Aperture Getting Started K Apple Computer, Inc. © 2006 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. The owner or authorized user of a valid copy of Aperture software may reproduce this publication for the purpose of learning to use such software. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this publication or for providing paid for support services. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Apple is not responsible for printing or clerical errors. Because Apple frequently releases new versions and updates to its system software, applications, and Internet sites, images shown in this book may be slightly different from what you see on your screen. The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Use of the "keyboard" Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of Apple may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws. Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Cinema Display, ColorSync, FireWire, iPhoto, Mac, Macintosh, Mac OS, and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Aperture and Finder are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. .Mac is a service mark of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe and Photoshop are trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products. 1 Contents Chapter 1 9 9 13 21 21 23 28 29 29 30 41 44 47 49 49 50 50 52 53 54 55 55 56 57 61 63 64 65 67 68 An Overview of Aperture Using Aperture in Your Workflow Elements Used in Aperture Setting Up an Aperture System Setting Up a Basic System Setting Up Your System with Two Displays Using Additional Hard Disk Storage and FireWire Drives Learning About the Aperture Interface Basics of Working in Aperture The Aperture Main Window Additional Parts of the Aperture Interface Configuring Your Workspace Working Efficiently Working with Projects Controls in the Projects Panel Creating and Naming Projects Opening and Closing Projects Creating and Showing Favorite Projects Deleting Images from Projects and Albums Deleting Items from the Projects Panel Importing Images An Overview of Importing File Formats You Can Import into Your Library Importing from Your Digital Camera or Card Reader Importing Image Files Stored on Your Computer Dragging Image Files from the Finder into a Project Importing Folders of Images from the Finder Importing Your iPhoto Library Transferring Projects from Another Aperture System Making an Immediate Backup Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 3 Chapter 6 69 69 70 73 75 76 76 78 80 80 83 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 91 93 93 95 95 99 102 104 105 105 106 107 108 111 Working with Images in the Browser An Overview of the Browser Viewing Images in the Browser Navigating Through and Selecting Images Rearranging Images in the Browser Rotating Images Displaying Specific Metadata with Your Images Creating Versions of an Image Copying Images and Moving Images to Different Locations Working with Referenced Images Displaying Images in the Viewer An Overview of the Viewer Adjusting the Background of the Viewer Choosing the Number of Images Displayed in the Viewer Comparing Images Viewing Images with the Loupe Viewing Images at Full Resolution Viewing Images on Multiple Displays Displaying Metadata Associated with Images Viewing Images in Full Screen Mode An Overview of Full Screen Mode Entering and Exiting Full Screen Mode Using the Filmstrip in Full Screen Mode Working with the Toolbar in Full Screen Mode Using HUDs in Full Screen Mode Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Full Screen Mode Stacking Images and Making Picks An Overview of Stacks Creating Stacks Automatically Creating Stacks Manually Working with Stacks Keyboard Shortcuts for Working with Stacks Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 4 Contents Chapter 10 113 113 114 115 117 119 120 121 121 122 129 134 136 138 139 139 141 142 143 144 146 147 148 149 150 151 151 152 154 154 155 155 156 Rating Images An Overview of the Rating System Rating Images Sorting Images by Rating Comparing and Rating Images Keyboard Shortcuts for Rating Images Keyboard Shortcuts for Displaying Images with Specific Ratings Applying Keywords to Images An Overview of Keywords Applying Keywords Using the Keywords HUD Applying Keywords Using Keyword Controls and Keyword Presets Applying Keywords Using the Lift & Stamp HUD Viewing Keywords Applied to Images Removing Keywords from an Image Searching for and Displaying Images An Overview of the Query HUD Searching by Image Name, Caption, or Other Text Searching by Rating Searching by Keyword Searching by Date Searching by IPTC Information Searching by EXIF Information Searching by File Status Searching by a Combination of Criteria Saving Your Search Results Grouping Images with Smart Albums An Overview of Smart Albums Collecting Images in a New Smart Album Revising the Contents of a Smart Album Deleting a Smart Album An Overview of Image Adjustments An Overview of Adjustments in Aperture Displaying the Adjustment Controls Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Contents 5 Chapter 15 159 159 160 161 161 163 163 164 165 166 167 169 170 171 171 173 173 174 175 175 177 177 178 179 180 182 183 183 184 186 188 189 191 Creating Slideshow Presentations An Overview of Slideshows Creating a Slideshow Using Presets Controlling a Slideshow Changing a Slideshow's Images Using the Light Table An Overview of the Light Table Creating a Light Table Album and Adding Images to It Adding Images to the Light Table Moving and Resizing Images in the Light Table Aligning and Arranging Images in the Light Table Adjusting the Light Table View Printing a Light Table Arrangement Printing Your Images Settings in the Print Dialog Printing Single Images Printing a Series of Images Printing a Contact Sheet or Series of Contact Sheets Printing a Book Creating a PDF File of a Book Exporting Images An Overview of Exporting Your Images Exporting Copies of Digital Master Files Exporting Image Versions About Export Presets Adding a Watermark to Exported Images Creating Web Journals and Web Galleries An Overview of Web Galleries and Web Journals Creating and Working with Web Galleries Creating and Working with Web Journals Viewing and Navigating Your Webpages Changing