PP software is (almost) essential to our photographic needs these days whether film or digital and it can take lots of time to get to know programs like Lightroom - even the obvious is sometimes missed by users. I thought that it may be useful if I started a "Lightroom tips" thread. I'll start it off ALWAYS do any editing, i.e. deleting images, moving image files, creating directories, etc., etc., DIRECTLY in Lightroom - i.e. physically whilst in the program - and NOT through any other methods. (e.g. your desktop browser)
Let's say you want to correct dust spots on an image. Go to Develop, zoom to 100%, scroll to the upper-left corner. Press the Q key to get the spotting tool. Correct any spots you see. Now press the Page Down key on your keyboard. LR scrolls down a screen. The cool part is when you get to the lower-left corner. Press Page Down again, and LR moves the image over one "column" and to the top of the image. That's clever.
In the library, (G key) images may have a box with bars in it on the upper left. This sends the metadata to the disk file. Any changes to an image will now be saved to disk and not just in LR.
Do a google search for 'Free Lightroom Presets' and you will find numerous free presets that once installed can take the time out of post processing.
My big tip thus far is to buy Scott Kelby's book Lightroom 3 Amazon.com: The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) (9780321700919): Scott Kelby: Books. It's very step by step and very helpful. He has toned down his non photography remarks a great deal. It is also very helpful as a reference tool. There is no way my brain can remember how I set up Publisher (the fast and easy method to post to sites such as Flickr, Smug-Mug and some others) and he explains how you can use it to update said photo if you've made any improvements. You can also use LR for emailing photos, too. Quite handy. Another VERY detailed book is by Martin Evening Amazon.com: The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers (9780321680709): Martin Evening: Books which is more intense... Both books go into how to use Photoshop (which I do not own) and some other softwares so some of you might find this aspect very helpful. I guess I'm a slow learner with this stuff but it takes me sometime to remember how to do certain things and I like a hard copy reference...call me old fashioned. Won't offer any personal tips because I'm too much of a novice!
My LR tip is not to use LR =). Seriously, I haven't been able to figure out how to use it yet, and it seem soooo much slower to make adjustments than in ACR. I use a combination of ACR/PS, and I manually catalog my photos. It's pretty fast.
Thanks BB.... Dragos, LR should feel natural and more intuitive to you. If I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to let me know. Don
Bill, It's not that much and unlike other authors, she updated all the time. There's a good forum at her place also. The PDF resides on my desktop.
you are a hard man - but I am a poor retired person - I'll give the pdf version a go - as you indicate - "it's not dear" Cheers
Bill, I hear ya. Things are tight. Sometimes a little expense really pays off. This is it for LR. I use a Mac. With spaces, I keep LR running. I keep her PDF in another space. This has changed my workflow for the better and is a resource that is at hand as you work.
There is an educational version for $90 for those who can qualify. Amazon.com: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Student & Teacher Edition: Software
Any suggestions on Photoshop/ACR references? It would really be helpful to have something like the LR Queen reference in digital format so I could try to replicate Shooter's setup or have it open on my iPad while I work in PS/ACR. I'm not a pro, but I'd like to learn some of the pro techniques to get the best out of my images. Thanks in advance. After a quick search, I ran across this book, but so far not available for Kindle/iPad or PDF Amazon.com: Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: a professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC (9780240522005): Martin Evening: Books
The problem with the Books is that they are not updatable. They just get outdated. The PDF of the Queen gets updated as new stuff is put into LR. Send her a note and maybe she'll be able to direct you for PS stuff. I have not updated to PSCS5 from 4 yet. I just don't feel the need as LR is doing what I need....so far.
I'm only on CS5 because that's what my work's designers are using, so I get free upgrades, but I'm sure most tips that work in earlier versions of PS will still work in CS5. I don't think I need LR as I have PS, so I'll give the Queen a shout to see if she can point me in the right direction. Thank you, sir
you get a FREE copy of LR3 if you buy a NEW M9 ,,,,,,,, would that persuade my wife ...... she does that to me with shoes!!!!!
