A look back at Lightroom in 2007

Happy New Years Eve everyone. I’ve got a question for you. This day, one year ago, were you even using Lightroom? Probably not right? Even if you had installed the beta (remember, the full version wasn’t out yet) you probably hadn’t really committed to it yet? Seriously. Think about it. Can you even imagine what it’s like to NOT be using Lightroom? I can’t. And it was only 1 year ago that I wasn’t. Crazy huh? It got me thinking of what would be a good post to end the year with. I went down the list of the traditional stuff: a) not posting and just take new years eve and day off, or b) Post the old “Predictions for 2008″ post or c) take a look back at the product that this blog/podcast is all about and see how far we’ve come. Choice “a” – come on, it’s me. I can’t take the day off. Choice “b” – too predictable. Everyone does that right? So let’s go with choice “c” and take a look back. Trust me, there’s lots of cool little nuggets of information and interesting things throughout the list below.

Nov. 1, 2006I know, I know… this really isn’t 2007 yet but I thought it would be cool to know that this site launched on that day. I promise, everything else will be 2007 from now on

Jan. 1, 2007Lightroom was only available in pre-release beta. That meant that only those brave enough and willing to try out a beta product would use it. It wasn’t meant for prime-time production use, which meant that most actual working pros wouldn’t even try it yet. On this day, although many had installed it and kicked the tires a bit, Lightroom was only used by a fraction of the people it’s being used by today.

All that said, Lightroom was drawing a huge amount of buzz in the industry. PDF books, DVDs, online videos, training sessions were all created just for the beta. And people were eating it up. They’d buy/watch/attend training even if they didn’t have Lightroom just to see what it was all about. Plus, there was a lot of talk about Lightroom vs. Aperture (Apple’s competing product). As many did early on, I laid my bets down on Lightroom which turned out to be the best product for me personally. Nonetheless, here’s an interesting read that compares the two products.

Jan. 23, 2007The website since1968 posts an interview with Mark Hamburg, founder of the Lightroom project, about how Lightroom became to be and some of the stories behind it’s development.

Jan. 29, 2007Adobe officially announced Lightroom 1.0 and it’s price. It was at that point everyone really started to “dig” it because they realized that a) after 1 year of beta releases, Lightroom was indeed becoming real and, b) it was priced very reasonably and it didn’t break the bank of either pro photographers or serious amateurs at $199. They also gave a release date of Feb. 19th.

Feb. 15, 2007since1968 follows up part 1 of Mark Hamburg’s interview with part 2.

Feb. 19, 2007Lightroom is officially shipping. NAPP launches the official Lightroom Learning Center with lots of free videos, behind the scenes looks, and all the information you could possibly find on Lightroom all in one place. If you’re a NAPP member you can always go back and view it here.

So what did we get with version 1 that we didn’t have before? We got 1 program to do many things. Before we had to use Bridge and Camera Raw together. With Lightroom we could do everything in one place. Raw processing got better as well with the addition of the Vibrance slider as well as Recovery (remember, we were still using the old Camera Raw at this point).

- The Tone Curve and the HSL panel had (and still have) a revolutionary tool called the TAT.

- We also got Spot Removal that was non-destructive (this one was kept secret until Version 1 shipped).

- A whole bunch of Printing goodness! Enough said.

March, 2007Not much happening in this month other then a slew of Lightroom training starts hitting the streets.

Here’s some training from Adobe that I like a lot (partly because it has me in it ).

One of the more interesting things I found was that Scott Kelby’s Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers came out on fire. It wasn’t that Scott’s book was doing well among Lightroom books. If you’ve read anything from him then you’d probably already know it would do great. What was really interesting to me that his book was beating out nearly every Photoshop book out there. You’ve gotta figure there are hundreds of thousands more Photoshop users out there then Lightroom, but Scott’s Lightroom book was outselling them all (you can see it here – it’s been in the top 10 since it’s release). If you’re a Lightroom user, then that just shows you how popular this program became in such a short amount of time.

April 4, 2007Photoshop World ships up to Boston with the first ever dedicated Lightroom track. I taught a class in it and let me tell ya’ – people were digging it. Every class was jam packed and it was great to see so much interest. One thing struck me though, there were a ton of the same exact questions:
1) Why Lightroom over Bridge and Camera Raw? While there isn’t one answer there are a few sites and forums out there that have some info on the topic:
- Adobe forums
- Photoshop TV Episode 108 (you can go back and watch if you’re a NAPP member)

2) How do I move my Library or Catalog of photos between computers?
- See June below
- Check out this video

April 27, 2007Scott Kelby kicks off the first Lightroom seminar tour in the world in LA to over 800 people. Here’s the thing I recall as one of the most interesting comments I heard from Scott about that day. After being asked early on, questions like “How much does Lightroom cost?” at a Lightroom seminar (since you’d think that most folks would have already purchased it if they were there), Scott asked the crowd how many of them even had purchased Lightroom by this point. The results: About 25-30% of the 800 people hadn’t even owned the program yet! Lightroom did indeed gain so much ground in just 4 months that people were coming out to a seminar to just see what it could do. That’s a pretty powerful statistic if you think about it.

