Adjustment controls are found in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. The controls are the same in each. The Adjustments inspector is a tab in the Inspector pane on the left side of the Aperture main window. The Inspector HUD is a floating version of the inspectors that can be placed anywhere onscreen, allowing you the most flexibility in how you use your screen workspace.
In Aperture, you can apply adjustments to images in two ways. The first method involves using the controls in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD to identify, or target, the pixels the specific adjustment is designed to fix or enhance, no matter where in the image they occur. The second method involves brushing adjustments on the areas of an image you want to change.
There are two methods you can use to brush adjustments on images in Aperture. Many adjustments can be brushed on images. When you brush an adjustment on an image, you specify the adjustment’s parameter settings prior to applying the adjustment. You can also use the Quick Brush adjustments, which are designed to be brushed on the image and then modified using the adjustment controls.
You can make the following adjustments to images in Aperture. For more information, see Making Image Adjustments.
Adjustment | Function |
|---|---|
Retouch | Retouches all types of imperfections in an image, such as skin blemishes, using either the Repair or Clone brush. |
Red Eye Correction | Reduces red-eye in the eyes of the subjects in your images. Used in conjunction with the Red Eye tool. |
Spot & Patch | Designed to fix imperfections in an image caused by sensor dust, in previous versions of Aperture. In Aperture 3, it is recommended to use the Retouch adjustment to fix any imperfections in an image. |
Devignette | Corrects a vignette applied to the image when it was shot. |
Straighten | Levels the image’s horizon. Used in conjunction with the Straighten tool. |
Crop | Trims the image. Used in conjunction with the Crop tool. |
Flip | Inverts the composition of the image horizontally, vertically, or both. |
White Balance | Sets an image’s white balance by adjusting its color temperature and tint. |
Exposure | Adjusts exposure, recovery, black point, and brightness. |
Enhance | Adjusts contrast, definition, saturation, and vibrancy, as well as black, gray, and white tints. |
Chromatic Aberration | Corrects chromatic aberration, produced by certain lenses during shooting. |
Noise Reduction | Reduces digital noise in an image. |
Curves | Selectively remaps the tonal range of the image by applying a curve from input to output. |
Highlights & Shadows | Selectively adjusts the exposure in the shadows and highlights of an image. |
Levels | Selectively adjusts the tonal range of an image. |
Color | Adjusts hue, saturation, and luminance on a color-by-color basis, as well as chromatic range. |
Black & White | Selectively controls the source red, green, and blue color channels when a color image is converted to grayscale. |
Color Monochrome | Desaturates the image and applies a color tint of your choosing to the midtones. |
Sepia Tone | Changes a color image to sepia. Allows you to desaturate the color image to the level of sepia coloring you want. |
Sharpen | Sharpens the image. In Aperture 3, it is recommended to use the Edge Sharpen adjustment to sharpen images. |
Edge Sharpen | Sharpens the image based on luminance using multiple sharpening passes. |
Vignette | Applies a vignette effect to the image. |
You can make the following adjustments to images in Aperture using Quick Brushes. For more information, see Making Brushed Adjustments.
Quick Brush | Function |
|---|---|
Skin Smoothing | Smoothes people’s skin by subtly blurring wrinkles and skin pores in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Dodge (Lighten) | Dodges (lightens) the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Burn (Darken) | Burns (darkens) the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Polarize (Multiply) | Deepens the colors in the image by specifically darkening the shadows and midtones while preserving the highlights in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Intensify Contrast (Overlay) | Corrects the shadow areas of the image that appear washed out by intensifying the contrast between pure black and 50% gray in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Tint | Shifts the tint in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Contrast | Applies additional contrast to the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Saturation | Saturates the colors in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Definition | Adds clarity and reduces haze without adding too much contrast to the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Vibrancy | Adds saturation to desaturated colors only in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. Skin tones are not affected. |
Blur | Blurs (softens) the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Sharpen | Sharpens the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |
Halo Reduction | Removes blue and purple fringes in the image the adjustment is brushed on. Fringing is occasionally produced by certain lenses when the image is overexposed. |
Noise Reduction | Removes digital noise in the area of the image the adjustment is brushed on. |