Aperture was Apple’s professional photo editing and management application, discontinued in 2015 when Apple shifted focus to the consumer-oriented Photos app. Aperture combined RAW image processing, non-destructive editing, and library management in a Mac-native interface optimized for photographers managing thousands of images. While it was popular among professional photographers for its speed and integration with macOS, Adobe Lightroom eventually dominated the market.
Key Specs
| Price | Was $79.99 (no longer sold) |
| Platform | Mac only (discontinued, incompatible with modern macOS) |
| Best for | Photo editing, RAW processing, library management (historical) |
| Learning curve | Moderate (similar to Lightroom) |
How Designers Used Aperture
Before its discontinuation, Aperture served photographers and designers who needed professional photo editing without Adobe subscriptions.
For RAW Photo Processing
Photographers imported RAW files from professional cameras (Canon, Nikon, Sony) and used Aperture’s non-destructive editing tools to adjust exposure, white balance, and color. Aperture’s unified library system kept originals and edits in one place, so you could revert to the original at any time. The Retina display optimization made pixel-level editing sharp and accurate on MacBook Pros.
For Photo Library Management
Aperture excelled at organizing large photo collections with smart albums, keyword tagging, and face recognition (Faces). Photographers could rate images (1-5 stars), flag selects, and create albums for client delivery. The Places feature used GPS metadata to organize photos by location on an interactive map.
For Quick Touch-Ups and Adjustments
Designers used Aperture’s Quick Brushes (10 preset brush tools) for common retouching tasks like removing blemishes, whitening teeth, or dodging and burning specific areas. These edge-aware brushes automatically detected subject boundaries, making retouching faster than manual selection in Photoshop.
For Client Deliverables
Aperture included tools for creating photo books, slideshows with music and HD video clips, and web galleries. Photographers could export finished projects directly to printing services or share via iCloud Photo Streams (the predecessor to modern iCloud Photos sharing).
Aperture vs. Modern Alternatives
| Feature | Aperture (2015) | Adobe Lightroom | Capture One |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $79.99 one-time | $9.99/month | $299 one-time or $17/month |
| Platform | Mac only | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| RAW support | ⚠️ Outdated (no new cameras) | ✅ Current | ✅ Current |
| Cloud sync | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Limited |
| Non-destructive editing | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| AI tools | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (AI masking, etc.) | ✅ Yes |
Choose Adobe Lightroom if: You want the modern industry standard with cloud sync, mobile apps, and AI-powered editing tools.
Choose Capture One if: You need the highest quality RAW processing and tethered shooting for studio work (many pros prefer Capture One’s color science).
Choose Apple Photos if: You’re a hobbyist who wants free, simple photo editing built into macOS with iCloud sync.
Getting Started with Aperture (Historical Reference)
For historical context, here’s how Aperture worked when it was active:
Step 1: Import and organize photos
Connect your camera or insert an SD card. Aperture detected new images and let you import with automatic metadata tagging. Create projects (like client names or event dates) to organize imports. Use smart albums to automatically group photos by criteria (date, rating, camera model).
Step 2: Edit non-destructively
Select a photo and open the Adjustments panel. Drag sliders for exposure, highlights, shadows, and saturation. All edits were stored as instructions, not applied to the original file, so you could always revert. Use the compare view to see before/after or compare multiple edited versions.
Step 3: Export or share
Select finished photos and choose File > Export. Aperture offered presets for web (JPEG at various sizes) or print (full-resolution TIFF). You could also create photo books using Apple’s templates and order prints directly through the app.
Aperture in Your Design Workflow
Aperture fit into photography-heavy design workflows as the import and editing stage:
- Before Aperture: Photoshoots, capturing RAW images on professional cameras
- During design: Aperture for culling (selecting best shots), RAW processing, and basic retouching
- After Aperture: Export selected images to Photoshop for advanced compositing, or export web-sized JPEGs for client review
Common tool pairings (when active):
- Aperture + Photoshop for RAW processing in Aperture, then advanced retouching in Photoshop
- Aperture + iPhoto using the unified library to share photos between professional and consumer workflows
- Aperture + Final Cut Pro for exporting still frames from video projects or importing photos into video timelines
Common Problems (Historical Reference)
These were common issues Aperture users faced before discontinuation:
“Aperture doesn’t recognize my new camera’s RAW files”
Apple stopped updating Aperture in 2015, so RAW files from cameras released after that year weren’t supported. Users had to convert RAW files to DNG (Adobe’s universal RAW format) using Adobe DNG Converter, then import DNGs into Aperture. This workaround was tedious and users eventually switched to Lightroom.
“My Aperture library is huge and slowing down my Mac”
Aperture libraries stored both originals and metadata in a single package file, which could grow to hundreds of gigabytes. Large libraries caused slow performance. Users moved libraries to external drives or used referenced files (storing originals outside the library) to reduce library size, though this made backups more complex.
“How do I get my photos out of Aperture?”
Apple Photos could import Aperture libraries directly (File > Import in Photos). For professional migration, Adobe offered a Lightroom plugin to transfer Aperture libraries including edits, metadata, and organization. Capture One also provided Aperture migration tools in their Mac version.
“Aperture crashes on macOS Catalina or later”
Aperture was 32-bit software, which macOS Catalina (2019) no longer supported. The app wouldn’t launch on Catalina or any newer macOS version. Users had to keep an older Mac running Mojave or earlier to access their Aperture libraries, or migrate to a modern alternative.