Are there any online guides, tutorials, books etc to teach me how to get better at editing photos in Aperture? I am mainly looking to improve my skills with post processing in raw.
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Need help learning Aperture 3
- Thread starter HE15MAN
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I h ave watched all of those videos, but still am struggling. I guess my main question, is how do you know when a photo is done and you should stop editing? Should you just try to get the histogram as even as possible? Or is it solely based on how the entire photo looks?
speaking for myself - I say a photo is done when you are happy with it (I am sure others have varying opinions) but for me I know what my eye likes.
I think its a personal thing
I think its a personal thing
Another resource I don't think many people check out is the Aperture manual.
It covers everything in easy to follow steps and explanations and is more set up like a book you might buy in a store about Aperture 3 than a manual. It doesn't just tell you how to do something, but why you should. Examples include how to remove colour casts and why, how much to sharpen and with what settings and workflow suggestions. At 900 pages long it covers everything and it always handy for reference for me. Check it out.
When it comes to editing a photo though, I'm done when I'm happy with it. I do regularly go back and tweak images later on though.
It covers everything in easy to follow steps and explanations and is more set up like a book you might buy in a store about Aperture 3 than a manual. It doesn't just tell you how to do something, but why you should. Examples include how to remove colour casts and why, how much to sharpen and with what settings and workflow suggestions. At 900 pages long it covers everything and it always handy for reference for me. Check it out.
When it comes to editing a photo though, I'm done when I'm happy with it. I do regularly go back and tweak images later on though.
What is the work flow you use in Aperture?
Import, create duplicate, edit duplicate, export to tiff, place in tiff folder, export to jpeg, place in jpeg folder is what I do
Import, create duplicate, edit duplicate, export to tiff, place in tiff folder, export to jpeg, place in jpeg folder is what I do
You can edit based on the histogram, but eh, just go with your own preference.
When you edit a picture, it's important to know what you want it to look like. You want to give the image a natural feel, a feel that people can't decipher whether it's true to its original form, or whether it's been edited. You never want to set things to intensely, such as contrast and saturation. To edit, is to change the subtle aspects of things.
Why don't you post a couple raw pictures, and we can see where we should edit them, for a generalized idea.
When you edit a picture, it's important to know what you want it to look like. You want to give the image a natural feel, a feel that people can't decipher whether it's true to its original form, or whether it's been edited. You never want to set things to intensely, such as contrast and saturation. To edit, is to change the subtle aspects of things.
Why don't you post a couple raw pictures, and we can see where we should edit them, for a generalized idea.
Hi, should be JPG and you can upload them straight to MR by attaching them to a post or upload them to flickr etc. and link them
On a side note, I am writing more specialized tutorials for Aperture 3 and you can find them here: http://go-dslr.com/welcome-to-the-apple-aperture-pages
At least so far I have found that the manual only goes so far..
my 2c.
//F
I suppose, that's the part that you don't learn from books or not from books only. But luckily, if you shoot in RAW and use Aperture, you'll have the security of keeping the original files.
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+1 on the Apple Pro Training series book, my OJT reference
cosmokanga2; The Aperture 3 online users manual, how'd I not know of that, thx for posting that link as well.
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lynda.com has very good Aperture 3 training videos. Also maybe try the free trial of Kelby Training.
Sara France also has very good training videos.
Sara France also has very good training videos.
+1for all of these sites. Just downloaded Aperture User Networks' Complete Tips & Tricks eBook and I'm finding it very complete, simple and helpful
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I'm still going back and forth on what PP software to go with. Any comments on why those of you going with Aperture over PS would be appreciated.
The more I use the trials the less sure of what I want to go with
The more I use the trials the less sure of what I want to go with
I'm still going back and forth on what PP software to go with. Any comments on why those of you going with Aperture over PS would be appreciated.
The more I use the trials the less sure of what I want to go with
There are tons of threads discussing the pros/cons of Aperture vs. Adobe Lightroom. You should read those. Both apps work in conjunction with PhotoShop (when needed).
I've read a number of them but I'm not getting any clearer on what to settle in on.
The majority of my work is for web - a few may be printed for display. I'm not into "graphic design" / painting / etc. Making the most of my images vis a vis sharpness / contrast / saturation / minor color correction / cropping - that is about 80% of my need. The Content Aware Fill in PS5 works really well - not sure how many times I would use it though. In many ways I am old school with a lot of time spent up front with composition / light / select background. Less emphasis on PP to correct for issues.
The majority of my work is for web - a few may be printed for display. I'm not into "graphic design" / painting / etc. Making the most of my images vis a vis sharpness / contrast / saturation / minor color correction / cropping - that is about 80% of my need. The Content Aware Fill in PS5 works really well - not sure how many times I would use it though. In many ways I am old school with a lot of time spent up front with composition / light / select background. Less emphasis on PP to correct for issues.
Then it's time to try some demos/trials. They are free and have full functionality.
There is no right answer about whether to use Aperture vs. Lightroom, or make do with PhotoShop + Bridge.
It's really a personal decision and has a lot to do with what you need to do with photos, what you want to accomplish, and how you want your workflow to function. You just need to try them all and decide for yourself. If someone tells you to get one or the other, that will likely be based on their experience and needs, which may or may not match your own.
I used Lightroom 2 in the past, and use Aperture 3 now. I have Photoshop CS5 but don't really know how to use it very well. I do motorsports photography for fun and Aperture fills my needs well enough for the most part.
It's really a personal decision and has a lot to do with what you need to do with photos, what you want to accomplish, and how you want your workflow to function. You just need to try them all and decide for yourself. If someone tells you to get one or the other, that will likely be based on their experience and needs, which may or may not match your own.
I used Lightroom 2 in the past, and use Aperture 3 now. I have Photoshop CS5 but don't really know how to use it very well. I do motorsports photography for fun and Aperture fills my needs well enough for the most part.
No one has mentioned it yet so I'll suggest you calibrate your monitor. No amount of adjusting will help if the monitor is not producing a good image. Worse, you adjustments will be compensating for the monitor and look worse everywhere else.
+1
I use Spyder3Pro to calibrate my Dell 3008WFP. You can get it for around $150 or so. Spyder3Express can be had for less than $100. I recalibrate every month or so.
Aperture integrates into Mac OS X where Lightroom is a true stand-alone product (other than the integration with CS5).
95% of pro's use Lightroom, the other 5% prefer the ease and integration that Aperture provides. Either way they are only tools and will not automatically make you a better photographer.
95% of pro's use Lightroom, the other 5% prefer the ease and integration that Aperture provides. Either way they are only tools and will not automatically make you a better photographer.