them, again as individual photos, into your Photos library. But from what I understand, you can't import an entire Aperture library into an existing Photos library.

I ended up breaking up my Aperture library into new libraries, one per calendar year, and importing them each as a new Photos library. This way I figured any corruption or lost data would be confined, and having individual Photos libraries per year doesn't negatively affect my workflow anyway.

Now, I was not a pro Aperture user either, but I will say that I had no issues with importing my Aperture libraries into Photos. My metadata all transferred successfully, and I was able to adapt my folder/project/album organizational structure from Aperture to the structure of Photos quite easily. (Enable the sidebar in Photos to make it look more like Aperture.) I didn't use faces or places in Aperture extensively, but I didn't find any issues with those either.

I have found overall that Photos does most everything I need it to do, and my workflow has had to change only minimally (e.g., using the "favorites" instead of star ratings). Now that I'm off of Aperture and using Photos exclusively, I'm anxious to see what Apple and third-party developers come up with to extend its functionality.

 

[simon lefisch]

Like the previous post says, export individual photos from Aperture and import those into the Photos app. Run your test, and if you like it, delete the Photos library and import your Aperture library into Photos. This will create a new Photos library.

 

[mic j]

Thanks for your replies. One final question. If I export the entire Aperture library to Photos and for some reason find Photos not to be what I want to use, can I just delete the Photos library and still have my Aperture library available. Or do exporting the Aperture library to Photos eliminate my current Aperuture library?

 

[dringkor]

You can delete the Photos library, and your Aperture library (including your pictures) will still be there. You will lose any changes you may have made while in Photos, however.

 

[mic j]

You can delete the Photos library, and your Aperture library (including your pictures) will still be there. You will lose any changes you may have made while in Photos, however.

To all: Thanks for this info. I may be able to work up the courage to give it a go, knowing that if it's a bust, I can always just continue to use my Aperture library with Aperture.

 

[simon lefisch]

To all: Thanks for this info. I may be able to work up the courage to give it a go, knowing that if it's a bust, I can always just continue to use my Aperture library with Aperture.

While I do t use Aperture, I was hesitant to switch from iPhoto to Photos. Just to be safe, I made a backup of my iPhoto library. Granted I don't have all photos on there, as my iPhoto library was only 9GB (including some vids), however it gave me piece of mind in case something happened to the original library. My point being, you could always make a backup of your Aperture library just to be safe

 

[mic j]

While I do t use Aperture, I was hesitant to switch from iPhoto to Photos. Just to be safe, I made a backup of my iPhoto library. Granted I don't have all photos on there, as my iPhoto library was only 9GB (including some vids), however it gave me piece of mind in case something happened to the original library. My point being, you could always make a backup of your Aperture library just to be safe

Thanks. I am a backup nut. Everything backed up and stored in multiple locations. So I should have a backup of the Aperture Library, somewhere. I will make a point of making sure I know where it is and that it is current before attempting anything.

 

[simon lefisch]

Thanks. I am a backup nut. Everything backed up and stored in multiple locations. So I should have a backup of the Aperture Library, somewhere. I will make a point of making sure I know where it is and that it is current before attempting anything.

When it comes pics/vids I am the same. Especially since most of my pics are of my son which I do t want to lose lol

 

[ChrisA]

My point being, you could always make a backup of your Aperture library just to be safe

I would assume you ALREADY have multiple backups of the library. Likely some copies off site too. If not it is about time to set this up. Never trust a single backup and never trust even three backups if they are all in the same building, fires and floods happen