posted by flosse_r on Apple Aperture, Post Processing Tutorials

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Ok my initial review of Aperture 3 might have been focused on the social networking features (useless and i stand by that notion) but MAN does Aperture 3 have an awesome feature. Something that Lightroom (3) will not have and does not currently have. Brushing on curves adjustments. and then smoothing the overlaps. If I say awesome here, I mean it could qualify as a killer feature.

So let me explain. Everyone knows, or should know about curves. It is the adjustments of highlights and shadows in creating a “light curve” and working with the entire dynamic range that your RAW file has to offer.Oh, and it will affect your entire image, traditionally that is. Curves adjustments allow you to create VERY dramatic sky effects with the downside that the rest of your image becomes dark too. traditionally Photoshop was necessary to apply adjustments only to part of a photo by creating a layer and a layer mask.

Enter Aperture 3.

We take an average Photo of some nice sky and sun rays. It has a lot of potential.

Next we, select the Adjustments tab and select ADJUSTMENTS, move down and click on Curves.

Now drag the straight diagonal line towards the lower right. You notice that your photo becomes darker but more dramatic.Drag the curve until you adjusted that part of the image that you want to, in our case the sky. You notice that the rest of the image is very dark on the landscape.

Now, on the Curves section click on the little gear and you will see a menu. click on Brush Curves in.

The image will revers to its original state and you will be presented by a brush dialog. Select the size and softness (hard brush or with a soft edge) and start painting. In our case we will select a big brush to cover all of the sky.

You can select DETECT EDGES and the brush will do a pretty good job in not painting over an edge, but it is not perfect. This is fine you need to only be “approximately” ok and if you paint over the edge like we did here, it doesn’t matter much as you will see next.

When you have your area painted dramatically, select the little icon that looks like a feather in your brush dialog. Paint toward the edges outside your painted area and you will see how it feathers the effect of your painting , making it neatly disappear (Note the following image was done quickly to illustrate the effect, nothing more).

There you have it, the image looks very dramatic in the sky but the rest stayed clear and nicely visible. You can now adjust vibrancy and it will affect the whole image. You can even add another curves adjustment and paint another part of the image OR you can create another adjustment and paint OVER the adjustment you just painted. This took away one more reason to have Photoshop. I still have it but the more I can do in Aperture 3 the better and this is a VERY kick ass feature.

Tags: adjustment, adjustments, aperture, aperture 3, curves, post processing