Aperture 3.
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Contents 17 17 18 20 24 24 24 24 25 26 27 27 28 29 29 29 Chapter 1: Aperture Basics 31 31 31 33 33 34 36 37 37 38 38 39 39 39 40 41 43 43 43 43 43 44 44 44 45 Chapter 2: Working with the Aperture Library What Is Aperture? Aperture Workflow Overview Aperture Interface Overview Basic Components of Aperture An Overview of the Basic Components of Aperture What Are Originals? What Are Versions? What Are Projects? What Are Albums? What Are Folders? What Is the Library? What Are Managed Images and Reference
5 45 48 Playing a Slideshow of a Project’s Photos Organizing Projects in Projects View Working with the Info HUD in Projects View 50 50 51 52 53 57 60 60 60 60 62 62 64 64 65 66 66 67 68 68 69 69 70 72 74 74 76 76 76 76 78 Chapter 3: Importing Photos 79 79 81 81 82 83 84 84 85 86 88 89 89 89 90 Chapter 4: Working with Photos in the Browser An Overview of Importing Photos File Formats You Can Import into the Library Planning Your Import Strategy Importing from Your Digital Camera or Card Reader Impo
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 97 98 99 99 99 100 100 101 102 103 103 103 104 105 Using the Pointer to Magnify Parts of a Photo Changing the Size and Magnification of the Loupe Displaying a Pixel Grid and Color Values Using the Alternate Loupe Searching for Photos in the Browser Rearranging and Sorting Photos in the Browser Rotating Photos Creating Versions of a Photo Deleting Photos from the Browser Dragging Photos into Different Projects and Albums Renaming Original Image Files Working with Referenced Images An
127 130 131 132 134 Working in Viewer Mode in Full Screen View Working in Browser Mode in Full Screen View Working in Projects Mode in Full Screen View Using HUDs in Full Screen View Changing the Display of Metadata in Full Screen View 135 Chapter 7: Stacking Photos and Making Picks 135 An Overview of Stacking Photos 136 Creating Stacks 138 Working with Stacks 138 Opening and Closing Stacks 138 Designating a Pick Photo for a Stack 139 Designating an Album Pick for a Stack 139 Arranging Photos in a Stack
172 172 175 176 176 178 179 183 187 187 187 189 190 190 191 191 192 193 194 195 196 196 197 198 Chapter 10: Working with Metadata 199 199 201 203 206 207 Chapter 11: Organizing Photos with Faces 208 208 211 216 217 220 221 222 222 223 225 Chapter 12: Locating and Organizing Photos with Places 229 229 229 231 235 236 236 Chapter 13: Searching for and Displaying Photos An Overview of Working with Metadata Showing the Info Inspector Displaying Metadata with Your Photos An Overview of Metadata Overl
237 239 240 241 242 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 253 Searching by Photo Name, Caption, or Other Text Searching by Keyword Searching by Adjustments Searching by Aperture Metadata Searching by Attachment Searching by Calendar Searching by Date Searching by EXIF Information Searching by Face Searching by File Status Searching by File Type Searching by Import Session Searching by IPTC Information Searching by Photo Usage Searching by Place Searching by a Combination of Criteria Searching Acr
282 283 283 284 284 285 286 288 289 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 295 295 296 297 298 Removing Adjustments Using Modifier Keys to Identify Color Clipping Identifying Color Channel Clipping Setting Color Channel Clipping Overlay Colors Color Overlay Descriptions Monochrome Overlay Descriptions Using the Color Meter and Displaying Camera Information Using an External Editor Working with the RAW Fine Tuning Controls An Overview of the RAW Fine Tuning Controls Using the Boost Controls Using the Sharpening Contro
320 321 321 321 324 325 326 327 329 330 330 331 333 335 335 335 336 337 338 339 340 340 340 341 342 343 344 344 349 350 350 350 351 353 357 361 362 362 363 363 363 364 365 366 367 367 368 369 370 372 374 Rotating Images with the Straighten Controls Working with the Crop Controls An Overview of the Crop Adjustment Cropping Images with the Crop Tool Cropping Images with the Crop Controls Working with the Flip Controls Working with the Chromatic Aberration Controls Working with the Devignette Controls Working
374 375 375 376 376 377 377 377 378 381 382 383 384 385 385 385 387 388 389 Adjusting the Brightness of an Image Using Levels for Color Correction Adjusting the Levels of the Red Color Channel Adjusting the Levels of the Green Color Channel Adjusting the Levels of the Blue Color Channel Working with the Color Controls An Overview of the Color Adjustment About Hue, Saturation, and Luminance Adjusting the Color of the Image with the Color Controls Adjusting Custom Colors Using the Color Eyedropper Working wi
429 430 432 433 434 435 435 Printing a Contact Sheet or Series of Contact Sheets Manually Adjusting Photo Layout in the Preview Area Printing a Book Printing a Light Table Arrangement Creating and Modifying Print Presets Proofing Your Images Onscreen Turning Off Color Management in Your Printer 436 436 437 438 439 441 442 442 442 443 443 444 446 447 448 448 450 454 454 455 Chapter 19: Exporting Your Photos 456 456 457 457 458 459 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 467 468 469 469 469 469 470 471 471 Chapter
471 Adding Borders Uniformly to Slides 472 Fitting the Slides to the Aspect Ratio 473 Adding Transitions Uniformly Between Slides 474 Adding Text to Slides 475 Modifying Individual Slides and Transitions 475 An Overview of Modifying Individual Slides and Transitions 475 Working with Video Slides 476 Applying a Photo Effect to Individual Slides 477 Modifying the Display Time for Individual Slides 478 Changing the Background Color for Individual Slides 478 Adding Image Borders to Individual Slides 479 Setting
507 507 508 510 511 512 514 515 515 Chapter 22: Using the Light Table 516 516 518 519 521 522 522 522 523 523 523 523 524 525 525 526 527 528 529 530 530 530 531 531 531 532 532 533 533 533 533 534 535 535 536 536 537 537 541 541 542 Chapter 23: Creating Books An Overview of the Light Table Creating a Light Table Album Placing and Viewing Photos in the Light Table Moving and Resizing Photos in the Light Table Aligning and Arranging Photos in the Light Table Adjusting the Light Table View Printing Ligh
542 543 543 543 544 544 544 544 546 546 546 547 548 548 549 550 551 Adding Metadata Boxes to a Page Hiding or Showing Photo Plate Numbers in Books Choosing a Text Style Making Font Changes in Books Arranging Text on the Page Changing the Number of Text Columns Removing Text Boxes from a Page Working with the Layout Options Inspector Working with Master Pages An Overview of Master Pages Viewing Master Pages Creating and Modifying Master Pages Unifying and Splitting Master Pages Updating Book Pages with Mast
583 584 585 585 586 586 587 Creating Vaults Updating Vaults Disconnecting a Vault’s Hard Disk Drive from Your System Temporarily Reconnecting a Vault’s Hard Disk Drive to Your System Deleting a Vault Permanently Restoring Your Aperture System Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library 588 588 590 590 591 591 592 593 594 595 595 596 596 597 598 598 598 599 601 601 602 603 603 604 604 605 606 Chapter 26: Customizing the Aperture Workspace 607 Glossary Changing Main Window Layouts Setting Aperture P
Aperture Basics 1 What Is Aperture? Aperture is a powerful, easy-to-use digital photo management system for organizing, adjusting, archiving, and presenting high-quality photographic images. In Aperture, you can: •• Work directly with your iPhoto library without having to import your iPhoto photos. •• Import digital photos, audio files, and HD video files from cameras, card readers, and hard disk drives in high-quality formats such as JPEG, TIFF, and RAW.
•• Automatically back up copies of your image files to designated storage areas, called vaults, located on external hard disks. •• Print or publish your photos and albums in any of numerous formats and to multiple locations. Working directly with RAW photos, you can create color-accurate prints, custom contact sheets, and unique bound books. •• Share your photos electronically, publishing them to Facebook, Flickr, and iCloud Photo Stream.
Adjusting Your Images You can enhance your photos using a set of powerful, nondestructive adjustments such as Crop, Straighten, Exposure, White Balance, Levels, Curves, Highlights & Shadows, Vignette, and more. In addition, you can use brushes to apply or remove adjustments selectively, affecting only certain parts of an image.
Aperture Interface Overview Here are the main areas of the Aperture window: Toolbar: Perform common tasks and select a workspace view. Inspectors: Access the library, view photo information, and adjust photos. Chapter 1 Aperture Basics Browser: View thumbnails of photos in the item selected in the Library inspector. Viewer: View the photo or photos selected in the Browser.
Organizing Photos Using the Library Inspector All your imported photos are available in the Library inspector, one of three inspectors in the Inspector pane on the left side of the Aperture main window. The Library inspector holds containers—projects, folders, and albums—you can use to organize your photos. Projects Folders Albums The Library inspector also provides a number of ways to view items in the library.
The Browser layout displays a grid of thumbnail images. Layout buttons: Click a button to select a main window layout. Browser layout: The Browser fills the workspace and displays a grid of thumbnail images. When you double-click a thumbnail image in the Browser (or click the Viewer button in the toolbar), Aperture switches to the Viewer layout, displaying the selected photo in a larger format. You can use the Viewer to examine a photo at full size or compare multiple photos side by side.
To display the Viewer and Browser at the same time, click the Split View button at the right side of the toolbar. Split View layout: The Viewer and Browser appear together. Displaying Photos in Full Screen View You can also view your photos in Full Screen view, dramatically projecting them onto a solid background for detailed adjustments and comparisons. Full Screen view offers different display layouts that let you view large-format versions of selected photos, view thumbnails, or view photos by project.
Basic Components of Aperture An Overview of the Basic Components of Aperture Aperture uses the following basic components in your photo management system: •• Originals: The original image, video, and audio files imported from your digital camera, memory card, computer, or external storage media. •• Versions: Files derived from the originals and used to display your photos with any changes you’ve made, including image adjustments or changes to metadata.
In many cases, your workflow may call for different renderings of the same photo. For example, a client may request a color as well as a black-and-white version of the same head shot. You can create multiple versions of the same photo in Aperture.
You can have multiple projects open at the same time, each represented by its own icon in the Library inspector and tab in the Browser. For more information, see Working with Two or More Browsers Open on page 89. What Are Albums? An album is a container in the Aperture library used to group photo versions. You use albums to organize photos in the library, making your selections of versions easier to manage. You can create albums at the library level or within a project.
What Are Folders? In Aperture, you use folders to organize projects and albums. For example, you can import photos into projects and then place the projects in folders based on photo type or location. If you shoot multiple projects for the same client, you can create a folder that holds the client’s projects. These folders organize projects based on type. Folders contain only albums, projects, and other folders. They don’t contain originals or versions.
What Are Managed Images and Referenced Images? Aperture lets you choose how you organize your photos on disk. You can store your photos in the Aperture library, or you can import photos by simply linking to the image files in their current locations, without placing them in the library. Images whose originals are stored in the Aperture library are called managed images. Managed images are always accessible and are easily backed up to vaults, to name just two benefits.
What Is the Aperture Trash? All items deleted in Aperture, including projects, albums, folders, versions, and originals, are placed in the Aperture Trash in the Library inspector. You can retrieve any item from the Aperture Trash until you empty it. For more information, see Working with the Aperture Trash on page 38. What Is a Vault? To ensure that you have backup copies of your photos, you create a vault to hold the backup files. A vault is a container that holds an exact copy of the library.
To open Aperture for the first time 1 In the Applications folder in the Finder, double-click the Aperture icon. The Welcome to Aperture screen appears. 2 Do one of the following: •• To update your iPhoto library and begin working with it in Aperture: Click the Update iPhoto button. After iPhoto is updated to version 9.3, open your iPhoto library so that it is upgraded to version 9.3 as well. When the upgrade is complete, close iPhoto and open Aperture.
Working with the Aperture Library 2 Organizing Items in the Library Inspector An Overview of the Library Inspector The Library inspector provides access to items tracked by the Aperture library, such as projects and albums, and different views of the contents of the library. For example, you can select Faces in the Library inspector to view your photos grouped by the people in them, or Places to view your photos grouped by where they were taken.
You can select items at the top of the Library inspector to view the contents of your library organized in different ways. •• Projects: Select this item to have all the projects in the library appear in Projects view in place of the Browser and Viewer. Each project is represented by a single thumbnail. You can position the pointer over a project thumbnail and drag to quickly skim the photos in the project.
•• Flagged: Select this item to see all the photos, video clips, and audio clips in the library that have been flagged. The thumbnails for all flagged media appear in the Browser. Select a thumbnail in the Browser to view it or listen to it in the Viewer. •• Photo Stream: Select this item to see all the photos that have been uploaded to Photo Stream from your iOS 5 devices and your Aperture library. The thumbnails for all Photo Stream images appear in the Browser.
To create a new project 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > New > Project (or press Command-N). •• Choose Project from the New pop-up menu in the toolbar. Choose Project from the New pop-up menu. 2 In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the project in the Project Name field. 3 Do either of the following: •• To move the photo selection into a new project: Select the “Move selected items to new project” checkbox.
To open an item in the Library inspector mm Select the item in the Library inspector. Select a project to view its photos in the Browser. All photos in the project appear in the Browser. To open additional items in the Browser, each with its own tab mm Command-Option-click an item in the Library inspector. The newly opened item appears in the Browser with its own tab, in front of any other open items. To open another item in its own pane mm Option-click an item in the Library inspector.
To close an item in the Browser 1 Click the item’s tab to bring it to the front. 2 Click the tab’s close button. Close button in a tab Arranging Items in the Library Inspector Typically, you create a new Aperture project for each photography project or job that you work on, regardless of its duration. For example, if you’re working on a documentary in Thailand, you would create a project for it. If you’re also shooting the temples in the interior of the country, that could be a second, separate project.
Creating and Showing Favorite Items If you have certain projects that you work on most often or projects that you work on at the same time, you can make them favorites to quickly view them all simultaneously. To make a project, a folder, or an album a favorite mm In the Library inspector, select a project, folder, or album, then choose Add to Favorites from the Library Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon).
Merging Projects If you created multiple projects and then later decide that the content spread among the projects would be better suited to a single project, you can select the projects in the Library inspector and merge them into a single project. When you merge projects, the projects are consolidated into the topmost selected project in the Library inspector.
To empty the Aperture Trash After you’ve reviewed the contents of the Aperture Trash and are confident that you no longer need the items within it, you can empty the Trash. When you empty the Aperture Trash, all of its contents are placed in the Finder Trash. 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Aperture > Empty Aperture Trash (or press Command-Shift-Delete). •• Control-click the Aperture Trash, then choose Empty Aperture Trash from the shortcut menu.
To create a new, empty library file in a new location 1 Choose File > Switch to Library > Other/New. 2 In the dialog that appears, click Create New. 3 In the next dialog, enter a name for the library in the Save As field, choose a location, then click Create. Aperture creates the new library in the location you chose. To open the new library, see Viewing Other Libraries on page 40.
To choose which library to use while opening Aperture 1 Hold down the Option key while opening Aperture. A dialog appears, with options for selecting an existing library or creating a new one. 2 Do one of the following: •• To open an Aperture library file shown in the dialog: Select the library file, then click Choose. •• To open an Aperture library file not shown in the dialog: Click the Other Library button, locate the library file in the dialog that appears, then click Select.
4 Click Export Library. Aperture consolidates the selected items into a library, and the library file is exported to the location you chose. 5 Connect or network the two computers together, and copy the exported library file to the second computer. For more information, see the documentation that came with the computers. 6 Open Aperture on the second computer, then choose File > Switch to Library > [library filename]. You can now work with the exported library from the first computer on the second computer.
Opening Your Library in iPhoto You can open your library in iPhoto from within Aperture. To open your library in iPhoto mm Choose File > Open Library in iPhoto. Aperture closes and iPhoto opens the library you were working with in Aperture. Working in Projects View Switching to Projects View Projects view provides a convenient space for organizing and quickly viewing your projects. To switch to Projects view mm In the Library inspector, select Projects.
The new, empty project opens in the Browser. To delete a project Do one of the following: mm Select a project’s thumbnail, then choose File > Delete Project (or press Command-Delete). mm Control-click a project, then choose Delete Project from the shortcut menu. The selected project is moved to the Aperture Trash. For more information about the Aperture Trash, see Working with the Aperture Trash on page 38.
Emptying the Aperture Trash in Projects View After you’ve performed a lot of housecleaning tasks in Projects view—removing unnecessary or obsolete projects, for example—you can empty the Aperture Trash. To empty the Aperture Trash Do one of the following: mm Choose Aperture > Empty Aperture Trash (or press Command-Shift-Delete). mm Control-click a project, then choose Empty Trash from the shortcut menu. The Aperture Trash is emptied and its contents are moved to the Finder Trash.
If you have more than one project documenting the same subject and you want to consolidate the projects into a single project, you can merge the projects. To group projects by year or by folder mm To group projects by year: Click the Group by Year button (with a calendar icon) at the top of Projects view. mm To group projects by folder: Click the Group by Folder button (with a folder icon) at the top of Projects view.
Projects view displays the projects for the selected year or folder only. Click the Projects button at the top of the main window in Projects view to display the projects for all years or folders. Projects button To sort projects in Projects view mm To sort projects by name: Choose Name from the Sorting pop-up menu. mm To sort projects in ascending order by the date the photos were captured: Choose Date – Newest First from the Sorting pop-up menu.
Working with the Info HUD in Projects View In Projects view, you use the Info HUD to navigate through the projects in the library, set the key photo for a project, and assign location information to photos within a project. For more information about assigning location information using the Info HUD, see Assigning Location Information to Projects on page 223. To open the Info HUD in Projects view mm Click the Info button on a project’s thumbnail.
3 When you locate the photo you’re looking for, click the “Click to make key photo” button at the bottom of the thumbnail. Click to set this photo as the key photo. The selected photo is set as the key photo to represent the project. To enter descriptive information about a project 1 Select the project for which you want to add or change descriptive information. 2 In the Info HUD, enter descriptive information about the project in the description field.
3 Importing Photos An Overview of Importing Photos Aperture provides tools and workflow options that make it easy to import your photos. You can import photos directly from your digital camera or card reader, and import photos stored on your computer hard disk or other storage devices. You can also import audio and video files. You no longer have to import photos individually from your iPhoto library into Aperture.
As you import photos, you can set Aperture to automatically name and record information about them. Aperture can assign filenames using custom naming conventions; record metadata such as captions, keywords, dates, copyright and credit information, and IPTC information; and adjust the time when the photo was shot to the correct time zone. If the photo has an XMP sidecar file, Aperture imports it as well and adds the metadata to the image version.
Planning Your Import Strategy Before you import photos into Aperture, it’s a good idea to plan the organization of your photos. Eventually your photo library may contain many thousands of photos that you’ll want organized in a flexible and easy-to-manage system. It’s important to take a long-term view of what makes for an effective and efficient organization of your projects based on your specific type of photography.
You use the options in the Import browser to specify how and where photos are imported. The Import browser shows thumbnails of your photos that you can enlarge or reduce in size using the Thumbnail Resize slider. You can select individual photos to import or import all the photos at once. You can also set the Import browser to display photos in a list by clicking the List View button. In list view, you can click a column heading to sort photos by category.
To import photos from a camera or card reader into Aperture 1 Connect your camera or card reader to your computer. The Import browser appears, showing the photos on the camera or card. Note: If iPhoto opens when you connect your camera or card reader, quit iPhoto. Then, in Aperture, choose Aperture > Preferences and click Import. Choose Aperture from the “When a camera is connected, open” pop-up menu. Disconnect and reconnect your camera to have Aperture open the Import browser.
•• If you want to import the photos into an existing project: Select the project in the Library inspector. The project selected in the Library inspector appears here. Selected project in the Library inspector The selected project appears in the Destination pop-up menu. 3 Choose a location to store the original image files by doing one of the following: •• To store imported originals in the Aperture library: Choose “In the Aperture Library” from the Store Files pop-up menu.
5 Do one of the following: Check All button Uncheck All button •• To import all photos from the camera or card reader: Click the Check All button. The checkboxes for all the photos in the Import browser are selected. •• To import a subset of photos from the camera or card reader: Click the Uncheck All button to clear the checkboxes for all photos, then select the checkboxes for the photos you want to import.
Importing Files Stored on Your Computer or Connected Servers You can import image, audio, and video files stored on your computer and other storage devices. You have a choice of storing the imported files in the Aperture library, or importing the files as referenced image, audio, and video files and then moving or copying them to a different location. Note: If you have folders of photos to import, you can import them using the Import Folders as Projects command in the File menu.
4 Do one of the following: •• If you want to import the files into a new, empty project: Choose New Project from the Destination pop-up menu to create a new project, then enter a name for the project in the Project Name field. Project Name field •• If you want to import files into an existing project: Select the project in the Library inspector. The project selected in the Library inspector appears here.
•• To import all the files in the selected folder: Click the Check All button. The checkboxes for all the files in the Import browser are selected. •• To import a subset of files from the selected folder: Click the Uncheck All button to clear the checkboxes for all photos, then select the checkboxes for the photos you want to import. Note: You can double-click a thumbnail image to see a larger version of the photo if you want to verify its contents before importing it.
Adding Import Options An Overview of Import Options In the Import browser, you can add additional import options to refine how files are brought into Aperture. You add controls for additional import settings by choosing an option from the Import Settings pop-up menu. After you modify the import settings, you can remove them from view by deselecting the option in the Import Settings pop-up menu.
When you import originals as referenced images, you can’t rename the originals if you leave them in their original locations. However, when you import originals as referenced images and move them to a new hard disk location, you can rename them at that time. Note: If you back up your files on import, the copied files are also renamed. For more information about backing up your files on import, see Automatically Backing Up Your Imported Files on page 64.
Applying Valid Filenames Proper filenaming is one of the most critical aspects of media and project management. When you capture your originals, consider how and where your files may be used in the future. Naming your files simply and consistently makes it easier to share media among multiple photographers, transfer projects to other Aperture systems, move files across a network, and properly restore archived projects.
•• Counter (001, 002, 003, and so on) •• Current Date •• Current Time •• Current Year •• Current Month •• Current Day To create a custom name format 1 In the Import browser, choose Rename Files from the Import Settings pop-up menu, then choose Edit from the Version Name pop-up menu. The File Naming dialog appears. 2 Click the Add (+) button to create a new name format, or select the preset name format you want to change.
Automatically Backing Up Your Imported Files Creating copies of your photos from the moment you take them is essential to the preservation of your work. In Aperture, you can back up your original files as they are imported, using the Back Up Files import option. Backing up your image, video, and audio files at import ensures that if something catastrophic happens to your computer system, copies of your original files are stored somewhere safe.
Adding Metadata to Photos During Import You can add metadata to your photos as they are imported into Aperture. Adding metadata during the import process helps you keep track of your photos and quickly locate them using the Smart Settings HUD and Filter HUD. For example, you can add IPTC keywords and other metadata to the photos. To add metadata to photos as they’re imported 1 In the Import browser, choose Metadata Presets from the Import Settings pop-up menu.
Applying Effects to Photos During Import You can apply image effects and basic image adjustments, such as an exposure adjustment, to your photos as they are imported. You apply effects and image adjustments by choosing an effect preset from the Effects pop-up menu. The effect preset is applied uniformly to every imported photo until it is turned off. You can edit effect presets that you want to apply frequently to your photos. For more information, see An Overview of Effects on page 274.
Important: An audio file is imported into Aperture as an attachment when the audio file’s name matches the image file’s name. For example, when you import “file.nef” and “file.wav,” Aperture imports the .wav file attached to the .nef raw image file. Audio files are automatically attached during all types of import: from a connected camera or card reader, from internal and external hard disk drives, as well as via drag and drop.
Using AppleScript Actions Immediately After Import The Aperture community provides many AppleScript actions online to automate repetitive tasks in Aperture, and you can create your own AppleScript actions to help automate your workflow. You can use AppleScript actions from within Aperture immediately after an import operation is complete. For more information about AppleScript actions for use with Aperture, go to http://www.apple.com/aperture/resources.
Importing Files from the Finder via Drag and Drop You can drag image, video, and audio files from the Finder or desktop directly into the Library inspector, Viewer, and Browser. This is useful if you receive image files from a source other than your camera and you want to use them in Aperture. You can also use this technique if you have image, audio, and video files scattered on your desktop or throughout folders on your computer and you want to consolidate them in one place in the library.
To use tethered shooting, you first connect your camera to the computer using a USB or FireWire cable. You then select a project for the photos to be stored in. Aperture provides a Tether Settings dialog for specifying your tethered shooting settings, and you can also use this dialog to specify any other import settings (just as you would normally specify import settings in the Import browser). After starting a session, you can use Aperture to view and capture photos.
4 Choose a location for the imported photos by doing one of the following: •• To store imported originals in the Aperture library: Choose “In the Aperture Library” from the Store Files pop-up menu. •• To import the files as referenced images stored in their current location on your hard disk: Choose “In their current location” from the Store Files pop-up menu.
Importing Originals for Referenced Images into Folders When you import photos as referenced images, you can have Aperture place their originals individually into a selected folder or create subfolders to hold the files. For example, you might have the imported image files placed in subfolders identified by date. You can create folder name format presets that you can quickly choose to select the folder name format you prefer.
To create a custom folder name format 1 In the Import browser, choose Pictures or another folder from the Store Files pop-up menu, then choose Edit from the Subfolder pop-up menu that appears. The Folder Naming dialog appears. 2 Click the Add (+) button to create a new name format, or select the preset name format you want to change. 3 Drag name elements into the Format field in the order you want them to appear. 4 Drag a slash between the elements where you want subfolders created.
Where Aperture Stores Your Managed Files in the Library You can always view and work with your photos within the Aperture application. However, you may wonder where your managed image files physically reside in the Aperture library on the computer’s hard disk. By default, your photos are stored in the Aperture Library file within the Pictures folder. For more information about managed image files, see What Are Managed Images and Referenced Images? on page 28.
You can preview the selected audio file by clicking the Play button. Audio file Attach button Play button The audio attachment is added to the photo, and the audio file’s thumbnail disappears from the Browser. A badge appears on the lower-right portion of the photo, indicating that an audio file is attached. For more information about playing audio attachments, see Viewing and Changing Metadata in the Info Inspector and Inspector HUD on page 183.
Reprocessing Photos from Previous Versions of Aperture An Overview of Reprocessing Photos Aperture provides image processing algorithms that deliver improved image quality. With improved default rendering of RAW images from supported cameras, Aperture 3 provides significantly enhanced image quality with improvements in noise reduction, sharpening, and highlights recovery.
