Along with a high degree of integration, Aperture also offers a range of useful image management tools and views called Libraries, Projects, Folders (not the same as operating system folders), Albums, and Stacks. Unlike conventional image browsers, Aperture requires you to import images into a separate Aperture library, even if they are already stored elsewhere in your computer’s file system. They are then sorted into individual projects. You can store your actual image files in the library itself (where they can be directly accessed by other applications) or in your computer’s file system. If your images are stored in your everyday file system, your library will contain a reference to each file’s location but not the file itself.

Library •. This is the Aperture database (or repository) that contains all management data relevant to your stock of images. All projects, folders, albums, masters, versions, and (optionally) image files are initially stored in a single library. The library is the core of the Aperture environment and is similar to the catalogs used by other image management programs. It is possible to create and switch between multiple libraries, although you can only search for images in the currently active library.

Figure 6-1. Aperture’s main window in Browser mode. The Library inspector pane is on the left, and the Adjustments pane in the Inspector HUD (Heads-Up Display, a separate, free flowing panel) is on the right. You can add other HUDs at any time. The loupe is used to magnify image details.

A library is treated as a single, large Mac Package file by the Macintosh Finder, and the individual elements of a library (projects, albums, folders etc.) can be viewed only by using Aperture. With a little ingenuity, you can also create libraries that are larger than a single hard disk or partition.

Project •. A project is a container for image information and (optionally) image files. An image must be imported into a project before it can be processed using Aperture. Such imported images are treated as “master” images and are themselves never modified.

You can download images directly from your camera, from a card reader, from conventional file folders, or from iPhoto albums.

Aperture also allows you to configure an external image processing program or plug-in (such as Photoshop or Nik Silver Efex Pro). If this is the case, Aperture hands over a TIFF or PSD copy of the image version or master. The resulting image is then stored as a new version. You can configure your chosen external editor in the Export section of the Preferences dialog (Aperture ▸ Preferences).

Folder •. Folders are used to enhance the structure of the images that belong to a project, and they can also contain images from other projects without copying them. Folders can also contain subfolders.

Create a new folder:

Album • An Album is a collection of images with a specific purpose, such as a presentation. There are three types of albums: Standard (static) Albums , Smart Albums (the results of a search made using specific criteria), and Light Table Albums () that can be used to view images as you would on a traditional light table (even overlapped).

You can also scale images on the light table, which can be larger than your monitor – if this is the case, you have to scroll to view images outside the current monitor image. Books, Web Journals, Slideshows, and Web Pages are other special album types.

Vault •. This is where backup copies of libraries are kept. A vault has to be stored on a single disk or partition, and it can be automatically synchronized with the current library and all the projects contained within it. Vault files can then be burned to DVD for backup, restore, or transfer purposes.

Stack •. A stack is used to group (usually similar) images for subsequent selection of one or more favorites. If you close a stack, only the top image is visible, and the button indicates how many images are contained in the stack. Closed stacks help keep large projects clear and manageable.

Figure 6-2. An open stack. When a stack is closed, only the leftmost image is displayed. This thumbnail also contains a button indicating the number of images in the stack.

Stacks have an order and a top image (called the pick). You can use keyboard shortcuts to change the order of the images in a stack. The images in an open stack are displayed from left to right (i.e., from top to bottom), as shown in Figure 6-2. You can add or delete images in a stack at any time.

Aperture can be set up to automatically generate stacks – arranged according to a preset shooting interval – during image import. Multiple versions of a single image can also be stored in a stack.

Aperture classes your original image as a master image. Like most other RAW editors, Aperture performs image corrections non-destructively and saves modifications in the form of a separate parameter file.^[93] The same is true for JPEG, TIFF, and all the other supported file formats. This makes it easier to save multiple versions of a single image and also saves disk space. Aperture saves corrections to its other supported image formats (JPEG, TIFF, PSD, PNG, and GIF) this way, too.

Aperture’s workflow is organized with professional photographers in mind. We recommend that you use your own file structure rather than importing your images into the Aperture library when you create a new project. Aperture’s import browser allows you to determine the location of your imported images, automatically rename your images, and create stacks. (You can individually configure the interval between images that causes a stack to be created.) You can also add general metadata to your images during import, and you can even adjust the recorded time zone if necessary. Aperture 3 allows you to import video files and automatically create backups during the import process.

You can then view your images and group similar ones into stacks. You can rate your images with up to five stars and also flag them as Rejected if necessary. This overall concept is virtually identical to that found in most other image browsers and all-in-one tools. Rating stars can be applied using buttons or keyboard shortcuts.

