Lightroom vs. Aperture.
Q: MORE AND MORE PHOTOGRAPHERS AROUND ME ARE MOVING TO LIGHTROOM. I’M STILL HOLDING ON TO APERTURE. AM I MISSING THE BOAT ON SOMETHING GOOD? WHAT FACTORS DID YOU CONSIDER WHEN YOU DECIDED TO USE LIGHTROOM OVER ALL THE REST?
A: I was an Adobe Bridge user when Aperture and Lightroom hit the streets. Tried Aperture 1.0, and it was a massive resource hog. I didn’t like the whole import-and-catalog thing of Lightroom. I stayed with Bridge. Then I went to a “PDN On the Road” event and watched a guy give a two-hour workflow presentation using Lightroom. I think maybe it was Lightroom 2, and there was a deal to get it for $99. The presenter sold me on it, and I slowly started moving to Lightroom as my main program for editing, which I am still using to this day.
Since getting the Phase camera I’m using Capture One a little more but still hang out most of the time in Lightroom. It took me a solid six months to move from Bridge to Lightroom. I don’t foresee moving fully to Capture One but I can say that I’ve yet to ever be romanced by Aperture. I’ve seen it in action. Poked around a bit with it. It’s nice but there’s nothing about it that makes my jaw drop and sprint to the App store to get it.
Use what you use. If you’re happy with Aperture then keep going. I suppose Lightroom is out there more because it’s in the Adobe family and is on two platforms, so it has a larger reach than Aperture.
CRAIG // PHOTOGRAPH THOSE YOU LOVE
I was working my crappy day job at Kinko’s one day, and a couple came to the counter with a battered 4x6 photo in hand. The photo was of a relative who had just passed away, and they wanted an enlargement of the photo so that it could be placed by the casket during the funeral service. It was a horrible photograph. Bad light. Bad exposure. Shot in the person’s living room, there was a laundry basket filled with clothes in the corner. This photo would be the last thing people saw as they said goodbye. I scanned the photo and got to work on it in Photoshop. My boss berated me for the extra work I was doing at no charge. Jobs were backing up. I didn’t give a shit. “Fire me if you want to,” I said. I was not going to let this be this person’s final photograph.
When I got back into photography I remembered that photo. This may sound weird—every time I photograph someone I think about their funeral. It is my goal to get a great photo of whoever is in front of my camera, one that is worthy of being enlarged and placed next to their casket. Everyone needs a great portrait. Everyone is going to leave it behind. The portrait that gets left behind needs to be the best it can be. I’m serious; I think about this on every shoot.
This is my late stepfather, Craig. Craig was diagnosed with ALS, and for the last year of his life I made damn sure to shoot portraits of him that would be enlarged and placed next to his casket. It was a difficult task because not only did I know why I was shooting these photos—he did too. He was such a great man. I miss him dearly. In this photo, he is in his backyard as his grandkids are running around, laughing, and blowing bubbles. The gesture of waving goodbye slays me, but it was so appreciated by family, friends, and the members of the church where he preached.
The hardest one, though, was shooting a portrait of him in the sanctuary of the church where he preached and, ultimately, where we all knew his funeral would soon be held. Photograph those you love. They aren’t here long enough.
Nikon D3 / 50mm / f2 @ 1/2500th @ ISO 800.
Nikon D200 / 35mm / f4.5 @ 1/30th @ ISO 200 / Sunpak 120J in 28″ Westcott Apollo softbox.