To reprocess a project or an album You can reprocess all the photos in a selected project, book, slideshow, webpage, web journal, Light Table album, album, or Smart Album. 1 In the Library inspector, select a project or album. 2 Choose Photos > Reprocess Originals. 3 In the dialog that appears, select the appropriate reprocessing criteria, then click the Reprocess Photos button. All photos in the selected project or album are reprocessed using the most current image processing.
Important: Reprocessing thousands of image files can be a lengthy operation. Make sure to set aside a significant amount of time for Aperture to process the image files—preferably when you don’t need to use your Aperture system. Reprocessing Photos Individually You can reprocess photos one at a time using the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. To reprocess an individual photo 1 Select a photo.
4 Working with Photos in the Browser An Overview of the Browser After a shoot, you may need to sort through hundreds or even thousands of photos in a project. Aperture provides efficient methods for increasing your productivity when working with large numbers of photos. The Browser provides the principal environment for viewing, selecting, and working with photos.
When you select filmstrip view, the Browser changes to a single row of photos that you can select and navigate through, and selected photos appear in the Viewer. Viewer Browser in filmstrip view Grid view organizes thumbnails of your photos in a grid pattern. Use grid view when it’s easiest to identify your photos by sight and work with thumbnails as you organize, stack, or assign keywords to photos. List view displays a list of your photos with associated file information.
If you make a mistake while editing, in most cases you can choose the Undo command to immediately cancel your last action. In fact, you can choose the Undo command multiple times to undo your last series of actions. Aperture places deleted originals in the Aperture Trash. If you discover a deletion you did not intend to make, and the Undo command cannot recover the deletion, you can still recover the original from the Aperture Trash until the Trash is emptied.
Selecting Photos Selecting photos is a fundamental task in Aperture. Knowing the many ways you can select photos can help increase your productivity and satisfaction while working with your photos. You can select photos in the following ways. Task Action Select a single photo •• •• Select a range of photos •• •• •• •• •• Click the photo. Press the arrow keys to navigate to the photo.
Navigating Through Photos in Quick Preview Mode As you work with photos in the Browser and Viewer, you can set Aperture to display JPEG representations of the photos called previews. Because the preview’s file size is smaller than that of the original photo, Aperture can display the photo more quickly. For example, the thumbnails in the Browser are preview representations of the originals, reduced to thumbnail size.
Working with Browser Views Working with Photos in Filmstrip View Filmstrip view is the default view for the Browser. You can use filmstrip view in combination with the Viewer to quickly scroll from photo to photo, making changes and comparing photos. For example, you can select several photos in a row, group them in a stack, apply ratings, and compare them side by side in the Viewer.
Working with Photos in Grid View Grid view displays the photos in your selection in the Library inspector as a grid of thumbnails in the Browser. You can use grid view when you want to review large thumbnail photos quickly. Setting the Aperture main window to show the Browser by itself provides the maximum amount of space to dedicate to viewing thumbnails. You may want to adjust the size of the thumbnails to a size convenient for selecting and working with them.
To lighten or darken the background of the Browser Depending on your work preferences, you may want to lighten or darken the background that your thumbnails appear against in the Browser. The darker the background, the less it interferes with the colors in your photo. It’s a good idea to set the background to a dark color when performing color adjustments to your photo. You can darken the background from shades of gray all the way to black, or lighten it from gray to white.
5 If necessary, rearrange the order in which the metadata columns are displayed by dragging the metadata items up or down in the Display Order column. The order of metadata selections in the Display Order column from top to bottom corresponds to the order of columns in the Browser in list view from left to right. Moving an item up in the Display Order column moves the metadata column to the left in list view. “Badges” is moved and will appear after “Keywords.
mm Click the category column heading in the Browser. Photos in list view sorted by date To enlarge the thumbnail icons in list view When you work in list view, it may sometimes be difficult to determine the content of a photo based on the file information. You can enlarge the thumbnail icons that appear in list view to give you a better look at the photos. mm Drag the Thumbnail Resize slider to increase or decrease the size of the icons.
To swap the position of the Browser and the Viewer mm Choose View > Browser > Swap Position (or press Option-W). Working with Two or More Browsers Open You can work with two items in the Library inspector open at once, splitting the Browser into a separate pane for each item. Project tab When you select an item in the Library inspector and then Option-click a second item, Aperture splits the Browser into two panes and shows thumbnails for both items.
The Loupe appears. Loupe Loupe pop-up menu To hide the Loupe Do one of the following: mm Choose View > Hide Loupe, or press the Grave Accent (`) key. mm Click the Loupe button in the toolbar. Moving the Loupe You can move the Loupe by dragging it to different locations over a photo. To move the Loupe Do one of the following: mm Drag the Loupe’s handle. mm Drag within the Loupe. A circle appears that targets the area to be magnified.
To use the pointer to magnify parts of a photo mm Choose Focus on Cursor from the Loupe pop-up menu. Choose Focus on Cursor from the pop-up menu. To turn off this feature, choose Focus on Loupe from the Loupe pop-up menu. Changing the Size and Magnification of the Loupe You can change the size of the Loupe and increase or decrease its magnification level. To increase the size of the Loupe Do one of the following: mm Choose View > Loupe Options > Increase Diameter, or press Shift–Option–Plus Sign (+).
Displaying a Pixel Grid and Color Values You can have the Loupe display a photo as a grid that shows the actual pixel composition of the photo, allowing you to see the individual pixel values at high magnification (400 percent or higher). You can also set the Loupe to display readings of the color values of the photo, showing the RGB (%), RGB (8-bit), Lab, CMYK, HSB, or HSL values chosen for the Color meter.
Using the Alternate Loupe You can also use an alternate Loupe to examine parts of a photo. You position the small ring of the alternate Loupe over the portion of the photo you want to see, and the large ring shows a magnified view. Depending on the details in the photo, you can change the size of the alternate Loupe and increase or decrease its magnification level. It’s useful for making quick checks for dust specks, flaws, fingerprints, or other issues.
Searching for Photos in the Browser When you have more photos than the Browser can display at one time, you can use the search field to locate photos. Enter the search criteria in the search field, and Aperture finds the photo or photos for you, removing all others from view. Filter HUD button Search field When you search for photos in the Browser, the search is confined to the selection in the Library inspector.
To set the Browser to show all photos 1 In the Library inspector, select an item. 2 In the Browser, choose Show All from the search field pop-up menu. All photos, including rejects, appear in the Browser, and Showing All appears in the Browser’s search field. To set the Browser to show rejected photos only 1 In the Library inspector, select an item. 2 In the Browser, choose Rejected from the search field pop-up menu.
To rearrange photos in the Browser mm Drag the photos you want to rearrange to a new location; when the green bar appears, release the mouse button. To restore a manual arrangement of your photos in the Browser mm Choose Manual from the Sorting pop-up menu. Aperture remembers the last time you moved photos and restores that arrangement. To change the displayed order of photos in the Browser mm Choose a sort property from the Sorting pop-up menu.
Creating Versions of a Photo Occasionally, you may want to make a second version of a photo. For example, you might want to create another version of a photo and apply different exposure settings or other adjustments, or change it for a specific use, such as for placement in a webpage or book. When you create a new photo version, you can duplicate either the original image or the currently selected version with any changes you’ve made.
To delete a version stack and its original You can select a stack containing versions of the same image and delete all the image versions in the stack as well as the original. 1 Select the stack you want to delete. 2 Choose File > Delete Original Image and All Versions. The original and all its versions are moved to the Aperture Trash. For more information, see Working with the Aperture Trash on page 38.
Renaming Original Image Files At times, you may want to rename original image files to match the names you’ve assigned to the photo versions in Aperture. Although Aperture keeps track of your originals regardless of what they are named, it’s often useful for your image filenames to match inside and outside of Aperture—especially when the originals are referenced images. For more information about working with referenced images, see An Overview of Referenced Images on page 99.
Identifying Referenced Images After you import referenced images, you can identify them in the Browser by turning on referenced image badge overlays. Referenced images appear with badges that show whether their originals are currently available (online) or not found (offline). These badge overlays indicate the photos are referenced images. This badge overlay indicates the photo is an offline referenced image.
The Referenced Files In Selection dialog appears. This column shows the names of hard disks where referenced originals are located. This column identifies the hard disk location of the referenced originals. The specific photo and metadata to help you identify the file are displayed here. These columns identify how many originals for referenced images are on the hard disk, and how many are not found.
Reconnecting Missing or Offline Referenced Images When a referenced image’s original is offline, you can’t make adjustments to the photo until you reconnect the original to your Aperture system. If you have disconnected a hard disk drive that holds a referenced image’s original, you can reconnect the drive to your computer system and Aperture automatically locates the hard disk and reconnects the original.
Relocating Referenced Originals You can easily move originals for referenced images (referenced originals) to new locations on the same hard disk or a different hard disk. For example, if you use several hard disks, you might want to move the originals they contain to a convenient location on a different hard disk. To move originals for referenced images to a new location 1 In the Browser, select the referenced images whose originals you want to move. 2 Choose File > Relocate Originals.
3 In the Filter HUD, choose File Status from the Add Rule pop-up menu, and select the “File status” checkbox. 4 Deselect any checkboxes that aren’t part of your query, and choose the search criteria from the “File status” pop-up menu. Select the “File status” checkbox and choose the file status you want to search for. 5 Choose Any from the Any/All pop-up menu, if it’s not already chosen. The photos that match the search criteria are displayed in the Browser.
Displaying Specific Metadata with Your Photos To help identify photos as you work, you can set Aperture to display the metadata associated with photos. You do this by specifying metadata settings in the Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog. For example, you can set Aperture to display keywords, IPTC information, or EXIF information with photos in grid view. You can also configure two views of information to be displayed with photos and quickly switch between views.
mm Choose View > Metadata Display, then choose Show Metadata from the Browser section of the submenu (or press U). mm Choose Show Metadata from the Browser section of the Browser & Viewer Metadata Overlays pop-up menu in the tool strip. To switch between views of metadata information in the Browser Do one of the following: mm Choose View > Metadata Display, > then choose Switch to [view name] from the Browser section of the submenu (or press Shift-U).
Displaying Photos in the Viewer 5 An Overview of the Viewer The Viewer displays a detailed view of the photo or photos selected in the Browser. You can view one photo in incredible detail or view several photos at a time. You use the Viewer to make adjustments, closely compare similar photos, and inspect photos at full resolution. If you use a dual-display system, you can set the Viewer to show your photos on both screens to provide stunning, full-detail views.
When rating or adjusting photos, you can set the Viewer to compare two photos at once. You select a photo to compare against and then display other similar or related photos next to it for inspection. You might use the Aperture comparison feature to select photos from a series or compare versions of adjusted images to see which is best. You can use the Viewer to compare two photos. Depending on the size of your display and Viewer, photos may be displayed at a reduced size to fit in the Viewer.
You can also set metadata options that determine the amount of information that appears with each photo. For example, you can display photos in the Viewer with their keywords and other information, such as IPTC or EXIF metadata. Customizing the Viewer Display You can hide the Browser when necessary and work only in the Viewer. You can also quickly hide the Viewer to provide more room for the Browser, and show the Viewer again when needed.
Comparing Photos You can select a photo against which to compare other photos in your project or in the library. The selected photo remains on the screen as you select and display other photos to compare against it. The comparison feature is useful for making final selections of the best photos in a series or comparing two versions of a photo for correct exposure or highlights. When comparing photos, you can apply ratings and keywords and make adjustments to selected photos.
Viewing Stacks To work efficiently with photos in stacks, you can set the Viewer to automatically open a selected stack and set up the stacked photos for comparison. The pick of the stack is set as the compare photo. This stack-viewing feature also works in Full Screen view. To set the Viewer to automatically open and compare the photos in stacks mm Choose View > Main Viewer > Stack (or press Option-T). For more information about using stacks, see An Overview of Stacking Photos on page 135.
To pan a full-resolution photo in the Viewer Do one of the following: mm Drag the white rectangle that appears on the photo. mm Hold down the Space bar and drag the photo. To incrementally zoom in to and out of a photo Do one of the following: mm Click the left and right arrows in the Zoom value slider below the white rectangle to zoom in to and out of the photo by single percentage increments. mm Drag in the Zoom value slider below the white rectangle to quickly zoom in to and out of the photo.
To listen to audio clips or view video clips imported into Aperture 1 In the Library inspector, select an item that contains audio or video clips. The audio and video clips appear in the Browser as thumbnails. 2 In the Browser, select either an audio or a video clip. This icon indicates a video clip. 3 In the Viewer, do one of the following: •• If you selected an audio clip: Audio controls with the audio clip’s filename appear in the Viewer.
3 Click the Play button to listen to the audio clip and determine which parts of the audio you want to keep. 4 Drag the Start point to the beginning of the audio you plan to use, and drag the End point to the position where you want the audio to end. Drag the Start and End points to trim the audio. The Trim button turns yellow, indicating that the length of the audio clip has changed. 5 When you are satisfied with the length of the audio clip, click the Trim button. The audio clip is trimmed.
Tip: If you want to use more than one part of the video clip, choose Photos > New Version from Original (or press Option-G) for each additional part of the clip you plan to use, and repeat the steps above. To set the poster frame for the video clip’s thumbnail in the Browser 1 Select the video clip in the Browser. 2 Move the pointer over the lower portion of the video in the Viewer to show the video controls, then drag the playhead to the frame of video you want to set as the poster frame.
Viewing Photos on Multiple Displays Using the additional screen space of a second display provides an excellent platform for viewing and performing image adjustments, playing slideshows, and presenting your full-color, full-size photos to clients. When your system uses two displays, Aperture provides two Viewers in which you can view multiple photos. These Viewers are called the Main Viewer and the Secondary Viewer.
To change the clipping overlays display color You can choose to view the hot and cold overlays in color or monochrome. 1 Choose Aperture > Preferences, or press Command-Comma (,). 2 In the Preferences window, click Advanced. 3 Choose either Color or Monochrome from the “Clipping overlay” pop-up menu. To adjust the hot area display threshold You can adjust the threshold or sensitivity of the hot area overlays. By default, the threshold is set to 100%.
Working with Preview Images An Overview of Preview Images Aperture allows you to create and use JPEG previews of versions in the library. Preview images improve the display of photos in Aperture and allow you to easily use your photos in other applications. These preview images are used to speed up the display of photos in the Viewer, in the Browser, and in Full Screen view. Previews are JPEG images generated by Aperture that represent the original photo with any applied adjustments.
Setting Preview Preferences Aperture provides four preference settings for controlling previews. These settings apply to all libraries. To open Aperture preferences mm Choose Aperture > Preferences, then click Previews. The Previews pane appears. For more information about the Previews pane, see Previews Preferences on page 595. Controlling Previews with the Library Action Pop-Up Menu You turn automatic preview maintenance on or off on a project-by-project basis.
To force the rebuilding of JPEG previews in a project mm In the Library inspector, select the project whose JPEG previews you want to force Aperture to update, hold down the Option key, then choose Photos > Generate Previews for Project. To delete JPEG previews for a photo selection In the Browser, you can select one or more photos and either delete or update the JPEG previews. 1 In the Browser, select a photo or group of photos whose JPEG previews you want to delete. 2 Choose Photos > Delete Previews.
To update previews to use new size and compression settings 1 In the Browser, select the photos you want to update. 2 Hold down the Option key, then choose Photos > Generate Previews from the shortcut menu. If you encounter performance issues, you can check the Activity window to see if Aperture is doing work in the background (choose Window > Show Activity).
Displaying Offline Referenced Images When an original is offline or cannot be found, Aperture draws the thumbnail image first, and then the preview if it is present. Because the preview is high quality, you can zoom and even use the Loupe. Suppressing Preview Generation When Aperture opens, it begins updating previews for those projects whose Maintain Previews For Project setting is turned on.
3 In the Library inspector, select all the projects, then choose Maintain Previews For Projects from the Library Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon), so there is no checkmark next to it. This turns off automatic preview maintenance for your existing projects. Note: You need to perform steps 1 through 3 for each of your libraries.
Even though the originals are offline, you can browse, search, and assign metadata to preview images. You can even use the Loupe to zoom in on preview images, because they are highquality JPEG files. To share previews with other applications 1 Select the project whose photos you want to share with other applications, then choose Maintain Previews For Project from the Library Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon).
Viewing Photos in Full Screen View 6 An Overview of Full Screen View Full Screen view shows your photos against a black background for detailed viewing using every inch of the display. Using a dual-display system in Full Screen view gives you an enlarged space in which to compare and adjust images. You can view, compare, and stack your photos in Full Screen view. You can also apply adjustments and keywords.
For more information about Viewer mode, see Working in Viewer Mode in Full Screen View on page 127. •• Browser mode is similar to the working layout you see when the Browser is set to grid view in the Aperture main window. The search field and Filter HUD are accessible for filtering photos, and the Library Path Navigator pop-up menus provide access to all the items in the Library inspector. For more information about Browser mode, see Working in Browser Mode in Full Screen View on page 130.
Entering and Exiting Full Screen View You can quickly switch between Full Screen view and your workspace layout in the Aperture main window. To enter Full Screen view mm Click the Full Screen button at the top-right corner of the Aperture main window (or press F). The Aperture main window disappears, and your photos appear in Full Screen view. To exit Full Screen view Do one of the following: mm Click the Exit Full Screen button in the Full Screen view toolbar (or press F). mm Press Esc (Escape).
To show and move the filmstrip The filmstrip includes a control that lets you define when the filmstrip appears. You can choose to always show the filmstrip, so that Aperture automatically fits the photos and filmstrip on your screen without overlapping, or you can hide it, so that it appears only when you place the pointer over the area where it is docked. You can also move the filmstrip to the left, bottom, or right side of your main display.
To set the filmstrip to filter photos By default, the filmstrip is set to show photos that are unrated or better. Any photos that have been assigned the Reject rating are automatically removed from view. To view rejected photos, you must set the filmstrip to show all photos. You can also filter the photos shown in the filmstrip by criteria other than ratings. For example, you can filter photos by whether they’ve been flagged or assigned a color label.
Working in Browser Mode in Full Screen View You can set Full Screen view to switch between Viewer mode and Browser mode. Browser mode displays thumbnail images in a grid over a black background with minimal color interference. As in the Browser in the main Aperture workspace, the search field and Filter HUD are accessible for filtering photos. When Full Screen view is set to Browser mode, the toolbar remains accessible at the top of the screen but the filmstrip disappears.
Working in Projects Mode in Full Screen View When you want to view your projects using as much screen space as possible and with a minimum of color interference, you can set Full Screen view to Projects mode. To set Full Screen view to Projects mode 1 If Aperture is not already in Full Screen view, enter it by pressing F. 2 Press V to set Full Screen view to Browser mode. 3 Click the Projects button in the top-left corner of the screen. Full Screen view switches from Browser mode to Projects mode.
Using HUDs in Full Screen View You can use these HUDs to work with your photos in Full Screen view: •• Keywords HUD: Use the Keywords HUD to create and organize keywords and to add keywords to your photos. •• Inspector HUD: Use the Inspector HUD to navigate through the library, modify metadata in your photos, and perform adjustments. •• Tool HUDS: Use any of the adjustment tools that work in conjunction with HUDs. HUDs are available for use in Full Screen view and can make adjusting photos easier.
mm Click the Inspector HUD button in the toolbar. Use the Inspector HUD in Full Screen view to open the Library pane, Info pane, or Adjustments pane when working with photos. mm Press H. To temporarily hide the Inspector HUD while making an adjustment You can temporarily hide the Inspector HUD while performing an image adjustment, so that you have an unobstructed view of your photo. mm Hold down the Shift key while dragging a slider in the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.
Changing the Display of Metadata in Full Screen View The metadata display settings you choose for the Viewer and Browser also apply to photos displayed in Full Screen view and in its filmstrip. The settings for the Viewer control the display of metadata for full-screen photos, and the settings for the Browser control the display of metadata for thumbnails in the filmstrip. For more information about setting the display of metadata, see An Overview of Working with Metadata on page 172.
Stacking Photos and Making Picks 7 An Overview of Stacking Photos To capture a specific moment in time, such as a bride and groom kissing or a student soccer player kicking the winning goal, a photographer may shoot multiple photos, using both bracketing and continuous shooting, to increase the odds of capturing a usable photo. After shooting the series, the photographer reviews the images and picks the best photo of the group.
After creating a stack and selecting the pick, you can close the stack by clicking the Stack button on the pick photo. When a stack is closed, only the stack’s pick photo appears in the Browser. Clicking the Stack button again expands the stack. Only the pick photo is shown when the stack is closed. By closing stacks, you quickly reduce the number of photos you have to visually sort through when selecting photos in the final photo edit. After creating stacks, you can organize and change them as needed.
To automatically stack photos 1 In the Library inspector, select a project or an album that contains the photos you want to stack. 2 Choose Stacks > Auto-Stack (or press Command-Option-A). 3 In the Auto-Stack Images HUD, drag the slider to specify the maximum interval for successive shots in a stack. Move the slider to indicate the maximum interval for successive shots. As you drag the slider, the photos in the Browser are stacked according to the interval of time specified.
To unstack a selection of photos mm After creating a stack, choose Edit > Undo, or select a photo in the stack and choose Stacks > Unstack (or press Command-Shift-K). Working with Stacks Opening and Closing Stacks You can close a stack and open it again whenever you wish. You may want to do this to free up space in the Browser. You can also close stacks to quickly reduce the number of photos you must sort through visually when selecting photos for a final photo edit.
Designating an Album Pick for a Stack The same stack may appear in several albums. Depending on the purpose of the album, you may want a different pick photo for each album. For example, a stack in a webpage album may have one pick photo, and the same stack in a book album may have a different pick photo adjusted for printing. You can designate a specific photo in a stack to be an “album pick”—the pick for the stack within a specific album. Each album can have a different album pick for the stack.
To remove a photo from a stack Do one of the following: mm Select the photo, then choose Stacks > Extract Item (or press Shift-Option-K). mm Drag the photo out of an expanded stack. Splitting Stacks You can split a stack into multiple stacks to refine the organization of your photos. All photos remain stacked, but they are now part of new stacks. The photo selected as the splitting point becomes the pick for the new stack.
Dragging Stacks You can drag an entire stack to a new location, and you can drag specific photos within a stack to a new location. When a stack is closed, dragging the stack moves the entire stack. When a stack is open, you can drag individual photos to new locations in the Browser. You can also drag photos into a stack. If you drag a photo within a stack into a different project, however, the entire stack moves to the new location.
Working with Stacks in List View If you prefer, you can create and work with stacks in list view. You can select photos to stack, select a pick, add and remove photos, and split stacks, just as you can in filmstrip view and grid view. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the pick photo to view the photos within the stack. In list view, a stack is identified by a disclosure triangle beside the name of the pick photo.
8 Rating Photos An Overview of the Aperture Rating System Rating photos is a quick and easy way to narrow down the number of photos you intend to work with. It can also help you locate your best photos later. After finishing a shoot, photographers typically review their photos and determine which ones are worth working with.
The process of rating a photo can be as easy as selecting a photo and clicking a rating button in the Info inspector. Click a rating button to assign and change photo ratings. You can also use keyboard shortcuts to quickly assign or change ratings. You can select and rate multiple photos at once. You can review and rate photos in the Viewer, Browser, and Light Table, as well as in Full Screen view. When you’ve finished rating photos, Aperture allows you to sort photos according to their ratings.
Rating Individual Photos You can quickly rate a selected photo using the rating buttons in the Info inspector or in the control bar. To rate an individual photo using the rating buttons in the Info inspector 1 Select a photo. 2 In the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, click a rating button. Click a rating button to assign and change photo ratings. Note: As long as the photo is selected, you can change its rating.
Rating Multiple Photos For quick and efficient rating, you use the arrow keys to select photos and then use the appropriate keyboard shortcuts to apply ratings. For more information about keyboard shortcuts used to apply ratings to photos, choose Help > Keyboard Shortcuts. You can apply a rating to several photos at once. If the photos are already assigned various ratings, you can increase and decrease their ratings by equivalent amounts, such as one star.
To sort photos by rating using the Filter HUD 1 Show the Filter HUD by doing one of the following: •• Choose Edit > Find (or press Command-F). •• In the Browser, click the Filter HUD button next to the search field. Filter HUD button in the Browser 2 Select the Rating checkbox. Make sure this checkbox is selected, then choose an option from the pop-up menu. Set the slider to a rating. 3 Choose an option from the Rating pop-up menu. •• To show photos with a specific rating only: Choose “is.
Including Photo Rating in Your Workflow You can use photo rating as part of your workflow to help reduce a large group of photos to a smaller group of preferred photos. Sometimes you can accomplish the selection process in one pass, especially if the group of photos is small. If the group is large, additional rating and culling passes may be necessary. Rating photos with multiple passes can allow you to take a measured approach to the photo editing process.
10 In the next pass, assign a rating of five stars, or Select, to your best photos. 11 Specify a rating that is equal to five stars in the Filter HUD. Only the photos rated Select remain visible in the Browser. Now you can focus on those photos that deserve your attention. You can also set up a series of Smart Albums in a project, where each Smart Album represents a rating from Reject to Select. As you rate your photos in the project, the Smart Albums gather the photos with matching ratings.
The compare photo appears in the Viewer and the Browser with a green border. The next selected photo appears with a white border immediately to the right of the compare photo. If you want to view another photo against the compare photo, simply select it. The alternate photo you selected appears to the right of the compare photo in the Viewer. The compare photo has a green border. The alternate photo has a white border.
6 Navigate to the next alternate by pressing the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key or by clicking the Move Selection Left or Move Selection Right button in the control bar. The new alternate appears in the Browser with a white border. If you discover that the new selection is a better choice or has the best rating, you can make it the compare photo by pressing Return or choosing Edit > Set Compare Item. You can then review and compare your alternates against this photo to confirm it as the best photo.
Applying Keywords to Photos 9 An Overview of Keywords Keywords are descriptive words assigned to photo versions and saved as metadata. For example, a family portrait may include such keywords as Portrait, Family, Father, Mother, Daughter, Husband, Wife, Park, Client, Select, Purchased, and more. Adding keywords to your photos helps you organize your photos and quickly locate specific photos.
If you sell your photos to image libraries, you can export the keywords assigned to your photos as IPTC data. During export, Aperture embeds your keywords individually in the image file as IPTC-compliant keyword fields. The more keywords you apply to your photos, the more likely it is that your photos will be located by potential customers. For more information, see An Overview of Exporting Photos on page 436.
