Using Keywords


With all of our images imported and organized into stacks, we're ready to start adding keywords. Keywordsdescriptive words about the subject matter of an imageare added to image versions and saved as metadata. They provide an automated way to filter, select, and organize images. You can add keywords at any time and will often refine your keywords while you work. It may seem strange that we're applying keywords before making our selections and rating our images, as we will end up applying keywords to images that we may never use or may even discard. However, since we don't know which images we'll want to keep, and because it's ultimately more efficient to apply keywords in large batches, we're going to apply keywords to all our images now, so that no matter which images we end up selecting as our final picks, they will be properly tagged.

Identifying Keywords

You may not have noticed, but the images in the Lesson08 First Import project had Pickle Circus assigned as a keyword. You also assigned this keyword in the Import dialog when you imported the second batch of Pickle Circus images. Let's start by double-checking that the keyword is properly assigned to all of the images in the project.

1.

With the Lesson08 First Import project selected in the Projects panel, press Command-Option-B to switch to the Maximize Browser layout. Then, open all stacks by pressing Option-'.

2.

Click the Show Metadata button in the toolbar or press Control-D to open the Metadata Inspector.

3.

Adjust the Thumbnail Resize slider so that all images are visible onscreen in the Browser.

4.

Select one of the rehearsal shotsany one of the images from the initial project that you imported.

5.

In the Metadata Inspector, make sure the Metadata pop-up menu is set to Metadata: General and then click the Keywords button at the bottom of the panel. You should see a list of the basic metadata tags that are attached to the selected image.

The Keywords field should show that the image is tagged with a single keyword, Pickle Circus.

6.

Now select one of the performance imagesany image from the batch that you imported using the Import dialog. The Keyword summary area should show Pickle Circus attached to all of your performance images.

7.

Notice the Delete () button to the right of the Pickle Circus keyword. You can click this button to remove a keyword from an individual image (but don't do that now). You can also add keywords to individual images by entering them in the Include in Summary field and then clicking the Add (+) button. For keywording "touch-ups" or for those times when you only need to keyword a single image, these two options are all you need. To define keywords for collections of images, however, Aperture offers more powerful tools, which we'll explore now.

Defining Keywords

For the sake of efficiency, it's best to assign keywords to groups of images. And the first step of that process is determining what words to use. The goal is to create keyword tags that will let you perform useful searches, both inside the project and within your entire Aperture Library. So you need to think about how you might want to search. In terms of this project, for example:

  • Let's assume we'll continue to work with this client; images from other shoots, however, will probably be organized in other projects. So we want to be able to search our entire Library for circus images. Because all of our images are already tagged with the Pickle Circus keyword, we're already set up for that search.

  • In this project, we have two basic types of images: rehearsal and performance shots. We'll want to be able to search for either of those.

  • Another logical grouping is types of acts: acrobats, aerialists, fire, and juggling. Those will make good keywords as well.

  • Differentiating between shots of solo performers and groups of performers can make things simpler if the client asks specifically for either type of shot.

  • Finally, some of our rehearsal shots are candid shots, rather than circus work. We'll make this distinction, as well.

Note that the images don't have to conform to only one of these categories. You can apply as many keywords to an image as you like. So let's begin.

1.

Make sure you're in the Maximize Browser layout and the Metadata Inspector is open.

2.

Choose Window > Show Keywords HUD, or press Shift-H. You use the Keywords HUD to set keywords.

The Keywords HUD contains a number of predefined keywords organized by category, such as Wedding. You should also see the Pickle Circus keyword that you added earlier.

Tip

You don't have to use the predefined keywords and, in fact, you can delete them. For example, if you never shoot weddings, you can delete the Wedding category by selecting it and then clicking the Remove Keyword button at the bottom of the HUD.

You can group keywords hierarchically in the Keywords HUD. This allows you to keep your keywords organized by subject. Note that the Pickle Circus keyword does not have a disclosure triangle next to it. This is because it doesn't have any subordinate keywords attached to it. Now we'll define the keywords we discussed earlier, but we'll include them all as subordinates of the Pickle Circus keyword, to keep our Keywords HUD tidy.

1.

With the Pickle Circus keyword selected, click the Add Subordinate Keyword button at the bottom of the Keywords HUD. Pickle Circus becomes a keyword group, with one subordinate keyword: Untitled.

Clicking the Add Keyword button always adds a keyword at the same level as the currently selected keyword. Clicking the Add Subordinate Keyword button always adds a new keyword as a child of the currently selected keyword.

2.

Change the untitled keyword to Performance.

3.

With Performance still selected, click the Add Keyword button. This will add another Untitled keyword at the same level as Performance.

4.

Rename the new keyword Rehearsal.

We're on a roll. Let's keep going.

Adding Keywords and Groups

Now let's add another layer of specificity to our keyword scheme. There are four types of acts in our Performance shots: acrobats, fire, juggling, and aerialists. We'll put these in their own groups.

1.

With Pickle Circus selected, click the Add Subordinate Keyword button to create a new, untitled subordinate keyword. Rename it Acts.

2.

With the Acts keyword selected, click the Add Subordinate Keyword button to create a subordinate keyword below Acts.

3.

Rename the new keyword Acrobats.

4.

With Acrobats selected, click the Add Keyword button three times to create three new keywords at the same level as Acrobats. Rename these Aerialists, Fire, and Juggling. When you're finished, your keyword group should look like the following figure.

Note that it doesn't matter in what order you add the keywords. Aperture automatically alphabetizes them in the Keywords HUD.

5.

Select the Rehearsal keyword and use the Add Keyword button to create three new keywords.

6.

Rename the new keywords Group, Solo, and Candids. We can use these to provide a little more detail about the content of a shot.

Tip

Open and close the keyword groups by clicking their disclosure triangles. Closing them gives you more room to work in the HUD but, obviously, doesn't let you see what's inside the group.

When you're finished, the Pickle Circus keyword group should look like this:

These should be all the keywords that we'll need for this project. Of course, we can always add more later, either to the Keywords HUD for batch application, or to individual images using the Metadata Inspector. It's important to understand that the hierarchical structure shown in the Keywords HUD is for organizational purposes only. Keywords don't actually have a hierarchical relationship. Now let's apply these keywords to some images.




Apple Pro Training Series(c) Aperture 1.5
Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 1.5
ISBN: 0321496620
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 190

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