Lightroom 3 vs. Aperture 3

Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom and Apple’s Aperture are the two best pieces of digital photography software ever created.

Why? because they make our lives easier.

Most folks don’t need every skin-retouching and noise-reduction and color-correction tool under the sun. Don’t get me wrong, Lightroom and Aperture have more than enough editing tools for 95%+ of the picture-taking population, but what most people really need is help keeping their digital photos organized on their computers.

If you’re like me, you’ve dealt with mountains upon mountains of folders and subfolders of photos, only to never be able to find what you’re actually looking for.

This is why Lightroom and Aperture rock – they make it easy to keep all your photos organized in a way you like, without much effort. Since I started using Aperture in January, I haven’t lost a single photo or file. Even if I put something in the wrong place, I can find it in a second with a keyword.

Most software sucks your time, but Lightroom and Aperture get you away from the computer quickly, because you can do all your editing, organizing, outputting, and backup, all in one easy-to-use program.

So which do you choose? Lightroom 3 or Aperture 3?

First things first. Both programs are truly excellent and have more features than the average person will ever need. There are minor differences in features here and there and the interfaces are different, but they will both serve your editing and organizing needs exceedingly well if you take the time to learn them. You can’t go wrong with either.

Aperture 3 is an Apple-only program. So if you’re running a Windows PC, or may switch to Windows from Mac, then Lightroom is your choice by default. Since Lightroom works on both Macs and Windows, you’ll always have the freedom to choose either platform.

Now, if you’re a dedicated Mac user like me, the comparison becomes a bit more complicated.

Here’s what Aperture 3 has going for it over Lightroom 3:

• It is about $120 cheaper at Amazon.com – enough money for you to buy a backup hard drive (highly recommended)
• Apple offers free Aperture 3 classes at its stores
• Eventually, it will run on the iPad, and possibly the iPhone – Adobe products like Lightroom and Photoshop may never offer these options
• Much nicer and simpler user interface (in my opinion)

Here are Lightroom 3’s advantages over Aperture 3

• Will always have better integration with Photoshop
• Bigger and more active user community (presets, tutorials, etc.)
• Better noise reduction tool (great for very active low-light shooters)
• Lens-distortion correction tool (awesome if you use wide-angle lenses a lot)
• Student/Teacher edition is just $91 at Amazon.com

If I didn’t have either, here’s how I’d make my choice. I’d get Aperture 3 if I wanted to keep things simple while saving money, and I’d get Lightroom 3 if I want to get more advanced in terms of retouching and editing. If I had dreams of going pro, I’d go with Lightroom 3 because it is more of an industry standard and its tighter integration with Photoshop.

But again, you can’t go wrong with either.

To save money:

Order Aperture 3 at Amazon.com at $40 off Apple’s Price

Order Lightroom 3 at Amazon.com at $20 off Adobe’s Price

Students/Teachers – Order Lightroom 3 at Amazon.com for just $91!!!!!

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