When there's a dark area in your photograph that you want to lighten, the common inclination is to reach for the Dodge tool. I don't know about you, but I find the Dodge tool one of the most difficult to use for getting natural looking results. On my images, it always looks like someone spilled bleach on the photo.

A more elegant approach to lightening a dark area is to use the brushing tool in the Shadows & Highlights brick. It's nearly foolproof in use, an the results are fantastic.

The Shadows & Highlights brick in Aperture's Adjustments panel.

Here are the steps for using the Shadows & Highlights brush

• Click on the gear icon in the Shadows & Highlights brick (as shown in the illustration).
• Choose Brush Shadows & Highlights In
• Don't click on the check box on the left side. That will happen automatically.
• In the adjustment brick, move the Shadows slider to about 25 for a starting point.
• In the floating palette (that will appear over your photo), move the Strength slider to 1.
• Choose your brush size and softness (in the floating palette).
• Start painting in the dark area you want to lighten.
Once you've painted an area, you can adjust the strength of its effect by moving the Shadows slider in the adjustment brick.
• If you need to clean up an overpaint, click on the eraser icon in the floating palette.

The floating palette

You can always reset the adjustment and start over by clicking on the gear icon in the floating palette and selecting "Clear from entire photo." But I don't think you'll have to do that often, because this is such a beautiful method for lightening dark areas.

More Aperture Tips and Techniques

To learn more about Aperture 3, (especially brushing techniques) check out my Aperture 3 Essential Training on Lynda.com. Also, take a look at our Aperture 3 Learning Center. Tons of free content about how to get the most out of Aperture.

My next open Aperture Workshop is scheduled for Nov. 2012, in Santa Rosa, CA. You can get on the pre-registration list, plus learn about all the other photography workshops offered this season by visiting the TDS Workshops page.

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Back-button focusing allows you to separate the auto-focusing function from the shutter release button. I talk more about how to do this, and why you might want to consider it for your shooting. I also discuss a unique opportunity where you can help me cover the Wine Country Big-Q Competition as part of the Event Photography Workshop that begins on July 13. I then gripe about the lack of availability of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and touch on a great new technical backpack, the Lowepro Flipside Sport 10L. Enjoy the show!

Would you like to improve your B&W photography? I have a webinar coming up on May 23, "A Fresh Look at Familiar Subjects in B&W." It's free, but you have to reserve your seat in advance.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (28 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Action is the May 2012 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is May 31, 2012.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

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Accessible time lapse photography is a gift of the digital age. And now, thanks to Boinx Software, it's easier than ever to create stop motion and time lapse video with just an iPad 2. I've been testing the beta version of iStopMotion for iPad ($4.99 in the App Store), and I can tell you right now... it's a blast.

"The Overlook" - recorded with the camera on an iPad 2 with iStopMotion, then finishing touches added in iMovie for iOS. No additional cameras or computers used. By Derrick Story.

To test the nimbleosity of this app, I set out to record, edit, and publish a time lapse movie using just the iPad 2. I put the iPad in a studio clamp with rubber protectors, then mounted it on a Joby Gorillapod Focuswith Ball Head X and launched iStopMotion.

iPad 2 rig for recording "The Overlook."

The excellent battery life for the iPad, and iStopMotion's judicial use of it, allowed me to record over the course of an entire afternoon, into twilight, without having to recharge.

You have three shooting options with the software: front iPad camera, back camera, or via WiFi with the iPhone 4S (using the free companion app, iStopCamera.) I used the back camera for recording "The Overlook," but also tested the iPhone 4S camera via WiFi for making this stop motion movie. I typically shot one frame every 3 seconds when using just the iPad 2, or switched to one frame every 6 seconds when using the iPhone 4S on WiFi. You have control with the duration using this software.

Once you've recorded your images, you can play them back at a variety of frame rates. I typically watched the movies at 12, 15, 24, or 30 fps. If you notice a few images you don't want in there, they can be deleted individually by tapping on the wrench icon.

The iStopMotion interface

Other helpful features include onion skinning, exposure setting, and grid lines. Once you have the movie to your liking, you can add a soundtrack from your music library and upload it to your Camera Roll, YouTube account, or share via email. There are three resolution options for export, including HD.

For "The Overlook," I saved scenes to my Camera Roll, then opened them in iMovie for iOS to stitch them together and add the finishing touches. I'm going to discuss this process more in next week's TDS Podcast.

The Bottom Line

iStopMotion for iPad earns a Nimbleosity Rating of 4. That's impressive considering this is the first release of this ambitious app, and we should see further enhancements up the road. Used by itself, you can create simple, but impressive stop motion or time-lapse movies, enhanced by the ability to delete frames and control frame rate. When used in combination with iMovie for iOS, iStopMotion becomes even more powerful. You have an entire recording, editing, and publishing environment, right there on your iPad.

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