Monday Video – Loading New Develop Presets

This week’s video topic comes from the fact that I’ve been getting a lot of questions about presets in Lightroom. The ones that come with Lightroom, well… to put it plainly, they aren’t useful for much. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Develop presets can be very useful and are worth exploring. The thing is they’re really easy to create, but how do you go about moving them from one computer to another or even sharing them with others? That’s just what we’re going to cover in this video.
Click here to watch the video. (36 Mb)

Friday Tips(s) – Save $100

OK, tip #1. You know those little decorations at the bottom of a panel in Lightroom? If you’re not sure what I’m talking about then just go to the Develop module, for example, and scroll down the left side, all the way to the bottom (under the History panel). Those little decorations (AKA: Flourishes) can actually be changed since they’re just image files. There’s a tutorial on how to do it, as well as some graphic downloads, over at www.lightroom-extra.com. Just click on the Downloads link at the top.

Tip #2 – If you’re one of those folks that still hasn’t bought Lightroom yet but are seriously thinking about it, then seriously think about buying it within the next few days. On May 1, 2007 the special introductory price ($199) is ending. Starting Monday May 1, Lightroom is going up to $299. So save yourself a hundred bucks and buy it soon if you’re going to.

Wednesday Inspiration – Ronny Kiaulehn.com

Happy Wednesday everyone. Check out Ronny Kiaulehn.com. Here’s a gallery with a little bit of everything; from fashion photography, to macro work, all the way to sports photography. I’d have to say that the sports stuff that Ronny has is my favorite, but really it’s all great. Plus, the lighting is beautiful in just about everything. Visit the website here. (Warning: Some adult content)
(Photo credit: Ronny Kiaulehn)

Friday Tip – Getting right to the panel you need.

Want to get right to the panel you need without having to scroll down or click somewhere? If you’re in the Develop module and you’re working in the Basic panel and then decide you want to go to the Split Toning panel, just press Control-4 (Mac: Command-4). In order to go back up to the Basic panel press Control-1 (Mac: Command-1) or Control-2 (Mac: Command-2) for the Tone Curve, etc… (3 for HSL, 4 for Split Toning, 5 for Detail – you get the picture). Pretty neat huh? Have a great weekend.

Wednesday Video and Inspiration

Yep… you read correctly. You’re getting a little bit of both today.
VideoBefore Lightroom, cropping and straightening in Photoshop was a 2-step process. Plus, you kind of had to know the little tricks of the trade to straighten your photos because there really was no straighten tool (yes, I know about the Lens Correction filter but most folks never found it). That said, Lightroom has a pretty slick interface for straightening your photos. You can do it visually or you can use part of the photo as a reference point. Click here to watch the video. (26 Mb)

InspirationCheck out photographer and fellow Lightroom enthusiast, Sean McCormack’s photoblog. Sean’s website has everything from his own portfolio to Lightroom tutorials, but I really enjoy poking around through his photoblog because he’s got some beautiful work. Check it out here.

Friday Tip – Keyboard Shortcut

Every once in a while I come across a keyboard shortcut that really speeds things up for me in Lightroom. Today this shortcut deals with the Crop tool. You probably already know that you can lock your aspect ratio when you’re cropping by clicking on the little Lock icon in Crop mode. However, you can just press the letter A to turn the lock and and off. Small I know but hey… it’s my website right?! I have to say that this little shortcut really makes it easier for me to use the Crop tool. Have a great weekend!

Video – Applying Edits to Multiple Photos

Here’s a topic that comes up a lot in Lightroom. You process a photo using the Develop module. Then you realize you have about 100 other photos that were shot in similar lighting conditions and could benefit from the same edits you just did on that one photo. The natural question is how to synchronize the settings from that one photo to all of the others quickly. We’ll take a look at just that in the latest video.
Click here to watch the video. (29 Mb)

Monday Video – Working with Metadata

Metadata is the less glamorous side of Lightroom but probably just as important as any other area. It serves several purposes, such as allowing you to protect your photos with copyright information or add personal contact information so anyone seeing your photos will know how to contact you. It’s also a killer searching mechanism for finding your photos because the data that’s already embedded in them when you press the shutter is invaluable. So in this week’s video we’re going to take a quick look at where the metadata lives in Lightroom and how you can go about working with it.
Click here to watch the video. (22 Mb)