Software for organizing images?

September 30, 2007 9:19 PM

Where can I find image 'sorting' software (for OSX)?

I would like to find software that will help me sort/resort a collection of hundreds of image thumbnails into 'order' (for exhibition planning). At present I use small printouts of the images, and lay them out on the floor while testing various arrangements. I need to be able to easily rearrange them to try different layouts, move some down, put another one in between two others, try this, try that, etc. etc. Anybody know of such a tool? Normal 'slideshow' type software is useless for this job, as what I need to have is an overview of the complete collection, not a sequential slideshow ...

posted by woodblock100 to computers & internet (15 answers total)

I daresay you could uses iPhoto, possibly with Keyword Assistant for this.
posted by singingfish at 9:22 PM on September 30, 2007

Aperture has a lightbox function that might suit you. You can move photos around on a field, resize them, stack them, etc. Go here and click the Light Table link below to see a video.
posted by wemayfreeze at 9:32 PM on September 30, 2007

Download a trial of Aperture.

It has a 'virtual' light table (where you can drag images out, resize them, move them around, sorta exactly what you're talking about).

Some images:
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
posted by filmgeek at 9:48 PM on September 30, 2007

consider also extensis portfolio. it's not the best software imaginable but it works.
posted by krautland at 9:49 PM on September 30, 2007

Thirding Aperture.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:33 PM on September 30, 2007

adobe lighroom
posted by prophetsearcher at 11:17 PM on September 30, 2007

er, lighTroom
you'd think that if i type such a short answer, i should at least type it correctly
posted by prophetsearcher at 11:18 PM on September 30, 2007

That Aperture light table is indeed the kind of thing that I need; it seems to work sort of just like my 'floor' does now - a 'canvas' on which I drag stuff around for placement.

It doesn't seem to have a mode that would allow me to drag 'n drop images into position and 'bump' others out of the way, but then, neither does my floor ...

Unfortunately though, it's going to be quite a while before I'm able to upgrade to the hardware that will run that thing; I've got a 733Mhz G4 - still fine for day-to-day use, but nowhere near the horses for Aperture ...
posted by woodblock100 at 11:22 PM on September 30, 2007

Rather primitive, but low horsepower ... viewit from hexcat.com allows you to shuffle thumbnails around and then save.
posted by devbrain at 4:45 AM on October 1, 2007

I've never used it, but Ken Rockwell and others swear by iView.
posted by The Deej at 5:16 AM on October 1, 2007

Lightroom works better than Aperture on old hardware. At least, it runs at all.
posted by smackfu at 6:03 AM on October 1, 2007

Another vote for Lightroom, particularly on older hardware.
posted by tommasz at 6:29 AM on October 1, 2007

Under the category of quick-n-dirty (and free), I found this javascript light table (which you can run locally on your Mac). It may not scale well to hundreds of images.

Another option would be to use Photoshop, Graphic Converter, or whatever to place thumbnails as custom file icons on all your image files, and use the Finder as a light table. If you set your icon size to 128px, that's a tolerable thumbnail size. Hit command-J in the Finder to control the icon size; while you're there, remember to click "this window only" and turn off "keep arranged by" if that's turned on.
posted by adamrice at 7:14 AM on October 1, 2007

I just watched a bunch of the Lightroom tutorials, but it doesn't seem to have any way to lay images out other than the standard Adobe 'grid' ... no 'freeform' canvas ... Nor do the other programs mentioned ...

I found this javascript light table ...

This is indeed the _kind_ of thing that I'm after, but unfortunately, without the ability to save layouts, it isn't going to be useful for this long-term project (exhibition design ...).

use the Finder ...

This seems like the only solution! There won't be any resizing or other 'features', but yes, it'll be a way to keep various sample layouts stored for reference (with image aliases dumped into folders, and then viewed this way ...)

I've been surprised by this - I thought I would find plenty of applications that could handle this simple job ...
posted by woodblock100 at 8:08 AM on October 1, 2007

Another idea that comes to mind is either Powerpoint or Keynote. There would be two ways of using them:

1. Each has a slide-sorter view, which is a gridded light table. One image per slide, and you can shuffle everything around in the slide sorter.

2. Place multiple images on a single slide. This will actually give you a lot of flexibility in layout and organization, make annotations easier, etc. You'd probably wind up using multiple slides for one show, but that's OK. I think this would be a pretty workable option for you.

Another app I have no personal experience, but might work for you, is Omnigraffle, which is a diagramming tool.
posted by adamrice at 9:00 AM on October 1, 2007