Apply standard adjustments

To modify the appearance of the entire image, you apply a standard adjustment and adjust its settings.

Figure. Image before and after an Exposure adjustment.

Some images can be difficult to perfect. Images shot in mixed-lighting and low-light conditions often require the same adjustment applied multiple times in small increments to achieve the appearance you’re looking for. For example, an image shot in low-light conditions may require multiple incremental Noise Reduction adjustments so that the image isn’t muddied by a single strong Noise Reduction adjustment. In Aperture, adjustments are applied from top to bottom as they appear in the Adjustments inspector. In the example above, you can add the Noise Reduction controls with a slight Radius adjustment coupled with a slight Edge Detail adjustment, and then add the same Noise Reduction controls to the Adjustments inspector again, with the same incremental settings.

You can also apply an adjustment or a group of adjustments to a range of images by first applying the adjustments to one image and then lifting the adjustments from the first image and stamping them on the other images.

Apply a standard adjustment

Select a photo.
Do one of the following:
- To open the Adjustments inspector: Click the Inspector button in the toolbar, and click the Adjustments tab.
- To open the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD: Choose Window > Show Inspector HUD (or press H), and click the Adjustments button.
If the adjustment you want to apply to the image isn’t shown in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose an adjustment from the Add Adjustment pop-up menu.
Specify parameter settings for the adjustment while viewing the effect on the image.

For information about applying a particular standard adjustment, see the topic for the adjustment.

Add the same adjustment multiple times

In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Add New [adjustment] from the Action pop-up menu for the adjustment.
Another set of adjustment controls for the same adjustment appears immediately below the current adjustment in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, if both are shown.

Lift adjustments from one image and stamp them on a group of images

In the Browser, select the photo that has the adjustments you want to copy.
In the tool strip, select the Lift tool (or press O).
The Lift & Stamp HUD appears, showing the adjustments, IPTC metadata, and keywords applied to the image.
Deselect all metadata-related checkboxes to prevent Aperture from copying the metadata from the selected photo.
If necessary, remove any unwanted adjustments by clicking the Adjustments disclosure triangle in the Lift & Stamp HUD, selecting the unwanted adjustments, and pressing Delete.
In the tool strip, select the Selection tool (or press A), and do one of the following:
- Drag a selection rectangle around the photos to which you want to apply the adjustments.
- Select the photos to which you want to apply the adjustments by Shift-clicking to select a range of adjacent photos and Command-clicking to select nonadjacent photos.
  Note: The adjustments aren’t applied to photos within closed stacks. If you want to stamp the adjustments on photos within a stack, you must open it first by choosing Stacks > Open Stack (or pressing Shift-K).
Do one of the following:
- In the tool strip, select the Stamp tool.
- In the Lift & Stamp HUD, click the Stamp Selected Images button.
The adjustments copied from the first photo are applied to the selected photos. For more information about using the Lift & Stamp HUD, see Apply keywords using the Lift & Stamp HUD.