Adobe also creates the Adobe Video Workshop which includes videos on everything under the sun (including Lightroom).

May 24, 2007NAPP incorporates a specific portion of Photoshop User magazine to Lightroom only. Subscribers of Photoshop User magazine get a whole section dedicated to Lightroom free of charge. Plus they hired some of the industries best experts to write for it. Names like Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, Michael Tapes, Angel Drury, Chris Orwig, Kevin Ames, and even myself all jumped in and started writing for it.

Oh yeah, I taught Lightroom all day long for 2 days at Adobe Live in Amsterdam. I know, this one is pretty weak but, from a personal note, it was just cool to see that this product I was investing so much time into teaching was just as popular over in Europe as it is here.

June. 26, 2007Adobe announces the first update to Lightroom. It’s called Lightroom 1.1. Although you’d think that, by nature, a “.1″ update would just be minor fixes this one wasn’t. It was huge and it was free.

- First off, it updated Camera Raw and we got the Clarity slider in the Develop module.

Also in Develop came 4 new sharpening controls that let you accomplish way better sharpening right from within Lightroom.

Finally, one of the mostest hugest new features in 1.1 was the ability to export and import catalogs (A.K.A. your photo library). So if you worked on a laptop while traveling and wanted to sync back to your desktop you could easily do so. There was lots of little things as well and you can read about them here if you’d like.

Some other notable news on this day (for me personally that is) is that my Lightroom training DVD and online training course was released. I was incredibly psyched because it quickly became one of Kelby Training’s best selling DVDs and online training courses. Again, in the whole world of Photoshop training, it’s cool to see this little product we call Lightroom take off like that.

July 2007I taught a workshop in Banff where we concentrated solely on shooting, then using Lightroom and Photoshop together in a simple workflow. It wasn’t the first workshop I taught but it was the first Lightroom/Photoshop one I did. It was awesome! It was now that I really started to see how easy Lightroom made managing and developing your photos for all types of photographers out there.

August 2007Nothing really to write here. But I hated to leave a month out. I mean, hey, it’s not August’s fault that the Lightroom community had no major happenings in it’s month. Seriously. What did August ever do to you that you’d be saying to yourself, Matt, why didn’t you just leave August out!

Sept. 6, 2007Photoshop World hits Las Vegas with an updated Lightroom track. I thought the one in Boston drew a crowd but this one really rocked. 8 Months after it’s release, people were still flocking to find out more about Lightroom.

Sept. 13, 2007Lightroom 1.2 is released. Another “dot” update as they’re called by software developers. It wasn’t quite as huge as the Lightroom 1.1 update (ok, not even close) but it was definitely a step up.

- One of the most memorable new features for me was the killer web galleries by Airtight Interactive that were incorporated directly into Lightroom. Good stuff!

- Another cool enhancement was the ability to easily import/export presets for each module in Lightroom. This actually lead to my latest additions to the Lightroom Killer Tips website where I release free presets every week.

Also in September, The Lightroom Journal (a blog kept by the folks at Adobe) posted an interesting and quick read from Mark Hamburg about the goals behind Lightroom.

October 16, 2007John Nack, a senior product manager over at Adobe, posts an interesting blog entry about what the pros are using out there – Lightroom or Aperture.

Also in October, Sean McCormack releases a really cool web gallery preset for Lightroom called the Scroll Gallery. In fact, there’s lots of other cool web galleries that you can download and add to Lightroom for free at the Lightroom Galleries website.

Nov. 15, 2007Lightroom 1.3 is released. Mostly a camera raw update for newer camera models but some small fixes as well. Also, Adobe has addressed some printing issues with Macs newer OS – Leopard. Again, it’s free so it’s worth a download.

December 7, 2007Lightroom 1.3.1 is released. This was a really tiny update mostly relating to some printing issues. Nothing crazy though.

