6.9. The Effects Palette It's hard to imagine that Apple added this new iPhoto 6 feature because the masses were screaming for it, but never mind. It's here if you want it: a set of five photo effects (like black-and-white and Antique), plus three effects that soften a photo's borders. Figure 6-8. By clicking the Effects button while in editing mode, you can summon up a free-floating palette filled with nine different clickable effects, good for a solid 10 minutes of photo-editing fun.
Shown here is the Sepia effect. 
To open this new palette, click the Effects icon shown in Figure 6-8. No matter which editing mode you're in (in-window, separate window, full-screen), the floating, tick-tack-toelooking Effects palette appears (also shown in Figure 6-8). There's nothing to it. Click a button to apply the appropriate effect to the photo in front of you: -
B & W (Black and White), Sepia . These tools drain the color from your photos. B & W converts them into moody grayscale images (a great technique if you're going for that Ansel Adams look); Sepia repaints them entirely in shades of antique brown (as though they were 1865 daguerreotypes).
Tip: If you don't have the strength to deal with the Effects palette just now, there's another way: Control-click (or right-click) the photo and choose the corresponding command from the shortcut menu.
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Antique . A heck of a lot like Sepia, but not quite as severe. Still gets light brownish, but preserves some of the original colorlike, say, a photo from the 1940s. -
Fade Color . The colors get quite a bit faded, like a photo from the 1960s. -
Current . Click this center button to undo all the playing you've done so far, taking the photo back to the way it was when you first opened the Effects palette. -
Boost Color . Increases the color saturation, making colors look more vivid . -
Matte . This effect whites out the outer portion of the photo, creating an oval-shaped frame around the center portion. -
Vignette . Same idea as Matte, except that the image darkens toward the outer edges instead of lightening. -
Edge Blur . Same idea again, except instead of creating an oval of white or black around the photo, creates an out-of-focus oval. The main, central portion of the photo is left in focus.
Tip: You can click any of these effect buttons repeatedly to intensify the effect.
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