Trying to get back into photography, but DAM it!

[OreoCookie]

Since the demise of Aperture, my photography has atrophied. I don't want relitigate or wax nostalgically here, but I wanted to see if I can find a DAM that is a replacement to rekindle my interest in photography. I want an app that makes me want to sort photos again, edit them, curate them and print them.

I'll give you a list of the ones I have tried below. But it seems to me that all contenders focus mostly on advances in editing like e. g. Luminar 4 aka AI, and DAM features fall by the wayside. How are versions and stacks not features that are just standard by now? I reckon that is because of asset management and file management seem to be one and the same thing. Marking photos for deletion (the X rating in Aperture) also do not seem to be included. The other thing is that all contenders but RAW Power are cross-platform, which makes their UI very un-Mac-like and clunky. Am I missing anything?

Photos: Way too limited and has a modal interface.

RAW Power: This seems more like Photos Pro, with more (better?) editing options but its file management functionality seems to be identical to Photos. On the plus side, it seems to be the only piece of software that is Mac-like.

On1: I have tried the current version again, but the UI seems clunky. No stacking, which pretty much eliminates it from serious consideration.

Luminar AI: I have purchased licenses for Luminar 2 and 3 just to fund development for their DAM functionality, which has been a big disappointment. Plus, I am really annoyed by their spam emails that I still get with SPECIAL LIMITED OFFERS and the like, which grates me the wrong way, too. Also all of the example images they present to show off the power of their software seem gaudy.

ACDSEE: I haven't tried it, but just looking at tutorials, they seem to use an approach to DAM that is not compatible with what I'd like: a purely file-based workflow.

I'm currently trying DxO PhotoLabs 4, and eventually I will have to give Adobe Lightroom another chance.

Are there any that I should try? Are there any which are fun?

 

[GumaRodak]

The good ones are paid ofcourse. There are some rumors that affinity will have some DAM extention but thats no exact date, one time payment still.
Depends on your camera brand, there is Capture One express brand version for significant lower cost, and it is standalone license too...
BTW, i do use native photos for my personal pictures and i find it very good

 

[iAssimilated]

Have you looked into digiKam? I haven't used in on macOS, but I used it a lot when linux was my primary OS.

FYI... looks like Big Sur will not be supported until version 7.2.0 (currently at 7.1.0).

 

[4bs]

Have you looked into digiKam? I haven't used in on macOS, but I used it a lot when linux was my primary OS.

FYI... looks like Big Sur will not be supported until version 7.2.0 (currently at 7.1.0).

Digikam is very nice.

 

[oblomow]

Have you looked at lynapp? A simple dam to organize your photos. I use it. It can be slow when indexing lots of photos, but in general it does what I want it to do. It has a fully functional trial.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Why is Lightroom Classic is not there? I’m sure you have your reasons for not mentioning it, but it seems strange to omit it without explanation! (EDIT- my bad I see it got a small mention at the end).
I absolutely detest the demise of Aperture, it’s Apples biggest mistake in my book.
Lightroom is the only one that comes close to filling the void and allows for (fairly) seamless integration across Mac/iPad, albeit using a combination on lightroom ‘classic’ and Lightroom ‘the new one’.

I’m absolutely dying for a return of alAperture, or for Affinity to finally pull their finger out and fill the void. It’s an absurd situation for DAM on macOS, and even worse if you want seemless mobile synchronisation with it.

 

[r.harris1]

Affinity has been threatening a DAM system for some years now. They've had other priorities, I think. Anyway, I look at DAM as a "system of things you do to manage digital assets" and I long ago gave up the notion of having a one-size-fits-all application that does everything (both management and editing). I too prefer a file-based approach.

For my particular variety of camera systems and needs, my raw processor of choice is Capture One. It took me a while to warm up to it - like you, I came from Aperture - but they have superb (to me) learning resources and now I couldn't live without it. I could even use it for my DAM system quite happily as they have pretty sophisticated metadata and search capabilities, versions (variants) and they do have a mostly file-system focus on how they manage images. Their approach isn't perfect, but it's certainly doable and I could live with it if I had to. I even find that doing raw processing and associated editing in it "fun". If you're used to Lightroom, be aware that Capture One's goal in life isn't to be "like Lightroom" - there's no history panel, multi-image HDR or Pano features if you find those functions useful in your raw processor. These seem to be the functions a lot of Adobe ex-pats get the most bent-out-of-shape about. Lightroom arguably has a better print module as well, though for me I use a separate application for that anyway. Capture One doesn't have an iPad presence yet but they are working on an M1 build for Q1 that will pave the way for that.