•• Using the Info inspector Metadata View pop-up menu Add keywords here. Displaying Keywords in the Viewer and Browser You can turn on the display of photo keywords in the Viewer and Browser using metadata overlay views. Your keywords are displayed in overlays that appear across the bottom of the photo or below the photo. However, you must choose a metadata view that includes keywords, such as General or Caption & Keywords.
Viewing a Photo’s Keywords Using the Info Inspector The Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD provide views of the metadata associated with a selected photo. When you show the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD and then select a photo, you can see the keywords assigned to your photo, including IPTC keywords.
To view a photo’s keywords using the Info pane of the Inspector HUD 1 Show the Info pane of the Inspector HUD by choosing Window > Show Inspector HUD (or pressing H), then click the Info button. 2 Choose a metadata view that includes keywords, such as General or Caption & Keywords, from the Metadata View pop-up menu. Choose a metadata view from the Metadata View pop-up menu. Keywords field 3 Select a photo to see its keywords.
Applying Keywords Using the Keywords HUD An Overview of the Keywords HUD The Keywords HUD provides an efficient way to apply keywords to photos. The Keywords HUD contains a library of predefined keywords that you can browse and search. You can also add your own keywords or remove keywords. The Keywords HUD is automatically updated with any keywords you add. For example, when you enter a new keyword in the Info inspector, that keyword also appears in the Keywords HUD.
Note: Depending on the metadata options you have set, the Keywords column may not appear. For more information, see Viewing Keywords in the Browser in List View on page 156. •• If Aperture is set to Full Screen view: Drag a keyword or keyword group from the Keywords HUD to a photo or selected photos displayed onscreen or in the filmstrip. The keyword is applied to the photo or selection of photos to which you dragged it.
Browsing and Searching for Keywords You can browse and search for specific keywords in the Keywords HUD. To locate a keyword using the Keywords HUD 1 To show the Keywords HUD, do one of the following: •• Choose Window > Show Keywords HUD (or press Shift-H). •• Click the Keywords button in the toolbar. The Keywords HUD appears. 2 Do one of the following: •• To browse for a keyword: Scroll up and down to review the keywords, and click the disclosure triangles to reveal the keywords in each keyword group.
A new, untitled keyword appears in the keyword list. A new, untitled keyword appears in the keyword list. Click the Add Keyword button to add a new keyword. 3 Type a name for the new keyword, then press Return. The new keyword is added to the keyword library. The new keyword is added to the keyword library and is sorted alphabetically. To add keywords to a keyword group 1 In the Keywords HUD, select the keyword group to which you want to add a keyword.
To create a new keyword group with keywords in it 1 In the Keywords HUD, click the Add Keyword button, then type a name for the new keyword group. 2 With the new keyword group name selected, click the Add Subordinate Keyword button, type a keyword, then press Return. The keyword you just added becomes the first keyword in the new group. 3 To add another keyword to the new group, click the Add Subordinate Keyword button, type a keyword, then press Return.
Modifying Existing Keywords in the Keywords HUD When entering a large group of keywords in the Keywords HUD, it’s not uncommon to make spelling mistakes. It’s easy to modify existing keywords to fix the mistakes. To modify an existing keyword in the Keywords HUD 1 In the Keywords HUD, double-click the keyword you want to change. The selected keyword is highlighted, and you can edit it. 2 Enter the correction, then press Return.
•• Add Keyword field: Type a new keyword in this field and press Return to add it to a selected photo. If the keyword has been used before, Aperture automatically completes the word as you type it. If the Keywords HUD is locked, you are asked whether you want to unlock the Keywords HUD and add the keyword to the keyword library, or not add the keyword to the photo. To remove a keyword you’ve just applied, type the keyword again and press ShiftReturn.
•• Press Option and a number key from 1 to 8 to assign one of the first eight keywords. •• Click a keyword button in the control bar. To remove a preset keyword from a photo 1 Select the photo with the preset keyword you want to remove. 2 In the control bar, select a keyword preset group from the Keyword Preset Group pop-up menu. 3 Do one of the following: •• Choose Metadata > Remove Keyword, then choose the keyword you want to remove from the submenu.
Creating a Keyword Preset Group You can create new keyword preset groups when you need them. To create a keyword preset group and assign keywords to it 1 In the control bar, choose Edit Buttons from the Keyword Preset Group pop-up menu. Choose Edit Buttons to add a new keyword preset group. The Edit Button Sets dialog appears. The Name column on the left lists the keyword preset groups that already exist.
2 To create a new keyword preset group, click the Add (+) button. An untitled keyword preset group appears in the Name column. Click the Add button to add a keyword preset group. A new, untitled preset group appears in this list. 3 Type a name for the new keyword preset group, then press Return. 4 Drag keywords from the Keywords Library column to the Contents column. Add Keyword button If you wish, you can select multiple keywords and drag them to the Contents column at the same time.
Applying Keywords Using the Lift & Stamp HUD You can use the Lift and Stamp tools to quickly apply all or some of the keywords from one photo to other photos. Using the Lift and Stamp tools is an efficient way to apply keywords and other types of metadata, such as ratings, to large numbers of photos. The Lift and Stamp tools can also apply adjustments made to photos, such as cropping, straightening, exposure changes, and other adjustments.
4 To apply the keywords from the Lift & Stamp HUD, do one of the following: •• Use the Stamp tool to select the photos to which you want to assign the keywords. •• Use the Selection tool to select a group of photos in the Browser, then click the Stamp Selected Images button in the Lift & Stamp HUD. The keywords from the first photo are applied to all of the photos you stamped them on.
You can also lift RAW Fine Tuning parameter values from one RAW image and stamp them onto another. RAW Fine Tuning adjustments are included in lift and stamp operations by default. If you don’t want to lift and stamp RAW Fine Tuning adjustments, you must deselect them in the Lift & Stamp HUD. For more information about lifting and stamping adjustments, see Applying Adjustments to a Group of Images on page 272.
All keywords assigned to the photo appear in the Keywords field. Metadata View pop-up menu 4 To add a keyword, type a keyword in the Keywords field. Note: All keywords must be separated by commas (,). Applying Keywords to Photos in the Light Table You can use the Light Table to arrange your photo selection in a freeform manner. After arranging your photos into groups, you can apply keywords to a group of photos at once.
Removing Keywords from a Photo You can remove keywords that you've applied to a photo. To remove all keywords from a photo 1 Select the photo. 2 Choose Metadata > Remove Keyword > Remove All Keywords (or press Shift-Option-9). To remove specific keywords using the Info inspector 1 If the Info inspector isn’t shown, click the Inspector button in the toolbar, then click Info. 2 Choose Caption & Keywords from the Metadata View pop-up menu.
Working with Metadata 10 An Overview of Working with Metadata Information about your photos, including the types of adjustments applied, information recorded by the camera, and descriptive information about the photos, is called metadata. In Aperture, you work with three types of metadata. The first type of metadata is called Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) data.
You can display different combinations of metadata with your photos in the Viewer and the Browser, as well as in Full Screen view. Aperture provides metadata overlay views, which represent specific combinations of information that you can display as overlays on or just below each photo. For example, you can choose a basic view that shows a photo’s version name and caption.
When you position the pointer over a photo, Aperture can display information about it in a text box called a metadata tooltip. You can turn the display of metadata tooltips on or off using the Metadata Overlays pop-up menu in the tool strip. You can choose a metadata view to specify the combination of metadata that appears in metadata tooltips using the Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog.
Showing the Info Inspector You can view the metadata for a selected photo in the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD. To show the Info inspector Do one of the following: mm Choose Window > Show Inspector (or press I), then click the Info tab. mm Click the Inspector button in the toolbar, then click the Info tab. Choose a metadata view from the Metadata View pop-up menu.
To show the Info pane of the Inspector HUD mm Choose Window > Show Inspector HUD (or press H), then click Info. Choose a metadata view from the Metadata View pop-up menu. Apply and edit metadata presets, manage custom fields, and attach audio files to images using the Metadata Action pop-up menu.
You use the Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog to specify the metadata fields to display in the basic and expanded metadata overlay views for both the Viewer and Browser, as well as the metadata that appears in metadata tooltips. You can choose to display a wide variety of EXIF and IPTC metadata fields. In addition, you can add Aperture-specific metadata fields, such as rating and version name, as well as photo usage information, such as whether a photo has been emailed or ordered via Apple’s print service.
Turning the Display of Metadata On or Off You can turn the display of metadata on and off and switch between metadata overlay views in the Viewer and Browser independently using menu commands or the Metadata Overlays pop-up menu in the tool strip. Metadata Overlays pop-up menu To hide or show metadata in the Viewer Do one of the following: mm Choose View > Metadata Display, then choose Show Metadata from the Viewer section of the submenu (or press Y).
Note: Switching to the expanded view increases the number of columns displayed in list view. To switch to the basic metadata overlay view in the Browser in filmstrip view, grid view, and list view Do one of the following: mm Choose View > Metadata Display, then choose Switch to Basic View from the Browser section of the submenu (or press Shift-U). mm In the tool strip, choose Switch to Basic View from the Browser section of the Metadata Overlays pop-up menu.
To set the metadata fields that are displayed in a specific metadata overlay view 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose View > Metadata Display > Customize (or press Command-J). •• In the tool strip, choose Edit from the Metadata Overlays pop-up menu. The Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog appears. 2 Choose the metadata overlay view you want to modify from the View pop-up menu.
To set the display of metadata in metadata tooltips 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose View > Metadata Display > Customize (or press Command-J). •• In the tool strip, choose Edit from the Metadata Overlays pop-up menu. The Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog appears. 2 Choose Metadata Tooltips from the View pop-up menu. Choose Metadata Tooltips from the View pop-up menu.
To set the position of metadata overlays You can use the Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog to specify whether metadata overlays displayed with photos in the Viewer or in the Browser in grid view or list view appear over the lower portion of the photo or directly beneath it. mm To display the metadata overlay over the lower portion of the photo: In the area below the Display Order column of the Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog, deselect the “Show metadata below image” checkbox.
Viewing and Changing Metadata in the Info Inspector and Inspector HUD You can view or change the metadata for a selected photo in the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD. The selected photo’s metadata appears in text fields. You can change the metadata fields shown in the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD by choosing a different metadata view from the Metadata View pop-up menu.
The top portion of the Info inspector and the Info pane of the Inspector HUD displays basic camera information about a photo, if it’s available. This area is called the Camera Info pane. If a video clip is selected, the Camera Info pane displays the length of the video clip, frame size, and number of frames per second. If an audio clip is selected, the Camera Info pane displays the length of the audio clip, the bit rate, and the type of audio file.
3 To change the metadata in a text field that can be edited, click in the text field to make it active, then enter the text you want. To change the metadata for a photo 1 Select a photo. 2 In the Metadata View pop-up menu, choose a metadata view that contains the metadata fields you want to change. 3 Click in a text field to make it active, then enter the text you want. Note: Not all metadata fields can be edited. Most EXIF metadata fields cannot be changed.
To view the sharing status of a photo If you’ve shared photos with your Flickr and Facebook accounts, you can view the status of a photo using the Info inspector. If you downloaded the photo from one of your Flickr or Facebook accounts, the Info inspector displays which account the photo was downloaded from. If you published the photo from Aperture to one of your accounts online, the Info inspector displays the specific Facebook album or Flickr set the photo was published to and when it was published.
Working with the AutoFill Editor As you enter metadata in the Info inspector’s fields, Aperture checks for previous entries, and if it locates a match, it completes the entry for you. For example, if you used the keyword Landscape previously, and you type the first few letters of Landscape again, Aperture automatically enters Landscape in the field. You can set up and change the list of metadata that Aperture automatically enters using the AutoFill Editor. You can enter up to 20 entries for a field type.
The following table lists the metadata views that you can choose and the information that each view displays.
Creating New Metadata Views You can create new metadata views that display different combinations of metadata. To create a new metadata view 1 Do one of the following: •• To show the Info inspector: Click the Inspector button in the toolbar (or press I), then click the Info tab. •• To show the Info pane of the Inspector HUD: Choose Window > Show Inspector HUD (or press H), then click Info. 2 Choose Edit from the Metadata View pop-up menu. The Metadata Views dialog appears.
Modifying Existing Metadata Views You can change the combination of metadata that appears in a metadata view. You can add or remove metadata fields, create new ones, and rearrange the order in which the metadata fields are displayed. Note: You cannot modify the IPTC Core, Large Caption, and Custom Fields metadata views. To change the metadata fields that appear in an existing metadata view 1 Choose Edit from the Metadata View pop-up menu in the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD.
The duplicated metadata view appears in the Metadata Views column immediately below the original metadata view. To delete a metadata view 1 Choose Edit from the Metadata View pop-up menu in the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD. The Metadata Views dialog appears. 2 Select the metadata view you want to delete in the Metadata Views column, then choose Delete View from the Metadata Views Action pop-up menu.
3 In the Metadata dialog, enter a name for the new metadata preset, then click OK. Enter a name for the new metadata preset. The new metadata preset now appears in the Append with Preset and Replace with Preset submenus of the Metadata Action pop-up menu. To modify an existing metadata preset 1 In the Info inspector or the Info pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Manage Presets from the Metadata Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). 2 In the Metadata dialog, select the preset you want to modify.
•• To remove all previously applied metadata to the photos and replace it with a metadata preset: Choose Replace with Preset from the Metadata Action pop-up menu, then choose the preset you want to use. The photo selection is updated with metadata from the metadata preset. Managing Metadata Presets You can make changes to the list of metadata presets that appears in pop-up menus.
Batch Changing Metadata You can select a group of photos and make metadata changes to all the photos at once. For example, if you need to add the same set of keywords to a selection of photos, or change the version name format, you can select the photos and use the Batch Change dialog to change them. To change the metadata associated with a selection of photos 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Metadata > Batch Change (or press Command-Shift-B).
About IPTC Metadata In Aperture, you can import and export IPTC metadata for a photo in an XMP sidecar file. XMP sidecar files are XML files that accompany each photo containing IPTC and other metadata associated with the photo. Any field containing information in the IPTC Core metadata view for a selected photo version can be exported to the XMP sidecar file for that version. The IPTC Core metadata view is compliant with the IPTC Core specification version 1.0.
IPTC field and character limit Description and example Headline (256 characters) The headline published with the photo Example: Mayor Alvarado Opens New Soccer Season in San Jose Source (32 characters) The source that provided the photo Example: Mercury News Understanding Badge Overlays Working with Badge Overlays When you apply adjustments, keywords, or other changes to a photo, Aperture marks the photo with a badge overlay.
Badge Definition The photo is an album’s pick photo, the identifying photo for that album, webpage album, web journal album, Light Table album, slideshow album, or book album. Because of low image resolution, the photo’s print quality may be affected. This badge appears on photos placed in book pages and webpages. The number indicates the number of times the photo has been used in a given book, web journal, or Light Table arrangement. The photo is a referenced image.
To display badge overlays on photos in the Browser in grid view 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose View > Metadata Display > Customize (or press Command-J). •• In the tool strip, choose Edit from the Metadata Overlays pop-up menu. The Browser & Viewer Metadata dialog appears. 2 Choose a Browser Grid View metadata overlay view from the View pop-up menu. 3 In the Metadata Fields column, click the Aperture disclosure triangle to reveal the metadata fields below it, then select the Badges checkbox.
Organizing Photos with Faces 11 An Overview of Faces As image libraries grow, it can be difficult to locate every photo with a specific person in it. Rather than painstakingly comb through your entire image library, adding keywords to each photo in order to identify all the people in it, you can use the Aperture face detection and face recognition technology, called Faces, to help automate this process. When you upgraded to Aperture 3, Aperture identified all the photos in your library containing faces.
Now that you’ve identified a person in one of your photos, Aperture presents any photo in your entire image library or within the item selected in the Library inspector that might contain the person you named. You view matching photos by selecting Faces in the Library inspector or by clicking the Faces button in the toolbar. The Aperture main window switches to Faces view, with the snapshot of the person you named appearing at the top.
You can click a suggested photo to accept it or reject it as a match. When you have named all the people in your photos, you can create Smart Albums based on specific people. Whenever you confirm a face that matches the person the Smart Album was created for, the photo is automatically added to the Smart Album. You can also assign Facebook IDs and have Aperture automatically publish the identified photos to your Facebook account.
To assign names to faces in your photos 1 In the Browser, select a photo with people in it. 2 Click the Name button in the toolbar. Face labels appear below the faces of the people in the photo in the Viewer. 3 Click the face label below a person’s face and enter the person’s name in the text field. As you enter the person’s name, names that have already been assigned to faces, as well as names in your Contacts, are suggested in the face label.
To rename a person in a photo 1 Select a photo containing the face of a person you want to rename. 2 Click the Name button in the toolbar. 3 Select the face label for the person whose name you want to change, and enter a new name in the text field. To delete a face label 1 Select a photo containing a face label you want to remove. 2 Click the Name button in the toolbar. 3 Position the pointer over the person’s face, then click the Remove button at the top-left corner of the positioning box.
1 Skim over the snapshot with the pointer. 2 When you find your favorite photo of that person, do one of the following: •• Press the Space bar. •• Control-click the photo, then choose Make Key Photo from the shortcut menu. To view all the photos of a specific person Do one of the following: mm In Faces view, double-click the person’s snapshot. mm Click the Name button in the toolbar, then click the Show Faces View button in the face label below the person’s face in the Viewer.
3 To reject a photo as a match, do one of the following: •• Click the photo, then click it again to reject it. •• Option-click the photo. “Not [name of face]” appears below the photo. 4 When you have finished confirming photos, click Done. Confirmed photos move to the top of the Faces browser. Note: As you confirm or reject the face of the person appearing in each photo, you can have Aperture suggest additional photos by pressing the Option key and clicking the Update button.
Searching for Photos by Face As you name the people that appear in the photos in the library, the number of named faces quickly grows. Locating photos of a particular person is a simple process. To search for photos by face 1 In the Library inspector, select Faces. 2 In Faces view, enter the name of the person you are looking for in the search field. Faces view search field Aperture displays the snapshot of the person whose name you entered in the search field, removing all others from view.
Creating Smart Albums with Photos of People You can create a Smart Album and specify a person or a group of people as search criteria. For example, you can create a Smart Album that is set to collect photos of your family members. First you create the Smart Album, and then you use the Smart Album’s Smart Settings HUD to specify that it collect photos of each individual in your family. To configure a Smart Album to collect photos of particular people 1 In the Library inspector, select Projects.
Locating and Organizing Photos with Places 12 An Overview of Places In Aperture, you can organize and explore your photos by location using the Places feature. If you have a GPS-enabled camera or iOS device, Aperture categorizes your photos by location and converts the GPS location tags to place names such as Vancouver, Canada. Aperture can also convert photo location information from GPS trackers (including those generated by iPhone apps) and from iPhoto photos.
If you don’t have a GPS-enabled camera or iOS device, you can still make the most of Places.
•• Entering the name of a place or an address in the Location field in the Map pane of the Info inspector Show/Hide Map button Aperture saves every location that has been assigned to a photo. When you want to quickly find photos you shot in New York City or the Grand Canyon, just choose the location from the My Places list in the search field pop-up menu in Places view. Important: To use Places, you must be connected to the Internet.
Viewing Photo Locations If you shot your photos with a GPS-enabled camera or iOS device, Aperture automatically plots the location of each photo on the map in Places view. There are many ways to view a photo’s location and the photos associated with a location using Places view. To view the location information for a photo or group of photos 1 Do one of the following: •• To view the photo locations for photos throughout the library: In the Library inspector, select Places.
To view the photos associated with a location 1 Do one of the following: •• In the Library inspector, select Places. •• Select an item in the Library inspector containing photos that already have location information assigned to them, then click the Places button in the toolbar. The Aperture main window switches to Places view. Red location pins mark the locations where photos or groups of photos were shot. 2 Select a red pin.
Do one of the following: mm In Places view, click the location arrow on the location label. Click the location arrow to view the precise locations of photos represented by this pin. Places view zooms in to the location of the photo group, marking the location of each photo with a pin. Some photos may remain grouped together in a single location pin if shot in close proximity. Click the location arrow on the location label to zoom in further.
The map zooms in to the area indicated by the selection rectangle. Command-drag a rectangle over the map to zoom in to that area. To reposition the map in Places view As you zoom in to the map, you may need to reposition it. Do one of the following: mm Move the map by dragging it. mm Drag the box in the Overview Map pane, which appears in the bottom-right corner of Places view. Drag the red box to reposition the map. To open and close the Overview Map pane mm Click the Overview Map Pane button.
To view all photos in the Aperture library that have location assignments 1 In the Library inspector, select Places. Places view appears, with red pins representing photos that have location assignments. 2 Zoom in to a specific location by doing one of the following: •• Choose a location from one of the Places Path Navigator pop-up menus at the top of Places view. Aperture repositions the map to display the selected location.
•• Position the pointer over a pin that represents the location of a group of photos, then use the scroll gesture to zoom in to the map. Scroll gesture zoom box As you zoom in to the map, photo locations grouped together in a single pin begin to be marked by their own pins. As you zoom out of the map, photo locations marked by individual pins are consolidated into fewer pins as they get closer together.
Adding Locations to Photos You don’t need a GPS-enabled camera or iOS device to use Places. Adding location information in Places view is as simple as dragging photos from the Browser to the area on the Places view map where they were shot. Another option is to enter a specific location in the search field in Places view, select a location from the Google Results list that appears below the search field, and then click the Assign Location button.
5 Click Done. The purple pin turns red, indicating that the location you specified has been assigned to the selected photos, and a location badge (a red pin) appears over the thumbnail images in the Browser. Location badge To search for a location and assign it to a photo selection 1 Select an item in the Library inspector containing photos to which you want to assign location information. 2 If the main window is not in Places view, click the Places button in the toolbar.
8 Drag the resize handles on the right side of the purple circle to change the area assigned to the location. Resize handles Purple circle indicating the area assigned to the location 9 When you are satisfied with the area assigned to the location, click the Assign button. A red pin appears on the map in Places view, with a location label indicating the name of the location and the number of photos it’s assigned to. A purple circle indicates the area the location covers.
Changing Photo Locations If you’ve assigned incorrect locations to photos, it’s easy to change their location information. There are three methods for reassigning photo locations: •• To change the location assignment for all photos associated with a location: You can move the location pin in Places view. •• To change the location assignment for a subset of photos associated with a location: You can reassign the location for the photo subset using the Assign Location dialog.
Searching for Locations As you assign locations to the photos in the Aperture library, the list of locations quickly grows. Although you may have shot photos all over the world, you can quickly find the locations where photos were shot using the search field in Places view. To quickly find locations 1 In the Library inspector, select Places. The Aperture main window switches to Places view. 2 Enter the location you want to find in the Places view search field.
Removing Locations If you have assigned a location to a photo or group of photos by mistake, you can remove it. To remove location information from a photo or group of photos 1 Do one of the following: •• To remove a location assignment from all photos associated with a location: In Places view, select the location pin. •• To remove a location assignment from a subset of photos associated with a location: In the Browser, select the photos whose location information you want to remove.
3 Do one of the following: •• To assign photo location information to other photos in the project based on time in the GPS track file: Click Assign Locations. •• If you don’t want to assign photo location information to other photos in the project: Click Done. To assign location information from a GPS waypoint to a photo selection 1 In the Browser, select the photo or photos to which you want to assign location information.
3 In the Info HUD, click Assign Location. Assign Location button 4 In the dialog that appears, enter a specific address or the name of a place, a city or town, or a significant geographical location such as a national park in the search field. Google searches for the location you entered in the search field and displays a list of search results. Place names that match the text you entered are displayed at the top of the search results list, and Google search matches are displayed under Google Results.
Working with Location Information Using the Info Inspector In addition to working with location information in Places view and Projects view, you can also work with location information in the Map pane of the Info inspector. The Map pane of the Info inspector provides a convenient means of modifying a photo’s location information without having to switch to Places view.
The controls for zooming in to and out of the map are similar to the zoom controls in Places view. Zoom button Double-click the location pin to zoom in to the map. To zoom in to and out of the map in the Map pane of the Info inspector Do one of the following: mm In the Map pane of the Info inspector, use the Zoom buttons to zoom in to or out of the location where the photo was captured. mm Use the scroll gesture to zoom in and out. mm In the Map pane of the Info inspector, double-click the location pin.
3 Enter the name of the location you want to assign to the photo in the Location field, then select the location in the search results list that appears. The map view changes to show the new location, with a purple location pin and a location label at its center. 4 Click the Assign Location button in the location label. Assign Location button Cancel button The location information is assigned to the photo.
4 Enter the name of a new location to assign to the photo in the Location field, then select the location in the search results list that appears. The map view changes to show the new location. 5 Do one of the following: •• To assign the location to the photo: Click the Assign Location button in the location label. •• To cancel the location change: Click the Cancel button in the location label.
Searching for and Displaying Photos 13 An Overview of Searching Aperture allows you to easily search for and gather photos in a variety of locations. In Aperture, you can search for photos in multiple ways. You can use the search field and pop-up menu in the Browser to quickly locate photos by name or display photos by rating, flag status, and color label.
To show photos based on a text string or numerical value, such as a keyword or pixel size mm In the Browser, enter the search string in the search field, then press Return. To show only photos that have been assigned a specific rating or better Do one of the following: mm In the Browser, choose Unrated or Better from the search field pop-up menu to show photos that are unrated or better, or press Control–Grave Accent (`). Note: This is the default view.
mm In the Browser, choose Gray from the search field pop-up menu to show only photos that have the gray color label assigned to them (or press Command-Control-7). To reset the search field pop-up menu back to the default setting of Unrated or Better mm Click the Reset button on the right side of the search field. Reset button About the Filter HUD The Filter HUD is an easy-to-use window with options for specifying search criteria.
The most common reason to perform a search is to display a selection of photos within a project. By selecting a project and using the Filter HUD, you can quickly display specific photos, hiding the rest from view. For example, you might isolate and display only those photos of a certain subject, pose, rating, or location. Your search doesn’t change the contents of the project; it only temporarily changes the photos you view in the Browser.
The search criteria that you use can be simple or complex. The following illustration shows some of the search criteria you can specify using the Filter HUD. Specify your search criteria. Select the checkboxes for the items you want to search by. To search using a particular type of search criteria, you select the checkbox to turn on the search option and then specify the criteria that Aperture should look for.
The following search options are available in the Filter HUD and Smart Settings HUD. Rule Function Adjustments Search for photos based on the type of adjustment that has been applied to them in Aperture, as well as which RAW decoding version was used to render the image. Aperture Metadata Search for photos with Aperture-specific metadata applied to them, such as version name and project name. Attachment Search for photos based on whether they have audio attachments.
