I’m very happy to announce that the Adjustment Presets Pack #1 for Aperture 3 is finally complete! It includes a series of exciting “looks” that are customized in ways I believe haven’t been done before… as well as a series of gradient tints that again have a unique twist to them. These masks are all generated outside of Aperture, meaning that with Aperture alone it would be impossible to create these looks.

Back before Aperture 3 was announced (it seems so long ago now, doesn’t it?!) I posted this article, What Do YOU Want in Aperture 3? in which I offered a free copy of my next eBook to whoever got the closest in their guessing. I just read through the lot, and there are some GREAT responses in here. Before we get to the winner though, here’s my three favorite features that did NOT make it in…

Well that was weird… let’s see if anyone else saw the same thing.

I updated to Aperture 3.0.2 last night, and as you can see from the previous post, just imported some images. I did two imports to two new projects, and when I went to look for the projects… they were missing!

(I had imported to a New project, named in the Import window, and that new project lived in a 3rd level sub-folder.)

Here’s a small but very useful update in Aperture 3.0.2. When importing files (or presumably at any stage of processing), the Activity Window now shows you exactly what file it’s working on. This can be very handy if Aperture is stuck on a corrupted file; you can now see exactly what it’s working on.

Many have noted that Aperture 3 is lacking the YouTube and iTunes share features that you find even in QuickTime Player. Curious for sure, but here’s two (not exactly ideal but better than nothing) solutions.

For Managed Libraries

If you are working Managed, meaning your master files live inside the Aperture 3 library, you can take advantage of the “Open in Editor” function. However this also means you’ll have a duplicated movie that you’ll likely want to delete when you’re done.

Hi all,

Thanks for your patience while I’ve been busy in Singapore and Hong Kong. I’m flying home tomorrow, and will finally get to catch up on this site! In the meantime, a little housekeeping…

Reader and contributor Pablo Yanez has posted a detailed “help me Obi-Wan” solutions-list over in the forums. If you’re still fighting a problematic upgrade from Aperture 2 to 3, run don’t walk and check this post out. You just might save your sanity.

Article is here. Thanks Pablo!

A new update hit today, Aperture SlideShow 1.1 Support. According to Software Update…

This update addresses an issue affecting the playback of HD video clips used in Aperture 3 slideshows on Snow Leopard. Audio and video tracks now remain properly synced in video clips that have been trimmed.

The update is recommended for all users of Aperture 3.

There’s a clever new metadata set in Aperture 3 called Photo Usage that keeps track of files that have been emailed, exported, ordered as print, ordered via book, or printed. And where there’s a metadata tag, there’s the ability to search.

The new criteria appear to be not included in any of the default Metadata sets, so to view them you’ll have to create a custom one. Open the Metadata tab, and from the drop-down list of metadata views, choose Edit…

One of the new features in Aperture 3 are colored labels. Personally I wasn’t so sure what I’d do with them, but of course it’s always nice to see more options.

A feature I’ve always wanted was a way to bookmark an edit. Say I’m going through a 1,000 image shoot, and need to stop to do something else; maybe look at another project, or just shut down for the night. In Aperture 2, there was no way to know where I’d left off when I came back to the album. Sure, if it was the first pass I could just look for the unrated photos (assuming I was rating all of them… which I don’t). If it was a subsequent pass, there was simply no way to tell where I’d left off.

Until now.

In updating my eBook “In-Depth Getting Started with Aperture 3”, updating screenshots and the like, I noticed a few subtle changes that don’t necessarily deserver a full “tip” post, but are worth sharing here.

Thanks to everyone for your support and patience… the new “In-Depth Getting Started with Aperture 3“ eBook is OUT! I’ll be sending out new download codes to everyone who pre-purchased right away.

Here’s a little gem hidden in Aperture 3 that’s quite handy… a keyboard shortcut that’s not listed in the keyboard shortcut list, for setting White Balance.

To set White Balance on a photo, normally you’d click on the eyedropper in the White Balance Adjustment tool, then click on a neutral gray area of the photo. But now, just tap Command-Shift-W and that will call up the same tool. (The Adjustments tab does have to be active, however.)

Nice, quick, easy.

Hi ApertureExpert readers! I’m going to be traveling to Singapore then to Hong Kong towards the end of March… specifically I’ll be in Singapore from March 20-25, and Hong Kong from 25-29. I’m pretty busy in Singapore with the conference I’m speaking at, but hope to announce an Aperture seminar there very soon. HK however is pretty free at the moment. I’d love to do some kind of workshop, Aperture seminar, or at minimum a photowalk while there!