For my "real" DAM though, I've been moving more to Photo Mechanic Plus. I've used basic Photo Mechanic for a decade for ingest, metadata, rating, backups, etc and (like C1) couldn't live without it. PM Plus brings in DAM and excellent search capabilities. It's maybe worth taking a look at if you're willing to run more than one piece of software. It works really well for me in combination with Capture One and it's "Sessions" approach.

Anyway, either Capture One or Capture One + PM Plus is worth looking at. They're both paid, obviously, though small potatoes in the grand scheme of photography-related things .

 

[cupcakes2000]

I love photo mechanic and use it to cull before lightroom mainly, didn’t know there was a new version. Thanks for the tip, going to check it out.

 

[someoldguy]

There's always Adobe Bridge . It's free , and worth a shot .

 

[mollyc]

I’m a LR girl and have my photos organized from 2005 to current.

 

[MevetS]

I too have recently started using PhotoMechanic Plus, I’ve been using PhotoMechanic for years, and so far I am impressed.

I want a cataloging system independent of my editing tools. And one that references the images anywhere on the Mac file system.

For years I used iView/Expressions Media/MediaPro and most recently I have been using NeoFinder as my cataloging tool. NeoFinder works and is inexpensive, put it is not focused on photography.

I used PhotoMechanic at the start of my workflow (ingesting, culling, key wording) and iView at the end (cataloging) and that combination served me well.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[ssmed]

I also use Photomechanic and Photomechanic Plus and like them. Although the new plus version has good new features allowing grouping of images in many ways, they need to look at the work-flow as moving photos in and out of the new catalogues remains a bit clunky on occasion. However, I find it much easier to use than Lightroom for keeping everything in order and I too spent quite a lot of time looking for an Aperture replacement. For editing Lightroom and Photoshop are excellent and the camera defaults in LR seem to do a good job most of the time. Case material is easier to find now and can be grouped for future reference.

 

[Ray2]

Ex Aperture user as well. For years flailed around looking for decent DAM. DAM with enough tools to make the entire process from memory card to export efficient. Tried just about all of the candidates mentioned so far plus a couple of database apps supposedly compatible with photos.

I now happily pay Adobe $10/month for functionality, efficiency, reliability and support I could not find elsewhere. As a Fuji shooter I had to complicate import by adding Iridient's XTransformer to the front-end. Yet Lightroom is still the obvious choice for me.

I would suggest the OP takes a look at ACDSee. It’s limited but not all that bad. Just make sure you’re satisfied with what you see. Otherwise you'll end up paying for bugs that are not fixed. Instead of dot versions, we get new versions at a cost, near annually. The last statement goes for many, if not most, of the candidates mentioned. While not subscription, they’re seem quite subscription-like.

Oh, and toss in a very decent iOS app, sorta kludgy, though workable support for Classic, sharing that actually works and a free website builder (Portfolio).

 

[tcphoto1]

Capture One

 

[Clix Pix]

Yeah, another one here who still misses Aperture! Not so much for the DAM features but for the editing process.

These days I use PhotoMechanic for culling and sometimes renaming images, and keep meaning to check out PhotoMechanic Plus but have not yet done so. Back in 2019 when I first got DXO PhotoLab 3 I had every intention of using the keyword function and developing a nicely organized DAM but somehow that never happened and I am realistic enough to acknowledge that chances are it never will! Now a year later, I'm using DXO PhotoLab 4 and continuing to like this editing software very much.

A couple of years ago I tried Capture One and somehow it just didn't suit me so I eventually gave up on it. Years ago I used Photoshop but never tried Lightroom since when it and Aperture came out at around the same time, my choice was Aperture..... Since then, I'm not especially interested in LR or the whole subscription concept for either it or Photoshop.

 

[r.harris1]

@OreoCookie Long story short, I think what you'll find is that those of us who were Aperture users went off and found the thing that works for each of us individually. There are a lot of different and very good applications out there and a lot of different approaches to DAM. You'll find an approach that works! Aperture is dead and gone, unfortunately, but find that thing the gels and get out and shoot some images - and get back here and start posting .

 

[OreoCookie]

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions, everyone. Nice to see I’m not the only one.

Regarding Lightroom, yes, this one is obvious, and while I didn’t like the UI every time I tried it, it may end up being the best choice. I’m not against the business model in principle, but if I spend $$$ per year, it better be worth it.

As for ACDSEE, I don’t see myself going to a file-based DAM anytime soon. I have used those before switching to Aperture, and they are not what I am looking for. I really like doing versions and the like when editing images in order to quickly compare different edits. Plus, it doesn’t look like fun, just a clunky Windows app that was ported to macOS. (I know ACDSEE as shareware from my Windows days.)

