The Apple Photos Book for Photographers

169 Pages·2016·30.91 MB·English

by  Derrick Story

Apple Photos for
Photographers
Building Your Digital Darkroom
with Photos and Its Powerful
Editing Extensions
The Apple Photos Book for Photographers
Building Your Digital Darkroom with Photos and Its Powerful Editing Extensions
Derrick Story
www.thedigitalstory.com
www.theNimblePhotographer.com
www.theAnalogStory.com
Editor: Joan Dixon
Copyeditor: Stephanie Pascal
Layout and type: Hespenheide Design
Cover design: Charlene Charles-Will
Project manager: Lisa Brazieal
Marketing manager: Jessica Tiernan
ISBN: 978-1-68198-118-5
1st Edition (May 2016)
© 2016 by Derrick Story
All images © Derrick Story unless otherwise noted
Cover images: Adobe stock images
Rocky Nook Inc.
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Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services
Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group UK
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016930694
All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be repro-
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by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
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ation with this book.
While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and
author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the
use of the information contained herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may
accompany it.
As a kid, I had a darkroom in a cramped space under the
stairs. I probably lost half of my dad's tools learning how
to disassemble bikes. And for birthdays and at Christmas,
I received books and toys from my mother, who fostered
my budding creativity.
As I grew older and more complicated, my parents contin-
ued to stand behind me, even when they had no idea what
I was really trying to achieve.
A writer's journey can be a twisted road, and I certainly
explored every option except for the one most parents
would want for their child. Yet, my parents stood fast as my
supporters. I never doubted that I was loved.
It's long overdue that I dedicate a book to my mother, Lynn
Story, and to my father, Ron. Folks, I might have made it
without you, but I'm so happy I never had to try.
—Derrick
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Derrick Story is a professional photogra- ne
di
pinh Sera,n wtari tReor,s aa,n Cda olinfolirnnei ap.u Hbeli schoevre rbsa sed George Jar
digital imaging, including Photos for by
OS X, at www.theDigitalStory.com. For hoto
P
those who have a passion (or curiosity)
for film photography, be sure to visit
Derrick at www.theAnalogstory.com. One Pro, Flickr, Dropbox, and live action
He also maintains an online journal titles on shooting high school senior
about photography and life at portraits and travel to Cuba.
www.theNimblePhotographer.com. You can follow Derrick on Twitter
Derrick has published more than (Derrick_Story), Instagram (DerrickStory),
20 video training titles on lynda.com. His and Facebook (www.facebook.com/
trainings include Photos for OS X, Capture thedigitalstory/).
Table of Contents
1 First Things First 1 Organizing the My Albums Area 41
The Guy Before You 1 Smart Albums 43
The Photos Library 3 Using Faces to Help Organize
a Library 44
Migrating from iPhoto
or Aperture 5 How Does Faces Work? 45
Reviewing Your Application Before We Move Forward 45
Preferences 7
Adding People to Your Faces
Approach to Library Album 46
Management 9
Putting Faces to Work 48
Where You’ve Been Counts Too—
2 Finding Your Way Around 11
A Look at Places 49
The First Time I Saw Photos 11
A Tip for Organizing Your Library 51
Top-Level Navigation 12
5 Basic Editing Techniques 53
3 Make It Yours 23
The Basics Are Useful 53
Customizing Your World 23
Easy Editing Adjustments 53
First, the Interface 24
Top-Level Editing Tools 54
Moving Things Around 29
Next-Level Editing Tools 57
Getting the House in Order 33
This Concludes Round One 63
4 Organizing Your Images 35 6 Advanced Editing Techniques 65
Default Organization in Photos 36
Making It Better 65
Albums and Folders 39
Picking Up Where We Left Off 66
Application Albums 40
Working with the Add Menu 66
Albums You Create 41
Basic Tools in the Add Menu 68
The Detail Sliders 76 9 Geotagging and Metadata 125
The Advanced Sliders 80 Some Things Just Don’t Mix 125
Tips to Improve Quality and The Info Panel 126
Efficiency 86
Using Search in Photos for OS X 133
Copy and Paste Adjustments 86
Metadata Badges 134
Working with RAW Files 88
OK, Maybe It Wasn’t Magical 135
Setting Your Default Adjustments
Panel 89
10 Projects and Prints 137
Edit Your Best 90
Making it Real 137
Oh, and Just One More Thing . . . 91
The Projects Tab 138
Authoring a Slideshow 154
7 Editing Extensions 93
Final Thoughts on Presentation
Better Living Through
(and Stuff ) 157
Extensibility 93
Not All Extensions Are Created
Equal 94
Finding and Managing Editing
Extensions 95
Affinity Haze Removal 96
8 Outside the Mac 111
The Flight Home 111
iCloud Photography 112
Exporting Pictures 118
Alternatives for Backing Up Your
Library 122
❶
❶
21
First Things First
Photos for OS X replaces not one but
two venerable Apple applications:
iPhoto and Aperture. Those are tough
acts to follow.
If Photos is your first imaging app
ever, then this makes little difference to
you. The paint is fresh, the carpets are
clean, and there’s a light breeze blowing
in through the window. Welcome!
For most of us, this isn’t our first
Figure 1-1: Welcome home!
attempt at finding a place to organize
our pictures, improve their appearance,
and share them with others. Some of After all, I’m hoping this will be
us are refugees from Apple’s abandon- your new photography home.
ment of Aperture and iPhoto, and others
just haven’t found a home that feels
right yet. The Guy Before You
Regardless of your history or lack
thereof, I’m glad you’re here. Why? Thunderous applause is the last thing
Because on first brush, this looks like a you want to hear for the person who
modest place. But Photos has an incred- just spoke before you. This could hap-
ible array of features to make your pen in the classroom, at work, or even at
photography easier and more creative. a social gathering. Oh sure, on the out-
I might not show you every nook and side you’re happy for them. But inside,
cranny; we don’t really need to explore nobody likes to follow someone who has
the attic right now. The things I want just knocked it out of the park.
to share are what I consider important. This plays out in many ways. How
Then I will give you some breathing about the guy that replaced Michael
room and let you decide for yourself Jordan after he retired from the Chicago
how to move forward. Bulls? I bet that was fun. Movies try to
1