basic aperture questions

[whoseawhat]

So my interest in photography has really spiked in the last few months, so i thought it was time to buy some real software (i hate iPhoto, and preview, is well, just a preview....)

I really like aperture so far, but i have a number of questions and "how do i...?s"

1. whats the difference between an album and a project?
2. after i've done editing, how do i save the edit as its own version and get back to the original?
3. is there a way to delete the file itself straight from aperture (much in the way iTunes gives you an option to move file to trash), or can you only get rid of the photo from the library?
4. for HDR processing, Hydra, photomatix, or some other suggestions?
5. is there a way to do that "all black and white except this color" effect besides making it black and white and just unbrushing what you want colorful?
6. after i edited a few shots, they disappeared from the folder i had them in and reappeared in some random aperture library folder. is this a one off or did i do something?

if it makes a difference for anything, i have started shooting all RAW, so all answers should be for RAW (if there's a difference)

thanks for all of your help!

 

[emorydunn]

Ok, here goes.

1. An album serves like a real photo album, it's a place to put your final selects from a project to separate them for easy access and viewing.
2. Right click and select the new version from master option. http://cl.ly/1PEb
3. Deleting files moves them to the trash which you can empty.
4. I prefer Photomatix. But just remember, use HDR wisely.
5. Yes, Photoshop. Really you want layers for something like this, not just one mask.
6. I have no idea why they did that.

 

[whoseawhat]

thanks a bunch!
also, to calibrate the screen on the MBP without having to pay someone to do it, is the best option just to select the adobe 1998 color space, or is the more/different stuff i should do?

 

[Edge100]

5. is there a way to do that "all black and white except this color" effect besides making it black and white and just unbrushing what you want colorful?

I'm not an Aperture user, so can't help you with specifics, but as a lover of photography, I BEG you to avoid using selective colouring (which is what you're describing here) at all costs. It has to be one of the cheesiest processing techniques out there (second only, perhaps, to white vignettes).

Seriously. Friends don't let friends do selective colour!

 

[emorydunn]

I'm not an Aperture user, so can't help you with specifics, but as a lover of photography, I BEG you to avoid using selective colouring (which is what you're describing here) at all costs. It has to be one of the cheesiest processing techniques out there (second only, perhaps, to white vignettes).

Seriously. Friends don't let friends do selective colour!

Oops, I forgot to mention that.

As a general rule of thumb, for anything other that basic edits remember to use good judgement. Let it sit a day and see if you still think it is as awesome as it was at 3 AM (because we all know that's when editing gets done).

Now, whoseawhat, as for calibrating if you have an external monitor I would recommend getting an actual monitor calibrator. I went from calibrating by eye using the built in OS X monitor calibration to an actual device and it's stunning what a difference it makes.
If you don't have an external monitor I'd recommend getting one and doing all final edits on it instead of a laptop (especially glossy) screen.

 

[whoseawhat]

Oops, I forgot to mention that.

As a general rule of thumb, for anything other that basic edits remember to use good judgement. Let it sit a day and see if you still think it is as awesome as it was at 3 AM (because we all know that's when editing gets done).

Now, whoseawhat, as for calibrating if you have an external monitor I would recommend getting an actual monitor calibrator. I went from calibrating by eye using the built in OS X monitor calibration to an actual device and it's stunning what a difference it makes.
If you don't have an external monitor I'd recommend getting one and doing all final edits on it instead of a laptop (especially glossy) screen.

hahaha, thanks, it's not for me though, one of my buddies wanted that from graduation. and thanks for the advice on the screen. I may invest in a monitor later (new camera has to come first, D100 has more dead pixels than, well, it has a ton). And im not using the glossy screen. So, for now, should i just use adobe 1998? what about manually setting white point and gamma?

 

[mattyb240]

hahaha, thanks, it's not for me though, one of my buddies wanted that from graduation. and thanks for the advice on the screen. I may invest in a monitor later (new camera has to come first, D100 has more dead pixels than, well, it has a ton). And im not using the glossy screen. So, for now, should i just use adobe 1998? what about manually setting white point and gamma?

Just to re-itterate what others have said, get yourself a spyder express or huey. I'm just using my MBP monitor, and the hardware calibration is so much better and drastic than I could get by eye.

 

[toxic]

the color profile is specific to the monitor. setting it to adobe RGB doesn't do anything besides make screwy colors.

if you're too poor/cheap to buy a hardware calibrator, use Supercal until you can afford one.

 

[HBOC]

As far as a calibrator goes, if you are not printing stuff or making money off of your photography, than a calibrator is kind of a waste of money.

For what it is worth, I have a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 MK2, and after a few trial and error prints, my prints look almost like what they do on my MBP monitor. I print small prints, and then go from there. Once I start to make $$, I will be purchasing an IPS monitor and calibrator. For now, that would be just a waste of cash, plus i'd rather use that money on new glass, be it a lens or some new Singh-Rays/B+Ws.

 

[Arisian]

hahaha, thanks, it's not for me though, one of my buddies wanted that from graduation. and thanks for the advice on the screen. I may invest in a monitor later (new camera has to come first, D100 has more dead pixels than, well, it has a ton). And im not using the glossy screen. So, for now, should i just use adobe 1998? what about manually setting white point and gamma?

Ah, the client wants it - that's always a difficult one.

As your clients photographer, part of your job is to educate the client about "trends" such as selective coloring - it wont be a timeless photo w/ trendy post production. Nonetheless, if the client won't turn from the dark side, I suggest you by all means make sure something like that doesn't end up in your portfolio.

Nonetheless, we all feel your pain!

Brian