You can add hierarchical lists of keywords and drag keyword entries from the keyword HUD to selected images. There are various window configurations available for viewing your images (preview image plus filmstrip, thumbnail view, single image, image comparison, full-resolution, etc.) that you can select using your keyboard.

Figure 6-3. The Aperture import browser. A large window is necessary in order to preserve an overview of all the available settings.

Figure 6-4. Metadata Inspector showing image EXIF data

Figure 6-5. The Lift & Stamp tools are used to define which image metadata to copy.

You can display two or more images for direct comparison and use the loupe to get a close-up view of image details. A practical addition is that the loupe size and zoom factor can be individually configured.

You can add IPTC data to your image in the metadata inspector pane, and you can choose between various types of metadata using the tabs at the bottom of the pane. Metadata (individual IPTC fields and general image correction data) can be copied to and from single or multiple images using the Lift and Stamp tools (Figure 6-5). You can also use the Lift & Stamp HUD to copy keywords and apply them to other images.

Aperture includes RAW conversion and image editing functionality. The loupe and multiple image view features make it simple to copy corrections from an edited reference image to other similarly exposed images using the Lift and Stamp tools. Images optimized in this way can also be individually fine-tuned later.

Figure 6-6. Adjustments panel with the histogram and the seven basic adjustment panes – here, all are collapsed.

The histogram can be switched between luminance and individual or RGB color channel displays. The EXIF exposure data and the Exposure, Enhance, and Highlights & Shadows adjustment tools are located beneath the histogram display (Figure 6-6).

Figure 6-7. You can add or remove items in the Adjustments Inspector.

Most of Aperture’s adjustment controls are located in the Adjustments pane, where you can find seven basic adjustment types (Figure 6-6). You can add further adjustments to the list using the drop-down menu B in the adjustments inspector, or using user-configurable keyboard shortcuts (Figure 6-7). You can also delete unwanted entries from the list by selecting them and pressing . Some tools are located in the tool strip: The Quick Brushes pop-up menu found under is used for making brushed (selective) image adjustments. Aperture includes all the major adjustment tools that we like to see, and these are all available for all of the program’s supported file formats.

The individual tools’ sliders can be shown or hidden using the button, and you can set the inspector pane to be displayed as a high-contrast HUD (with a black background) that you can position anywhere on your desktop (including on a second monitor).

The button resets an adjustment to its default values. You can use the Adjustment Action pop-up menu to choose a histogram view, remove selected adjustments, and choose whether to display color and camera information below the histogram. You can also choose the type of color values and the sample size from this pop-up menu. Click to temporarily deactivate an adjustment. A second click will again enable the correction. Adjustments can be saved and reapplied using the Presets menu (Figure 6-6).

Figure 6-8. White Balance and Exposure

The White Balance adjustment (Figure 6-8) includes color temperature (Temp) and Tint sliders, while Exposure has sliders for adjusting Recovery, Black Point, Brightness, and overall exposure. Curves adjustments can be applied to individual or all color channels. You can use eyedroppers to set black and white points, and you can set shadow, highlight, and midtone gray points – a function that is (as yet) not available in Adobe Camera Raw 6.1 or Lightroom 3.

Figure 6-9. Aperture also includes a Levels adjustment.

You can correct burned out highlights and lost shadow detail using the Levels tool (Figure 6-9). Here, you can optimize image luminance and the individual color channels.

Use the eyedropper in the Color adjustment to select and optimize individual tones (Figure 6-10). Each of the six major tones has four individual sliders similar to those found in the HSL tab in ACR.

Aperture also includes basic sharpening and noise reduction controls, but these are not best-in-class. The sharpening tool has no adjustable threshold value, but it does include an edge sharpening facility. Noise reduction cannot be applied to individual color channels.

Figure 6-10. This is the panel for fine-tuning colors.

Aperture has a kind of Channel Mixer for monochrome conversions, and there are various color filters available in the Presets menu. Black-and-white RGB images can also betinted using the Color Monochrome and Sepia controls.

Figure 6-11. Black & White conversion adjustment

Aperture’s toolset is rounded out with Devignette, Moiré, and Chromatic Aberration correction tools. There are no built-in lens corrections, but these can be performed using appropriate plug-ins. Aperture also includes Crop , Straighten , and 90-degree Rotate tools.

Figure 6-12. Aperture’s Spot & Patch tool is used to remove blemishes and dust spots.

Selective Adjustments

Aperture offers various approaches to making selective image adjustments. The Spot & Patch tool (used to remove spots and other flaws in a similar way to Photoshop’s Healing Brush), the retouch brush , and the Red-eye tool all function non-destructively. The Stamp is useful for quickly removing small flaws caused, for example, by dust on the image sensor. You can use the Retouch brush either like Photoshop’s Clone Stamp tool to select source and target areas, or like the Healing Brush to repair small areas with similar textures.

