In this era of digital photography most photographers spend as much time in front of the computer fine-tuning images, as they do in front of the camera creating the original images. Adobe Photoshop is the most commonly used photo-editing software, but for the Mac users out there is a cost effective alternative, Aperture, currently available in version 3. Aperture 3 is relatively quick and simple to use. With one lesson at the Apple store, or a quick read of the first couple of chapters of the Pro Training Series, it is possible to start working on your images. However like anything, the more you work with Aperture, the better you will become. Unlike Photoshop, Aperture imports and stores your images directly into a single program, storing them in projects, which can be further sorted into folders and albums.
Aperture does not use layers and so does face some limitations in the types of editing that can be accomplished. Layers in Photoshop allow photographers to have fine grain control of photo elements. One of the advantages of this is that hotographers can add elements from one photo to another, creating composite images. Photoshop also has a large suite of special effects that are popular with digital artists. All this creativity comes at the cost of a steep learning curve and increased price.
I choose to use only Aperture for all my post-production work so that I can work quickly and efficiently. I tell my clients that I can’t add extraneous elements that were not present in the original photo. For example, I cannot create a group composite shot, using the best face for each person from a variety of shots. When working I have to take a lot of exposures of a group shot and then work with the best image from the series. However, there is a lot that can be done to improve
my selected image.
I begin by choosing the best photo of the series. In the first photo of a mother with her two children, I cropped the image and made the people more prominent. Cropping can be done in a variety of preset or custom sizes. It is as easy as electing the Cropping control from the Tool strip which is below your photo. Select the size of crop you want and drag the crop overlay into position adjusting the size as you go.
I feel that the photo is a little dark and could use a little more light, so I want to increase the exposure. Select the Adjustment tab to the left of your photo, scroll down to Exposure and move the Exposure slider until you have reached the desired exposure in your photo. Histograms adjusting in real time are located above the slider to help guide you. The exposure is also adjusting in your on screen photo. In this example I increased the exposure by a factor of .2. If needed you can also increase and decrease both highlights and shadows to even out the exposure of a photo.In this photo I have also used a brush from the Tool strip, selecting Skin smoothing, and used it to smooth the entire photo, which softens the photo and brightens the surface of the skin. If blemishes are a problem the skin can be smoothed and then the repair function of the Retouch brush can be used. All of the brushes can be controlled by means of size, softness and opacity, or used to create the selected effect over the entire photograph. From the brushes I have also selected Sharpen and created a tiny brush to sharpen the eyes in the photo giving them a more intense
look, almost like adding mascara. Finally I cleaned up the background by selecting the Retouch brush and cloning extra trees in the top left of the photo. Because the trees already appear in the photo I can replicate them wherever I want in that shot. When you compare the before and after versions of these two photos you can see what a difference the editing made to the final product.
All this editing took less than a minute and is completely reversible at any time by selecting Photos on the Control bar above the photo, scrolling down and selecting Reset all Adjustments. Aperture 3 is a non-destructive editor and the original files you imported can always be accessed with this command. You can even access the original file at a later date. It never goes away. By clicking the Metadata tab to the left of the photo you can access all the metadata stored when the photo was originally taken, including file size, image number, and date, just to name some. If you were recording GPS data when taking your photo it is possible to access this information within Aperture. There is a map view available so that you can see where your photos were taken.
In the second photo, a bride sitting on a bench, there are a number of problems. The photo is off balance and the bench she is sitting on is ugly. I first cropped the photo to remove the bench and balance the photo. I felt that the photo was also dark so, I increased the exposure by .14. I could have used the Dodge brush and lightened only selected areas of the photo. For final touches I used three of the brushes, Skin smooth for the entire photo, Sharpen for the eyes, and etouch to fill in bare grass patches, cloning extra grass from another area of the photo.
When you look at the before and after photos, they look like they were taken at different times. Again this entire edit took less than a minute.
In the last photo, which is a high-speed photograph of a water drop, I first straightened the image with the Straightening control from the Tool strip below the photo. It is best to straighten images that need it, before you crop them, as this type of edit will reduce the useable image size. Once the image was straight I then cropped it. To emphasize the details I sharpened the entire photo. There are fewer changes in the water drop photo, but the before and after photos show that the few changes did improve the quality of the image. When showing your photographs to friends, family and clients, make sure that they are the best that they can be. If you feel you created a perfect image in camera, show it with pride. If you feel that some post-production editing can improve an image, do the editing before you how your image. I often take hundreds of photos during a photo shoot, but I edit and show only about ten percent. Show only your best. Twenty amazing photographs make a much stronger impact than one hundred average photographs.
There are lots of good reasons to use Aperture 3. I have only touched on a few of its functions. Being able to import images directly into the editing software saves time; the ability to return to your original image quickly at any time in the editing process reduces stress and a large set of cost effective editing tools that can be used quickly for almost any image, make Aperture 3 a versatile tool for today’s digital photographer.
About Carol Burkett:
I am a profesional photographer and partner with Superior Imaging, a digital photography company which specializes in portraits, event and sports photography.