December 31, 2007Here. Now. Today. It’s been a wild year in the digital photography world. New software, new cameras, and a ton of things to grab your attention. I’m very thankful to have been one of those things and I can’t wait to see what 2008 will bring us. One thing is for sure though. If it’s about Lightroom, I’ll be on it and make sure you always know exactly what you need to know (and in a way you can understand) first. I sincerely hope that you and your families have a very happy and safe new years eve and I hope 2008 brings great things to you.

Thanks!
- Matt Kloskowski

Friday Tips – Easy Way to Switch Folders

Well everyone, it’s the last official “tip” post of the year so I’d better make it a good one. I’ve actually thrown in a couple more tips that I learned this week but they have nothing to do with Lightroom. So, you can just scroll to Tip #3 if you want the Lightroom tip.

Tip #1) Guitar Hero is your enemy. My “kids” got this game for Christmas. Little did they know I would soon commandeer it. I have to say, playing it has taken an inordinate amount of my time during the week. I’d easily have blogged several more times had it not been for this game. Stay away from it.

Tip #2) Running a marathon is your enemy. I know this first hand because I’m training to run the Disney marathon in Orlando, FL on January 13th. The last month of training gets pretty unbearable since you’re running longer distances and it takes a lot out of you. Again, I’d easily have blogged many more times had I not been recuperating from 18+ mile training runs over the last month. So my tip is, don’t run a marathon. It sounded like a good idea 4 months ago, but not anymore. It’ll all be done in a couple weeks though (that’s what I keep reminding myself of).

Tip #3) OK, the real Lightroom tip. If you don’t know about this one you’re totally going to love me for it. You know when you’re in the Develop module and you’re processing your photos. What always happens? You want to go to another folder and work on another folder right? Well, there’s really no easy way to do this. Basically, you’d go back to the Library, then click on the Folder, then find the photo, then go back into the Develop module. Well check this out. Right below the toolbar but above the Filmstrip (at the bottom) is a small filter area. In this area is a path that shows you what folder and photos you’re looking at. Next to it, on the right, is a small down-facing arrow. If you click on it you’ll see a list of recent folders and collections that you’ve viewed. Click here to see a graphic of what I’m talking about. Then just choose the folder or collection you want to jump to and Lightroom will take you there without leaving the Develop module. Come on… you’ve got to admit that’s cool. It can seriously cut down on the time you spend bouncing back between modules. Well, that’s it for my Friday tips. I gotta’ run – I’ve got a gig (that’s Guitar Hero speak for game) to play Hey, what can I say – my fans need me. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Video – Processing Panos in Lightroom

As promised, here’s a video on how to process your panos in Lightroom. The other week, I created a video tip that showed you how to manage any panos you shoot in Lightroom with Stacks (also works great for HDR). This time, I’m continuing that and showing you how to take those raw files and process them with a pano in mind (it’s really a lot like processing a regular photo with just a small change at the end). We’ll process them in Lightroom and then take it through the Photomerge feature in Photoshop to finish things off. Have a great Thursday!

Click here to watch the video. (14Mb)

A Christmas Thank You

It’s usually around this time of year that everyone is thinking about gifts and presents. What will you get and, more importantly, what will you give. It got me thinking about how fortunate I am because I get something from you (the visitors of this website) all of the time – your attention. In this day, where there are literally thousands of things competing for your attention every day, giving it to me is something I’m truly grateful for. I know you’re giving me something so valuable, and it makes every post I write, every preset I prepare, and every video I create that much better because of it. I always feel like I’ve got to deliver to you, so I can return the favor. So I wanted to give a great big thank you to everyone out there who stops in from time to time to read or listen to what I have to say. You unknowingly give me a gift each time you do it. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday.

- Matt Kloskowski

Monday Presets – Holiday Slideshows

In the spirit of the holidays I’m switching gears this week to a holiday preset for the Slideshow module. I’m sure plenty of you will be taking photos during the holidays. Naturally, your family expects to see these photos right away. OK, they want them in 5 minutes right? Well, once you’ve imported the photo, jump over to the Slideshow module and show ‘em off in style. Step 1) Download these two backgrounds and place them on your desktop. Step 2) Position your Lightroom window in a way so you can see both Lightroom and the desktop. Step 3) Turn on the Background Image option in the Slideshow module. Then drag the background over the little thumbnail area on that panel. It’ll pop up as a background image for your slideshow. Try resizing your actual photo as well so you can see more of the background if you want. It’ll add that extra bit of holiday spirit as your family, friends, or clients look at the photos. Enjoy!