To show the Smart Settings HUD mm In the Library inspector, click the Smart Settings HUD button to the right of the Smart Album whose search criteria you want to modify. For more information about working with Smart Albums, see An Overview of Smart Albums on page 255. Searching by Rating You can use the Filter HUD to see all photos with a certain rating. For example, you can search for all the photos in a project that have a rating of five stars.
Searching for Flagged Photos You can use the Filter HUD to locate photos that you have flagged in Aperture. You can also locate photos that have not been flagged. To search for flagged photos 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search. 2 Click the Filter HUD button (with a magnifying glass icon) beside the search field in the Browser (or press Command-F). 3 In the Filter HUD, select the Flagged checkbox. Select the Flagged checkbox.
4 Choose an option from the Color Label pop-up menu: •• To display photos that have the specified color labels assigned to them: Choose “is.” •• To display photos that do not have the specified color labels assigned to them: Choose “is not.” 5 Select the colors you want to search by. You can select more than one color at a time to broaden your search. 6 Choose Any from the Any/All pop-up menu in the top-left corner of the Filter HUD, if it’s not already chosen.
The photos that match the search criteria are displayed in the Browser. To save your search results, see Saving Your Search Results on page 253. To search for photos by multiple text entries 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search. 2 Click the Filter HUD button (with a magnifying glass icon) beside the search field in the Browser (or press Command-F). 3 In the Filter HUD, add as many text fields as you need by choosing Text from the Add Rule pop-up menu multiple times.
Searching by Keyword You can search for and locate photos by any of the keywords that you’ve assigned to them. You can select one or more keywords to search for. You can also specify which keywords a photo must have to qualify as a match. For example, you can choose to search for photos that have both Silhouette and Landscape as keywords, or photos that have either Silhouette or Landscape as keywords. In addition, you can search for photos that do not have specific keywords applied to them.
You can also search for IPTC keywords using the IPTC search options. These options allow you to specify searches for specific IPTC fields in a variety of ways. For example, you can search for any photos that don’t have keywords assigned. For more information, see Searching by IPTC Information on page 249. The photos that match the search criteria are immediately displayed in the Browser. To save your search results, see Saving Your Search Results on page 253.
Searching by Aperture Metadata To search for photos by metadata other than IPTC or EXIF information, you use the Aperture Metadata search options.
Searching by Attachment Using the Filter HUD, you can search for photos that have audio attachments and photos that do not have audio attachments. To search for photos with attachments 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search. 2 Click the Filter HUD button (with a magnifying glass icon) beside the search field in the Browser (or press Command-F). 3 In the Filter HUD, choose Attachment from the Add Rule pop-up menu, then select the Attachment checkbox. Select the Attachment checkbox.
3 In the Filter HUD, choose Calendar from the Add Rule pop-up menu, then select the Calendar checkbox. Select the Calendar checkbox. Select the dates you want to search by. 4 Choose an option from the Calendar pop-up menu: •• To display photos shot on the selected dates: Choose “is.” •• To display photos not shot on the selected dates: Choose “is not empty and is not.” 5 Select the date or dates you want to search by. Use the Calendar navigation buttons to navigate through the monthly calendars.
6 In the text field, enter the date you want the search based upon. Choose how you want to qualify your search from this pop-up menu. Enter a date here. Select the Date checkbox. Choose a date option from the Date pop-up menu. If needed, you can add multiple Date options to specify the capture year, capture month, capture day, and so on. 7 Choose Any from the Any/All pop-up menu in the top-left corner of the Filter HUD, if it’s not already chosen.
6 Enter the EXIF value you want to search by in the EXIF text field. 7 Choose Any from the Any/All pop-up menu in the top-left corner of the Filter HUD, if it’s not already chosen. The photos that match the search criteria are immediately displayed in the Browser. To save your search results, see Saving Your Search Results on page 253. Searching by Face You can search for and locate photos based on the faces that have been assigned names.
Searching by File Status You can search for photos based on whether they are managed images, referenced images, or online or offline images. In addition, you can use the File Status search category to show the photos whose originals Aperture considers missing. For more information about locating and reconnecting missing image files, see Reconnecting Missing or Offline Referenced Images on page 102. To search for photos by file status 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search.
Searching by File Type You use the File Type search options in the Filter HUD to locate images of a specific file type. You can also search for RAW + JPEG image pairs, movie and audio file attachments, and images edited with external applications. To search for files by type 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search. 2 Click the Filter HUD button (with a magnifying glass icon) beside the search field in the Browser (or press Command-F).
Searching by Import Session You can locate photos that were imported at a specific time or on a specific date. Aperture keeps track of your import sessions and can identify photos that were imported at the same time. To search for photos based on their import session, you use the Import Session search options. You can also search for photos that were not imported during a specific import session or range of sessions.
Searching by IPTC Information You can search for and locate photos using any IPTC information that you’ve assigned to your photos. To search for photos by IPTC information, you use the IPTC search options. For example, you can search for any photo that doesn’t have a copyright notice applied to it by specifying a search that uses the Copyright Notice field and an “is empty” search qualifier. To search for photos by IPTC information 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search.
Searching by Photo Usage You use the Photo Usage search options in the Filter HUD to locate photos that have been employed for a specific purpose. You can search for photos that are currently used in a book, photos currently placed in a Light Table arrangement, emailed photos, exported photos, prints or books ordered via the Apple print service, locally printed photos, photos that have been viewed, and photos used in an album, a book album, a Light Table album, or a web gallery album.
Searching by Place If you have photos that were shot with a GPS-enabled digital camera or if you’ve identified where photos were shot using Places, you can search for photos by location using the Place search options in the Filter HUD. To search for photos by location 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search. 2 Click the Filter HUD button (with a magnifying glass icon) beside the search field in the Browser (or press Command-F).
Searching by a Combination of Criteria You can specify complex combinations of search criteria in the Filter HUD. For example, you can search for photos that have certain keywords and that were taken on a specific date. To create complex searches, you add multiple search options using the Add Rule pop-up menu. To search for photos by a combination of search criteria 1 In the Library inspector, select the item you want to search.
Searching Across the Entire Library At times, you may want to search for photos that reside in many different projects. For example, you might want to locate all your select photos for an entire year or for a particular month. To search for photos across the library, you use Photos view. Photos view displays all the photos in your library regardless of which project, folder, or album they reside in. To search for photos across the entire library 1 In the Library inspector, select Photos.
•• To create a new book album, Light Table album, slideshow album, Flickr album, Facebook album, Smart Web Page Album, webpage album, or web journal album: Choose the appropriate item from the Filter HUD Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon), enter a name for the album, then press Return. Filter HUD Action pop-up menu All photos that match the search criteria are placed in the new album you created.
Grouping Photos with Smart Albums 14 An Overview of Smart Albums When you need to group certain types of photos, either temporarily or permanently, you can use a Smart Album to gather the photos. Aperture comes with a number of preset Smart Albums. You can also create your own Smart Album and specify search criteria that identify the photos you want to be included; Aperture automatically searches for and displays the photos in the new album.
For example, you might create Smart Albums that: •• Collect photos of certain poses or subjects, such as head shots, photos of particular models, or photos of sports scenes •• Collect photos suitable for a specific purpose, such as distribution on the web or submission to stock photography houses •• Gather the best photos of your collection into a portfolio of poster photos that you use to present or introduce your work •• Automatically gather a project’s select photos •• Automatically gather speci
Collecting Photos in a New Smart Album You can collect photos based on any of the information you can search for using the Smart Settings HUD. For example, you can create a Smart Album that gathers photos based on a specific keyword or a combination of keywords, ratings, dates, or other metadata. You can narrow or broaden the Smart Album search criteria in the Smart Settings HUD at any time. To create a Smart Album that searches only within one project 1 Select a project in the Library inspector.
To create a Smart Album that searches across the entire library 1 In the Library inspector, select Projects. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > New > Smart Album (or press Command-Shift-L). •• Choose Smart Album from the New pop-up menu in the toolbar. A new, untitled Smart Album appears in the Albums section of the Library inspector. 3 Rename the Smart Album by entering a new name. 4 In the Smart Settings HUD, specify search criteria.
Searching Within a Smart Album After creating a Smart Album, you can search for specific photos within the contents of the Smart Album. To search within the contents of a Smart Album 1 In the Library inspector, select the Smart Album whose contents you want to search, then click the Filter HUD button in the Browser. Select the Smart Album you want to search within. Show the Browser’s Filter HUD and specify search criteria.
Transferring Smart Album Photos to Another Project or Album You can transfer photos from a Smart Album to another project or album, such as a slideshow album or a book album. You transfer photos by selecting the photos in the Smart Album and dragging or copying them into another project or album. You can also select the photos in the Smart Album and have Aperture create a new album to hold them. To transfer photos from a Smart Album to another project or album 1 Create a new project or album, if necessary.
Working with Library Albums If you created a library in a previous version of Aperture, a selection of Smart Albums was set up in the Library inspector for you automatically. When you click the disclosure triangle beside Library Albums in the Library inspector, you see the following Smart Albums: •• Five Stars: Select this Smart Album to see all photos in the library that are rated five stars. •• One Star or Better: Select this Smart Album to see all photos that are rated one star or better.
15 An Overview of Image Adjustments Adjustments in Aperture Adjustment controls are found in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. The controls are the same in each. The Adjustments inspector is a tab in the Inspector pane on the left side of the Aperture main window. The Inspector HUD is a floating version of the inspectors that can be placed anywhere onscreen, allowing you the most flexibility in how you use your screen workspace.
Adjustment Function Noise Reduction Reduces digital noise in an image. White Balance Sets an image’s white balance by evaluating the image for natural gray or skin tone in identified faces, as well as by adjusting the color temperature and tint. Exposure Adjusts exposure, recovery, black point, and brightness. Enhance Adjusts contrast, definition, saturation, and vibrancy, as well as black, gray, and white tints.
Quick Brush Adjustments You can make the following adjustments to images in Aperture using Quick Brushes. For more information, see An Overview of Brushed Adjustments on page 392. Quick Brush Function Skin Smoothing Smoothes people’s skin by subtly blurring wrinkles and skin pores in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Dodge (Lighten) Dodges (lightens) the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Burn (Darken) Burns (darkens) the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on.
Using the Adjustment Controls Using the Adjustments inspector and Inspector HUD You can use menu commands, keyboard shortcuts, or the Inspector button on the left side of the toolbar to show and hide the Inspector pane containing the adjustment controls. The adjustment controls in the Adjustments inspector are also found in the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. You can use menu commands and buttons in the Full Screen view toolbar to show or hide the Inspector HUD.
To show the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD Do one of the following: mm Choose Window > Show Inspector HUD (or press H), then click the Adjustments button. mm Click the Inspector HUD button in the Full Screen view toolbar, then click the Adjustments button. For more information about Full Screen view, see Performing Adjustments in Full Screen View on page 271.
mm Choose a view option from the Histogram Options section of the Adjustment Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). Note: The histogram updates in real time for images displayed in the Viewer and in Full Screen view, but it is slightly delayed in the Book Layout Editor, the Webpage Editor, and the Light Table. For more information about how to interpret a histogram, see An Overview of Histograms on page 295.
To add Quick Brushes mm Choose a Quick Brush adjustment from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu at the top of either the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. Quick Brush adjustments The adjustment controls for the Quick Brush appear in both the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, if both are shown. Also, a HUD containing the Quick Brush controls appears, and the pointer changes to a brush.
To change values in small increments mm Option-drag in the value field. To change values in large increments mm Shift-drag in the value field. Working with Adjustment Tools in the Tool Strip When the Viewer is shown, the tool strip contains tools for working with your images in the Viewer and Browser. Many of the adjustment tools also work in conjunction with adjustment controls.
When you choose to brush an adjustment, its Brush HUD appears. You specify settings using the controls in the HUD and then brush the adjustment on the image. When you choose a Quick Brush adjustment, its adjustment controls appear highlighted in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, if both are shown. As with the standard adjustment controls, you use the checkbox to turn Quick Brush adjustments on and off.
Accessing Adjustment Controls from Aperture Editors Whenever a photo is selected and displayed in the Viewer or in Full Screen view, you can adjust it using the adjustment controls in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. You can also adjust images in the Book Layout Editor, Webpage Editor, Slideshow Editor, and Light Table.
To access a tool in Full Screen view mm Move your pointer to the top of the screen until the Full Screen view toolbar appears, then select a tool. Toolbar shown at the top of the screen in Full Screen view Always Show Toolbar control To keep the Full Screen view toolbar on the screen By default, the toolbar is not shown in Full Screen view until the pointer is moved to the top of the screen. You can set the toolbar to remain on the screen.
3 Deselect all metadata-related checkboxes to prevent Aperture from copying the metadata from the selected photo. Deselect a checkbox to prevent Aperture from copying the item from the selected photo. 4 If necessary, remove any unwanted adjustments by clicking the Adjustments disclosure triangle in the Lift & Stamp HUD, selecting the unwanted adjustments, and then pressing Delete. Select an adjustment and press Delete to remove it.
The adjustments copied from the first photo are applied to the selected photos. For more information about using the Lift & Stamp HUD, see Applying Keywords Using the Lift & Stamp HUD on page 167. Applying the Same Adjustment to an Image Multiple Times Some images can be difficult to perfect. Images shot in mixed lighting and low-light conditions often require the same adjustment applied multiple times in small increments in order to achieve the appearance you’re looking for.
Important: In previous versions of Aperture, effects (formerly known as adjustment presets) for single adjustments were accessible via the Preset Action pop-up menu for each adjustment. Presets were created and stored in the preset dialog for that adjustment. If you created and saved adjustment presets in a previous version of Aperture, the adjustment presets now appear as effects in the Effects pop-up menu at the top of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.
3 In the Effect Presets dialog, enter a name for the new effect, then click OK. Enter a name for the effect here. The adjustment parameter settings are saved as an effect, and the new effect is now available for use in the Effects pop-up menu in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. Applying Effects Applying an effect to an image is as simple as selecting the photo and choosing the effect from the Effects pop-up menu.
Note: When you place the pointer over an effect in the Effects pop-up menu, a preview of the adjustment applied to the image is shown to the right of the highlighted effect. Place the pointer over an effect to preview its effect on the photo. The effect is applied to the image. If the image already had some adjustments applied to it, the effect is applied in addition to the previous adjustment settings.
2 In the Effect Presets dialog, select the effect you want to modify, then click the Remove (–) button beside the adjustment you want removed from the selected effect. Click the Remove button to remove an adjustment from the selected effect. The adjustment and its parameter values are removed from the effect. 3 Repeat step 2 until all of the adjustments you want removed from the selected effect have been removed, then click OK. Renaming Effects You can rename an effect at any time.
2 In the Effect Presets dialog, double-click the name of the effect you want to change. The effect’s name is highlighted. Double-click an effect’s name to rename it. 3 Enter a new name, then press Return. The effect is renamed. Organizing Effects Each time you create an effect, it is added to the bottom of the list of effects in the Effect Presets dialog and the Effects pop-up menu. As this list grows, it can become difficult to locate a specific effect in a long list of effects.
To rearrange the order of effects 1 In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Edit Effects from the Effects pop-up menu. 2 In the Effect Presets dialog, drag an effect to a new position. A black bar indicates where the effect will be placed. Drag an effect to its new position. A black bar indicates where it will be placed. 3 Repeat step 2 until your effects list is organized, then click OK.
4 Drag effects into the effect group. Drag effects into an effect group. The effects are consolidated into the effect group and can be accessed by clicking the disclosure triangle to the left of the effect group’s name. 5 Click OK. Deleting Effects You can delete an effect at any time. Any adjustments that were previously applied to images using the effect remain applied.
4 In the dialog that appears, enter an effect name in the Save As field, choose a location to export the effect to, then click Save. The effect is exported to the location you selected as [name].AdjustmentPresets. It’s a good idea to export the effect to a location the other Aperture system can access. Effect files are small and can be easily sent to another Aperture system via email. 5 On the second Aperture system, navigate to the location of the effect file and double-click it.
Using Modifier Keys to Identify Color Clipping Identifying Color Channel Clipping When performing adjustments, it’s useful to know if you’re clipping one or more color channels and thereby losing important image details. In Aperture, you can use modifier keys to get instant feedback on channel clipping when using controls in the Exposure and Levels adjustments.
Setting Color Channel Clipping Overlay Colors The color of the color channel clipping overlay indicates which color channel or combination of color channels is clipped. In addition, Aperture gives you the option of choosing color or monochromatic overlays to indicate clipping. To set the color channel clipping overlay color 1 Choose Aperture > Preferences, then click Advanced.
•• White: Indicates no shadow clipping in any color channel. •• Black: Indicates shadow clipping in all three color channels. Black Levels parameter (Levels adjustment) •• Red: Indicates shadow clipping in the red color channel. •• Green: Indicates shadow clipping in the green color channel. •• Blue: Indicates shadow clipping in the blue color channel. •• Yellow: Indicates shadow clipping in the red and green color channels. •• Pink: Indicates shadow clipping in the red and blue color channels.
Black Levels parameter (Levels adjustment) •• White: Indicates no shadow clipping in any color channel. •• 66% gray: Indicates shadow clipping in one color channel. •• 33% gray: Indicates shadow clipping in two color channels. •• Black: Indicates shadow clipping in all three color channels. White Levels parameter (Levels adjustment) •• White: Indicates highlight clipping in all color channels. •• 66% gray: Indicates highlight clipping in two color channels.
To use the Loupe to sample color values in an image 1 Click the Loupe button in the toolbar, or press the Grave Accent (`) key. 2 Choose View > Loupe Options > Show Color Value in Loupe, or press Shift-Option-Tilde (~). 3 Place the target area of the Loupe over the area of the image where you want to sample the color values. The color values appear in the magnified area of the Loupe.
To choose a color value sample size (pixel area) for the Color meter mm In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose an appropriate color value sample size from the Adjustment Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). Choose a color value sample size here. Using an External Editor If you need to perform more advanced image operations, such as compositing, you can set an external editor for use within Aperture.
•• To set an external editor for video files: Click the Choose button to the right of the External Video Editor field, navigate to an application in the Select Video Application dialog, then click Select. The application’s name appears in the External Video Editor field. To use an external editor in Aperture 1 Select an item in the Browser. 2 Choose Photos > Edit with > External Editor (or press Command-Shift-O).
Note: Some controls in the RAW Fine Tuning area of the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD appear dimmed if these settings are not available for use with images derived from a particular RAW file format. Some camera models can create multiple types of RAW file formats, and different controls may be available for each of these RAW file formats. Using these controls, you can fine-tune your RAW decoding settings on an image-by-image basis.
3 Adjust the Hue Boost parameter using the Hue Boost slider and value slider. Use the Hue Boost slider and value slider to protect hue fidelity during the RAW decoding process. A value of 0.00 preserves the original hues in the image in relation to the Boost adjustment (color contrast) during the RAW decoding process. A value greater than 0.00 increases the hue adjustment to the image. A value of 1.00 applies the full Apple-recommended hue adjustment for the specific camera model.
Using the Moire Controls Digital images often have color artifacts that appear around edges and lines because of noise created by digital image sensors. Images whose subjects have linear patterns often introduce a moire pattern that gives the subject a wrinkled or rainbow-colored appearance. In addition, cameras with image sensors employing Bayer patterns often introduce noise into monochromatic images.
3 Adjust the pixel area (visual threshold) the Moire adjustment is applied to using the Radius slider and value slider. Use the Radius slider and value slider to adjust the visual threshold of the Moire adjustment during the RAW decoding process. A value of 0.10 is the most limited area over which the moire correction can be applied during the RAW decoding process. A value greater than 0.10 increases the area over which the moire correction is applied during the RAW decoding process.
Setting the Camera Default When you’ve modified the RAW decoding settings using the controls in the RAW Fine Tuning area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, you can save these settings as the default parameter values for the camera model. All RAW image files from this camera model that are imported into Aperture are decoded using these saved settings. The camera model is displayed in the Camera field.
Working with iPhoto Effects If you prefer working with iPhoto effects, you can apply them to your images directly in Aperture. If you’ve applied an effect in iPhoto, such as a Matte effect or an Antique effect, you can adjust the effect’s parameters in Aperture as well. To apply an iPhoto effect to an image 1 Select an image. 2 Choose iPhoto Effects from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.
A histogram can also be used as a tool to evaluate whether or not there is enough shadow, midtone, and highlight information in the image. Aperture provides three histograms in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. The histogram above the adjustment controls indicates the current state of the image. The Levels histogram included with the Levels adjustment controls provides a way to adjust the brightness values in the image in relation to the displayed histogram.
However, a series of peaks in the brighter side of the histogram often indicates an overexposed image because most of the pixels in the image are too bright. Evaluating Tonality and Contrast Although histogram graphs are good tools for evaluating an image’s exposure, you shouldn’t interpret histograms for exposure information only, because the shape of the histogram is also influenced by the tonality in the scene. You need to take the subject of the image into account when evaluating its histogram.
Histograms can also depict contrast in an image. For example, this silhouette of the man in the hammock in front of the sunset consists of a relatively even assortment of extreme bright and dark tonal values with few midtones. In this case, the histogram is shaped like a valley with peaks in both the dark and bright sides. Likewise, histograms can also depict a lack of contrast in an image. For example, an image of a rainbow in the fog lacks contrast.
Making Image Adjustments 16 Working with the Auto Enhance Button You use the Auto Enhance button when you want to quickly improve your image or preview what the image will look like when adjusted. When you click the Auto Enhance button, Aperture evaluates the image and then applies the White Balance, Enhance, Curves, and Highlights & Shadows adjustment settings in a manner that suits the selected photo.
Working with the Retouch Controls An Overview of the Retouch Adjustment Controls You use the Retouch brushes to touch up imperfections in the image caused by sensor dust, image artifacts, and other environmental conditions. You can also copy an element of an image and paste it in another area for purely aesthetic reasons. Aperture provides two methods for retouching your images.
Repairing Your Images You use the Repair brush of the Retouch adjustment when the area surrounding the blemish has elements of high contrast, such as an edge, or when you need to copy texture from the source area and maintain the color and shading in the destination area. Before Repair adjustment After Repair adjustment To retouch an image using the Repair brush 1 Select a photo.
6 If you need to copy pixels from another area of the image, deselect the “Automatically choose source” checkbox, and Option-click the source area. 7 Brush over the area with the imperfection. Brush over the blemish with the Repair brush. Cloning Your Images You use the Clone brush of the Retouch adjustment to copy pixels from an area of the image with similar visual elements and paste the pixels over the area with the imperfection. No pixels are blended from the area surrounding the brush stroke.
The pointer changes to a brush, and the Retouch HUD appears. 4 In the Retouch HUD, do the following: a Click the Clone button. b Set the radius of the brush by dragging the Radius slider or entering a value in the Radius value slider. c Set the softness of the brush by dragging the Softness slider or entering a value in the Softness value slider. d Set the opacity of the brush by dragging the Opacity slider or entering a value in the Opacity value slider.
Working with the Red Eye Correction Controls An Overview of the Red Eye Adjustment You use the Red Eye tool and the Red Eye Correction adjustment controls to reduce the red-eye effect in the eyes of the subjects in your image. You use the Red Eye tool to place targets on the red eyes of the subjects in the image, and then you can adjust the radius and sensitivity of the target overlays using the Red Eye Correction controls.
The Red Eye target overlay is placed over the red eye, and the red pixels within the Red Eye target overlay are desaturated. 5 Repeat step 4 until all of the red eyes in your image are corrected. Adjusting the Size of Red Eye Target Overlays Aperture fixes red-eye in your images by desaturating the red pixels within the Red Eye target overlay area. It’s a good idea to fit each Red Eye target overlay to the size of the eye it covers.
A hand icon appears to indicate that you can select the Red Eye target overlay. The Red Eye tool changes to a hand icon to indicate that you can select the Red Eye target overlay. 3 In the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, adjust the Radius parameter by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Radius slider.
Adjusting the Sensitivity of Red Eye Target Overlays When you target a red eye in a picture, Aperture automatically chooses the area within the target overlay circle where the desaturation is applied. In a few cases, the area chosen by Aperture might be either slightly too large or slightly too small (typically including a few pixels in the eyelid skin, or missing a few red pixels inside the pupil).
Viewing the Corrected Image Without Red Eye Target Overlays After correcting the red eyes in your image, you can view the corrected image with the Red Eye target overlays turned off. To view the corrected image with the Red Eye target overlays turned off mm Select the Selection tool in the tool strip or the Full Screen view toolbar (or press A). The Red Eye target overlays disappear, but the effect of the Red Eye adjustment remains visible.
Deleting Red Eye Target Overlays You can always delete a Red Eye target overlay. To delete a Red Eye target overlay Do one of the following: mm Select a Red Eye target overlay in the image, then click the Delete button in the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. Click the Delete button to delete a Red Eye target overlay. mm Command-click a Red Eye target overlay. Command-click a Red Eye target overlay to delete it.
Spotting Your Images When the area around the blemish is continuous (such as a solid color) and doesn’t contain a distinct texture, you can use the spotting method to obscure the blemish by integrating the pixels that surround it. You fix a blemish by placing the Spot & Patch target overlay over the blemish in the image and then adjusting the size of the target overlay so that it just barely covers the blemish.
4 Click the blemish area to place the Spot & Patch target overlay on it. The yellow Spot & Patch target overlay is placed over the blemish, and the blemish disappears. Click a blemish to place a Spot & Patch target overlay on it. Note: You can always adjust the size of the target overlay and other parameters. For more information, see Adjusting the Size of Spot & Patch Target Overlays on page 314. 5 Repeat step 4 until all of the blemishes in your image are removed.
3 Choose Spot & Patch from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. The pointer changes to a target, and the Spot & Patch HUD appears. 4 Click the blemish area to place a Spot & Patch target overlay on it. A yellow target overlay is placed over the blemish, and the blemish is replaced by the pixels that surround it. This yellow target overlay is the destination target overlay. Click a blemish to place a Spot & Patch target overlay on it.
6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all blemishes are removed from your image. To adjust the angle of the cloned pixels within a destination target overlay Adjusting the angle of the cloned pixels within the destination target overlay rotates the cloned pixels over the destination area. This is particularly useful if you’re cloning an area that has a visual element, such as a pattern or line, that is at a different angle from elements in the destination area.
Adjusting the Size of Spot & Patch Target Overlays You can change the size of a Spot & Patch target overlay before and after it’s placed on an image. It’s best to adjust the size of the target overlay so it fits the area around the blemish as tightly as possible. A tight fit ensures that any visual aberrations are minimal. To change the size of the Spot & Patch target before placing it on the image Do one of the following: mm Drag the Radius slider in the Spot & Patch HUD.
