Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 2 (Apple Pro Training)

You wouldn't try to teach yourself to drive by reading the manual that came with your car would you? If you have the software you need this training

The book is the official Apple Pro training course for Aperture, Apple's all-in-one post-production tool for photographers.

It's a book-DVD training combination which starts with the basics of image management and takes you step by step all the way through Aperture 2's powerful photo-editing, image-retouching, proofing, publishing, and archiving features.

The book is designed to teach you how to use Aperture in the context of a professional workflow, using 12 project-based, step-by-step lessons and accompanying media files. It's almost 100% hands on.

Running through all the lessons will take you about 17 hours.

It's divided into three main sections: importing and organising, image editing, and printing and publishing. The first topics are exploring the Aperture workflow, evaluating images: compare and select, and organising your project. The image editing section is sub-divided into basic edits, working with RAW images, correcting tone, correcting colour, and repairing and enhancing your images. Finally, section three covers delivering images for client review, delivering final images, showcasing and promoting you work, and Aperture automation.

I have worked through the first three lessons myself. The DVD material is easy to use. Lessons are structured very clearly in manageable steps with brief, clear explanations about the context of what you are doing. I liked the lesson review questions and answers at the end of each lesson. At the beginning of each lesson there's a list of lesson files, time and goals spelling out how long it will take to complete the lesson, followed by a list of what is to be achieved.

This is a comprehensive, practical and well organised training course written by those who know what they are talking about. If you take the trouble to complete all 12 lessons, you'll find yourself amply rewarded: perhaps even an Aperture whiz.

[...]

This book was one, if not the first book available for Apple's Aperture 2 software. Being a new Aperture 2 user, I was anxious to get more familiar with the tool, so I dove in to read this book.

As part of the Apple Pro Training Series, this book reads like a typical textbook. This is a self-paced, lesson based book, complete with a DVD of projects to work from (I never used the DVD, as I used my own photos so I cannot comment on the DVD itself).

It has 12 project based lessons, one for each chapter. At the end of each chapter, a list of questions are included. The chapters include: Exploring the Aperture Workflow, Evaluating Images, Organizing Your Project, Basic Edits, Working with Raw Images, Correcting Tone, Correcting Color, Repairing and Enhancing Your Images, Delivering Images for Client Review, Delivering Final Images, Showcasing and Promoting Your Work, and Aperture Automation. The authors also include two appendices: Advanced Media Management for Professionals, and Aperture and iPhoto Integration.

The content of the book adequately covers the basic functionality of Aperture 2, but I was disappointed for the following reasons:

* Some of the writing is not clear. I found myself having to read a step several times before understanding what the authors were trying to convey, and the book's layout didn't aid me.
* The writing style is too dry for my taste, and thus, I became bored quickly.
* The authors' tips leave little to be desired. Instead of "expert insider tips", most of the tips were fairly basic. Some, I could not even classify as a tip, e.g., "...click the Options & Prices button to view the latest pricing from Apple.com..."

I also was disappointed with the layout of this book. The layout makes it cumbersome for the reader to quickly absorb the information. Maybe this layout is typical of the "Apple Pro Training Series" books; if this is the case, the publisher should make it more palatable to users. Here are some examples of layout issues that really bothered me.

* Some of the critical steps do not offer a picture, which sometimes makes it so difficult to follow.
* Some of the pictures included just show the buttons or a portion of the screen being referenced in the step, and not where exactly the button is, forcing me to waste time, hunting around the screen to find these elusive buttons. I want to see the entire Aperture 2 screen first, with the button or function circled, and then a close-up of the circled item itself.
* I would much prefer a three column page layout for step-by-step instructions (a column for pictures, steps and tips).
* Only the chapter name is included in the header of the page, not the chapter number, which forces me to have to go back to the Table of Contents to find what I need. The chapter number and subchapter title should be included on each page.
* There are tips from the authors, but they do not stand out on the page (perhaps it doesn't matter anyways, since the tips are not very interesting to read).

Summary:

This book is targeted for taking the Aperture certification course, rather than being a good reference book. It provides a basic view of Aperture functions, but it does not really provide much in the way expert tips in using Aperture 2. I do open it, as needed, since it's the only Aperture 2 book on my shelf, but each time, I cringe because the writing style is a typical dry textbook style, and the layout leaves little to be desired, in my opinion. It is, however, better than simply relying on the little "Exploring Aperture Guide" that accompanied the Aperture 2 software.

For very beginning Aperture 2 users, this book may be somewhat useful. For savvier users, consider another book.

My thoughts:

Ease of use: Dry reading that is sometimes hard to follow. Content not well laid out.

Audience: Very beginning Aperture 2 users

Cost: Reasonable

This book and accompanying CD provide an excellent, hands-on tutorial for anyone using Aperture to process digital images. Both the professional and amateur photographer will find it beneficial. I not only learned how to add impact to my photos, I learned how to take better photos as well. The lessons are easy to follow and readers can pace the instruction to their level of experience. For those using PhotoShop, the book also address editing with PhotoShop while working in Aperture.

This is an excellent instruction book for Aperture 2.
The book is thorough and well written. I use this program
daily and have learned a great deal.