Click here to see a sample of the preset.
Click here to download the holiday backgrounds

Friday Tip – Scroll Wheel Friendly

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you’re all having a great holiday season. My kids are just about coming out of their skin waiting for Santa to come and it’s just a great time of year to be a dad. Anyway, on to some Lightroom stuff. Check this out! If your mouse has a scroll wheel you’ll like this tip. You know those target adjustment tools (TAT for short) that we get with the Tone Curve as well as the HSL/Grayscale panel? If not, just look at the graphic on the left of this tip and it’s circled. Well, when you hover over a point on your image you usually think of clicking and dragging to use the TAT. Instead, try using your scroll wheel on your mouse. It’s just a little easier. Plus, I use the scroll wheel all the time when I’m in the Develop module and I want to scroll down past one panel to get to another one. Finally, if your scroll wheel has a left-to-right scrolling ability then try that when you’re down over the filmstrip at the bottom. The only trick is you’ve got to make sure you put your mouse cursor over that general area. Have a great Christmas weekend everyone. Mine will be chocked full of last minute trips to the mall (God help me!) and the grocery store. But it’s all good right?

I've Got Some New Online Courses

Hey folks. I’ve got some cool news for you in the world of online training. First off, the company I work for, Kelby Training has launched a brand new website dedicated to online training. And when I say launched, I mean we jumped in head first and created the flat-out best online training resource on the planet. The only other place you’ll find so many world-class instructors at once is, well… probably at Photoshop World. Kelby Training has pretty much taken the dream team behind Photoshop World and put them online. Names like Bert Monroy, Dan Margulis, Katrin Eismann, Eddie Tapp, and Scott Kelby to name a few. What makes this online training really special (besides the world-class instructors) is the content. You’ll be hard pressed to find as many Photoshop CS3 classes anywhere. Plus, there’s classes on photography (from masters such as Joe McNally, Moose Peterson, and David Ziser) that are like nothing else out there.
Now, of course I’m really excited about the whole thing. But what’s really cool for me on a personal note is that, with the new site, are debuts several of my new courses.
1) Photoshop CS3 for Wedding Photographers
2) Automating Photoshop for Photographers
3) Adobe Certified Expert Exam Prep (coming very soon)
My Lightroom Basic Training course is also up there so if you’ve never seen it before it’s all part of the subscription price. Oh… the price. It’s really simple. $19.99/month or $199/year. No strings attached. You get access to everything. Not one course… all of them. So head on over to Kelby Training and give it a try (yep, you can see the first 3 lessons in each course for free). Thanks!

28 Great Lightroom Resources

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when I looked through my Google alerts. I noticed that Lightroom Killer Tips had been mentioned on Photography Bay’s 28 Great Lightroom resources. They’ve compiled a list of all the best resources on the web and I made it (near the top even!). What’s really cool is that they mention some resources from Adobe, Peachpit Press, and Layers Magazine – all of which I write for so it’s like a quadruple dose of Matt (and who doesn’t want more right ). So make sure you pay the list a visit because there’s plenty of Lightroom stuff out there that you may be missing.
That said, there’s one resource on there that wasn’t mentioned and it’s one of the sites I visit all the time. Sean McCormack’s Lightroom Blog is a great (and frequently updated) website that you’ll want to put on your Lightroom list. So if you’ve got some vacation time coming up over the holidays and want to catch up on everything there is to know about Lightroom, now you’ve got 29 places to go. You’d better get to it!

Tuesday's Monday Presets

I know, the presets usually come on Monday but I wanted to change it up this week. Actually, yesterday just got away from me. Anyway, this week I’ve got some presets for you that are specifically geared for sunsets with lots of sky. As I was looking through my photos I realized there were basically two types of sunsets – cool or warm. The cooler ones typically had lots of blues and some reds in them. The warmer ones had more of a yellowish color to them. So I made a few tweaks in White Balance as well as HSL and saved them a while back. Now whenever I have a sunset photo I usually give these a try first and I get great results most of the time. If anything, it’s a great starting point and you can always go tweak the Temperature and Tint settings under White Balance for more or less of the effect. Have at ‘em!

Click here to see a sample of the preset.
Click here to download Matt’s Cool/Warm Sunset Presets
Click here to see a video on how to install presets.

Video – Panoramas, HDR, and Lightroom

Managing Panoramas (henceforth known as panos) and HDR photos in Lightroom is an important step in making your life a lot easier if you like that type of photography. See, I love to shoot panos. I’m not so big on HDR, but I know there are plenty of folks out there that are. What happens after shooting a lot of either type of photography is that your library becomes really cluttered. As if the clutter wasn’t bad enough, it just becomes flat-out difficult to start processing these types of photos. So instead of ditching Lightroom when you shoot at pano or HDR set, check out this week’s video and give it a try.

Click here to watch the video. (13Mb)