BordersFX – add on to Aperture’s export features

BordersFX is a freeware plug-in for Aperture that allows you to add a variety of (surprise) borders as well as copyright information to your images upon export. Simply download and install the software, restart Aperture, select an image, and then choose BordersFX from Aperture’s export menu. Find a border that works for you, add your copyright or watermark, and choose the appropriate size for export. Here is an example of a desaturated border with a rounded stroke and copyright info pulled from the file’s metadata:

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Technorati Tags: Aperture, BordersFX, export, digital image, plug-in

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Simplify your workflow with Aperture’s export feature

Aperture is not only a great tool for organizing your images, but it also sports a powerful export feature. Export options include:

• application of an sRGB or AdobeRGB color space
• resizing for web (e.g., 640×640 pixels)
• watermarking with your personal copyright
• automatic or custom file naming
• save as .jpg, .tiff, .png, .psd
• resize and attach to email (small, medium, large file sizes)

Any of these features can be combined into custom export profiles. This allows you to quickly export multiple versions of the same image with slightly different characteristics. You may, for example, want to export a full size AdobeRGB .tiff version to your backup folder, a 640×640 sRGB watermarked .jpg version for uploading to your web gallery, and a medium size image formatted for emailing to an editor or client.

Ah, but there’s more. Thanks to a number of available plug-ins, you can also export directly to stock, microstock, and online gallery sites. Options include:

• iStockphoto
• Fotolia
• Flickr
• pBase
• PhotoShelter Personal Archive

If you haven’t yet explored the export feature, give it a shot. It may soon become one of your favorite tools!

Technorati Tags: Aperture, export, workflow, image management, photography

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HDR with Aperture and Photomatix

High dynamic range (HDR) images maintain detail in both the highlights and the shadows, often resulting in a striking amount of definition as compared to the original image(s). I have been experimenting with HDR images using a combination of Aperture and the Photomatix software. The process is straightforward – choose an image having a large range of luminescence values and vary its exposure using Aperture’s RAW converter. Depending on the image, two underexposures and two overexposures (0.5 EV each) or one underexposure and one overexposure (1.0 EV each) are a good starting point. The exposure-compensated versions, along with the original (0 EV) are loaded into Photomatix and an HDR image is generated using either an exposure blending or a tone mapping method. The resulting image can then be tweaked to your liking using a variety of value sliders within Photomatix. While HDR images are technically supposed to be constructed from a series of in-camera exposures, I’ve found that the Aperture generated exposures are a good substitute.

ORIGINAL IMAGE

HDR IMAGE (from +1, 0, -1 EV exposures), slight cropping

Technorati Tags: HDR, aperture, high dynamic range

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