Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 2

273 points

Is it just me, or is Aperture...

Is it just me, or is Aperture...really, really something?

I do studio and location shooting. I'm a small fry, though. In studio I control the strobes so exposure is dead on. When I get to Aperture there's like nothing to do! I hit the saturation a click, neutralize my whites (my strobes are warm when powered down and give a red cast), and edge sharpen.

Location work: adjust the white balance by the custom target that I shoot. Hit the saturation. Maybe exaggerate the sky or grass through Color. Edge sharpen.

I'm guessing that good technique helps, but I think the RAW conversion is pretty sharp. ACR gave me trouble with its presets and I have to finesse it (turn off the auto correx and stuff). Turning off the noise reduction (I use a 20D at ISO 100. There's no noise!) in ACR gave me grainy-looking skin. I don't have these problems in Aperture!

I think Aperture is doing very well, and it has seriously cut my post time down. Hooray!

(Just a little encouragement for those of us who actually like and use Aperture)
Scott

iMac Intel Core Duo, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Dec 12, 2007 1:39 PM

32 replies

Scott Hampton Author

Level 2

273 points

Dec 20, 2007 1:18 PM in response to Evan Agee

Me too. I can't wait to get back to Aperture after a shoot.

As a matter of fact, I was in Aperture the other night choosing new shots. So I looked at my portfolio and was astonished at the difference in the images from Aperture and what I did in ACR. I mean, in ACR I set the WB, contrast, saturation, turned off the sharpening and noise reduction. Opened the CR2 and then duplicated the layer (for safety). Adjusted the white and black points in Curves. Apply adjustment layers for levels, saturation, and color balance. All of that work and it doesn't look as good as the images displayed in Aperture with two or three clicks.

On my last shoot I already knew what I was going to do. I tend to pre-visualize so I know what I'm getting into.

I often wonder what my Aperture workflow will be like when I get really good. Right now, most of my Aperture time is spend with metadata: batch keywording, captioning, and star-rating. Boom, that's it.

EricP

Level 1

11 points

Dec 20, 2007 9:07 PM in response to Scott Hampton

Just read this post and noticed that most responses are from professional photographers. I felt I had to chime in to praise Aperture from the purely hobbyist/snapshooter POV. I used iPhoto for many years, but switching to Aperture has reignited my interest in PP and inspired me to learn and grow in this hobby. Although I've barely begun to scratch the surface of what Aperture has to offer, I am also anxious to see a 2.0 version soon. Thanks for the positive post.

Scott Hampton Author

Level 2

273 points

Dec 21, 2007 3:47 AM in response to EricP

Hi Eric.
Looks like Aperture has a large professional audience indeed, but increasingly they are getting the hobbyist crowd on board.

I'm a hobbyist, as well. I have a regular ol' 9-to-5 but shoot on the side. And I came from the iPhoto revolution, too.

The funny thing is that Aperture, the PROGRAM, is so easy to use. It's the color correction that demands a purely aesthetic/creative/seasoned m ind (although I'm grasping it) and the organization that requires the analytical/administrative mind, for things like metadata and DAMing.

I get the impression that we'll still hear the "professional" marketing, to differentiate it from iPhoto, but Aperture will become increasingly useful to the hobbyists.

Long live Aperture! Come ooooonnnnn, 2.0!

LOL
Scott

Dec 26, 2007 8:40 AM in response to Scott Hampton

Scott,
Like you, I've been using Aperture since its first release (I pre-ordered it). It's the base of my workflow these days, though I'm now using Adobe CS3 and Bridge until a new version of Aperture is released and/or Leopard is updated to handle Nikon D300 RAW files. I'll wait patiently, though, the rantings from other posters about Apple being late to deliver the updates notwithstanding. Apple will deliver, of that I'm confident. Meanwhile, it's wise not to shoot new projects for paying clients with Nikon's newest DSLRs if Aperture is the key product for post-processing.
Thanks for starting this thread.
Lou Outlaw

Scott Hampton Author

Level 2

273 points

Dec 26, 2007 8:46 AM in response to Lou Outlaw

Hi Lou.
I actually got Aperture about a month ago, so I'm new to it. I've used the demo, but I'm pretty new.

I personally am not an early adopter, so my cameras were out for a while before I got them. I got my 20D over the summer. My first iPod was fifth generation video. I generally hold out, so when I get in the kinks are worked out!