3 In the Spot & Patch area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, adjust the Radius parameter by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Radius slider. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Radius value slider to change the radius of the Spot & Patch target overlay by single-pixel increments, or drag in the value field. •• Double-click the number in the Radius value slider, then enter a value from 3 to 400 and press Return.
Adjusting the Opacity Within Spot & Patch Target Overlays Another method of modifying Spot & Patch target overlays to make cloned pixels blend in better with surrounding pixels is to adjust the opacity of pixels in the target overlay. The higher the Opacity parameter value, the more the cloned pixels obscure the original pixels they cover. You can adjust the opacity of the cloned pixels.
Adjusting the Detail Within Spot & Patch Target Overlays In addition to adjusting softness and opacity in Spot & Patch target overlays, you can adjust the amount of detail, such as texture or grain, that is preserved in the cloned pixels. You can adjust the amount of detail in the cloned pixels.
Moving Spot & Patch Target Overlays Once placed, a Spot & Patch target overlay can always be moved. To move a Spot & Patch target overlay 1 Make sure the Spot & Patch HUD is shown, then place the Spot & Patch target over the Spot & Patch target overlay you want to move until a hand icon appears. The hand icon indicates that you can drag the target overlay rather than place a new one. A hand icon appears to indicate that you can select the Spot & Patch target overlay.
Working with the Straighten Controls An Overview of the Straighten Adjustment When you shoot photos, environmental conditions often make it difficult to frame an image that is level in relation to the horizon—either real or virtual. In Aperture, you can straighten an image so that the horizon in the image is parallel to the bottom and top edges. Before Straighten adjustment After Straighten adjustment You can use two different methods to straighten your images.
Rotating Images with the Straighten Controls You can also straighten an image using the Straighten adjustment controls. Using these controls provides more precision. To straighten an image using the Straighten controls 1 Select the image. 2 If the Straighten controls are not shown in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Straighten from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu. 3 Change the value for the Angle parameter by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Angle slider.
Working with the Crop Controls An Overview of the Crop Adjustment You use the Crop tool and the Crop adjustment controls when you want to improve the composition of your image by trimming the edges, or when you want to change the aspect ratio of the image. For example, you can change an image’s aspect ratio from 4 x 6 to 3 x 5.
3 With the Crop tool selected, drag a rectangle over the image to exclude the areas that you want to trim. A Crop overlay appears on the image with resize handles, and the trimmed edges are dimmed. Drag across the photo with the Crop tool. A dark overlay is placed over the trimmed areas. 4 Do any of the following: •• To change the size and shape of a Crop overlay: Drag a resize handle on the Crop overlay. Drag a resize handle to resize the Crop overlay.
•• To change the orientation of the crop: Click the Switch Aspect Ratio button. Click the Switch Aspect Ratio button to change the orientation to portrait or landscape. The values in the Width and Height fields are reversed, and the Crop overlay is updated to show the new orientation. (Entering a number in the Width field that is smaller than the number in the Height field sets a portrait orientation. Entering a larger number in the Width field sets a landscape orientation.
Cropping Images with the Crop Controls You use the Crop adjustment controls when an extra level of precision is required. For example, if a client wants an image cropped to a precise dimension that is different from the standard aspect ratios, you use the Crop controls. Aperture uses a simple coordinate system to position the Crop overlay on the image. You simply set x and y coordinates to specify the position of the bottom-left corner of the crop.
Working with the Flip Controls You use the Flip adjustment controls when you want to flip the composition of the image vertically, horizontally, or both. Before Flip adjustment After Flip adjustment To flip the composition of an image 1 Select a photo. 2 If the Flip controls are not shown in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Flip from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu. Choose how you want to flip the photo from the Flip Type pop-up menu.
Working with the Chromatic Aberration Controls When you want to fix chromatic aberration, also known as purple fringing, you use the Chromatic Aberration adjustment controls. For example, if your image has a ghost image in high-contrast boundary areas, you use the Chromatic Aberration adjustment controls to neutralize the color fringing.
4 If your image exhibits blue and yellow fringing, neutralize it by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Blue/Yellow slider to the right to add yellow, neutralizing the blue fringing, or drag the slider to the left to add blue, neutralizing the yellow fringing. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Blue/Yellow value slider, or drag in the value field. •• Double-click the number in the Blue/Yellow value slider, then enter a value from –5.0 to 5.0 and press Return.
3 By default, the Intensity parameter is set to 1.0. Adjust the Intensity parameter by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Intensity slider to the left to decrease the amount of brightness applied to the edges of the image, or drag it to the right to increase the brightness. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Intensity value slider to change the brightness applied to the edges of the image, or drag in the value field.
Working with the Noise Reduction Controls You use the Noise Reduction adjustment controls when you need to reduce digital noise in an image. Digital noise is often caused by shooting at high ISO settings in low-light conditions. When you reduce noise in an image, you often have to sharpen the image to prevent blurry edges or loss of detail. For more information about sharpening an image, see Working with the Edge Sharpen Controls on page 385.
4 Maintain edge detail in areas of high contrast in the image by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Edge Detail slider to the right to increase sharpness in areas of the image with high contrast, or drag the slider back to the left to reduce the sharpening effect. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Edge Detail value slider to adjust edge detail by 5 percent increments, or drag in the value field. The left arrow decreases edge detail sharpening in the image, and the right arrow increases it.
Adjusting White Balance Automatically Correcting white balance in an image is as simple as clicking a button. To automatically adjust an image’s white balance 1 Select a photo. 2 In the White Balance area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, click the Auto button. Click the Auto button to automatically adjust the image’s white balance. Aperture evaluates the image. If faces are detected in the image, the image is adjusted to preserve skin tones.
The pointer changes to the Loupe, showing a magnified view of the target area. By default, the Loupe is set to magnify the image to 100 percent (full size). If necessary, you can increase the magnification of the Loupe by pressing Command–Shift–Plus Sign (+). For more information about the Loupe, see An Overview of the Loupe on page 89.
Adjusting White Balance Manually You can manually adjust an image’s white balance using the Warmth, Temp, and Tint parameter controls. You use the Warmth and Temp parameter controls to adjust the image’s color temperature. Color temperature is a term used to describe the color of light when the image was shot. However, it refers to the color value of the light rather than its heat value. Light’s color temperature is measured in units called kelvin (K).
3 Do one of the following: •• If you chose either Natural Gray or Skin Tone from the White Balance pop-up menu: Use the Warmth parameter controls to warm or cool the the image’s tonality. Use the Warmth slider and value slider to adjust the image’s tonality. •• If you chose Temperature & Tint from the White Balance pop-up menu: Use the Temp parameter controls to adjust the image’s color temperature (in degrees kelvin) and the Tint parameter controls to neutralize unwanted green or magenta tints.
Working with the Exposure Controls An Overview of the Exposure Adjustment You use the Exposure adjustment controls to set the exposure, recovery, black point, and brightness values. Before Exposure adjustment After Exposure adjustment Using the Auto Exposure Button When you want to quickly adjust the exposure of a RAW image, you can use the Auto Exposure button.
To automatically correct the exposure of a RAW image 1 Select a photo. 2 In the Exposure area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, click the Auto Exposure button. Click the Auto Exposure button to automatically set the exposure for the photo. The exposure of the image is automatically corrected. If you need to fine-tune the image’s exposure setting, see Correcting Exposure in the Image on page 336.
Recovering Highlight Details in the Image Many images, especially RAW image files, have additional highlight detail that isn’t displayed by default. Aperture provides the Recovery parameter controls to give you access to that additional headroom. Because digital image sensors differ from camera model to camera model, the highlight headroom varies. In some cases, you can recover significant detail that appears lost or blown out in the most extreme highlight areas of the image.
Setting the Image’s Blacks Shadow detail and the importance of visual elements in shadow vary from image to image. In addition, some cameras are more capable of capturing shadow details than others. In some photos, such as an image of a person’s face in the shadow of an alley, the shadow is the most important visual element in the image. In other images, the details in the shadows have nothing to do with the main subject of the image.
Adjusting Brightness in the Image You can adjust the Brightness parameter when you want to lighten or darken your image. When you adjust brightness, the brightness values of the midtone pixels in the image change the most. You can change the brightness of the image temporarily to see how the adjustment affects details in the shadows, midtones, and highlights. For more precise control over the range of tonality in the image, consider using the Levels adjustment controls.
Working with the Enhance Controls An Overview of the Enhance Adjustment You use the Enhance adjustment controls to set the contrast, definition, saturation, and vibrancy, as well as the black, gray, and white tint values. You can also brush the Enhance adjustment on selected parts of an image. For more information, see An Overview of Brushed Adjustments on page 392.
Note: If you’re trying to retrieve detail in a high-contrast image, you should use the Highlights & Shadows controls. For more information, see Adjusting Highlights, Shadows, and Midtone Contrast on page 364. Adjusting Definition in the Image When you want to add a little clarity and definition to an image without adding too much contrast, you use the Definition parameter controls.
Adjusting Saturation in the Image You can change the value for the Saturation parameter to either give your image an extra burst of color or tone down the color palette by desaturating the image. Before Saturation adjustment After Saturation adjustment Important: Increasing the saturation of an image can make the colors appear more pure, and many people like the effect of an image whose colors are more saturated than they would appear naturally. However, you can easily oversaturate an image.
Adjusting Vibrancy in the Image You use the Vibrancy parameter controls when you want to add a bit of punch to the image without affecting skin tones. The Vibrancy parameter applies saturation to the image in a nonlinear manner. Colors that are already saturated are left alone, while saturation is added to all other colors. In addition, the Vibrancy parameter takes skin tones into account, leaving them untouched. This allows you to take a portrait and desaturate the image except for the skin tones.
Setting the Tint of Black, Gray, and White Values in the Image You use the Black Tint, Gray Tint, and White Tint color wheels when you want to selectively remove color casts from the shadows, midtones, and highlights in the image. Color casts are often caused by shooting in mixed lighting and unnatural lighting situations, where the difference in the color from the mixture of multiple types of source lights can produce a color variance in a specific tonal range in an image.
You use the Gray Tint eyedropper to remove color casts from the midtones in your images. Before Gray Tint adjustment After Gray Tint adjustment You use the White Tint eyedropper to remove color casts from the highlights in your images.
To set the tint of the shadows in an image 1 Select a photo. 2 If necessary, click the Tint disclosure triangle in the Enhance area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD to reveal the Tint color wheels, then select the Black Tint eyedropper. Click the disclosure triangle to reveal the Tint color wheels. Select the Black Tint eyedropper to activate the Loupe. The pointer changes to the Loupe, showing a magnified view of the target area.
To set the tint of the midtone values in an image 1 Select a photo. 2 If necessary, click the Tint disclosure triangle in the Enhance area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD to reveal the Tint color wheels, then select the Gray Tint eyedropper. Click the disclosure triangle to reveal the Tint color wheels. Select the Gray Tint eyedropper to activate the Loupe. The pointer changes to the Loupe, showing a magnified view of the target area.
To set the tint of the highlight values in an image 1 Select a photo. 2 If necessary, click the Tint disclosure triangle in the Enhance area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD to reveal the Tint color wheels, then select the White Tint eyedropper. Click the disclosure triangle to reveal the Tint color wheels. Select the White Tint eyedropper to activate the Loupe. The pointer changes to the Loupe, showing a magnified view of the target area.
Manually Setting the Tint in an Image You can also manually adjust the tint of the shadow, midtone, and highlight values in an image using the Black Tint, Gray Tint, and White Tint color wheels. To manually adjust the tint of the shadow, midtone, and highlight values in an image 1 Select a photo.
Working with the Curves Controls An Overview of the Curves Adjustment You use the Curves adjustment controls when you want to manually set the tonal values of the shadows, midtones, and highlights in an image using a tonal curve. Unlike the Levels adjustment controls, the Curves controls do not reapportion the luminance values in the image by constraining the white and black points. Instead, you use the Curves controls to precisely remap the position of the midtones relative to the white and black points.
•• Channel pop-up menu: Choose a color channel to apply a tonal curve to from this pop-up menu. You can also apply the tonal curve to all color channels combined, as well as show separate color channel overlays when tonal curve adjustments are applied to individual color channels. •• Auto Curves Combined button: Click this button to apply a tonal curve adjustment when you want to correct contrast based on total luminance, without affecting the color cast of the image.
3 In the Curves area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, click the Auto Curves Combined button. Click the Auto Curves Combined button to automatically set the tonal curve for the photo based on all three color channels. The tonal curve of the image is adjusted. To fine-tune the tonal curve adjustment, see Adjusting the Tonal Curve of an Image Using the Curves Controls on page 353.
3 In the Curves area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, click the Auto Curves Separate button. Click the Auto Curves Separate button to automatically set the tonal curve for the photo based on an evaluation of each color channel’s luminance values. The tonal curve of the image is automatically adjusted for each color channel. To fine-tune the tonal curve adjustment, see Adjusting the Tonal Curve of an Image Using the Curves Controls on page 353.
To adjust the tonal curve of an image based on luminance 1 Select a photo. 2 If the Curves controls are not shown in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Curves from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu. Channel pop-up menu Curves Action pop-up menu 3 Do one of the following: •• Choose RGB from the Channel pop-up menu. Choosing the RGB tonal curve allows you to manipulate the tonal curve of the red, green, and blue color channels combined.
6 Drag the Black Point and White Point sliders to where they touch the outside of the histogram graph, constraining the image to its new black and white points. Drag the Black Point and White Point sliders to where they touch the outside of the histogram graph. 7 Set a point along the curve by doing one of the following: •• Click a place on the curve where you want to add a point. Click the Add Point button to use the eyedropper tool to sample a portion of the photo and add a point to the tonal curve.
8 Adjust the shape of the curve by doing one of the following: •• Drag the point on the curve until that tonal area of the image looks correct. For example, dragging a point down in the shadow area of the curve darkens the shadows in the image, and dragging a point up in the shadow area lightens the shadows in the image. •• Click a point on the curve and enter new In point and Out point values in the In and Out fields.
Using Eyedropper Tools to Set Black, Gray, and White Points You use the Black Point, Gray Point, and White Point eyedropper tools in the Curves adjustment controls when you want to have Aperture selectively modify the tonal values of the shadows, midtones, and highlights in an image automatically.
To set the black point in an image 1 Select a photo. 2 If the Curves controls are not shown in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Curves from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu. 3 Select the Black Point eyedropper tool to activate the Loupe. Click the Black Point eyedropper button to activate the Loupe. The pointer changes to an eyedropper, and the Loupe appears, showing a magnified view of the target area.
3 Select the Gray Point eyedropper tool to activate the Loupe. Click the Gray Point eyedropper button to activate the Loupe. The pointer changes to an eyedropper, and the Loupe appears, showing a magnified view of the target area. By default, the Loupe is set to magnify the image to 100 percent (full size). If necessary, you can increase the magnification of the Loupe by choosing a larger magnification value from the Loupe pop-up menu. For more information, see An Overview of the Loupe on page 89.
3 Select the White Point eyedropper tool to activate the Loupe. Click the White Point eyedropper button to activate the Loupe. The pointer changes to an eyedropper, and the Loupe appears, showing a magnified view of the target area. By default, the Loupe is set to magnify the image to 100 percent (full size). If necessary, you can increase the magnification of the Loupe by choosing a larger magnification value from the Loupe pop-up menu. For more information, see An Overview of the Loupe on page 89.
Using the Curves Controls for Color Correction One of the most powerful ways to remove a color cast from an image or accentuate a desirable color cast is to adjust the tonal curves of the red, green, and blue color channels independently. It’s important to understand that you’re adjusting the colors of the image within the RGB spectrum; therefore, you reduce yellow when you increase blue, you reduce magenta when you increase green, and so on.
Adjusting the Tonal Curve of the Red Color Channel You adjust the tonal curve of the red color channel when you want to remove red and cyan color casts in the image. Before Red Curves adjustment After Red Curves adjustment Red adjustment Effect Move tonal curve down in the shadows. Adds cyan to the shadows, removing red. Move tonal curve up in the shadows. Adds red to the shadows, removing cyan. Move tonal curve down in the midtones. Adds cyan to the midtones, removing red.
Adjusting the Tonal Curve of the Blue Color Channel You adjust the tonal curve of the blue color channel when you want to remove blue and yellow color casts in the image. Before Blue Curves adjustment After Blue Curves adjustment Blue adjustment Effect Move tonal curve down in the shadows. Adds yellow to the shadows, removing blue. Move tonal curve up in the shadows. Adds blue to the shadows, removing yellow. Move tonal curve down in the midtones. Adds yellow to the midtones, removing blue.
Adjusting Highlights, Shadows, and Midtone Contrast When you want to adjust the brightness values in the highlight areas of the image without affecting the midtones and shadows, you can adjust the Highlights parameter. Although the human eye is more sensitive to details in shadow areas than in highlight areas, such as snow, there is usually a fair amount of visual information that you can retrieve in the highlights using the Highlights parameter controls.
To adjust the highlights, shadows, and midtone contrast in an image 1 Select a photo. 2 In the Highlights & Shadows area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, do any of the following: •• To recover details in the highlight areas of the image: Use the Highlights parameter controls. Use the Highlights slider and value slider to adjust the brightness values in the photo’s highlights.
To upgrade an image to use the new Highlights & Shadows adjustment controls 1 Select a photo that has a Highlights & Shadows adjustment applied to it using a previous version of Aperture. An Upgrade button appears at the top of the Highlights & Shadows adjustment controls in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. 2 Click the Upgrade button. The image is upgraded to use the new Highlights & Shadows adjustment, and the new controls appear.
•• To set the range of tones that are modified in the highlights: Use the High Tonal Width parameter controls. •• To set the amount of contrast in the midtones: Use the Mid Contrast parameter controls. •• To set the range of tones that are modified in the shadows: Use the Low Tonal Width parameter controls.
Automatically Adjusting Luminance When you want to quickly adjust the levels of an image based on total luminance values—red, green, and blue channels combined—you choose Luminance from the Channel pop-up menu in the Levels adjustment and then click the Auto Levels Combined button. Red, green, and blue channels are adjusted by the same amount based on the total luminance.
Automatically Adjusting RGB Channels When you want to automatically adjust the levels of an image based on individual evaluations of the red, green, and blue channels, you use the Auto Levels Separate button in the Levels adjustment. Red, green, and blue channels are adjusted based on the evaluation of each channel. You use the Auto Levels Separate button when you want to correct the color cast in the image in addition to correcting the contrast.
Setting the Auto Levels Options Aperture provides the option to set both the black and white clipping point parameters for the Auto Levels adjustments. Modifying the black and white clipping points from their default value of 0% expands the tonal range of the image. One reason for expanding the tonal range of an image is to preserve shadow and highlight detail when the image is printed.
To adjust the white clipping point 1 Choose Aperture > Preferences, then click Advanced. Use the Auto Adjust White Clip slider and value slider to add tolerance to Auto Levels adjustments when evaluating colors beyond white. 2 In the Advanced pane, do one of the following: •• By default, the Auto Adjust White Clip slider is set to the left side of the slider control.
Adjusting the Luminance Levels in an Image When you want to adjust the overall tonality of an image, you use the Levels adjustment controls based on a histogram that shows luminance. When the histogram is set to show luminance, it displays the cumulative brightness values for all three color channels for each pixel. To adjust levels in an image based on luminance You use the histogram’s luminance view when you want to adjust an image’s tonal values without affecting the color cast.
3 Choose Luminance from the Channel pop-up menu. 4 Do one of the following: •• Drag the Black Levels and White Levels sliders to where they touch the outside of the histogram graph, constraining the image to its new black and white points. Drag the Black Levels and White Levels sliders to where they touch the outside of the histogram graph. •• Select the numbers in the Black (B) and White (W) fields, then enter a value from 0.00 to 1.00. By default, the black point is set to 0.
Showing Quarter-Tone Levels Controls When you need additional control over tonal values between the midtones and shadows as well as the midtones and highlights, you use the Quarter-Tone Levels controls in the Levels area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. For example, if you need to add contrast to the midtone values independently of the black and white point settings, you use the Quarter-Tone Levels sliders.
Using Levels for Color Correction A powerful way to color correct an image is to adjust the levels of each color channel in the image. Adjusting the levels of each color channel is useful for removing color casts in an image. It’s important to understand that you’re adjusting the colors of the image within the RGB spectrum; therefore, you reduce yellow when you increase blue, you reduce magenta when you increase green, and so on.
Adjusting the Levels of the Green Color Channel You adjust the levels of the green color channel when you want to remove green and magenta color casts in the image. Before Green Levels adjustment After Green Levels adjustment (moved Gray Levels slider right) Green adjustment Effect Move Black Levels slider right. Adds magenta to the shadows, removing green. Move Gray Levels slider left. Adds green to the midtones, removing magenta. Move Gray Levels slider right.
Working with the Color Controls An Overview of the Color Adjustment You use the Color adjustment controls to selectively adjust the red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow colors in an image. Each color has individual Hue, Saturation, and Luminance controls. If you need to adjust the hue, saturation, and luminance of a color that does not appear in the Color controls, you can use the Color eyedropper to identify a hue in the image that needs adjusting.
Luminance (L) describes the brightness of the selected color. An increase in luminance brightens the selected color value. A maximum Luminance adjustment results in pure white. Conversely, a decrease in luminance darkens the selected color. A minimum Luminance adjustment results in pure black. L H S Adjusting the Color of the Image with the Color Controls When you want to adjust the color values in an image, you must first identify the colors that have the most influence on the colors you want to change.
Note: You can also click the Expanded View button to expand the Color area to show the controls for all colors at the same time. Click the Expanded View button to view the controls for all colors at the same time. 3 If a Hue adjustment is necessary, adjust the Hue parameter by doing one of the following: •• By default, the Hue slider is set to the center of the slider control. Drag the Hue slider to the left or right to change the hue of the selected color.
•• By default, the Hue value slider is set to 0.0. Double-click the number in the value slider, then enter a value from –180.0 to 180.0 and press Return. Use the Hue slider and value slider to remap the hue of the selected color. 4 If a Saturation adjustment is necessary, adjust the Saturation parameter by doing one of the following: •• By default, the Saturation slider is set to the center of the slider control.
•• Double-click the number in the value slider, then enter a value from 0.00 to 20.00 and press Return. Use the Range slider and value slider to adjust the chromatic range of the color adjustment. By default, the Range value slider is set to 1.00. Reds Yellows Greens 10 Cyans 1 Blues Magentas Reds 10 You can adjust the chromatic range up to 20. The default spread is 1. 7 Repeat steps 2 through 6 until you are satisfied with the appearance of the colors in your image.
3 Position the eyedropper over the color in the image that you want to adjust, then click. The new hue is selected and becomes the starting point for color adjustments of that hue. For more information about Color adjustments, see Adjusting the Color of the Image with the Color Controls on page 378. Working with the Black & White Controls You use the Black & White adjustment controls when you want more control over converting your image from color to black and white than simply desaturating it gives you.
3 Adjust the mixture of red, green, and blue channels by doing one of the following: •• Drag a color slider to the left to decrease the color’s percentage in the color mix, or drag the slider to the right to increase the percentage. •• Click the left or right arrows in the value sliders to modify the percentages by single increments, or drag in the value fields. The left arrows decrease the percentage, and the right arrows increase it.
4 By default, the color intensity is set to the maximum value of 1.0. Adjust the intensity of the color tint by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Intensity slider to the left to decrease the intensity of the color in the image’s midtones, or drag the slider back to the right to increase the intensity. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Intensity value slider to modify the intensity by 5 percent increments, or drag in the value field.
Working with the Sharpen and Edge Sharpen Controls An Overview of the Sharpen and Edge Sharpen Adjustments Aperture provides two sharpening adjustments that you can use to sharpen the detail in your image: Sharpen and Edge Sharpen. If you’ve already applied sharpening in a previous version of Aperture using the Sharpen adjustment controls, the Sharpen adjustment controls are still there so that your adjustments remain intact and unchanged.
3 Sharpen the image by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Intensity slider to the right to increase the amount of sharpening applied to the image, and drag the slider back to the left to reduce the amount of sharpening. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Intensity value slider to adjust the sharpening by 5 percent increments, or drag in the value field. The left arrow decreases the sharpening effect on the image, and the right arrow increases it.
•• Double-click the number in the Falloff value slider, then enter a value from 0.0 to 1.0 and press Return. Use the Falloff slider and value slider to adjust the strength of the subsequent sharpening adjustment. The falloff percentage is applied proportionally to the second and third sharpening passes. For example, if 0.
Working with the Sharpen Controls You use the Sharpen adjustment controls when you need to modify Sharpen adjustment parameter settings that were applied to an image in a previous version of Aperture. To sharpen an image using the Sharpen controls 1 Select a photo. 2 If the Sharpen controls are not shown in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Sharpen from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.
Working with the Vignette Controls You use the Vignette adjustment controls to apply a vignette to an image. The term vignette describes an image whose brightness fades to its periphery from its center. Vignettes are usually applied to an image after it is shot, for artistic effect. Aperture provides two types of vignettes: Exposure and Gamma. The Exposure vignette is designed to simulate a lens-created vignette.
4 Adjust the amount of vignette to apply to the image by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Intensity slider to the left to decrease the amount of dark shading applied to the edges of the image, or drag the slider to the right to increase the dark shading. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Intensity value slider to change the amount of dark shading applied to the edges of the image, or drag in the value field.
4 Adjust the amount of vignette to apply to the image by doing one of the following: •• Drag the Intensity slider to the left to decrease the amount of dark shading applied to the edges of the image, or drag the slider to the right to increase the dark shading. •• Click the left or right arrow in the Intensity value slider to change the amount of dark shading applied to the edges of the image, or drag in the value field.
Making Brushed Adjustments 17 An Overview of Brushed Adjustments In Aperture, you can make adjustments to specific portions of your images with brushes to selectively correct and enhance your photos. Most adjustments in Aperture can be brushed on images. You simply specify the parameter settings for an adjustment, previewing the effect of the adjustment on the entire image, and then choose to either brush the adjustment “in” or brush the adjustment “away” using the adjustment’s Action pop-up menu.
When you brush an adjustment on an image, a Brush button appears at the top of the adjustment controls for that adjustment. A Brush button appears after the adjustment has been brushed on the photo. Aperture also provides Quick Brush adjustments that have been specifically designed for brushing on images. Using Quick Brush adjustments, you brush an adjustment on the image and then modify the adjustment’s parameter settings.
You can also choose a Quick Brush adjustment from the Quick Brush pop-up menu in the tool strip of the Aperture main window or in the Full Screen view toolbar. Quick Brush pop-up menu Each time you choose a Quick Brush adjustment from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu or the Quick Brush pop-up menu, the adjustment controls for the Quick Brush adjustment appear in the Adjustments inspector (and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, if both are shown).
