Lightroom Beta 4

I’ve been curious about this program since Ghostrock first pointed it out to me. My first thought was, “I have enough to learn right now!” But, I’ve been finding that Photoshop with a camera that doesn’t take raw images isn’t an efficient work-flow for me. Granted I’m an amateur at photography, but I still want to get the most out of my time. (I’d rather take photos than edit them, unless doing something crazy and creative to them. I’m trying to take at least 1 good picture a day (<- idea from photojojo.com) for a record of the year in photos. We’ll see how long I can keep this up…)

When using Photoshop (and Bridge) I would pick one or two images and edit them and put them in my daily photos. I tried tinkering with Lightroom with the 30 photos I took at a local park that had Christmas lights. I learned basically how to use Lightroom and edit all those, then upload them to my flickr account. (No major changes like masking areas out, granted. That’s not what Lightroom is about.) That all took me less than 2 hours. (Not a speed record, but infinitely faster than I was doing in Photoshop. AND I was learning it at the same time! I think I wanted to tinker too much in Photoshop.)

Besides the increased speed in “work-flow”, I like the Lightroom for:

• Straightforward and easy to pick up, especially if you’ve done image editing from Photoshop for photos. Intuitively designed.
• Keeps note of the changes you make, but does not edit them destructively (i.e. you still have the original in tact).
• You can save sets of settings in presets. (I love this in Lightroom AND Photoshop.)
• You can apply the same preset to multiple images at a time. SPIFFY!
• Side by side comparisons for multiple photos and for change and pre-change on a photo.

Concerns:

• The current beta release of Lightroom has an expiration. (To get us all hooked on using it…) But a pricing scheme for the program hasn’t been announced. I hope to be able to afford it when it comes out. (I JUST got myself out of hock after purchasing the CS2 upgrade. Am I willing to do that again in the near future? No.) I’ll happily use the beta until the time runs out and watch for the pricing to be released…
• No red-eye removal. (Though they say here that it will be in the version 1. YAY!)

If you’re interested in Lightroom, Using Lightroom is a nice 3 part overview of using the program. I’d recommend reading this first, then going to the Lightroom Killer Tips page for more in depth info in small bits. (Granted I learned what I did with the first batch of photos from watching the import clip on Killer Tips then tinkering. But I’m went back and read the article. It would have helped!)

Orchid brush set 1

Orchids are my favorite flowers and I thought I’d share the joy they bring me.   The flowers for the brushes below (except for the one on the left) are from my collection.  Credits go to PD Photo for the lovely side view.

Download here.

–Avlor

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Usage: My brushes are linkware, so I ask that you link back to http://photoshopthings.wordpress.com if you use them. The site address is in the brush name, so it’s easy to remember.

Two Monitors

My hubby let me borrow his monitor, after giving me a spiffy new video card that can handle multiple monitors for my B-day. Ohh, I could get used to having two monitors, especially while using Photoshop. (Though his is a 15 inch and mine is a 17 inch so there is a bit of eye adjustment when moving between the two.)

Benefits:

• Oh the joy of having most of the screen to edit an image, and not scrolling constantly. I throw all the palettes on the 2nd monitor and oh what space there is for the acutal image!!!!
• While waiting for Photoshop to fireup or while thinking about what I want to do next, I can just use the next screen over to surf the web, hunt through photos, etc.

Negatives:

• It takes some getting used to using the slider bars on the sides of programs. I keep running into the next monitor – annoying. I’ve learned to make my app windows slightly skinnier so I have a gap before going into the next monitor screen.
• I can’t see around the set of two monitors. (My desk isn’t up against a wall. We’d situated it so I could see what the kiddos are doing in the family room and what is on TV.)
• My desk is not built for two monitors. I don’t want to balance a screen on a box or anything to get them to match up.

The benefits outweigh the negatives, but I’ll have to save up to have this setup for much longer… (Ghostrock, can I start a “get Av another monitor donation fund? Just kidding!) Maybe someday I’ll have a whole wall of monitors?

–Avlor

Tutorials Tested and Recommended – week of Nov 26- Dec 2

How to create your own planets using panoramas: Oh wow – this is one of the funnest little tuts I’ve ever done. I will have to play with this one more! Use a panorama photo to create exaggerated little worlds. (Credits for example below: Original photo by Stahlkocher, under GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.)

Design your own Christmas Cards: Found this referenced on photoshopsupport.com. Wish I had seen this a few weeks ago! Drat – too late for Christmas for me this year. But not for Birthday and Christmas thank yous! For those of us whose handwriting is awful, this may be the saving grace for getting the dreaded task done. I took a simpler route than they presented – a simple photo that I modified and used as a thank you and you get that personalized feel.

Cut Out Objects Using Channels:Very nice and quick alternative to the trace it with the lasso tool. I used the idea and chose the white area instead of the black for my cutout.

original image

cutout sample

 

–Avlor