Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Understanding Why Aperture Is a Key
Part of Your Workflow
Most photographers agree that the time you spend behind the lens shooting is the best part of
being a photographer, and all the other stuff (processing an image, categorizing it, trying to sell it
or use it to promote business) is really just annoying. While digital photography enables you to be
more creative as a photographer, from being able to see right away whether you got the shot or
not to being able to experiment as much as you want with the only cost being disk space, the
“other stuff” arguably gets more frustrating because now you have to manage digital files instead
of physical film and learn to use multiple programs to develop and output your images. That's
where Aperture comes into play. Aperture is a central point for all of your image management,
from the moment you download an image from camera to computer until you search for an image
and click Print to make a physical copy for a client. Aperture makes it relatively easy and fast to
organize and manage your digital files, and that lets you spend more time having fun shooting.
However, Aperture isn't the only digital asset management tool out there. Let's look at what
Aperture gives you over iPhoto, Bridge, and Lightroom.
Seeing the difference between Aperture and
iPhoto
If you've been using iPhoto to manage your images, then you know that our explanation of why
Aperture is a key part of our workflow could apply to iPhoto, too. While iPhoto is great for manag-
ing images of your family and friends taken with your point and shoot, it's really limited when you
put it under a microscope. For example, while you can make basic retouching adjustments in
iPhoto like a levels adjustment, Aperture lets you fine-tune those adjustments to develop your
image exactly the way you want it to look, perhaps adjusting the levels in just one color channel or
using the quarter-tone controls (which we cover in Chapter 6) to adjust the levels in a specific part
of your image. If you really like the effect your adjustment creates, you can save it as a preset to
easily apply to other images, even on import. Aperture 3 has the ability to brush those adjust-
ments selectively onto just part of your image, meaning you can make one levels adjustment in
the sky and another on the ground, something iPhoto just can't do. Oh, and if you prefer using
curves to levels, Aperture 3 has a curves adjustment, too.
However, more advanced image adjustment controls aren't the only difference between iPhoto
and Aperture. Aperture provides tools to manage a far larger library than iPhoto can manage. For
example, Aperture lets you make complicated searches for images, such as the search in Figure 1.1
that finds all your top-rated images taken in 2010 that were taken in San Francisco and have the
keyword
water
. If you want to know specifics about Aperture's tools to help categorize and search