Aperture 3 introduced other selective correction tools that function in a similar way to the Photoshop Lens Correction tool. These tools are all applied using a brush that has adjustable shape, softness, and strength.

Figure 6-13. Aperture’s Dodge & Burn tool

This concept is easy to learn and allows you to apply various types of local, selective adjustments selected from the Adjustments list (Figure 6-14).

Figure 6-14. Aperture 3 includes a range of brush-based selective adjustments.

Note: As with Lightroom 3, none of the currently available Aperture plug-ins is capable of performing non-destructive image adjustments.

Most functions can be undone (using the button) and redone. You can save sets of corrections for application to other images, but Aperture does not have a presets browser like the one built into Lightroom.

You can load images into an external application for additional editing or conversion to CMYK using the Edit with command in the context menu. Currently, only one application can be configured; we would prefer to see more.

Figure 6-15. Export format and external editing applications are selected in the Export preferences dialog.

Aperture exports a copy of the selected image in a format selected in the Export preferences (File ▸ Export – see Figure 6-15). You can also select whether the original file, a copy, or just the image metadata are exported. If you export a copy, you can also select the format, file location, and naming scheme (Figure 6-16). This is also the dialog used for configuring batch conversions.

Figure 6-16. You can save various export parameters for subsequent application to image copies.

Images need to be exported for various reasons: for distribution to third parties, for printing by an external service provider, for processing in an external application, for inclusion in a slideshow, for merging into an HDR or panorama image, or for processing in a DTP application.

Remember, it is virtually impossible to access files that are stored in an Aperture library from outside Aperture, and any corrections you have made must be resampled into the image data during export so that they can be accessed by other applications. If necessary, Aperture can export entire projects.^[94]

Aperture also includes slideshow, Web gallery, and print functionality. You can send your images or photo book files (created using the New ▸ Book command) to a print service directly via e-mail. Aperture includes a number of book layout presets that you can also print yourself.

Web galleries and books have their own special album types (Web Journals and Books), and we recommend that you always use these (or a regular album) for configuring complex projects. Aperture is capable of producing attractive slideshows, Web galleries, and photo books from a range of presets that you can adjust to suit your individual needs. Aperture also includes tools for uploading finished Web galleries.

To create a Web Journal or a Web gallery, select your images from the thumbnail view in Aperture’s main window and activate the appropriate function (found in the menu at top left: ). Images that you attach to an e-mail are automatically scaled and compressed in JPEG format. All of the output functions and layouts are highly configurable. Web Journals allow you to freely mix and layout images and text in a single document.

Aperture’s print dialog leaves little to be desired (Figure 6-17). You can select individual ICC profiles and rendering intents, and color management is automatically managed by Aperture (or ColorSync). You can adjust overall image brightness using a gamma value slider, and additional output sharpening is also possible. Images can be printed individually or as configurable contact sheets.

Figure 6-17. Aperture print dialog. Individual settings can be saved as print presets.

Aperture has its own Digital Asset Management (DAM) functionality built in, with highly capable search tools that are comparable with those of other quality DAM systems.^[95] Aperture’s search filter works very smoothly – the filter dialog is shown in Figure 6-18 (reachable via ), complete with settings for a fairly complex search.

There are various selectable filter criteria available (Figure 6-18), but we would nevertheless like to see a broader choice. We like to be able to search for images shot with a particular lens or camera. You can also search in Aperture using Apples’s Spotlight.^[96]

The results of a search are presented as a new view of the image in your library. These images can be automatically loaded into a new album or light table (or other container). Selecting the File ▸ New Smart ▸ Album command turns the new view into a dynamic view that automatically includes new images that match (or deletes images that no longer match) the selected search criteria. This is really a kind of automatic search function that automatically updates itself.

During search criteria input, only the thumbnails that match the criteria you have already typed are displayed. This view also remains locked when you close the filter dialog, which might then include fewer thumbnails than you expect. You will need to reset the search dialog to be sure that all the matching thumbnails are included in your view.

Aperture 3 introduces place names and GPS coordinates as search criteria and can display a map of existing GPS coordinates. You can even search for particular faces, and Aperture is pretty good at recognizing people once you have given a particular face a name.

Aperture includes keyboard shortcuts for most regularly used functions, and you can define your own shortcuts.^[97] Very handy! It also supports tethered shooting for a number of Canon and Nikon cameras.

Figure 6-18. Filter dialog in Aperture 2.1. You can add new criteria by clicking the + icon.