Using Brushed Adjustment Controls Working with Controls in the Brush HUD The controls in the Brush HUD are the same for all brushed adjustments except for Retouch. For more information about the Retouch adjustment, see An Overview of the Retouch Adjustment Controls on page 300.
Applying Brushed Adjustments When you want to apply an adjustment to a small portion of an image, you can specify the adjustment parameter settings and then brush the adjustment in. A plus sign (+) indicates that you’re brushing the adjustment in. When you want to apply an adjustment to most of an image except for a specific portion, you can specify the parameter settings for the adjustment and then brush the adjustment away from the areas of the image you want to exclude.
4 When the area of the image you want to adjust has the correct appearance, choose “Brush [adjustment] in” from the adjustment’s Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). Action pop-up menu for the Enhance adjustment The pointer turns into a brush, and the Brush HUD for the adjustment appears. The adjustment is also removed from the image.
4 When the area of the image you want to adjust has the correct appearance, choose “Brush [adjustment] away” from the adjustment’s Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). Action pop-up menu for the Enhance adjustment The pointer turns into a brush, and the Brush HUD for the adjustment appears. The adjustment remains applied to the entire image.
To apply a brushed adjustment to the entire image You can extend a brushed adjustment to the entire image if you decide that the adjustment should be applied to the entire image rather than just the area you brushed over. 1 Select the photo with the brushed adjustment you want applied to the entire image. 2 If necessary, select the brushed adjustment in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, then click the Brush button in the adjustment controls. Click the Brush button.
The pointer turns into a brush, the Brush HUD for the adjustment appears, and adjustment controls for the adjustment appear in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, if both are shown. Note: The controls in the Retouch HUD are different from those that appear in the Brush HUD for other brushed adjustments. For more information about the controls in the Retouch HUD, see Repairing Your Images on page 301.
Working with Brush Strokes There are many controls in the Brush HUD that you can use to apply, remove, and feather brush strokes. To feather brush strokes In many situations, it’s best to avoid brush strokes that have hard, noticeable edges. The Brush HUD has a feathering brush that you can use to smooth the edges of previously applied brush strokes so that they blend seamlessly into the image. The feathering brush is applied to the selected brushed adjustment only.
Tip: When feathering brush stokes, it’s a good idea to display the brush strokes as color overlays to help identify the boundaries of each brush stroke. Then turn the color overlays off at regular intervals and visually inspect the image to ensure that the brush strokes are feathered appropriately. For more information about working with overlays, see Working with Brushed Adjustment Overlays on page 404. The adjustment’s brush strokes are feathered, blending them into the image.
To erase brush strokes You can erase the brush strokes for any brushed adjustment applied to an image using the Eraser button in the Brush HUD. The eraser brush erases the brush strokes of the selected brushed adjustment only. The eraser brush uses the same parameters as the standard brush (Brush Size, Softness, and Strength). Tip: You can quickly switch from the brush to the eraser by holding down the Option key. Release the Option key to switch back to the brush.
To remove all brush strokes for a specific adjustment from an image If you want to remove all brush strokes for a specific adjustment that are applied to an image, you can remove them all at once using the Brush Action pop-up menu in the Brush HUD for that adjustment. 1 Select the photo with the brushed adjustment whose brush strokes you want to remove.
•• Brush Strokes: This option displays the brush strokes for the selected adjustment as pure white over a pure black background. This option provides the easiest method for identifying brush strokes that have been applied to an image. It’s a good idea to use this overlay option if you suspect that you missed a tiny part of the image when brushing. The missed portions of the image appear as black dots or lines.
To apply an overlay for a brushed adjustment to an image 1 Select the photo with the brushed adjustment whose brush strokes you want to view as an overlay. 2 If necessary, select the brushed adjustment in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, then click the Brush button in the adjustment controls. Click the Brush button. The Brush HUD for the adjustment appears. 3 In the Brush HUD, choose an overlay option from the Overlay section of the Brush Action pop-up menu.
Limiting the Tonal Range of Brushed Adjustments You can limit the adjustment you’re about to brush on an image to a specific tonal range using the Brush Action pop-up menu in the Brush HUD. For example, if you want to brush an adjustment on an image and have the adjustment limited to the shadows, you choose Shadows from the Brush Action pop-up menu and then brush the adjustment on the image. If the brush touches a midtone or highlight, that part of the image is not changed.
Working with the Skin Smoothing Quick Brush Controls You use the Skin Smoothing Quick Brush adjustment to smooth a person’s skin by subtly blurring wrinkles and skin pores. Before Skin Smoothing Quick Brush adjustment After Skin Smoothing Quick Brush adjustment To brush the Skin Smoothing adjustment on an image 1 Select a photo.
•• Specify the amount of the Skin Smoothing adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Intensity slider and value slider. The previously applied Skin Smoothing adjustment is modified. Working with the Dodge Quick Brush Controls You use the Dodge Quick Brush adjustment to lighten the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on.
2 In the Dodge area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Dodge adjustment by specifying the amount of the adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Amount slider and value slider. The previously applied Dodge adjustment is modified. Working with the Burn Quick Brush Controls You use the Burn Quick Brush adjustment to darken the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on.
To modify the Burn adjustment after it has been applied to an image 1 Select a photo with the Burn adjustment applied to it. 2 In the Burn area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Burn adjustment by specifying the amount of the adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Amount slider and value slider. The previously applied Burn adjustment is modified.
To modify the Polarize adjustment after it has been applied to an image 1 Select a photo with the Polarize adjustment applied to it. 2 In the Polarize area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Polarize adjustment by specifying the amount of the adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Intensity slider and value slider. The previously applied Polarize adjustment is modified.
To modify the Intensify Contrast adjustment after it has been applied to an image 1 Select a photo with the Intensify Contrast adjustment applied to it. 2 In the Intensify Contrast area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Intensify Contrast adjustment by specifying the amount of the adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Intensity slider and value slider. The previously applied Intensify Contrast adjustment is modified.
The tint is shifted in the area of the image where the Tint Quick Brush adjustment is applied. To modify the Tint adjustment after it has been applied to an image 1 Select a photo with the Tint adjustment applied to it. 2 In the Tint area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Tint adjustment by specifying which way you want to shift the color’s tint using the Angle slider and value slider. The previously applied Tint adjustment is modified.
The contrast is changed in the area of the image where the Contrast Quick Brush adjustment is applied. To modify the Contrast adjustment after it has been applied to an image 1 Select a photo with the Contrast adjustment applied to it. 2 In the Contrast area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, modify the Contrast adjustment by specifying the amount of the adjustment you want to apply to the image using the Amount slider and value slider.
4 Brush the adjustment on the area of the image where you want to change the saturation. The saturation is changed in the area of the image where the Saturation Quick Brush adjustment is applied. To modify the Saturation adjustment after it has been applied to an image 1 Select a photo with the Saturation adjustment applied to it.
To brush the Definition adjustment on an image 1 Select a photo. 2 Do one of the following: •• In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Quick Brushes > Definition from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu. •• In the tool strip, choose Definition from the Quick Brush pop-up menu (with a brush icon).
Working with the Vibrancy Quick Brush Controls You use the Vibrancy Quick Brush adjustment to add saturation to desaturated colors only in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Skin tones are not affected. Before Vibrancy adjustment After Vibrancy adjustment (added saturation to desaturated colors in the green wave) Note: You can also apply a Vibrancy adjustment by brushing the entire Enhance adjustment's parameter settings in to or out of an image.
Working with the Blur Quick Brush Controls You use the Blur Quick Brush adjustment to soften the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Before Blur adjustment After Blur adjustment (blurred the background) To brush the Blur adjustment on an image 1 Select a photo. 2 Do one of the following: •• In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Quick Brushes > Blur from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.
Working with the Sharpen Quick Brush Controls You use the Sharpen Quick Brush adjustment to fine-tune the details in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Before Sharpen adjustment After Sharpen adjustment To brush the Sharpen adjustment on an image 1 Select a photo. 2 Do one of the following: •• In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Quick Brushes > Sharpen from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.
Working with the Halo Reduction Quick Brush Controls You use the Halo Reduction Quick Brush adjustment to remove the blue and purple fringes that are occasionally produced with certain lenses when the image is overexposed. To brush the Halo Reduction adjustment on an image 1 Select a photo. 2 Do one of the following: •• In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Quick Brushes > Halo Reduction from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.
Working with the Noise Reduction Quick Brush Controls You use the Noise Reduction Quick Brush adjustment to remove digital noise in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Before Noise Reduction adjustment After Noise Reduction adjustment To brush the Noise Reduction adjustment on an image 1 Select a photo. 2 Do one of the following: •• In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Quick Brushes > Noise Reduction from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.
Printing Your Photos 18 An Overview of Printing Aperture makes it easy to print high-resolution photos. You can print single photos, contact sheets, webpages, and books. You can print photos selected in the Light Table, as well as create PDF files that you can easily transfer to clients for review. Aperture allows you to print your photos as high-resolution images and multi-image contact sheets.
•• Use a printer that supports 16-bit printing: If the photo you’re printing is a high-resolution 16-bit file, using a printer that supports 16-bit printing results in smoother gradations. •• Color calibrate your Aperture system: It’s important to calibrate your display and printer so that your printed photos look as much as possible like the photos you see on the computer screen.
1 Select either the Standard print preset or a custom preset in the Presets list of the Print dialog. Select the Standard preset to see the print controls for printing individual photos. The More Options button indicates that the default print controls are shown. The basic controls for standard print presets are shown. 2 To show additional print controls, click the More Options button. The Print dialog expands to show additional print controls for standard prints.
1 Select either the Contact Sheets preset or a contact sheet preset saved in the Custom Presets area of the Print dialog. Select the Contact Sheets preset to see the print controls for printing contact sheets. The More Options button indicates that the default print controls are shown. The Printer and Layout controls for contact sheet presets are shown. 2 To show additional print controls, click the More Options button. The Print dialog expands to show additional print controls for contact sheets.
•• Choose a paper size from the available items in the Paper Size pop-up menu. •• In the Orientation pop-up menu, choose whether you want the image printed in Landscape mode or Portrait mode. •• Choose the size of the printed photo from the Image Size pop-up menu, by doing one of the following: •• To print the photo so that the entire image fits on the page: Choose Maximum to Fit.
Printing Multiple Copies of a Photo on a Page You can print the same photo multiple times on the same sheet of paper. This option is useful for saving paper when the image size is small. To print the same photo multiple times on a single sheet of paper 1 In the Browser, select the photo you want to print. 2 Choose File > Print Image (or press Command-P). 3 In the Print dialog, select either the Standard preset or a preset in Custom Presets.
Printing a Series of Photos You can print multiple photos at once, each on its own sheet of paper. To print a series of photos 1 In the Browser, select the photos you want to print. 2 Choose File > Print Images (or press Command-P). 3 In the Print dialog, select either the Standard preset or a preset in Custom Presets. 4 Confirm that the settings in the Print dialog are correct. For more information about print settings, see Printing a Single Photo on page 426.
5 If you want to modify the arrangement of the photos on the page, click the More Options button at the bottom of the Print dialog, then use the Layout and Margins controls to adjust image spacing between the photos and add margins. 6 If you want to manually adjust the spacing margins, drag the row and column lines in the Preview area. 7 After you’ve verified that the settings in the Print dialog are correct, click Print. The OS X Print dialog appears.
4 In the Preview area, drag the margin lines to adjust the placement of the photo on the page. The overlay displays the distance between the edge of the paper and the edge of the photo. Drag the margin lines to adjust the placement of the photo on the page. The distance between the edge of the paper and the edge of the photo is displayed in an overlay as you drag the margin line. To manually adjust the placement of multiple photos on a page 1 In the Browser, select the photo or photos you want to print.
4 In the Preview area, do either or both of the following: •• Drag the margin lines between the outer edges of the photos and the paper’s edge. •• Drag the lines between the photos to adjust the spacing between them. Drag the lines between the photos to adjust the spacing between them. The overlay displays the distance between the photos.
To create a PDF file of a book 1 In the Library inspector, select a book album. 2 Choose File > Print Book (or press Command-P). 3 In the Print dialog, choose Save as PDF from the PDF pop-up menu. The Save dialog appears. 4 Enter a name for the PDF file and choose a location to save the file, then click Save. Printing a Light Table Arrangement You can print an arrangement of images in the Light Table. You can also create a PDF of your Light Table arrangement using the OS X Print dialog.
Creating and Modifying Print Presets After examining a selected preset’s print settings, you may want to change certain settings. You can do this by modifying an existing print preset and then saving it, or by duplicating an existing print preset and making changes to it. You use the presets stored in the Custom Presets area of the Print dialog to create and save your customized print presets.
Proofing Your Images Onscreen The printer, paper type, and color profile settings all affect the way your photos are printed. Onscreen proofing allows you to check the color in your photos, before you print them. To use onscreen proofing, choose the proofing profile that most closely matches the characteristics of the final output device, and then turn on onscreen proofing. When onscreen proofing is turned on, the photo is converted using the selected profile before it is sent to the printer.
Exporting Your Photos 19 An Overview of Exporting Photos Using Aperture, you can export copies of originals, as well as versions that you’ve created. When you export photo versions, you can export them in JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and PSD file formats. At export, you can rename files, resize and adjust images, and include metadata such as EXIF information, IPTC information, and keywords. You can also apply ColorSync profiles and watermarks to the versions you’re exporting.
You can also export projects, folders, and albums, as well as a combination of all three. Aperture consolidates the originals and versions of the items you selected in the Library inspector and exports them as a library, maintaining their organizational structure. Then you can merge the exported library into the Aperture library on another computer. For more information about merging libraries, see Merging Libraries on page 41.
Exporting Photo Versions You can export photo versions that you’ve created in Aperture. For example, you might make adjustments to images for a specific purpose and then export them for use in another application. You can also rename photos when exporting them, make minor adjustments on export, add watermarks, and export photos with metadata. You can also quickly export photos to your email application to send them to others.
6 Choose a name format for your files from the Name Format pop-up menu. If you choose a Custom Name format, enter a name in the Custom Name field. For more information on renaming photos at export, see Renaming Photos at Export on page 450. 7 If you want to be notified when the export process is complete, select the “Show alert when finished” checkbox. 8 When you’re ready to export files, click Export Versions. The photos you selected are exported to the location you specified.
4 Do one of the following: •• Choose None from the Subfolder Format pop-up menu to specify that the clips be stored as separate files in the selected folder. •• Choose a folder name preset from the Subfolder Format pop-up menu to specify that Aperture create a hierarchy of subfolders with specific folder names to hold your files. For more information about creating folders to hold your exported audio and video files, see Exporting Photos into Folders in the Finder on page 448.
Exporting Projects, Folders, and Albums You can select and export any combination of projects, folders, and albums in the Library inspector. Aperture consolidates the selected items into an Aperture library and places it in the location of your choosing. After exporting the item selection as an Aperture library, you can either open the new library and work within it, or you can merge the library into the library of another Aperture system.
Working with Export Presets Viewing the Settings for an Export Preset Export presets are groups of saved export settings that help you quickly and easily export your photos. Aperture comes with numerous export presets, and you can also create your own. Before using an export preset, whether it’s one that comes with Aperture or one that you created, you can view its settings to make sure they are exactly what you want.
3 Enter a name for the new preset, then press Return. 4 Change the export settings as required, then click OK. Modifying an Export Preset You can modify existing presets when you need to. The next time you export using that preset, Aperture remembers your modified settings and exports your photos accordingly. To modify an existing preset 1 Choose Aperture > Presets > Image Export. The Image Export dialog appears. 2 Select the preset you want to modify and change its settings as required, then click OK.
Setting Image Resolution When Exporting You can set the image resolution you want for exported photos in the Image Export dialog in several ways: by specifying a dpi setting, by specifying a percentage of the original, or by specifying photo dimensions in inches, centimeters, or pixels. First you select an export preset, and then you specify a resolution for that preset.
To create an export preset constraining photos to a specific size at export 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Aperture > Presets > Image Export. •• Choose File > Export > Versions (or press Command-Shift-E), then choose Edit from the Export Preset pop-up menu. The Image Export dialog appears. Choose a Size To option and enter the corresponding values here. 2 Select an export preset or create a new one. For more information on creating export presets, see Creating an Export Preset on page 442.
Adjusting Images at Export You can apply final adjustments to images at export by choosing ColorSync profiles, setting gamma adjustments, and applying black point compensation. Because these adjustments are applied at export, the photo versions and originals in the Aperture library are not changed. Only exported files receive image adjustments applied with an export preset.
3 Specify adjustment options: •• To add a gamma adjustment to the exported photos: Drag the Gamma Adjust slider to the right. •• To change the ColorSync profile applied to the exported photos: Choose a profile from the Color Profile pop-up menu. •• To apply black point compensation to the exported photos: Select the Black Point Compensation checkbox. 4 Specify additional settings as necessary, then click OK. Use this export preset when you want to export photos with the adjustments you specified.
Applying IPTC Metadata and Keywords to Your Photos Many publications use a standard set of image keywords; the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) wire codes, developed by the Newspaper Association of America, are one example. You can apply these keywords to your photos when exporting to JPEG, TIFF, and PSD file formats. Remember that applying metadata at export applies all the metadata attached to your photo.
•• Folder Name •• Current Date •• Current Time •• Current Year •• Current Month •• Current Day •• Project Name •• / (slash) You can specify a combination of name elements to create custom folder names. You can also create a hierarchy of folders within folders. For example, you can specify that Aperture place your photos in a subfolder named Date, and within that folder you can create subfolders identified by the time the photo was taken.
5 Enter a custom name in the Custom Name field, if you wish. Note: The Custom Name field is dimmed unless “Custom Name” is one of the elements in the Format field. 6 Click OK. Your new folder name format now appears in the Subfolder Format pop-up menu. To reset the starting number of a counter in a folder name preset When using a counter in your folder name format, you can specify the starting number and the number of digits, from 1 to 6, that appear in the counter.
5 When you’re ready to export files, click either Export Originals or Export Versions. The files are exported with the name format you specified. To create a new name format If none of the preset name formats meets your needs, you can create a new name format. For example, you could create a name format that uses a custom name, the index number, and the date. 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Aperture > Presets > File Naming.
If necessary, enter relevant naming information in the fields provided. Remove name elements from the Format field by selecting them and pressing Delete. You can also type characters directly in the Format field. The name format example automatically updates as you change the name elements. Name elements appear here. Remove a name element by selecting it and pressing Delete. After dragging in this callout Symbol, click the Break Link to Symbol icon. Then edit this callout.
To modify a name format to remove spaces When exporting photos for specific uses, such as for use on websites, you may need to use filenames without spaces so that the filenames are compatible with the intended application or website. Aperture adds spaces to filenames depending on the name format you use. You can easily modify name formats to remove spaces from filenames. 1 Choose Aperture > Presets > File Naming. 2 In the File Naming dialog, select the preset name format you want to modify.
Exporting Metadata in a Separate File You can select photos and export the IPTC metadata assigned to them in a tab-delimited text file. The text file also lists the version names, ratings, keywords, and color labels assigned to the photos in Aperture. For more information about IPTC metadata, see About IPTC Metadata on page 195. To export photo metadata in a text file 1 Select the photos whose metadata you want to export. 2 Choose File > Export > Metadata.
Exporting by Dragging You can export photo, audio, and video versions by dragging them from the Browser or Library inspector to the desktop or any location in the Finder. You can also do the same with projects, albums, and folders in the Library inspector. However, Flickr and Facebook albums cannot be exported by dragging. Note: A photo version without a JPEG preview cannot be exported via the drag-and-drop method.
Creating Slideshow Presentations 20 An Overview of Slideshows With Aperture, you can easily create and present slideshows of your photos. You can use two main methods to create slideshows in Aperture. You can quickly create a slideshow from a selection of photos, or you can create an advanced multimedia presentation complete with video clips, a layered soundtrack, and customized titles, borders, transitions, and effects.
Playing Slideshows Using Slideshow Presets An Overview of Slideshow Presets To play a slideshow using a slideshow preset, you select an item in the Library inspector or individual photos in the Browser and then choose File > Play Slideshow (or press Shift-S). When the Play Slideshow dialog appears, you can specify how you want photos displayed by choosing a slideshow preset. Slideshow presets are groups of predefined settings for playing a slideshow.
To create or modify a slideshow preset, you choose Aperture > Presets > Slideshow (or choose Edit from the Slideshow Preset pop-up menu in the Play Slideshow dialog), and the Slideshow dialog appears. The Slideshow dialog lets you create or modify slideshow presets. You can then select a slideshow preset or create a new one, specifying the settings you want. Playing a Slideshow Using a Preset You can easily set up a slideshow by selecting the photos you want and then choosing a slideshow preset.
3 Choose a preset from the Slideshow Preset pop-up menu. Note: Additional slideshow presets appear in the Slideshow Preset pop-up menu for use in Aperture when iPhoto ’11 is installed. When you choose a preset from the Slideshow Preset pop-up menu, a preview of the slideshow preset plays below the pop-up menu. 4 Click Start. If either no photo or a single photo is selected, the slideshow displays all photos in the current album or project.
Controls in the Slideshow Dialog The Slideshow dialog contains options for creating and modifying slideshow presets. In it, you can choose how many photos to display at a time, how those photos are arranged, and how long each photo is displayed in your slideshow. You can also choose to play slideshows on one or two displays, with custom background colors and music. To open the Slideshow dialog Do one of the following: mm Choose Aperture > Presets > Slideshow.
•• “Shuffle slide order” checkbox: Select this checkbox to have Aperture shuffle the order of the photos presented in the slideshow. •• “Repeat slideshow” checkbox: Select this checkbox to loop, or continuously play, your slideshow. If you select this option, you must stop your slideshow manually by pressing Esc. •• “Play music during slideshow” checkbox: Select this checkbox to play your slideshow with an accompanying song or iTunes playlist.
3 In the bottom-left corner of the dialog, click the Add (+) button. Select a preset in the list. Click this button to add a new preset. A copy of the slideshow preset appears highlighted in the Preset Name list. 4 Enter a new name for the copied slideshow preset, then press Return. 5 When you’ve finished specifying the slideshow settings you want, click OK. Modifying Slideshow Presets You can modify slideshow presets to create custom slideshow presentations.
To revert to the preset’s original settings 1 In the Slideshow dialog, select the preset whose settings you want to revert. 2 Click the Reset Preset button. Using Slideshow Presets to Play Slideshows with Music Adding music to your slideshow can increase your audience’s enthusiasm and participation. You can easily add DRM-free music from your iTunes music library to accompany your slideshow. To add music to your slideshow presentation 1 Select a set of photos to be displayed in your slideshow.
Workflow for Creating a Multimedia Slideshow Presentation Creating, editing, and sharing slideshows containing your photos is a fairly simple process. Here are some of the typical steps in the slideshow creation and sharing process. Stage 1: Selecting Photos, Audio Clips, and Video Clips Gather your initial selection of photos and video clips in the Browser. Locate any audio clips you plan to use in your slideshow presentation.
Stage 9: Exporting the Slideshow Export the slideshow as a movie in the format that best fits the platform by which you mean to share it. You can choose a format that is optimized for iPhone, iPod, iPod touch, iPad, YouTube, Apple TV, 720p HD, or 1080p HD. You can also create a custom movie in a wide range of frame rates and frame sizes. Stage 10: Sharing Your Slideshow After exporting your slideshow movie, tell your clients and friends.
The new slideshow album containing the selected photos appears in the Library inspector, and the Slideshow Editor appears above the Browser. If you want to rename the slideshow album, double-click the slideshow album’s name in the Library inspector and enter a new name. The new slideshow album appears in the Library inspector. To create a new, empty slideshow album 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > New > Slideshow.
Changing a Slideshow’s Theme The first step in creating a slideshow is to choose its theme. Aperture provides a set of professionally designed themes that present your photos with background images, graphic elements, and animation. Aperture asks you to choose a theme when you first create a slideshow album, and it’s a good idea to explore the slideshow themes before you get started. Some themes may lend themselves better to the subject matter of your photos than others.
About Editing Slideshow Transitions and Applying Effects Aperture provides two methods for applying transitions and effects to the slides in your slideshow. The first method applies the changes uniformly to every slide and transition in the slideshow using the Default Settings controls. The second method applies changes to individual slides and transitions using the Selected Slides controls.
Modifying Settings Applied to the Entire Slideshow An Overview of Modifying the Entire Slideshow The onscreen duration of each slide, the type of transition between slides, and the length of the transitions are initially set by the theme you choose for the slideshow. However, you can change these settings at any time, along with the aspect ratio, background color, image borders, Ken Burns effect settings, and titles.
Applying a Title to the Slideshow You can apply a title to the beginning of your slideshow. You can also display your title over a solid background by inserting a blank slide. Note: The title controls in the Selected Slides pane of the Slideshow Editor and the title options in the Slideshow Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon) are available for use only with the Classic and Ken Burns slideshow themes. If iPhoto ’11 is installed, a new Text control appears, allowing you to add text to any slideshow theme.
Setting the Length of Time Slides Play Next, you need to set the length of time the slides play. To set the length of time the slides play mm In the Default Settings pane of the Slideshow Editor, specify the number of seconds that each slide should appear onscreen using the “Play slide for” value slider. Note: Depending on which theme is applied to the slideshow, additional controls may appear for fitting the slideshow to the soundtrack and aligning the slideshow to beats.
To add image borders 1 In the Default Settings pane of the Slideshow Editor, specify the width of the border using the Border value slider. 2 To specify a border color, do one of the following: •• Click the Border color well, then select a color from the Colors window. •• Click the disclosure button to the right of the color well, then select a color from the pop-up color palette. The border is applied to every photo in the slideshow.
Adding Transitions Uniformly Between Slides You can add uniform transitions between the slides in your slideshow as well as set the duration of the transitions. Transition pop-up menu Transition direction buttons Speed value slider Preview area To apply a transition uniformly between slides in the slideshow 1 In the Default Settings pane of the Slideshow Editor, choose a transition from the Transition pop-up menu. A preview of the selected transition plays below the Speed value slider.
Adding Text to Slides You can display basic information about each photo in your slideshow, such as each version’s name or caption. To add slide text 1 In the Default Settings pane of the Slideshow Editor, choose the type of information to display with each photo from the Text pop-up menu.
Modifying Individual Slides and Transitions An Overview of Modifying Individual Slides and Transitions After specifying the basic settings for a slideshow, you use the Selected Slides controls to modify or accentuate specific slides and transitions.
