Apple Aperture 3.3

Now you can start using your iPhoto library in Aperture without the need for a lenghty import.

The once-colorful interface buttons along the top now blend into the light gray window border, letting you concentrate on your photos.

You can get a larger view of images on your camera media and even start editing before an import has finished, including camera raw files.

Aperture is the only pro-level photo workflow software that supports Apple iCloud's Photo Stream.

Aperture's full-screen view, accessible with a simple hitting of the F key, is much more immersive and enjoyable to work in than the standard ligth-gray interface. You can either use the heads-up display (HUD) shown here, or a side Inspector panel (next slide).

This version of full screen shares more in common with the standard interface, putting the full Inspector tab options, including Library, Info, and Adjustments, at your disposal.

You can limit the library display to photos with certain tags, ratings, color labels, or EXIF info like camera make, using this search box.

Aperture is the only pro-level workflow app that incorporates Face detection and recognition. It learns whose face is who after you name a face a few times.

Aperture supports geo-tagged photos, placing them on a map like this, and letting you limit the view to photos taken in a spot on the map you click.

You can use a brush to apply just about any photo effect or adjustment the app offers. As seen here, you can colorize the area you've brushed to show where the effect will be applied, and edge detection lets you, for example limit the effect to a sky.

Apple has worked on the program's auto correction, adding an Auto Enhance button in version 3.3, but Lightroom still produced better results.

White balance has been simplified with two default options--natural gray, and skin tone. It applies the latter when faces are detected. You can also choose white balance presets, and even see a small preview window. Note here how the small preview window shows the optimized skin tones.

Aperture also boasts improved shadow and highlight correctors, but notice here how Lightroom does a much better job at bringing out dark areas: In both apps, the Shadows slider was cranked up to the maximum.

Aperture offers a wealth of output options, including printing, slideshows, online, and web. Not shown here is the Share dropdown button, which offers Flickr, Facebook, email, and Photo Stream.

The program offers a wealth of slideshow options, with themes and the ability to time each image's display separately.

The program can build attractive photo websites.