Lightroom question for beerguy (or anyone else that wants to chime in)

marino420td

marino420td

Premium Member
Doug,

I know from your posts that you are a big fan of Lightroom. I just downloaded a trial version and in about 1 hour of playing around with no training, I think I'm hooked. I have been using PS Elements mainly to process my photos but I'm looking for a quicker workflow.

I also want to start shooting in RAW and thought this might be a good time to make the jump.

I thought I remember seeing a thread of yours outlining the steps you use when processing in Lightroom. I can't find it. Can you direct me to this (if in fact you did post this).

Also, do you know of a good online beginners tutorial for Lightroom? I'm totally self taught in post processing and I'm always looking for online training.

Thanks in advance for your help.

BTW- some of your photos blow me away. The recent tide pool photo was off the charts!
 
Look at lynda.com. They have great tutorials. It costs about $30 but I think it was well worth it. They also have PS and a few 100 other software titles you can learn (all for the same monthly price) if you were so inclined :)
 
Guess Doug must've had a late night (lol). He is the "beerguy" after all (jk) and it's the day after one of the biggest party nights of the year (smile)!

I'm sure he'll chime in soon. Maybe he's taking advantage of a long weekend and off in the wilds shooting!! I'll be going out soon myself hopefully. Getting soft in my old age and did not want to brave camping at -15 degrees (f) last night (so I am up bright and early with nothing to do but lurk here (lol). Did go and look for some Northen lights though. He's a wealth of knowledge and as you know uses that program primarlily.
 
I also just downloaded the trial version of lightroom last night. So far I like it.

I'm sure I'm not getting the full effects out of it.... but here is what I've found so far... and they are cool, but it just seems to easy to be a good program? :lol:

The preset color variations (antique/old pic etc)
Then just the stuff under Develop tab - exposure / blacks / brush / heal / gradiants etc

Is that all there is? Whatever is under Develop is it?

There really isn't a lot, but I'm sure I'm using it "wrong."

I once clicked a spot to mirror the image to flip it... I have yet to come back to it. I must've came across it by accident because I cannot find it anywhere.

I actually really like the vignetting effect on some pictures.

I took a flower picture I had and did a low contrast black and white. Then with the brush I chose a light color and brushed it onto two pedals. Looks very cool.

What I also have not found is where do you change the image size? On that particular picture I tried to get it for an avatar on this forum and I can't figure out how to resize in lightroom.

PS elements is easy to do that with "save for web."
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14058313#post14058313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by t5Nitro
The preset color variations (antique/old pic etc)
Then just the stuff under Develop tab - exposure / blacks / brush / heal / gradiants etc

Is that all there is? Whatever is under Develop is it?
Click to expand...


Not sure what you mean, there are a lot of tools in the development area.

What I also have not found is where do you change the image size? On that particular picture I tried to get it for an avatar on this forum and I can't figure out how to resize in lightroom.

PS elements is easy to do that with "save for web."
Click to expand...

Changes you make in lightroom actually do not change the original file until you export the photograph. Select the image or images you want to export and apply the development too and go to "File" "Export" on the left side of your screen are several presets and you can also customize and save your own.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14056391#post14056391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IPT

I'm sure he'll chime in soon. Maybe he's taking advantage of a long weekend and off in the wilds shooting!! I'll be going out soon myself hopefully. Getting soft in my old age and did not want to brave camping at -15 degrees (f) last night (so I am up bright and early with nothing to do but lurk here (lol). Did go and look for some Northen lights though. He's a wealth of knowledge and as you know uses that program primarlily.
Click to expand...

:lol:

Actually I was. I spent Tuesday - Saturday snow camping in Yosemite. While we didn't see -15, we did get down to 18 yesterday which is pretty cold to this California boy. I second the Lynda.com recommendation. The subscription price lets you access as much training as you want per month and you can cancel at any time.

Here's the handout that I use on workshops:
http://www.binaryemulsion.com/PDF/AdobeLightroom.pdf

This is another good site:
http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/

Their are also a ton of podcasts available. Just search for them in iTunes or your app of choice.
 
