Photo Management Software?

[jimbo75]

Hey,

I wanted to ask if you know any good photo management/organizing software? I have been using Bridge for a long time and I was quite happy, but now that I don't use Photoshop anymore I don't want to mess up my system with all the adobe stuff. iPhoto's design is also pretty nice but its just too huge. I don't need all these functions. I have no need for face recognition, Facebook-Instant-Upload feature and all that stuff. All I want in this software is a better finder. Viewing photos in higher resolution, see EXIF etc. Quite simple.


Do you know any?


Cheers

 

[DBP]

Lightroom (or to use its full title: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom).
You don't need to have the other Adobe programs there, and if you do want a pixel editor you can even link it to almost anything (e.g. the Gmp), it's a lot cheaper, and it works.
As a professional photographer it's what I use to process and to manage my images.

It's hands-down the best software around for keywording images for example (and yes, that's experience talking). I have over 150,000 images being managed by Lightroom. But it's good even for smaller collections.

 

[PhotoDoc]

The industry standard for professionals is Lightroom 4.0 (LR4), though depending on your needs, you could be suited by Aperture by itself. Given my photography workload (2-3K photos after a day of shooting), I use both Aperture and Lightroom, and I utilize the strengths of both. Aperture is a great way to store the files in a non-destructive place that's hard to accidentally delete, plus the 'stacks' make sense. Then, I export to LR where the editing is powerful and easy.

 

[JoyCiticonti]

Since this is a very old thread, I thought Id update it a bit. I went through a lot of software over the years in search of the "perfect" one (which doesnt exist), but lately Ive in addition to obvious choices like LR and PS, Ive stopped using Apples Aperture (not because their phase-out, but rather because the RAW conversion) and bought CaptureOne software.

I was a bit nervous paying that sum for an unknown software for me, but it turned out as a great investment. Not only u can hook up your camera directly to a laptop and see the pictures instantly the second u take them on a much larger screen, u can control the camera directly from the computer as well.

The RAW conversion is THE best Ive seen so far and library (catalogue) system is pretty awesome. Only drawback is that u cant open the same library from 2 machines. (for example 1 main editing rig and 1 laptop hooked to a camera). But u can always transfer it from library to library, so no big deal.

Anyway, I think its a great software well worth the money and I think u wont regret trying it out. (theres 30day trial to see whats what - very friendly approach)


TL : DR
Current best options:

Cataloguing:
CaptureOne
LR (6 or CC)

Edits:
LR CC (if u dont mind not owning the software u are paying for)
PS CC
CaptureOne

LR6 (if u dont want CC)
PS CS6 (13) - again if u dont want CC

(If u have any other software that u think its worth sharing, lemme know )

 

[BettyCahill]

I don't know any better photo finder. But regarding of viewing photos in higher resolution, checking EXIF easily, you can go and find signature watermark app. It supports all kind of EXIF viewing and modifying. And you can add signature to photos at once and add simple effects.