But, still, I love Aperture. It's great.

evytubb

Level 1

7 points

Jan 6, 2008 9:57 PM in response to Flat Eric

I have compared Aperture with NX for the D200 in Black and White conversion. NX gives me a wider range of tonality when working with the raw file - too bad its interface is sooo clumsy. So, I agree with most of your remarks - give me masking, burning/dodging, a bit of cloning in Aperture and I also won't need Photoshop. BUT Apple needs to commit to supporting RAWs the second the camera is available. I want to make pics, not fool with software issues.

tidysteve

Level 4

2,975 points

Jan 7, 2008 7:20 AM in response to evytubb

evytubb wrote:
BUT Apple needs to commit to supporting RAWs the second the camera is available.

you obviously have NO clue how this works ...

Scott Hampton Author

Level 2

273 points

Jan 7, 2008 7:42 AM in response to evytubb

Aperture wasn't designed to replace Photoshop, remember? It works in tandem with it. That's not to say, of course, what Aperture would mature into, over time, and what Photoshop may break into, later...

That said, I still use a 20D with Aperture. I'm not one to grab hardware and software as soon as it comes out. I prefer to hold on until everything is ready. I'm sure that when the profiles come out it'll be worth the wait.

Nevertheless, Aperture is my dream app right now. My post is under a minute for the first file, and then I lift and stamp to the rest (all shot in the same setting).

Jan 11, 2008 1:39 PM in response to Scott Hampton

I will have to raise my hand in praise of Aperture as well. (even tho, like all apps it has some issues)

Just finished a huge job for an Asian client involving building an entire library for them from scratch. I was forever living in fear that the database would crumble and collapse but it held to the end.! It would have been IMPOSSIBLE to deal with in any other program on such a scale and with such a time frame and with such location remoteness etc.

So been on holidays for a month...first little RE job...thought I would knock it with CS3 Bridge....simple huh....arrrrgh....opened Aperture...sorted, adjusted,labelled, output...easy. How it should be.

Roll on version 2! Thanks Apple for Aperture..
Have a great year all!

amcoiro

Level 1

0 points

Jan 12, 2008 5:12 AM in response to robbinewmanphoto

Yes, it's an amazing app, but it needs to be updated to 2.0 right away, specially now that Leopard and Time Machine are conflicting with it. The app is starting to look obsolete. Core animation is here, apple! ¡Do something with it!

yw40

Level 1

10 points

Jan 13, 2008 12:25 AM in response to amcoiro

Don't care about animation, I have TV for that. Apple make it stable and fast

Scott Hampton Author

Level 2

273 points

Jan 22, 2008 1:26 PM in response to Scott Hampton

I just did three shoots last week. I tell you, it's utterly amazing what Aperture allowed me to do. It literally takes seconds to edit the first shot, and then a coupla seconds to lift and stamp the edits to the rest.

Sure, I'm eagerly awaiting version 2 right now, as well. In the meantime, though, I'm just cranking out work. It's funny that I'm awaiting an app that will allow me to do less, better, and I'll have to pay for it.

Scott

Jan 22, 2008 2:22 PM in response to Scott Hampton

I use Aperture daily for all my image storage, management and most basic editing. For most things, I find it pretty good.

Aperture has so much potential, but is let down by some long-standing and serious bugs, and has some missing basic features.

Why, for example, can you still not rename master images? Why can't you simply set a basic toolset? Why when importing into iPhoto does it take the master file names rather than the version names? Why have they still not fixed the white-block image export bug? Why does iPhoto have QT export, but Aperture doesn't? Why doesn't aperture recognise voice tags from pro Nikon/Canon cameras? Why can't I simply modify the basic settings of web galleries (ie page colour etc)?

The above are the most basic of features that are still missing or unresolved. I can accept this from a beta or v1, but two years and innumerable updates later it's getting a bit much.

I am really hoping they pull their finger out and give us a v2 that answers the above and more. And let Aperture finally live up to the potential it has.

max-pol

Level 1

115 points

Jan 22, 2008 2:53 PM in response to Jamie Benaud

renaming master images is possible, and simple:
use the "relocate masters" command… and use the option to use a rename scheme present in that window…

there you are !

as for the rest… let's see what the future holds… AP is still a 1.0 software

Jan 22, 2008 4:12 PM in response to Scott Hampton

I AGREE with all of you Aperture enthusiasts ,it's a great program even for amateur photographers. I do wish the update to allow RAW compatability with the D3 would come ASAP. Question for the professionals:: I plan on purchasing the new Macbook Air , yet with it's small hard drive capacity(64GB solidstate) it obviously won't do well with storing my pics yet I would love to use aperture wirelessly with my Library.....so what experiences have you had with using referenced files on another computer or harddrive in working with Aperture ?? Thanks for your input and any recomendations or hints how to proceed with be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Is it just me, or is Aperture...