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In this era of digital photography most photographers spend as much time in front of the computer fine-tuning images, as they do in front of the camera creating the original images. Adobe Photoshop is the most commonly used photo-editing software, but for the Mac users out there is a cost effective alternative, Aperture, currently available in version 3. Aperture 3 is relatively quick and simple to use. With one lesson at the Apple store, or a quick read of the first couple of chapters of the Pro Training Series, it is possible to start working on your images. However like anything, the more you work with Aperture, the better you will become. Unlike Photoshop, Aperture imports and stores your images directly into a single program, storing them in projects, which can be further sorted into folders and albums.
Aperture does not use layers and so does face some limitations in the types of editing that can be accomplished. Layers in Photoshop allow photographers to have fine grain control of photo elements. One of the advantages of this is that hotographers can add elements from one photo to another, creating composite images. Photoshop also has a large suite of special effects that are popular with digital artists. All this creativity comes at the cost of a steep learning curve and increased price.
I choose to use only Aperture for all my post-production work so that I can work quickly and efficiently. I tell my clients that I can’t add extraneous elements that were not present in the original photo. For example, I cannot create a group composite shot, using the best face for each person from a variety of shots. When working I have to take a lot of exposures of a group shot and then work with the best image from the series. However, there is a lot that can be done to improve
my selected image.
I begin by choosing the best photo of the series. In the first photo of a mother with her two children, I cropped the image and made the people more prominent. Cropping can be done in a variety of preset or custom sizes. It is as easy as electing the Cropping control from the Tool strip which is below your photo. Select the size of crop you want and drag the crop overlay into position adjusting the size as you go.
I feel that the photo is a little dark and could use a little more light, so I want to increase the exposure. Select the Adjustment tab to the left of your photo, scroll down to Exposure and move the Exposure slider until you have reached the desired exposure in your photo. Histograms adjusting in real time are located above the slider to help guide you. The exposure is also adjusting in your on screen photo. In this example I increased the exposure by a factor of .2. If needed you can also increase and decrease both highlights and shadows to even out the exposure of a photo.In this photo I have also used a brush from the Tool strip, selecting Skin smoothing, and used it to smooth the entire photo, which softens the photo and brightens the surface of the skin. If blemishes are a problem the skin can be smoothed and then the repair function of the Retouch brush can be used. All of the brushes can be controlled by means of size, softness and opacity, or used to create the selected effect over the entire photograph. From the brushes I have also selected Sharpen and created a tiny brush to sharpen the eyes in the photo giving them a more intense
look, almost like adding mascara. Finally I cleaned up the background by selecting the Retouch brush and cloning extra trees in the top left of the photo. Because the trees already appear in the photo I can replicate them wherever I want in that shot. When you compare the before and after versions of these two photos you can see what a difference the editing made to the final product.
All this editing took less than a minute and is completely reversible at any time by selecting Photos on the Control bar above the photo, scrolling down and selecting Reset all Adjustments. Aperture 3 is a non-destructive editor and the original files you imported can always be accessed with this command. You can even access the original file at a later date. It never goes away. By clicking the Metadata tab to the left of the photo you can access all the metadata stored when the photo was originally taken, including file size, image number, and date, just to name some. If you were recording GPS data when taking your photo it is possible to access this information within Aperture. There is a map view available so that you can see where your photos were taken.
In the second photo, a bride sitting on a bench, there are a number of problems. The photo is off balance and the bench she is sitting on is ugly. I first cropped the photo to remove the bench and balance the photo. I felt that the photo was also dark so, I increased the exposure by .14. I could have used the Dodge brush and lightened only selected areas of the photo. For final touches I used three of the brushes, Skin smooth for the entire photo, Sharpen for the eyes, and etouch to fill in bare grass patches, cloning extra grass from another area of the photo.
When you look at the before and after photos, they look like they were taken at different times. Again this entire edit took less than a minute.
In the last photo, which is a high-speed photograph of a water drop, I first straightened the image with the Straightening control from the Tool strip below the photo. It is best to straighten images that need it, before you crop them, as this type of edit will reduce the useable image size. Once the image was straight I then cropped it. To emphasize the details I sharpened the entire photo. There are fewer changes in the water drop photo, but the before and after photos show that the few changes did improve the quality of the image. When showing your photographs to friends, family and clients, make sure that they are the best that they can be. If you feel you created a perfect image in camera, show it with pride. If you feel that some post-production editing can improve an image, do the editing before you how your image. I often take hundreds of photos during a photo shoot, but I edit and show only about ten percent. Show only your best. Twenty amazing photographs make a much stronger impact than one hundred average photographs.
There are lots of good reasons to use Aperture 3. I have only touched on a few of its functions. Being able to import images directly into the editing software saves time; the ability to return to your original image quickly at any time in the editing process reduces stress and a large set of cost effective editing tools that can be used quickly for almost any image, make Aperture 3 a versatile tool for today’s digital photographer.