To add a fade-out to a video clip You can set the volume of a video clip to smoothly decrease over time by applying a fade-out. Adding a fade-out to a video clip helps prevent an abrupt transition from the audio in the video clip to the audio clip in the slideshow’s main audio track. mm In the Selected Slides pane of the Slideshow Editor, specify the duration of the fade-out, in seconds, using the Fade Out slider and value slider.
Modifying the Display Time for Individual Slides You can modify the length of time any photo in your slideshow appears onscreen. To set the display time for a specific slide or group of slides 1 Select a photo or group of photos in the Browser. 2 In the Selected Slides pane of the Slideshow Editor, select the “Play slide for” checkbox. Make sure this checkbox is selected. Specify a duration using this value slider.
Changing the Background Color for Individual Slides You can change the background color for any slide in your slideshow. To change the background color of a specific slide or group of slides 1 Select a photo or group of photos in the Browser. 2 In the Selected Slides pane of the Slideshow Editor, select the Background checkbox. Make sure this checkbox is selected. Click here to select a color from the Colors window. Click here to select a color from the pop-up color palette.
4 If you want to change the color of the border, do one of the following: •• Click the Border color well, then select a color from the Colors window. •• Click the disclosure button to the right of the color well, then select a color from the pop-up color palette. The new image border is applied to the selected slide or group of slides in the slideshow. Setting the Crop for Individual Slides You can make a photo or a group of photos in your slideshow fill the screen.
Applying a Ken Burns Effect to Individual Slides You can select specific photos in your slideshow that warrant additional emphasis and apply a Ken Burns effect to them. You can also choose where the Ken Burns effect panning begins and ends within a photo. Note: If the faces in the photos have names assigned to them, the Ken Burns effect takes this information into account when cropping and positioning the faces in the slideshow.
4 If you wish, you can reverse the panning motion by clicking the Reverse button. Reverse button 5 When you are satisfied with the panning path of the Ken Burns effect, click Done. The customized Ken Burns effect is applied to the photo. Tip: Click the Preview Slideshow button or press the Space bar to review the customized Ken Burns effect you applied to the photo.
Adding Text to an Individual Slide You can add text to individual photos in your slideshow using the Text controls. The text for the individual slides overrides any text applied to the entire slideshow using the Default Settings controls. Text that can be edited appears over the selected photo or group of photos in the slideshow. You can also automatically add text based on metadata such as the version name or caption.
Adding Music and Audio to Slideshows An Overview of Adding Music and Audio to Slideshows You can add music and audio to your slideshow using the Audio browser controls in the Slideshow Editor. In the Slideshow Editor, you can add audio to slideshows in two ways. The first method of adding audio to a slideshow involves dragging a song or an audio clip from the Audio browser to the background of the timeline in the Browser. Audio added in this way is called the main audio track.
The second method of adding audio to a slideshow involves dragging a song or an audio clip, such as voiceover recorded using GarageBand, from the Audio browser to a specific slide in the Browser. Dragging an audio clip to a slide creates a secondary audio track, which appears as a green bar below the slides in the Browser. You can trim the length of audio clips in the secondary audio track, as well as control fade-in and fade-out effects.
Adding Audio Clips to Your Slideshow You can add audio to your slideshow by dragging an audio clip to the background of the Browser to create the main audio track, or you can drag an audio clip to a specific slide in the Browser to create the secondary audio track. To add an audio clip to the main audio track in your slideshow 1 If the Audio browser controls are not shown in the Slideshow Editor, click the Audio Browser button. 2 Choose the source for your audio from the Source list pop-up menu.
6 If the audio clip in the main audio track is not long enough, drag another audio clip from the Audio browser to the point in the Browser where the previous audio clip ended. The main audio track is extended by the duration of the second audio clip. To add an audio clip to the secondary audio track in your slideshow 1 If the Audio browser controls are not shown in the Slideshow Editor, click the Audio Browser button. 2 Choose the source for your audio from the Source list pop-up menu.
A green bar appears at the bottom of the Browser to indicate that the audio clip has been added to the secondary audio track. When the playhead reaches the secondary audio track, the audio clip in that track plays over any audio clip in the main audio track. Drag the song or audio clip to where you want the secondary audio to begin. The green bar indicates a clip in the secondary audio track. 6 Repeat steps 2 through 5 to add additional audio clips to the secondary audio track.
The pointer changes to a hand, indicating that you can drag the audio clip to a new position. The hand icon appears when you drag the audio clip to a new position. Adjusting the Volume Between the Main Audio Track and Secondary Audio Track As the slideshow plays, the clips in the secondary audio track always play on top of audio clips in the main audio track.
To add a fade-out to an audio clip in the secondary audio track 1 In the Browser, select the clip in the secondary audio track to which you want to apply a fade-out. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose Adjust Audio from the Slideshow Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). •• In the Browser, double-click the audio clip. The Audio Adjustments HUD appears.
Syncing the Main Audio Track to the Slides in the Slideshow You can set the slideshow to fit the duration of the main audio track. However, you need to make sure that the audio clips you apply to the main audio track are long enough to play each slide. To fit the slideshow to the duration of the main audio track mm In the Slideshow Editor, choose Fit Slides to Main Audio Track from the Slideshow Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon).
Viewing Your Slideshows in Aperture You can view your slideshow at any time in one of two ways in Aperture: in full-screen mode or in the Slideshow Editor. Play Slideshow button Preview Slideshow button Audio Browser button Slide Duration button Slideshow Settings button Slideshow Action pop-up menu To preview your slideshow in the Slideshow Editor 1 In the Slideshow Editor, click the Preview Slideshow button. 2 Click the Space bar to begin playing the slideshow, and click it again to pause playback.
Sharing Your Slideshow Movies Once you have completed your slideshow, you are ready to share it with clients and friends. Aperture provides a few simple controls for exporting your slideshow as a movie, in the size and format most suitable for your intended audience. When you’re ready to share your slideshow, the first thing you need to decide is how it will be viewed.
Creating Webpages 21 An Overview of Creating Webpages In Aperture, you can easily create webpages of your photos that you can post to your own website. Then clients can conveniently review your work via the Internet. You can use built-in Aperture webpage themes and designs to create two types of webpages: •• Web galleries show your photos in eye-catching settings and are designed to display photos without your having to lay out pages by hand.
Creating Web Galleries and Web Journals Creating Webpage Albums Aperture web galleries offer a way to showcase your photos on the web. You have a number of options for designing these pages. You can choose the type of information to accompany each photo, such as name and rating. You can also specify the number of columns and rows you want on each page. To create a web gallery, you must first create a webpage album that holds your web gallery photos.
To create a new, empty webpage album 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > New > Web Page. •• Control-click in the Library inspector, then choose New > Web Page from the shortcut menu. •• Choose Web Page from the New pop-up menu in the toolbar. 2 In the dialog that appears, give your webpage album a name, select a theme, and make sure to deselect the “Add selected items to new web page” checkbox. 3 Click Choose Theme. A new, empty webpage album is added to the Library inspector.
Creating Web Journal Albums Web journals provide a great way to mix photos and text to chronicle trips and explain photos on the web. You can manually add and arrange photos and text in your web journal. To create a web journal, you must first create an album that holds your web journal’s photos. The easiest way to do this is to select photos you want to appear in the web journal and create an album. Aperture creates a web journal album that contains the photos you selected, and the Webpage Editor appears.
Viewing and Navigating Through Webpages As you modify your web galleries and web journals, there are some easy ways to view and navigate through your pages. Select the page you want to work on in the Pages pane. Previous Page and Next Page buttons Select a thumbnail in the Detail Images pane to see an enlarged version of the photo. To view a particular webpage Do one of the following: mm Click the Previous Page or Next Page button to display a different page.
Choosing and Modifying Themes Aperture provides a variety of themes that you can choose for your web gallery or web journal. The theme you choose for your pages determines the basic template design of the page. Make sure to explore the themes to see which best suits your work. You choose a theme type and a theme when you create a new web gallery or web journal album, but you can change the theme at any time.
Working with Web Gallery Pages Arranging, Adding, and Deleting Photos in a Web Gallery When you create a web gallery, the photos in it are placed automatically. You can then adjust the placement of photos on web gallery pages and add and delete photos in the Webpage Editor. Note: You can’t select and use the Lift, Stamp, Straighten, Crop, or Red Eye tool or any Quick Brush adjustments when using the Webpage Editor.
Working with Web Journal Pages Adding, Arranging, and Deleting Web Journal Photos and Text As you work with a web journal, you can add photos and text to pages, add pages, choose header types, delete pages, and change the page order. You must manually place your photos and add text on web journal pages. To add photos to a web journal page mm Drag photos from the Browser to the page in the Webpage Editor. You can also drag several photos into place at once by selecting and dragging groups of photos.
Adding Web Journal Pages You can add pages to your web journal as you need them. You can also have Aperture create pages in your web journal to hold photos that have a type of metadata, such as a specific rating, keyword, or photo date. For example, you can have Aperture create a page for each keyword assigned to the album’s photos and place photos that have certain keywords on the correct pages automatically.
Reordering Pages in a Web Journal You can change the order of web journal pages when necessary. To move a page up or down in the page order of a web journal 1 In the Webpage Editor, select the thumbnail of the page you want to move in the Pages pane. 2 Choose either Move Current Page Up or Move Current Page Down from the Page Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon).
6 If you would like to be notified when the export process is complete, select the “Show alert when finished” checkbox. 7 When you’re ready to export your webpages, click Export. The webpage is exported to the location you specified. Note: If you would like to check on the progress of an export operation, choose Window > Show Activity. The Activity window displays the progress of each export operation. You can also use this window to pause and cancel an export operation.
Creating Web Export Presets If none of the existing web export presets suit your needs, you can create your own. An easy way to create a new export preset is to copy an existing preset and then modify the copy. To create a new web export preset 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Aperture > Presets > Web Export. •• In the Webpage Editor, click the Export Web Pages button, then choose Edit from the Thumbnail Image Preset or Detail Image Preset pop-up menu. The Web Export dialog appears. Select a preset.
Modifying Web Export Presets After examining a selected preset’s settings, you may want to change something about the preset. To modify a selected preset, you can simply change the necessary settings and click OK. The next time you export using that preset, Aperture remembers your modified settings and exports your web images accordingly. When you modify an existing preset, you lose its original settings. To change a web export preset 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Aperture > Presets > Web Export.
Adding Watermarks to Webpage Photos You can add a graphics file to your photos as a watermark to discourage others from using your photos without your permission. Watermarks are especially useful when applied to photos posted on the web. Use the following guidelines to create high-quality watermarks for your photos: •• Save your watermark as a Photoshop (.psd) file with a transparent background.
Using the Light Table 22 An Overview of the Light Table The Light Table provides a large, open space where you can freely resize, group, and rearrange photos. You can also easily arrange related photos together to compare them, as you might during color correction. The Light Table is used to arrange and view photos. You can work with photos in the Light Table just as you would work with slides on a physical light table.
Creating a Light Table Album To view photos in the Light Table, you first create a Light Table album. You can create a new, empty album and drag photos into it, or you can select photos in a project and create a Light Table album to hold them. To create a new, empty Light Table album 1 In the Library inspector, select the project or folder where you want the new Light Table album to appear. If you want the Light Table to appear in the Light Tables section of the Library inspector, select Projects.
To create a Light Table album that holds a selection of photos 1 In the Browser, select the photos you want in the Light Table album. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > New > Light Table. •• Control-click the selected item in the Library inspector, then choose New > Light Table from the shortcut menu. •• Choose Light Table from the New pop-up menu in the toolbar. Choose Light Table from the New pop-up menu in the toolbar.
Placing and Viewing Photos in the Light Table After adding photos to the Light Table album, you can select the ones you want to work with and place them in the Light Table for viewing. To add photos to the Light Table mm Select a Light Table album in the Library inspector, then drag photos from the Browser to the Light Table. Simply drag images from the Browser to the Light Table.
mm Click the Show Unplaced Images button. Show All Images button Show Unplaced Images button To see the entire contents of the Light Table album in the Browser again, click the Show All Images button. Moving and Resizing Photos in the Light Table You can drag photos to different locations in the Light Table, trying out different combinations and orientations. For example, you might take a group of related photos and arrange them to see how they’d appear on a print page.
Aligning and Arranging Photos in the Light Table As you drag photos in the Light Table, you’ll see yellow guidelines appear that mark the vertical, horizontal, and center points of the stationary, unselected photos in relation to the photos you are dragging. Using the guidelines, you can make sure that your selected photos visually align with other photos in the Light Table.
1 Select the top photo in the group. The top photo is selected. 2 Click the Uncover button (or press Shift-X). Click the Uncover button to reveal all photos under the selected photo. 3 Select an uncovered photo. The photos are regrouped, with the selected photo on top.
Adjusting the Light Table View You can adjust the Light Table view to better view and work with photos. This is particularly useful when the Light Table is larger than your screen size. You can also increase the area of the Light Table. Scale to Fit button Drag the Light Table Zoom slider to zoom in or out. To zoom in to or out of the Light Table mm Drag the Zoom slider to change the view. To fit the Light Table to your screen size mm Click the Scale to Fit button.
Printing Light Table Arrangements After arranging photos in the Light Table, you can print the photo arrangement for further review. For more information about printing Light Table arrangements, see Printing a Light Table Arrangement on page 433. Deleting a Light Table Album You can quickly delete an entire Light Table album.
23 Creating Books An Overview of Creating Books Using the book designs and page layouts included in Aperture, you can print outstanding portfolios of your work that show your photos in their best light. You can order printed books of your photos using the Apple print vendor service, which provides excellent printed results and direct delivery to you or your clients. You can also print your own custom books on a color printer or create files that you can hand off to a print vendor.
When you choose a theme, the Book Layout Editor provides a professionally designed set of master pages that determine how you mix text and photos on the page. For example, you can choose among master pages that create a cover page, pages of text in columns of various sizes, pages of photos in different arrangements, and pages with different combinations of photos and text. You’ll find master pages provide a fast and convenient method for quickly laying out a book.
Important: Books created in Aperture are not visible when working with your Aperture library in iPhoto. However, your Aperture books are not discarded. To view and work with your Aperture books, open the Aperture library in Aperture. Planning Your Book The amount of planning and work involved in creating a book varies with the type of project you’re undertaking.
Stage 11: Distributing Your Book Send the book to the Apple print vendor, or create a PDF file that you can print or send to a print vendor. If you create a PDF file, make sure to include all the fonts you used in your book in the PDF file.
To create a new, empty book album 1 In the Library inspector, select the project or folder where you want the new book album to appear. If you want the book album to appear in the Books section of the Library inspector, select Projects. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > New > Book. •• Control-click a project or folder in the Library inspector, then choose New > Book from the shortcut menu. •• Choose Book from the New pop-up menu in the toolbar.
Choosing a Theme You choose a theme for your book when you create your book album. However, you can change the book’s theme at any time. A theme provides a professionally designed set of master pages that determine how text and photos are placed on the page. It’s a good idea to explore the page styles and designs of Aperture themes.
Viewing Pages Navigating to Book Pages As you work on a book, you can select and view particular pages, and you can change your view of the pages. You can display your pages laid out singly or side by side, and you can enlarge or reduce your view of book pages. You can navigate to pages in your book by clicking a page in the Pages pane or by clicking the navigation buttons.
Resizing the Page View You can reduce or enlarge the view of your book pages in the Book Layout Editor. For example, you might enlarge the display of your pages to closely inspect details, or reduce the view to get an overview of the general page composition. Scale to Fit button Display Size slider Actual Size button To reduce or enlarge the display of your pages mm Drag the Display Size slider left or right to change your view.
mm Choose Autoflow Unplaced Images from the Book Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon) in the Book Layout Editor. To have Aperture “autoflow” selected photos You can select photos in the Browser and have Aperture distribute them into the current page structure of the book, starting with the first empty photo box. For example, you can select two photos in the Browser and have Aperture place them into the first two empty photo boxes of your book.
To display a selection of photos in a book album in a standard Viewer To inspect selected photos in detail, you can display them in the Viewer. When the Book Layout Editor is open, the Browser provides a button for quickly switching to a standard Viewer. 1 Select the photos in the Browser. 2 Click the Show Viewer button. The Book Layout Editor is replaced by the Viewer, allowing you to view the photos in detail and perform image adjustments.
To add a single page to a book 1 In the Book Layout Editor, select a page in the Pages pane. The new page you are about to create will appear just after the selected page. 2 Choose Add New Page from the Add Pages pop-up menu. The new page appears in the Pages pane just after the selected page. 3 With the page selected in the Pages pane, choose a master page from the Set Master Page pop-up menu. The layout is applied to the new page.
Adding New Pages to Hold a Selection of Photos You can also select a group of photos and Aperture can automatically place them on new pages in a book. Aperture creates the number of pages needed to hold the selected photos. Set Master Page pop-up menu Book Action pop-up menu Remove Pages button Add Pages pop-up menu To add a selection of photos to new pages in a book 1 In the Browser, select the photos in the book album that you want add to the book.
Adding New Pages Based on a Master Page You can add pages that are based on a specific master page. Set Master Page pop-up menu Book Action pop-up menu Remove Pages button Add Pages pop-up menu To add a new page that is based on a master page 1 To show master pages, choose Show Master Pages from the Book Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon) in the Book Layout Editor. 2 Select a page in the Pages pane. The new page will appear just after the selected page. 3 Select a master page in the Master Pages pane.
4 Choose Add New Pages From Master > With Selected Images from the Add Pages pop-up menu. Aperture adds the selected photos to new pages and places them at the end of your book. All the new pages are based on the selected master page. If you do not want the new pages to appear at the end of the book, drag them to the position in the book that you prefer in the Pages pane. For more information, see Reordering Pages in a Book on page 531.
Removing Pages from a Book You can remove pages from a book. Removing pages removes the contents of the page, and remaining pages simply reflow to fill the deletion. You cannot remove the cover page of a book. To remove pages from a book 1 Select the page or pages you want to remove in the Pages pane of the Book Layout Editor. You can Shift-click pages to select multiple pages. 2 Click the Remove Pages button (or press the Delete key), then confirm that you want to delete the page or pages.
Choosing a Master Page Layout You select a design for your page by applying a master page layout. Aperture provides different master page layouts depending on the theme you choose. You choose a page design from the Set Master Page pop-up menu. For example, you might create a single-photo page and then later decide to change that page to hold two photos. You can apply different master page designs to a page to find the design that works best for your project.
Choosing a Background Image You can choose a background image to appear behind the other photos on a page. For example, you might create a page that shows a bride and groom in the foreground and a church setting in the background. Or, you might choose a background image that complements the colors of the photo in the foreground. To choose a background image for a page 1 Select the page in the Pages pane of the Book Layout Editor.
Rebuilding a Book If you’ve made modifications to the design of a book and you want to start over with an unmodified design, Aperture can rebuild your book. Aperture rebuilds the book structure using the default series of master page designs and adds your photos to the revised pages. You lose any changes that you previously made to your pages. Aperture can place all the photos in the Browser into the book, or only selected photos.
The Image Scale HUD appears. 2 Drag the slider to adjust the size of the photo within the photo box. Click outside the photo box to hide the Image Scale HUD. To change the part of the photo that appears in a photo box 1 Double-click the photo. The Image Scale HUD appears. 2 Drag the photo to change the part that’s visible within the box. Changing the Aspect Ratio of a Photo Box Book pages hold photo boxes with specific sizes and aspect ratios.
Arranging Photos on the Page You can resize and reposition photo boxes on a book page. First click the Edit Layout button; you can then click photo boxes to select them. Once selected, photo boxes show handles that you can drag to resize the box. You can also drag the content of the box to move the photo box to a new position. As you drag a photo box, yellow guidelines appear that mark the important margins and image borders on your page.
To cut the contents of selected photo boxes, placing the contents in the Clipboard 1 In the Book Layout Editor, click the Edit Content button, if it’s not already selected. 2 Select the photo box or boxes whose contents you want to cut. 3 Choose Edit > Cut Content. To remove the contents of selected photo boxes without saving them in the Clipboard 1 In the Book Layout Editor, click the Edit Content button, if it’s not already selected. 2 Select the photo box or boxes whose contents you want to remove.
Changing the Look of Photos with Filters Aperture allows you to change the look of photos in books by applying filters. For example, you might apply a filter that fades a photo so that you can position text over it to create an interesting cover. You can also apply filters that change a photo to black and white or sepia. To apply a filter to a photo box 1 Select the photo box that contains the photo you want to change. 2 Choose the filter style you want from the Set Photo Filter pop-up menu.
2 In the Map Options HUD, enter a title for the map in the Title field at the top of the HUD. Enter a title for the map here. A title appears over the bottom-left portion of the map in the Book Layout Editor. To add a location to the map By default, the map automatically displays the locations where the photos that surround it were captured, provided they have location information assigned to them. However, you can also add and remove locations that appear on the map using the Map Options HUD.
3 Click the Untitled location and enter a location that you would like to appear on the map. A list of locations appears below. Enter the first few letters of a new location and choose the location from the list that appears. 4 Choose the location from the list. The new location appears on the map in the Book Layout Editor. To remove a location from the map 1 If necessary, double-click the map in the Book Layout Editor.
•• To show curved lines with arrowheads indicating the direction of movement from one place to another: Choose Show Lines with Arrowheads. Choose to show direction lines on the map from the Action pop-up menu. The direction lines appear on the map. To set the path of the direction lines in the map When you show direction lines on the map, they may not initially connect locations in a way that matches the route you intended.
To choose the area shown in the map You can specify which part of the map is visible on the page by zooming in to and out of the map and repositioning the map. If you’ve repositioned the map and the photo locations are off-center or no longer appear, you can return the map to a position centered on the photo locations. 1 If necessary, double-click the map in the Book Layout Editor.
Adding Text Boxes to a Page When you want to add text to a book page and need another text box, you can add one and position it anywhere on the page. To add a text box to a page 1 In the Pages pane of the Book Layout Editor, select the page to which you want to add text. 2 Click the Edit Layout button. 3 Choose Add Text Box from the Add Box pop-up menu. A new text box appears on the page. 4 Drag the text box to the location where you want it to appear.
To unlink a metadata box 1 In the Pages pane of the Book Layout Editor, select the page that has a metadata box you want to unlink. 2 Select the metadata box. 3 Choose Unlink Metadata Box from the Book Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon). To relink a metadata box 1 In the Pages pane of the Book Layout Editor, select the page that has the metadata box you want to link. 2 Command-click the metadata box and the photo box you want to link to select them both.
Arranging Text on the Page You can resize and reposition text and metadata boxes on a book page. First click the Edit Layout button; then click boxes to select them. Selected boxes display handles that you drag to resize the boxes. You can also drag the contents of a box to move the box to a new position. To arrange text on a page 1 In the Book Layout Editor, click the Edit Layout button, if it’s not already selected. 2 In the Pages pane, select the page you want to work on.
To open the Layout Options inspector mm Choose Show Layout Options from the Book Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon) in the Book Layout Editor. The Layout Options inspector appears at the top-left area of the Book Layout Editor. To change the dimensions of a text or photo box 1 Select a text box or photo box on a book page displayed in the Book Layout Editor. 2 Do any of the following: •• To move the selected item left or right: Specify a new value using the X value slider.
Working with Master Pages An Overview of Master Pages Master pages supply the initial design of your book pages. You apply master page designs repeatedly throughout a book. If you plan to make reusable book albums, you can customize the page designs of a selected theme before creating your books. You can select a master page and modify it, changing the photo, text, and metadata boxes that appear on the page. You can also create new master pages to suit specific layout needs.
Creating and Modifying Master Pages You can create new master pages, or you can duplicate existing master pages and modify them. For example, if you decide to customize a two-photo layout from an original master page design, you can save the customized version and have multiple two-photo layouts from which you can choose. Once you create a new master page, the master page name appears in the Set Master Page pop-up menu, where you can choose it to apply the design to pages in your book.
Unifying and Splitting Master Pages Some master pages have left and right versions to match the book margins on the left and right facing pages. You can select a left or right master page and consolidate the two versions into one page. To unify left and right versions of a master page 1 Select a left or right master page in the Master Pages pane of the Book Layout Editor. 2 Choose Unify Master Page from the Book Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon).
Creating and Sharing Custom Themes If you need a book with dimensions different from those of the Small, Medium, and Large format books, you can create a custom theme with the precise dimensions you require. The ability to set the dimensions in a custom theme provides the precision demanded by professional printers. To create a custom theme 1 In the Book Layout Editor, click the Theme button. A dialog appears, alerting you that you may lose text when you change themes. 2 Click OK.
Copying a Book Album After you’ve set up a book structure that you like, you can reuse it for other book publication projects. For example, you might create a wedding album book structure that you reuse frequently. You can select and duplicate a book album. You can then remove the photos from the album and replace them with others to fill the new book. Aperture can automatically flow the new photos into the duplicated book structure.
Ordering Books from Third-Party Print Vendors Using Plug-ins Some third-party print vendors supply plug-ins that allow Aperture to submit your book files with the format and settings the print vendor requires. All third-party book plug-ins provide custom themes, book dimensions, and binding options. To use a third-party book plug-in, you must first obtain the plug-in software from the print vendor and install it. For a list of book plug-ins, go to http://www.apple.com/aperture/resources/third-party-books.
Sharing Your Photos Online 24 An Overview of Sharing Your Photos Online My Photo Stream is the iCloud service that lets you view all your recent photos on your devices without having to sync—all you have to do is turn it on. You can also create shared photo streams to share photos and comments about them with your friends. For more information, see An Overview of My Photo Stream on page 552 and An Overview of Shared Photo Streams on page 559.
•• The photos appear in your photo stream on each device: in the Photos app on your iOS devices, in iPhoto or Aperture on a Mac, or in the Pictures folder on a Windows computer. Take a photo Take a photo with your iOS device. Or import a photo from your digital camera to your Mac or PC. iCloud stores it New photos are automatically sent to iCloud after you take them or import them. And pushes it to your devices Your photos automatically appear on your devices.
Setting Up Your iCloud Account In order to use My Photo Stream, you must set up a free iCloud account. With an active iCloud account, you can set your Aperture library as the main repository for all your photo stream photos. You can also choose which photos you want to download from your photo stream into Aperture, as well as the specific photos in your Aperture library that you want to upload to your photo stream. Note: You must have an Internet connection to set up an iCloud account.
Turning On My Photo Stream for an Aperture Library My Photo Stream is designed to work with one Aperture or iPhoto library at a time. However, it’s easy to switch the library iCloud uses to upload and download photos. Important: If you have My Photo Stream turned on in iPhoto, turning on My Photo Stream in Aperture turns off My Photo Stream for your iPhoto library. Photos from your photo stream are no longer pushed to your iPhoto library.