I went thru the same thing, spent some time trying to figure out all the controls and how to process the best images. I had no prior experience of any kind using any PS product, so I was kinda lost.

I'm now using Lighroom 2 and love it......

I ended up using the Adobe Lightroom 2 "Classroom in a book" The book comes with a CD that has all the images you use while going thru the book tutorial, it's kinda like those video professor CD's.

Took me about 2 days, each of the courses is layed out in a very logical manner and each course gets progressively more detailed, you open the image from the supplied CD, then follow the steps in the book to correct the image etc...

I got the book at my local bookstore for $49
 
Thanks for all of your replies. Now just a practical, time management question from a hobbyist.

Does it make sense for me to invest in this product and go to shooting all RAW images?

I shoot a lot of images and usually shoot in jpeg. Load them into my computer using PS Elements and only edit the "good" ones that I want to print.

I know I need to read more, but from what I have seen in the short time using LR, it seems like I can shoot RAW, load my images and still only edit the ones I want to print.

I don't have unlimited hours to spend editing every photo I shoot. Let me know your thoughts and experiences.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14078511#post14078511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by marino420td

I know I need to read more, but from what I have seen in the short time using LR, it seems like I can shoot RAW, load my images and still only edit the ones I want to print.
Click to expand...

Correct. That's the beauty of it. You get all of the benefits of shooting RAW and it's no more difficult to process than JPG.

Whether it's worth the investment is really a personal decision. For me it's a no-brainer.

Cheers
 
Where is a good place to purchase LR? I think it cost $299 to download from Adobe.com. Is there a cheaper source?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14078511#post14078511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by marino420td
Does it make sense for me to invest in this product and go to shooting all RAW images?

I shoot a lot of images and usually shoot in jpeg. Load them into my computer using PS Elements and only edit the "good" ones that I want to print.
I don't have unlimited hours to spend editing every photo I shoot. Let me know your thoughts and experiences.
Click to expand...

The beauty of this program (though I do it in DPP) is that you can quickly sort thru your images and assign them a rating. Then you can select (and view/deal with) only the good ones, or delete those you've marked as poor for whatever reason.

I believe (Doug, correct me if I am wrong) that with Lightroom you need ti "import" your images into it's file/folder structure to deal with them. Thus I use DPP to make my first sort as I just find the program does not have to deal with a library and the computer just runs faster. I find lightroom a tad slow for my liking.

That being said, one thing I really like a about lightroom is the ability to compare. You can select an image (and change if a better one is found) and compare images side by side. So, if I have 10 images of a Moose (#'d 1-10) and # 1 looks the best I can keep that one up and scroll 2-10 next to it. I can change the primary image at any time. I often have 10-20 images that are nearly identical of wildlife. Though one eye may be open more in one image verse another, or a other subtle differences and this really allows me to find the very best of the bunch. Otherwise I have to open one, then keep opening others in PS and trying to compare. Plus, you can even zoom in on both images simultaneously! Very nice. I need to take more advantage of the archiving capabilities of this program but for me, for whatever reason it's a little slow - so I have been procrastinating.
 
Wow! Thanks for that link Doug. I checked it out and $98? I'm just curious because I didn't go through the full add to cart process. I only got to the third step to enter information and nothing asked if I was a student. Do they actually send you the box and CD or is it a download?
 
That's the fully licensed and boxed. You can also get an educational discount straight from Adobe but that site is usually a little cheaper. You will probably have to prove your student status. Faxing an report card or transcript is generally required.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Choosing Between Innovative Marine and Waterbox for a 200-Gallon Mixed Reef – Your Input Wanted!
Replies
2
Views
3K
zak.payne
Z
AZBigJohn
Thinking of culturing some pods...
Replies
7
Views
654
jrill
J
C
High Zinc in ICP Test & Switching to ATI Essentials – Need Advice
Replies
17
Views
2K
Reefing102
Reefing102
A
Salt water in wood
Replies
6
Views
1K
C.Eymann
C.Eymann
C
Coral placement and water flow
Replies
5
Views
929
wvned
wvned
Back
Top