Apple has introduced the latest version of its Aperture photo editing and management software, adding more than 200 new features including Faces, Places and Brushes.

 

February 10, 2010: Apple has introduced the latest version of its Aperture photo editing and management software, adding more than 200 new features including Faces, Places and Brushes.
Aperture 3 provides photographers with greater flexibility to organise large photo libraries through features like Projects and the new Faces and Places. Faces uses face detection and recognition to organise images on the basis of the people in them. Users can view faces across the image library or check faces in selected projects. Aperture 3 also displays faces that have been detected but haven’t yet been named. Places performs a similar function for location shots and, as in iPhoto, can utilise GPS data and display it as locations.
The new Brushes feature allows users to ø¢â‚¬Ëœpaint on’ special effects. Aperture 3 also includes 15 Quick Brushes for tasks like Dodge, Burn, Polarise and Blur, enabling these processes to be carried out without the complexity of layers or masks. The Brushes tools can also automatically detect edges so effects can be applied in precise areas of images. Aperture 3 includes dozens of Adjustment Presets that apply a specific style or look to the entire image.
Users can also work with Aperture to create and display slideshows constructed with photos, audio, text and HD video. Users can select one of six Apple designed themes or choose their own transitions, background, borders, titles and soundtrack. Productions can be exported directly to iTunes for display on portable devices or uploaded to photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr.
Aperture 3 is available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com.au), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers for a recommended retail price of A$249. Existing Aperture users can upgrade for $119. A downloadable 30-day trial version is available at www.apple.com.au/aperture/trial. Aperture 3 runs as a 64-bit application on Mac OS X Snow Leopard on Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Full system requirements, online tutorials and more information on Aperture 3 can be found at www.apple.com.au/aperture.