I have recently converted to AP3 (Joseph's 15 Tips on File Managent is highly recommend, as well as his excellent video). Any advice on the best workflow to share aperture across multiple users and computers?
My situation:
I have a MacBook, a high powered (and nice to edit on) iMac and a third mac used by my assistant (who uploads pictures and uses the final images).
I guess this is a fairly common scenario.
My library is about 250GB. I currently store this on my laptop (which is backed up to a server drive using a vault, and a second stored drive at home using a second vault). I edit on my iMac by connecting to the MacBook via wifi. Once a week I export a version of my library to my assistant who then merges this with her own library.
My issues:
1. Sharing the aperture library over wifi does slow things down somewhat. Given the volume of edit and images, does anyone have suggestions on improving the speed without having to go through many hours of import/export?
2. My assistant does do minor edit changes. Currently these are one way only. Is there any method that we could better handle this so here edits can be updated back to my master?
3. Using a laptop as the 'master' will, ultimately be an issue, as I generate about 200GB of photos a year.
4. Are there better/more efficient ways of storing things?
Hi Peter,
As you might imagine, there’s no easy or single answer to this. A lot of it depends on your needs and workflow, but I think we can improve the way you’re doing things now.
It sounds like you may not be aware of one of the great capabilities of Aperture 3, which is merging libraries. Aperture 3 made it really easy to not only combine existing libraries, but to export a portion of one, work on it on another system, then bring it back into the main library later on. I haven’t really addressed this since the launch of Aperture 3, but if you check out this article it’ll give you some insight into how it works: “Aperture 3—A Game Changer (Multiple Macs, Syncing Projects, & More)”
I think that for your ever-growing library, you may want to consider moving it to the iMac permanently. As you pointed out it’s faster, and you can easily create new libraries on the MacBook as needed (i.e. when you’re on the road on a job), then move them to the iMac once back in the studio. Also if you need to take an existing project on the road with you for any reason, you can export it from the iMac, copy it to the MacBook, then merge them back together later on.
If your concern is having access to every photo in your Library when you’re not in the studio, check out this article I recently wrote on accessing your photos from anywhere: “Keeping your Aperture Library Accessible 24/7, Worldwide”
Regarding your existing workflow, what do you mean that you share the Aperture library over wifi? I’m not quite sure I follow how that works. A faster way would be setting the MacBook into Firewire target disk mode and mounting it as an external drive, but you’ll still be limited by the drive speed of the MacBook and the bandwidth of Firewire.
Let’s start with this and go from here!
@PhotoJoseph
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Joseph. I understand the power of merging libraries. But I have a basic question. How is the connection made between the PowerBook and the iMac? Cable or WiFi? And how does one set up the connection? Thanks for the infomation.
Laurence
Laurence,
You can make the connection however you like, but I vigorously recommend that you have the library you’re importing connected directly, NOT over a network, for the import. So, you can either connect your two computers by a network (WiFi or ethernet, doesn’t matter), then copy the library to be merged onto the computer you’re merging it into. Or, if you can connect directly (i.e. by putting your laptop into target disk mode and connecting it via Firewire), then there’s no need to copy the library over first. The other option is to copy the Library from the laptop to a FW or USB drive, then connect that drive to the other computer, and import from there.
The only reason I’m saying this is that networks aren’t totally reliable, and if the connection is lost during the import, Bad Things™ could happen. When dealing with my photos, I tend to err on the side of caution!
@PhotoJoseph
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Start in target mode and use firewire/thunderbolt will naturally render one computer unusable and it might also be very cumbersome to make the restart. Instead it’s often a better solution to connect the computers with a firewire cable and setup a TCP/IP connection.
I always give 10.10.10.9 on my MBP because it’s easier to tell friends/clients to put 10.10.10.10 on theirs (firewire network adapters). Hard to argue with that IP. Naturally, that’s what I also put on my own desktops. Note the order of your adapters in the network preference pane and make sure file sharing is enabled and it’s just a matter of connecting.
Cheers!