Maintaining your image database

[PixelSmith]

Hi All,

Having taken loads of great photos - how do you guys go about organising them into a library and maintaining this library? In terms of software there's the likes of iPhoto (& Aperture + Lightroom coming soon) - but how would you then keep track of the photos archived onto offline media such as DVDs? I'm ideally after an image database ap, like iPhoto, only allowing for thumbnails to be kept with meta data for all the offlined photos (because lets face it, there's never going to be enough online space to keep every single photo...). This would mean that the offlined payload would still be indexed and complete with the thumbnail for identification. All you'd need to do to retrieve is pull the corresponding DVD number out of the filing cabinet for the database to access.

Does this make some sort of sense? And what do you guys do?

Pixel Smith

[Mr. Pickles]

Do you have a Mac or Windows?

One of the better ones for Windows that includes off-line data is iMatch (http://www.photools.com/products.php)

You can also check out iView Media (http://www.iview-multimedia.com/products/) which was just purchased by Microsoft, but is available for Windows and the Mac. It is pretty popular too.

[PixelSmith]

I'm work primarily on Macs for the creative stuff though have got a Windows machine. To be honest I'd rather keep everything Mac if I can because I used to use only Windows and the switch was like being released from a darkened room.

I've just had a look at iMatch and it seems pretty cool - do you know if Adobe lightroom and Apples Aperture support offline assets too? The iMatch ap acutally does not look dissimilar to the Apple and Adobes contributions.

Thanks for your help!

PixelSmith

[Mr. Pickles]

I have played with Lightroom, and it isn't a cataloger like you want. Don't know about Aperture.

For the Mac, you should see or check the iView link I posted above. There is a version for the MAC.

[Paul Shields]

When I was using a Mac I dallied between Photo Mechanic and iView Media Pro. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but in the end I preferred photo mechanic for most tasks. It's a good cataloger, integrates well with the OS, is an excellent image browser and good value. You can trial both out to see which one fits in best with your workflow. Apple Aperture wasn't available at that time, so I'm not sure how good an organiser it is. I would avoid iPhoto as it messes with the files and insists on creating its own library (not sure if that's still the case).

[PixelSmith]

Right, I'll have a look at iView then; and I'm glad you've said that about iPhoto because I've noticed: and I hate the thought of losing control of my files, particularly when it comes to being unsure as to what's going on behind the scenes. I've been managing everything manually up to now without any real problems - it's just a little cumbersome viewing and categorising.

PSmiffy

[grsphoto]

Though it is not perfect, iView is a program I use to control my photographic life.

It may not be right for you, but take a close look before you decide.


Glenn