glenerrolrd
Workshop Member
DaleInteresting topic, and one which comes up in various forms from time to time. Jono points out that it's a personal choice and I agree, like OS, capture device, raw converter, etc... but at the risk of being accused of not reading the original post (I read it and all subsequent posts) I'll add my 2¢:
For my DAM on the Mac I love... wait for it... the Finder. Now please bear in mind that I don't often shoot events (though I'm not sure I'd change my flow if I did). But I still feel very comfortable using a hybrid of Seth Resnick's file naming process at the Finder level so that I can access any file (or event) via the software of my choice. I know that my process is probably too slow for some users (though I find it very fast because files are where I expect them to be), and I love the peace that comes from knowing that my backups will work, my duplicates will work, my software updates have no effect, etc.
I read, with interest and respect, the AA3 thread discussing updating libraries and such, which may take a day or more in order to do the software update. I felt bad for the participants who stated that the process took hours or days. But of course, I also accept that they make choices that work for their processes. For me... I would drink a tall glass of motor oil and ground glass before I'd endure the steps reminiscent of data recovery from a failed hard drive in order to migrate to new software version.
We each have preferences and comfort ranges, plus there may be cataloguing requirements most suitable for some tasks. In my case, all shoots are downloaded to a unique folder which has a name corresponding to the date, followed by the subject or job, inside a folder named "Pictures" at the Finder level. I visit the files via Capture One, Bridge, Photoshop, Preview, Spotlight, file uploaders on the web, etc. and it is convenient for my process.
The naming convention is: 20100217_Stephanie for a file containing images of Stephanie on February 17, 2010 (the parent folder). Child folders might separate Stephanie's images on the beach, modeling sportswear, etc., or the divisions could describe scenic landscape sections, etc. The files list in the proper chronological order in a list view on the Mac, and in my case I will not likely shoot two Stephanies (or two anythings) on a single date (though that is easily handled). If one was doing high school grad pics they would need to have unique names for it to work, which is not difficult if you understand databases (though not fun for some).
Obviously, style of shooting, number of shoots per day, personal preferences, etc., etc., factor in to one's choice, but as a guy who likes to keep things simple, I find keeping image files in a folder (and on dedicated drives) at the Finder level to be elegant and easy.
Oh, keywording and such is done via Bridge or whatever is used to address the files during the first visit, but I should state that I really don't like keywording (in image management cases) beyond finding individual shoots.
Sorry if I'm misreading the intentions of your query, Bill. I understand that what is asked is a recommendation for a packaged DAM solution for the Mac. I looked at ACDsee et al, but just love the joy of none proprietary file storage.
Good luck in your search.
Your points about using OS to manage the file structure are very appropriate. While it is possible (and recommended in most books ) to ingest your raw files directly into LR or Aperture......I generally do not recommend it . By keeping your raw images "independent of the DAM software" you preserve your right to change your mind later. (if something better comes along).
I am not confident that either LR or Aperture can be trusted to be completely non destructive.. especially with the Leica DNG format . If you really know what you are doing ..then you should have no problem? Of course , thats a pretty bad assumption when you are just starting out with a software product. So it could be useful to have a folder structure supported by the OS that can be used with any DAM solution.
My solution is (1)copy to disk (2)backup (3)import by referencing the files in place.