For more information about setting a library to automatically upload photos to your photo stream, see Automatically Transferring Photos Between Aperture and Your Photo Stream on page 556. Automatically Transferring Photos Between Aperture and Your Photo Stream When you turn on My Photo Stream for an Aperture library, Aperture is set to automatically upload photos to and download photos from your photo stream. However, you can turn these settings on and off.
Manually Transferring Photos Between Aperture and Your Photo Stream You can choose which photos in your Aperture library you want to upload to your photo stream. You can also manually download from your photo stream only those photos that you want to store in your Aperture library. Note: To transfer photos between Aperture and your photo stream, you must have an Internet connection.
•• Photo uploaded from Aperture on one Mac and pushed to iPhoto on another Mac: A new event is created in the iPhoto library and named after the photo’s immediate parent item in the Aperture library. For example, if the photo originated at the top level of a project named “Travel,” a new Travel event is created in iPhoto. If the photo originated in an album named “Christmas 2011” that is inside another album or a project, the new iPhoto event is named after the Christmas 2011 album.
Sharing Photo Streams An Overview of Shared Photo Streams Sharing a photo stream is an easy way to keep the important people in your life up to date with your latest photos. Invitees, who must have an iCloud account to join the photo stream, can view, “like,” and comment on your photos from any device set up with Photo Stream. Those invitees without an iCloud account are sent a link to a webpage to view the shared photos; however, they cannot comment on the photos.
Creating a Shared Photo Stream It’s easy to create a photo stream to share your photos. To create a shared photo stream 1 Select the photos you want to share, then do one of the following: •• Choose File > Share > Photo Stream. •• Choose Photo Stream from the Share pop-up menu in the toolbar. 2 In the Photo Stream dialog, choose New Photo Stream from the Photo Stream pop-up menu. 3 In the “Shared with” field, type the email addresses for your invitees.
To view photos in a shared photo stream 1 In the Web section of the Library inspector, select Photo Stream. My Photo Stream Photo streams you’ve created and shared Streams you’ve subscribed to Your photo stream and shared photo streams appear. 2 To view the contents of a photo stream, double-click its thumbnail. To stop sharing a photo stream If you want to stop sharing a photo stream, all you have to do is delete it.
Adding, Removing, and Editing Photos in a Shared Photo Stream You can add and remove photos in a shared photo stream that you created. You can also update photos in a shared stream. Note: You can add photos only to photo streams you create. You cannot add photos to shared photo streams you subscribe to. To add photos to a shared photo stream 1 Select the photos you want to add to an existing photo stream, then do one of the following: •• Choose File > Share > Photo Stream.
Managing Subscribers to Your Shared Photo Streams You can add and remove subscribers to your shared photo streams at any time. WARNING: If you plan to remove a subscriber from a shared photo stream and you think that person might like to keep some photos in the shared stream, you need to alert the person to save the photos before you remove him or her from the subscription list.
Subscribing to Shared Photo Streams If you have an iCloud account, you can subscribe to shared photo streams that your family and friends invite you to. After you accept, you can view the photos on all your Apple devices, including your Mac. You can also mark the photos you like and comment on photos. You can unsubscribe from a shared photo stream at any time.
Shared photo streams that you subscribe to appear in the lower portion of Photo Stream view. A blue dot next to the shared photo stream’s name indicates that new photos have been added to the photo stream or new comments have been added to one of its photos. In addition, a number appears above the Aperture icon in the Dock to indicate that new photos and comments have been shared with you. A blue dot indicates that new photos or comments have been added.
•• To like the photo: Click the Like button (with a smiley face). Click the Like button to “like” a photo. •• To add a comment to the photo: Type the comment in the text field, then click Post. When you like or comment on a photo in a shared stream, a notification is sent to all the Apple devices of the photo stream’s creator and subscribers. You can delete comments you added to a photo by placing the pointer over the comment and clicking the Delete button that appears.
Emailing Photos While it’s not the best method for delivering uncompressed or large image files, email provides a quick and easy way to deliver photos. Aperture contains three export presets (Email Small, Email Medium, and Email Original Size) that create compressed JPEG files that are easy to send via email. If these export presets don’t meet your needs, you can create your own custom email export preset. You can also have Aperture transfer a photo directly to your email application.
Publishing Photos to Flickr and Facebook An Overview of Sharing Photos with Flickr and Facebook Aperture lets you create Flickr and Facebook albums to collect photos for publication on http://www.flickr.com and http://www.facebook.com. Photos placed in Flickr and Facebook albums in Aperture are automatically exported to and published in your Flickr and Facebook accounts. Any comments your friends post about a photo in one of your Facebook accounts appear in the Info inspector in Aperture.
You can have Aperture check to see if any new albums appear in your Facebook accounts or if any new sets appear in your Flickr accounts. If Aperture detects the presence of a new album in your Facebook account, it downloads the album’s configuration. The new Facebook album appears in the Web Albums view for the account. If Aperture detects a new set in your Flickr account, the new set appears as a Flickr album in the Web Albums view for the account.
7 Click the “OK, I’ll Authorize It” button, then switch back to Aperture. A new dialog appears in Aperture with controls for creating a new Flickr set as well as setting access restrictions for your Flickr page. 8 Do the following: •• If necessary, choose the Flickr account you want to publish to from the Flickr Account pop-up menu. •• Choose New Set from the Set pop-up menu. •• Give your Flickr set a name in the Set Name field.
4 In the Flickr account sign-in page, do the following: •• Enter your Yahoo! ID. •• Enter your password. •• Select the “Keep me signed in” checkbox. Selecting this checkbox keeps you signed in for two weeks and prevents you from having to sign in to Flickr every time you want to publish photos to your Flickr account within a two-week period. 5 Click Sign In. A new page opens in Flickr asking if you arrived at this page via Aperture Uploader. 6 Click Next.
To sign in to Facebook and create a new Facebook album 1 In Aperture, select a photo or a group of photos. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > Share > Facebook. •• Choose Facebook from the Share pop-up menu in the toolbar. 3 In the dialog that appears, do the following: •• Enter your email address. •• Enter your password. •• Select the “I agree to Facebook’s terms” checkbox. •• Click Login.
To sign in to Facebook and upload a photo or video to your Facebook Wall 1 In Aperture, select a photo or a video. Note: You can upload only one photo or video file at a time to your Facebook Wall. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > Share > Facebook. •• Choose Facebook from the Share pop-up menu in the toolbar. 3 In the dialog that appears, do the following: •• Enter your email address. •• Enter your password. •• Select the “I agree to Facebook’s terms” checkbox. •• Click Login.
Creating Flickr and Facebook Albums Once you set up your account information and create your first Flickr or Facebook album, creating new Flickr and Facebook albums is a simple process. To create a new Flickr album to publish as a Flickr set 1 Do one of the following: •• In the Library inspector, select an item. •• In the Browser, select a group of photos. 2 Do one of the following: •• Choose File > Share > Flickr. •• Choose Flickr from the Share pop-up menu in the toolbar.
Viewing Flickr and Facebook Albums You can view the contents of your Flickr and Facebook albums in Aperture at any time. To view a Flickr or Facebook album in Aperture 1 In the Web section of the Library inspector, select the Flickr or Facebook account containing the albums you want to view. The albums for the selected Flickr or Facebook account appear in Web Albums view to the right of the Library inspector. 2 In Web Albums view, double-click an album’s thumbnail to view its contents.
Updating Your Flickr and Facebook Albums As your Flickr and Facebook albums grow, you can publish them at any time. Aperture checks to see which photo versions have already been published in the album and then uploads any version that has changed and any new versions. If you’re not sure if a Flickr or Facebook album is up to date or you just want to check your Flickr or Facebook page, you can visit your published Facebook album or Flickr set from within Aperture.
Any new Flickr sets or Facebook albums created outside of Aperture are downloaded to the Web Albums view for the account selected in the Library inspector. To have Aperture check an individual Flickr or Facebook album for new content online mm In Web Albums view, Control-click the Flickr or Facebook album you want to update, then choose Synchronize Album from the shortcut menu. Any new photos or videos posted to your Flickr set or Facebook album online appear in the selected album in Web Albums view.
Deleting Flickr and Facebook Albums You can delete Flickr and Facebook albums in Aperture at any time. WARNING: Deleting Flickr and Facebook albums in Aperture permanently deletes the corresponding Flickr sets and Facebook albums online, along with their contents. If you want to temporarily remove a Flickr or Facebook account in Aperture, but keep the albums and photos as they are in your Flickr or Facebook account online, you can always disable your Flickr or Facebook account in Aperture.
Working with Multiple Flickr and Facebook Accounts In Aperture, you can share photos with multiple Flickr and Facebook accounts. To add multiple Flickr and Facebook accounts to Aperture 1 Choose Aperture > Preferences, or press Command-Comma (,). The Preferences window appears. 2 In the Preferences window, click Web, then click the Add (+) button to add an account. 3 In the dialog that appears, choose a type of account, then click Add.
To disable all of your online accounts in Aperture mm Choose File > Web Accounts > Disable All Accounts. All of your online Flickr and Facebook accounts and their associated albums are disabled and removed from Aperture. However, the album configurations are saved in case you want to reenable the accounts later. The albums, sets, and their contents still appear in the Flickr or Facebook accounts online.
Backing Up Your Photos 25 An Overview of the Backup Workflow To safeguard your photography portfolio, it’s important to establish a reliable backup system and back up regularly. You can use the Aperture backup system to back up the entire Aperture library on a regular basis. Aperture clearly indicates how up to date your most recent backup is, and you can update your backups immediately whenever you wish.
As you add to your photo library, Aperture automatically tracks which files have been backed up to each vault. When there are image files in the library that are not backed up in a vault, the Vault Status button appears red. When your vault is up to date, the Vault Status button for the vault appears black. When you have made image modifications (such as image adjustments or metadata or keyword changes) that have not yet been backed up in a vault, the button appears yellow.
When planning the amount of storage space you’ll need, estimate the amount of disk space needed to hold your existing digital images (photos you plan to import into Aperture) and the amount of space you might need for new projects. For example, RAW images typically require 8 to 25 or more megabytes (MB) of disk space per file.
mm In the Vault pane, click the Vault Status button to the right of the vault’s name. For more information about updating vaults, see Updating Vaults on page 584. To see the hard disk assigned to a vault mm In the Vault pane, click the disclosure triangle beside the vault name. Disclosure triangle You can easily see the amount of free space your vault has available next to the vault name.
Disconnecting a Vault’s Hard Disk Drive from Your System Temporarily You may routinely disconnect a backup hard disk drive from your Aperture system and take it to a safe offsite location. When you disconnect a backup hard disk from your computer, Aperture takes the associated vault offline. When you reconnect the hard disk, Aperture automatically detects the hard disk and connects it to the corresponding vault.
Deleting a Vault Permanently You can delete an entire vault and all the photos on it when you need to reconfigure your backup system. This is useful when you have moved your backup vault to a larger-capacity hard disk and you want to delete the vault information from the current hard disk drive to use it for other purposes. To permanently remove a vault and delete its information 1 Do one of the following: •• Choose Window > Show Vaults (or press Shift-R). •• Click the Show Vaults button.
Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library In the rare event that your Aperture database becomes corrupted or the files within it have permissions issues, Aperture provides a few methods for reconstituting your Aperture library and the file relationships within it. To repair or rebuild your Aperture library 1 Close Aperture, if it’s open. 2 Locate the Aperture library you want to fix, then hold down the Command and Option keys while double-clicking the Aperture library.
26 Customizing the Aperture Workspace Changing Main Window Layouts When a project, album, or folder is selected in the Library inspector, Aperture offers three basic layouts for the main window: •• Browser: Use this layout to display image thumbnails in an enlarged Browser so you can review photos, perform initial rating passes, and create and work with stacks of photos. Layout buttons: Click a button to select a main window layout.
•• Split View: Use this layout to display both the Browser and Viewer together and use them in combination to review and work with photos. Split View layout: The Viewer and Browser appear together. •• Viewer: Use this layout to display photos in an enlarged Viewer and work with them in detail. Viewer layout: The Viewer fills the workspace and displays your photo selection. Tool strip: Use these tools to adjust and work with your photos.
Setting Aperture Preferences An Overview of Aperture Preferences Aperture provides a Preferences window for specifying settings that control the location of the Aperture library, the appearance of the Aperture window, the application used to import photos onto your computer, how photos are exported out of Aperture, how color labels are defined, how preview images are generated, as well as additional advanced settings. By taking time to specify your preference settings, you can speed up your workflow.
•• Web button: Click this button to display options for reviewing and updating albums that you’ve published to your Flickr and Facebook accounts online. For more information, see Web Preferences on page 596. •• Advanced button: Click this button to display options for specifying hot and cold area thresholds, adding tolerance to Auto Levels adjustments, choosing color or monochrome clipping overlays, and choosing to have Aperture look up photo location information automatically.
•• “Show last [number] months album” checkbox: Select this checkbox to add an item to the Recent section of the Library inspector that tracks recently imported photos. Use the value slider to set the number of months to keep track of the imported photos. •• “Automatically stack new versions” checkbox: Select this checkbox to automatically stack versions of the same photo as you create them.
•• “Badge referenced items” checkbox: Select this checkbox to have Aperture display badges that identify referenced images, audio clips, and video clips. •• “Show corkboard background for Faces” checkbox: Select this checkbox to display a corkboard in the background of Faces view.
Important: The Camera Previews and Standard Previews settings apply only when Maintain Previews is turned on in the Library Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon) in the Library inspector. Export Preferences Use the controls in the Export preference pane to set the external editor, choose the email application used to email photos from within Aperture, and assign a copyright statement to webpages you create.
•• “Include face info in exported photos” checkbox: Select this checkbox to include Faces metadata (names you have assigned to people in your photos using Faces) in exported photos. Labels Preferences Use the text fields in the Labels preference pane to customize labels for each color. Previews Preferences Use the controls in the Previews preference pane to set how Aperture creates and displays preview images.
Photo Stream Preferences Use the controls in the Photo Stream preference pane to turn My Photo Stream on or off for an Aperture library, as well as set options for automatically uploading and downloading photos between your photo stream and your Aperture library. You can also turn on photo stream sharing.
•• Remove (–) button: Click this button to delete the selected account from Aperture. Important: All albums associated with the deleted Flickr or Facebook account are removed from Aperture. However, the albums or sets and their photos still appear in the Flickr or Facebook account.
Customizing the Toolbar Hiding and Showing the Toolbar The toolbar is shown by default, but you can choose to hide it. To hide the toolbar mm Choose View > Hide Toolbar (or press Shift-T). To show a toolbar that has been hidden mm Choose View > Show Toolbar (or press Shift-T). Tip: You can also quickly hide or show the toolbar by clicking the Toolbar button (a gray, oblong button in the top-right corner of the Aperture main window).
•• To control whether each item’s icon and text appear in the toolbar: Choose Text Only, Icon Only, or Icon & Text from the Show pop-up menu in the lower-left corner of the dialog, or Control-click the toolbar and choose Text Only, Icon Only, or Icon & Text from the shortcut menu. 3 When you finish configuring the toolbar, click Done. To reset the toolbar to its default state mm Drag the default toolbar up from the bottom of the dialog into the toolbar area.
Feature Multi-Touch trackpad gestures Viewer and Full Screen view (Viewer mode) •• •• •• Use the pinch gesture to zoom in to or out of the photo, or double-tap with two fingers to zoom in to a specific part of the photo. Use the rotate gesture to rotate the photo beneath the pointer. Use the swipe gesture to select a different photo when “Scroll to navigate photos in the Viewer” is selected in the General pane of the Preferences window.
Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts An Overview of Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts Aperture provides a wide variety of menu commands and keyboard shortcuts that let you control almost every aspect of your workflow. The Command Editor lets you search or browse the various commands and keyboard shortcuts in Aperture. In addition, the Command Editor lets you customize keyboard shortcuts so you can streamline the way you work.
Keys that are assigned to shortcuts are marked with a dark gray dot, whereas unassigned keys have no additional markings. Several keys are shaded with diagonal lines, indicating that they are reserved for OS X operating system use. No markings indicate unassigned keys. A dark gray dot indicates keys with assigned shortcuts. Choosing a Command Set By default, Aperture uses a standard set of commands, with the language choice that you specified when you set up your computer.
Viewing Keyboard Shortcuts by Group The Command List area of the Command Editor displays several groupings of commands, organized by Aperture menus as well as by type of command. Click a group to have the Command list display only the commands and keyboard shortcuts in that group. Command groups are displayed in this area. Searching for Commands Use the search field in the upper-right corner of the Command Editor to quickly locate a command or its keyboard shortcut.
Filtering the View by Modifier Keys You can use the modifier key buttons (Command, Shift, Option, and Control) at the top of the Command Editor to quickly see which keys work in combination with the various modifier keys. To filter by modifier keys 1 Click one of the four modifier key buttons at the top of the Command Editor (or click one of the modifier keys on the virtual keyboard). Keys assigned to work in combination with the selected modifier key appear marked with a dark gray dot.
When you select a command in the Command list, the Detail area displays a brief description of the command. A brief description of the selected command is shown in the Detail area. Assigning Keyboard Shortcuts Customizing keyboard shortcuts in the Command Editor is fast and easy. Because the default command set includes commands for which no shortcut is defined, you may want to apply a new shortcut to a command.
To save a command set mm Click the Save button in the lower-right corner of the Command Editor. If you close the Command Editor with unsaved changes, Aperture prompts you to save the command set. To delete a command set 1 Make sure the command set you want to delete is the active command set, then choose Delete from the pop-up menu at the top of the Command Editor. A dialog appears. 2 Click Delete. The command set is removed, and the default command set becomes the active set of commands.
Glossary additive color Images with color elements derived from the light source itself. RGB is a common form of additive color. See also RGB. adjustment Any change to the appearance of an image. See also brushed adjustment. Adobe RGB (1998) A color profile commonly used for printing. See also color space. album A type of container in the Aperture library that holds only versions. You can create albums at either the project level or within a project.
audio file The source media file on disk to which an audio clip in Aperture refers; the audio clip’s original. See also audio clip, original. autofocus The system within the camera that automatically focuses the lens on a specific portion of the subject or scene. See also autofocus point overlays. autofocus point overlays Overlays displayed over photos in the Viewer that show which autofocus mode was used by the camera and which focal point was used to focus the photo when it was captured.
bracketing The process of taking three shots of the same photo based on the aperture and shutter values recommended by the light meter: a shot one stop under the recommended exposure, a shot at the recommended exposure, and a shot one stop over the recommended exposure. You can also narrow the bracketing range to fractions of a stop. Bracketing is used in difficult lighting situations to ensure that the scene is captured with the correct exposure. See also automatic bracketing.
candid shot Refers to a photograph of a person that appears to have been taken informally and unposed, without the subject’s knowledge. See also composition. capture a. The process of taking the image received by the digital image sensor and camera processor and storing that information on the memory card in the camera. b. The process of recording a photo in Aperture at the moment it is shot via a tethered camera. See also camera, digital image sensor, image, memory card, tethered shooting.
color depth The possible range of colors that can be used in an image. There are generally three choices with digital images: grayscale, 8-bit, and 16-bit. Higher color depths provide a wider range of colors but require more storage space. See also bit depth, color channels, grayscale. colorimeter An instrument capable of measuring the color value of a sample, using color filters. A colorimeter is used to determine if two colors are the same.
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) A type of digital image sensor that is capable of recording the entire image provided by the light-sensitive elements in parallel (essentially all at once), resulting in a higher rate of data transfer to the storage device. Tiny colored microlenses are fitted on each light-sensitive element in a CMOS sensor to increase its ability to interpret light. See also charge-coupled device (CCD), digital image sensor.
decompression The process of creating a viewable image from a compressed digital image file. See also compression. definition The clarity of details in an image. See also resolution. Definition parameter An Enhance adjustment parameter in Aperture used to adjust the clarity of details in an image. See also Enhance adjustment. Definition Quick Brush A type of Quick Brush adjustment that adds clarity and reduces haze without adding too much contrast to the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on.
digital A description of data that is stored or transmitted as a sequence of ones and zeros. Most commonly, refers to binary data represented using electronic or electromagnetic signals. JPEG, PNG, RAW, and TIFF files are all digital. See also digitization. digital image sensor The computer chip located at the image plane inside the camera that consists of millions of individual light-sensitive elements capable of capturing light.
Duplicate Version command A command in the Photos menu that duplicates the selected photo version with all applied metadata and adjustments. See also adjustment, image, metadata, version. dust and scratch removal The process of digitally removing the blemishes caused by dust and scratches on film scans. See also Retouch adjustment. dye sublimation A type of printer that creates images by heating colored ribbon to a gaseous state, bonding the ink to the paper.
exposure The amount of light in a photo. Exposure is controlled by limiting the intensity of light (controlled by the aperture) and the length of time light comes into contact with the digital image sensor (controlled by the shutter). Exposure affects the overall brightness of the photo as well as its perceived contrast. See also adjustment, aperture, contrast, digital image sensor, Exposure adjustment, shutter.
Finder The part of the Mac operating system software that keeps track of files, applications, and folders and displays the desktop. finishing The process of applying the final adjustments to a digital image just before presentation. Finishing may involve applying an additional gamma adjustment upon export, or using an external editor to either burn or dodge a portion of the image before sending it to the printer. See also export, external editor.
Full Screen view A workspace view in Aperture with minimal user interface, used to view fullscreen photos in high resolution with the least amount of light and color interference. See also Browser layout, filmstrip, HUD, Split View layout, Viewer layout. Full Screen view toolbar A collection of buttons and tools, grouped by function, located at the top of the screen in Full Screen view. See also toolbar. gamma A curve that describes how the middle tones of an image appear.
HUD Short for heads-up display. In Aperture, HUDs are floating windows that allow you to work on your image. You can open and then move a HUD wherever you wish, based on your display setup. See also Full Screen view. hue An attribute of color perception; also known as color phase. For example, red and blue are different hues. See also Color adjustment. ICC profile Created as a result of device characterization, the ICC profile contains the data about the device’s exact gamut.
JPEG Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is a popular image file format that lets you create highly compressed graphics files. The amount of compression used varies. Less compression results in a higher-quality image. JPEG files usually have a .jpg extension. See also format, RAW + JPEG image pair. kelvin (K) A unit of measurement used to describe color values of light sources, based on a temperature scale that begins at absolute zero. See also color temperature, White Balance adjustment.
list view A Browser view that displays photos in a list by name, icon, and accompanying metadata, such as rating, image dimensions, file size, and date, rather than as a row or grid of thumbnails. See also Browser, filmstrip view, grid view, metadata, rating. Loupe A tool in Aperture used to magnify the area of the photo you place it over. luminance A value describing the brightness of all color channels combined in a pixel.
monochrome An image presented in shades of a single color, such as the shades of gray in a black-and-white photograph. See also Black & White adjustment, Color Monochrome adjustment, grayscale, image, photograph. Navigator button A button in the Light Table used to reposition the view when the contents of the Light Table are larger than your screen. See also Light Table. negative Developed film with a reverse-tone image of the subject or scene. See also dust and scratch removal, emulsion, film, positive.
panning a. Moving the camera along with a moving subject in order to keep the subject in the frame. Panning a fast-moving subject with a slow shutter speed usually causes the subject to remain relatively in focus, while the remaining areas of the scene are blurred or stretched in the direction of the camera movement. b. In Aperture, pressing the Space bar and dragging within an image to see other parts of the image when it is displayed at 100 percent size. See also camera, image, Viewer.
Places view A view in Aperture that allows you to apply location information to a photo selection and track the location of each shot using Google Maps. Photos captured with GPSenabled cameras provide their location information automatically. See also Faces view, Flagged view, Global Positioning System (GPS), photo selection, Photos view, Places Path Navigator pop-up menus, Projects view, waypoint. PNG Short for Portable Network Graphics.
profile A compilation of data on a specific device’s color information, including its gamut, color space, and modes of operation. A profile represents a device’s color-reproduction capabilities and is essential to effective color management. See also device characterization, gamut. program exposure An exposure mode on many automatic cameras in which the camera automatically sets the aperture and shutter values for a correct exposure. See also exposure.
rangefinder An apparatus found on many cameras that is used to help focus the image. See also camera, viewfinder. raster image processor (RIP) A specialized printer driver that replaces the driver that comes with your printer. The RIP takes input from applications and converts, or rasterizes, the information to data that the printer understands so that it can put dots on a page. Software RIPs typically offer features not found in standard printer drivers.
Repair brush A type of Retouch brush in Aperture used to correct and obscure imperfections in an image by copying pixels from a similar-looking area of an image and pasting them over the area with the pixels you want to replace. In addition to overwriting the pixels, the Repair brush resamples the pasted pixels to match the color, texture, and luminance of the pixels you replaced. See also Clone brush, Retouch adjustment, retouching.
Sharpen adjustment An adjustment in Aperture used to sharpen images. See also adjustment, Edge Sharpen adjustment, image. Sharpen Quick Brush A type of Quick Brush adjustment that sharpens the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. See also adjustment, Brush HUD, Quick Brushes. shortcut menu A menu you access by holding down the Control key and clicking an area of the interface, or by pressing the right mouse button.
source image file See original. source profile The profile of an image file before it undergoes color conversion. Span setting A secondary Viewer setting that splits the presentation of the current photo selection between the main and secondary Viewer displays. See also main Viewer, photo selection, secondary Viewer. spectrophotometer An instrument that measures the wavelength of color across an entire spectrum of colors.
theme Professionally designed layouts in Aperture used for books, webpages, and slideshows. See also slideshow. TIFF Short for Tagged Image File Format. TIFF is a widely used bitmapped graphics file format, developed by Aldus and Microsoft, that handles monochrome, grayscale images. See also format, grayscale, monochrome. tint The shade of a color. See also color cast.
Vibrancy Quick Brush A type of Quick Brush adjustment that adds saturation to or removes it from just the desaturated colors in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Skin tones are not affected. See also adjustment, Brush HUD, Quick Brushes, saturation. video clip An instance of a segment of video in Aperture; a video file’s version. See also version, video file. video file The source media file on disk to which a video clip in Aperture refers; the video clip’s original.
working space The color space in which you edit a file. Working spaces are based either on color space profiles such as Apple RGB or on device profiles. XMP sidecar file An extensible markup language designed by Adobe Systems Incorporated that is used for defining metadata sets for photo editing applications. Resources, such as adjustment parameters, can be saved in this file and passed on to other applications. See also adjustment, IPTC, IPTC Core, metadata.