Adobe Lightroom p2


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	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom


	continued

When I started using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom I hoped that it would make the same sort of difference to my working day as when I moved from Nikon Capture to RawShooter - Well thought out software meant that all of a sudden I was a really quick worker. RawShooter was both easier to use and quicker - easier because of better layout and much quicker because as soon as you had adjusted one file RawShooter could process and save it in the background while you worked on the next. Lightroom aims to carry that process forward, with a workflow that really does cover everything.

You begin in the Library module where images are imported into Lightroom - At this stage you are directed to add keywords to the images and to choose if the images remain where they are or are copied into the library. This part of Lightroom feels very strange to me - yes it’s a good idea to catalogue all your images but it takes a while to accept that there are no simple open or save commands. Once you’ve imported a set of images the library screen has quick adjustment tools to help you select or grade images before you move on to the Develop screen which has the full set of controls for every adjustment you can think of - you can open and close as many or as few menu boxes as you like on the right hand panel and then scroll the panel up and down. This is a far better arrangement than that used by Nikon Capture NX, where floating toolboxes can obscure the image you’re working on. With Lightroom the image is visible and unobstructed at all times. The curves tool open here is redesigned and simpler to use than the Photoshop version. In the screen shot above the shaded area shows the tones that will be adjusted by dragging the control point. You can also select to drag the mouse over the area of the image you want to adjust and Lightroom will choose the correct part of the curve to move. Really clever stuff. Also added to the normal exposure color balance etc are two from RawShooter - vibrance, which adjusts unsaturated colors, but leaves highly saturated areas alone - and fill light which adds shadow detail where needed. There’s also a Recover slider to recover burned out highlights while leaving the rest of the image alone. Of course you can select blown highlights to show up as red blobs so that you know what needs recovering. There are just so many good ideas.

In my first few hours of using Lightroom I kept looking for the save button (In Lightroom you don’t save, you export files to use in other applications) but eventually began to accept the fact that the whole idea of Lightroom is that you don’t use anything else. What has taken some getting used to is the discipline of working as Lightroom wants you to. It feels very strange - Although there are lots of RawShooter style adjustments, and Photoshop style tools, it’s very different, so I doubt if many people will make the transition from whatever combination of applications they’re used to, without some serious head scratching.

Because Lightroom deals with the whole process, and is designed to really push you through the stages in a disciplined order - it’s order - At times it feels a bit too much like it’s the one in charge.


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	All text and images copyright David Gold 2006 - 2008 and must not be reproduced in any way without permission davidgold@ezeedsl.co.uk


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