the Appearance of Your Webpages Posting Your Webpages to the Web Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 6 Contents Chapter 20 193 193 194 195 198 198 198 199 199 200 200 201 201 203 204 205 206 206 207 209 211 Creating Books An Overview of the Book Creation Process Creating a Book Album Controls in the Book Layout Editor Placing Images in a Book Adding Pages to a Book Removing Pages from a Book Resizing and Aligning Images on a Page Adding Text to Pages Changing the Theme Ordering a Printed Book Backing Up Your Images An Overview of Backing Up Your Files Controls in the Vaults Panel Creating a Vault Updating Vaults Removing a Hard Drive from Your System Deleting a Vault Permanently Restoring Your Aperture System Credits Chapter 21 Appendix Index Contents 7 1 An Overview of Aperture 1 Aperture is a powerful and easy-to-use digital image management system that can track thousands of digital images and provides professional-quality tools for working with your photos. Aperture is a nondestructive image processing and database application that lets you efficiently acquire digital images, perform photo edits, adjust and retouch images, publish images on the web or in print, export images, and back up your images for safekeeping. Before starting work, you need to understand how Aperture is used in your workflow. You'll also need to find out about the basic elements used as you work with your images in Aperture. Using Aperture in Your Workflow The following illustration shows the basic workflow steps you generally follow when using Aperture. Keep in mind that workflows can vary, either from person to person or from project to project. As you work in Aperture, you may not always proceed in strict linear order, and you may choose to overlap some steps. 9 Aperture Workflow Acquire Images Import from card/camera Import from hard disk or media Import from iPhoto Import folders (maintaining structure) Drag from Finder Create Projects Before or during import Photo Edit Sort · Rate · Apply keywords · Compare · Stack Group · Using Query HUD · Using Smart Albums Apply Adjustments · Exposure · Levels · White balance Distribute Export Print Create slideshow Publish webpages Print books Back Up · Set up vault · Back up to vault 10 Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture Elements in Aperture That Correspond to Workflow Import images using the Import panel. Create projects in the Projects panel. Apply adjustments using the Adjustments Inspector. Photo edit using the Viewer... ...and the Browser. As you photo edit, you can view information about an image using the Metadata Inspector. Use the Vaults panel for backing up your images. Step 1: Set up your Aperture system For this beginning stage, you set up your Aperture system by connecting the hardware you need. For most users, it's fairly straightforward: simply connect your camera or card reader to a FireWire or USB port on your computer, then turn on your computer and open Aperture. Step 2: Acquire images and create projects Once you've set up your Aperture system, you need to import your images into Aperture. Acquiring, or importing, images is the process of getting the images from your camera, a card reader, external storage media (such as a CD, DVD, or external hard disk drive), or folders on your computer into Aperture. You can choose to acquire many images, such as all the ones on a card, or selected images only. Before or during the import process, you have the option to create a new project to store your images. You can also create projects after importing, or at any stage in the process. You can also import all or just a portion of your iPhoto Library. When you import your iPhoto Library, Aperture maintains the structure as well as all adjustments and information, also known as metadata, applied to the images. Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 11 Step 3: Photo edit For this stage, you'll sort through your images and choose which images you want to work with and further adjust. You can add keywords, captions, or other text to your images to help you sort and organize them, as well as apply ratings and stack related images together. You can also group images to further organize them. You can find images using the Query HUD (heads-up display), a floating panel with search options. You can also create containers, such as folders and albums, within projects to further manage your images. Aperture also uses Smart Albums, which are albums that can be dynamically generated and updated based on specific search criteria you specify in the Query HUD. This can save you time and effort finding just the right images. Step 4: Apply adjustments With Aperture, you can make adjustments to images, including adjusting exposure, levels, and white balance and eliminating red-eye. You can also crop, rotate, and resize images. If you want to make adjustments that involve compositing, you can easily work with your images in another application, known as an external editor, such as Adobe Photoshop; adjusted images automatically appear in Aperture when the image is saved. You can apply different adjustments to multiple versions of the same image. Step 5: Distribute your images Aperture provides several options for distributing your images. You can print images directly to a printer, export images for delivery to a professional photo lab, or create a book of images for printing using the printing service supplied by your .Mac account. Aperture also includes tools that allow you to publish photos on the web and create online journals without having to know any HTML. You can also use slideshows to present work to clients or provide a background of images and music during an event. Step 6: Back up your images You can make a backup copy of your Aperture Library and store it in one or more vaults located on external hard disk drives--usually FireWire drives. The Library includes your projects, digital master files, and any versions you've created. 12 Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture Elements Used in Aperture In Aperture, you use projects, albums, and folders to organize your images as you work. Other important elements are the Library, used to manage your files, and the vault for storing ...