Switch to Aperture

After using Lightroom 2.X for about half year, I am switching to Aperture 2.1.2. While the development and adjusting functions might be more powerful and attrictive,  but I have got enough with the liner, moduled work-flow design of Lightroom and its clustered interface.

I am such a guy who really hate doing things step-by-step. Aperture’s do-it-anytime design allows me to work the way I like to work. I don’t have to worry if I miss a step. I can always go back and do it later.  Just as Rick LePage put it in his MacWorld review, it is all about freedom versus structure:

“Apple clearly believes that inspiration can strike at any point in the process, and Aperture refuses to get in your way. Its process is seamless. If you want to remove dust spots while ranking images, you can.

Adobe, on the other hand, takes a structured approach to working with files. Lightroom has five modules—Library, Develop, Print, Slideshow, and Web—each of which plays a specific role in the workflow process. When you’re in a module, you have access only to the tools and operations deemed relevant to that part of the pro-cess. Although moving between modules is easy, the experience can be frustrating—especially since some of the limitations on what you can and can’t do in each module seem arbitrary. Having to stop and switch to another module (sometimes even a different view within a module) can pull you out of what you were working on.

Lightroom’s modal structure will seem most comfortable to photographers who prefer to accomplish one task before starting another. If, like me, you prefer to jump around, you’ll likely find Aperture’s free-form approach more intuitive and less constricting.”

I also prefer Aperture’s project based approach to organize images.

Lightroom does have more powerful development and adjusting functions, but after a while I found it is very easy for armature like me to over-do-it.

My suggestion is that for professionals go with Lightroom. But for an armature like me who only want some thing more than what iPhoto offers, Apperture is a better choice.