 

[Steven-iphone]

Adobe Photography pkg - $9.99/month (20Gig) is what I use. For my usage photos are edited and stored on a Windows device (Surface 3) and can be edited on an Android tablet. As long as you do not create images on the cloud storage device (Android) little is counted against the pkg storage limit. I have gigs of images on the Windows device and can re-edit and create image output on the Android device. My current cloud storage on the plan shows 30Meg of 20Gig cloud storage used. Just be sure you are backing up the main edits. In my case synched with OneDrive.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I have been using Photos for some time now, and for what has to be 95% of my edits. I honestly like how simple the interface is, and the sliders actually do well without “overcooking” it. I wish it had as good of export options on iPadOS as it does on MacOS, but it’s not the end of the world. If I can’t get what I want from Photos, I usually trash the photo (I need to cull more anyway). If I really want to save a shot, I use Affinity Photo.

 

[OreoCookie]

I have been using Photos for some time now, and for what has to be 95% of my edits. I honestly like how simple the interface is, and the sliders actually do well without “overcooking” it.

Photos covers most of my editing needs, but it doesn't cover my sorting needs. There are no (smart) stacks that allow you to collapse 10 photos in a series or create virtual copies. And to my dismay, it also has a modal interface, so you are either sorting or editing. Aperture allowed you to mix both, just press a key and call up the edit HUD, make a few changes and continue sorting. To my knowledge you can't copy-and-paste adjustments either. I did that a lot to transfer white balance settings and/or crops to photos within a stack or so.

I get the impression that most pieces of software deliberately stay away from the way Lightroom and Aperture work, which is a mistake. There are plenty of options for people who prefer a file-based workflow and AFAIK only one professional option if you want the features I would like to have or, gasp, a managed library.

 

[r.harris1]

Yes, there is no solution like Aperture any more. It's a matter of choosing what you might think of initially as "second place". For managed libraries you've got LR, Capture One and PM Plus (maybe others). I can speak from a Capture One standpoint and assuming it's true in LR (it's been about 5 years since I used it), but you can copy/paste adjustments to multiple images, create variants (versions), have smart albums and other groupings, etc. No application I am aware of is like Aperture - it was pretty unique. I keep hoping RAW Power will get there some day given its DNA - but if it happens it will be a slow slog, I'm sure. That said, it's pretty well hooked into how Photos does things so even it will be a far cry from Aperture at the end of the day.

So while there's no one application that ticks the specific boxes that Aperture did, I think there are some that can get you close.

 

[OreoCookie]

Yes, there is no solution like Aperture any more. It's a matter of choosing what you might think of initially as "second place".

Exactly that’s my intention

For managed libraries you've got LR, Capture One and PM Plus (maybe others). I can speak from a Capture One standpoint and assuming it's true in LR (it's been about 5 years since I used it), but you can copy/paste adjustments to multiple images, create variants (versions), have smart albums and other groupings, etc.

Perfect, I’ll focus on those then.

No application I am aware of is like Aperture - it was pretty unique. I keep hoping RAW Power will get there some day given its DNA - but if it happens it will be a slow slog, I'm sure.

Yeah, if it were easy, I‘m sure they would have done it already. As I understand it, RAW power is piggybacking on top of Photos and its SQLite library. For some of the functionality, they’d have to roll out their own SQLite library — and they’d have to debug that pretty thoroughly.

So while there's no one application that ticks the specific boxes that Aperture did, I think there are some that can get you close.

My best friend was working for Apple for a few years, and he told me that Randy Ubillos, the brain child behind Aperture (and Final Cut Pro X and iMovie and whole host of other software), was one of the “Coding Ninjas”. Apparently, he had one of the best offices of all employees and that they‘d call him like other people call the Ghostbusters.

 

[r.harris1]

My best friend was working for Apple for a few years, and he told me that Randy Ubillos, the brain child behind Aperture (and Final Cut Pro X and iMovie and whole host of other software), was one of the “Coding Ninjas”. Apparently, he had one of the best offices of all employees and that they‘d call him like other people call the Ghostbusters.

Very cool! "Coding Ninjas" are definitely a rare breed and getting more rare. Combining raw tech talent (this is the easier part) with the ability to see a problem clearly and solve it (the much harder part) is less valued - at least at some companies - than it once was.

 

[MBAir2010]

Nikon ViewNX is good which has everything photo-editing wise, free and can exports RAW photos into JPGs and works with Apple and Windows.

 

[Janichsan]

There's always Adobe Bridge . It's free , and worth a shot .

I've been using Bridge for almost two years now as DAM. It's not perfect, especially as many of the more useful options require fully licensed other Adobe applications, but it fulfills all my needs when it comes to organising my photos (e.g. rating, grouping, tagging/keywords). And it's reasonably fast.

None of the alternatives I tried (free or without subscription) really checked all these boxes.