- Working with Stacked Images
- Organizing Imported Images
- Emailing Images from Aperture
- Rating Images
- Exploring the Viewer
- Making Selects Using Keyboard Shortcuts
- Evaluating Images at Full Resolution
- Navigating the Browser
- Rating Stacked Images
- Managing Multiple Projects
- Creating a Smart Album
- Lesson Review
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Evaluating Images at Full Resolution
One of Aperture’s strengths is its capability to display images at full resolution, showing you every pixel and providing the finest level of detail possible. This is a tremendous asset when you’re evaluating images for focus, detail, and lighting. Two features are of particular use when you want to evaluate images at full resolution: the Zoom feature and the Loupe tool. Let’s evaluate the images from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, using Zoom and the Loupe to get a better look at them.
Using the Zoom Feature
A full-resolution image shows every pixel of an image. You can set your image to appear at full resolution even though the image may not fit within the Viewer.
- Press W to open the Projects panel, select the Jackson Hole project, and then press W to close the Projects panel again.
- Click to select Jackson Hole 1 of 23 in the Browser.
- Position your cursor over the white-capped mountain in the center of the image and then choose View > Zoom to Actual Size,
or press the Z key. Aperture zooms in on the image, using the location of your cursor to center it.
Remember, you are viewing the original RAW image at a full 1:1 ratio, not a scaled version of the RAW file. Viewing the full-resolution image in RAW form allows you to make decisions based on actual pixels instead of on JPEG proxy images.
When an image doesn’t fit within the area of the Viewer, a small gray box appears on the image with a red rectangle inside, showing the portion of the image that is currently visible in the Viewer. You can drag the red rectangle within the gray box to see other parts of the image. This is known as panning.
- Drag the red rectangle in the gray box to pan around the image onscreen.
At 100 percent, we can see that this image is rather unfocused all over, so let’s move on.
- Press the right arrow key to move to the next image, Jackson Hole 2 of 23.
Aperture displays the next image at the same zoom level, 100 percent.
Like Jackson Hole 1 of 23, this image doesn’t completely fit in the Viewer at full resolution. You can pan the image as described in step 4, or use the following technique.
- Press the spacebar while dragging the image in the Viewer.
This image is OK, but let’s keep looking.
- Select the Jackson Hole 11 of 23 image in the Browser.
This one’s pretty good.
- Press the backslash key (\) to tag this image as a select.
- Click the Zoom Viewer button (Z) to fit the image in the Viewer.
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The Loupe tool works well in conjunction with the Zoom feature for getting a good look at the details of an image. Let’s explore it now as we continue to choose images from Jackson Hole.
Using the Loupe Tool
Using the Loupe tool is a convenient and effective way to view portions of an image up close in the Viewer or the Browser. The tool looks like a magnifying glass with a stubby handle.
- Select the Jackson Hole 15 of 23 image in the Browser.
- Click the Loupe icon to select it in the toolbar or press the accent grave (`) shortcut key.
- Position your cursor, which appears in the small circle in the handle of the Loupe, over the bird flying through the mist in the Viewer. The area under the small circle (the source view) appears zoomed to 100 percent in the large circle (the zoomed view).
- Press Command-hyphen (-) twice to reduce the size of the Loupe and home in more closely on the bird.
Let’s increase the Loupe’s magnification to get an even closer look at the bird.
- Press Command-Shift-= to increase the zoom level to 200 percent.
The bird looks pretty sharp. This image is a winner.
- Press the backslash (\) key to rate this image as a select.
Let’s inspect another Jackson Hole image with the Loupe. You don’t need to select it; you can simply position the handle of the Loupe over the image in the Browser.
- Place the source area of the Loupe tool over the Jackson Hole 21 of 23 thumbnail in the Browser. Try to hover over the top of the neon sign.
- Press Command-= three times to enlarge the Loupe.
Let’s rate this one as a select also.
- Click to select the Jackson Hole 21 of 23 image in the Browser and press the backslash (\) key.
The Loupe returns to your last-used settings when you select it next, so return it to 100 percent.
- Press Command-Shift-hyphen to return the Loupe’s magnification level to 100 percent.
- Press the accent grave (`) key to hide the Loupe.
Now that you’ve learned some ways to get a closer look at your images, let’s look at how we can quickly maneuver around the Browser to view and select images.
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