Katymeg Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Hi Brian, I have been doing an online course over the past few years with an occasional spattering of photography with Elements (and lots of raw photos), on my MacBook Pro. I have now finished my course and wish to do Damien's courses and ramp up my photography hobby. I need to clean up my pro- get rid of assignments etc- and store my photos properly. (its a disorganised mess). My questions are: Having limited tech knowledge, how do I clean up the macbook? Do I take it to the Apple shop and get them to help and upgrade to El Capitano while we are at it? Or am I better off doing my photoshop stuff on the iMac that my family uses, and get CC or Photoshop (full version). I am a bit overwhelmed with the constantly upgrading technology!!! thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 I will be the 1st one to tell you to not use a laptop for photo-editing. Personally, I'd stick with a iMac. How old is the iMac? What year / model is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katymeg Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 It is mid 2011. 27 inch, with OS X El Capitan. Has 498GB free space....the only reason i use the laptop is that it has Elements on it and its portable. I don't do anything hugely creative at this stage (due to the small screen as well as not knowing how yet) but want to learn more. I also have been given an intuos pen so I am thinking the iMac would be better for all of it. Just won't be able to edit and watch TV at the same time! I was reading other people use the laptop but get a separate screen instead. Is that a compromise, or is it more than just the screen size and quality? Creative Cloud seems to be $25 a month in Australia, unless I am looking at the wrong thing. (more expensive than i thought but ?worth it?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Oh good, it's a 27 inch model. You can max out the RAM to 16GB and 498GB free HD is acceptable. I would invest in something like a 4TB Thunderbolt G-Drive. I own a 4TB G-Drive FireWire Edition, since my iMac is a late 2009 model. It runs the current versions of Photoshop CC and LR CC just fine, but I am maxed out at 16GB of RAM. Yes, the G-Drives are expensive, but they are made from high-quality components. In short, you get what you pay for. Yes, it was painful for me to fork out $300+ for my G-Drive, but I have no buyers remorse. Instead of blowing money on a new Apple Laptop (Don't do that, please...waste of money,) I would get a Thunderbolt G-Drive and store all your photos on that. Load PS CC on the 27" iMac, get calibrated and your prints matching your screen and start with the Deluxe Raw Class. As far as what software, don't get the $25 month plan, opt for the AU$ 11.99/month version. Look here: The $11.99 version comes with the latest and greatest Photoshop CC AND Lightroom CC for $10 a month. That's what I use. So to recap: Use the 27" iMac Get a 4TB Thunderbolt EHD Invest in a screen calibrator Sign up for the AU$ 11.99 /month Photoshop/Lightroom CC program As far as what to do with the Macbook and clearing it off... That G-Drive that I linked to also has a USB 3.0 port. I'd simply copy over any files or folders manually that are important to the EHD, then either move them to the iMac or leave them on the EHD. It will be up to you to figure out a file/folder hierarchy on where stuff goes. I'd personally keep all photos on the EHD and just install PS / LR on the internal 27" iMac HD. Of course, you can opt to install Adobe Bridge in lieu of LR. (Damien will do a happy dance if you do this. LOL!) After you get EVERYTHING off that MacBook, then you can take it to Apple and have them Nuke it, or not. Up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Oh! One more thing! You might want to purchase CleanMyMac3 from http://macpaw.com/. It's a handy little program that helps get rid of the gunk on your HD. Just be careful on what you tell it to delete. Some users get a little eager and then regret on what gets deleted by telling it to delete all large files, etc. I stick with the default choices myself. Best $40 that I've spent on Mac Software. Oh, look for a coupon code, usually you can get it for less than the default price. Of course, you can download the program and have it run a scan to see how much space it frees up, but in order for it to delete / clear out stuff, you'll need to pony up the $$. But like I said, CMM3 is totally worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katymeg Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I had no idea where to start, now I do. Its like a freaking mine field out there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katymeg Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 oh, and I am happy to just learn more about PS / bridge; don't think I need to add Lightroom to my confusion! (I'm well aware of how Damien feels about lightroom ha ha!!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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