Lightroom Tips

Wes From Wacom Talks Lightroom

Try saying that 5 times fast. “Wes from Wacom talks Lightroom… Wes from Wacom talks..” 🙂
OK so its really not that hard after all. Anyway, your job for today is to make sure you’ve read Wes Maggio’s (Application Specialist for Wacom Technology) guest blog appearance on Scott Kelby’s blog. Wes specifically talks about the pen/tablet combo and how it plays a role in today’s workflow with Photoshop and Lightroom. See, it used to be that whatever we did, we did in Photoshop. And if you’re in Photoshop its kind of a no-brainer to use a tablet. All of your major tools are pressure sensitive. But with Lightroom things change a little. Sliders have gotten so powerful at letting us target specific parts of our photo that we do a little more slider sliding then we do painting. Does that mean tablets don’t help out? Well Wes has some good insights but personally, I don’t think so.

True story. And I’m not writing this for Wacom, I’m writing it because I know the inevitable questions will come after reading this entry, on whether or not I use a tablet. So here goes: When I first started using Photoshop 8 months ago (kidding!). But when I first started, I swore by my tablet. But I gradually started getting away from it about 3-4 years ago. Partly because I did most of my work on a laptop while moving around or hanging out on the couch trying to be close to where the action was going on with my family. I got to the point where I never used my tablet anymore. But the Intuos 4 came out earlier this year so I decided to try it out. I’m proud to say I am again hooked. And I’m not just saying this because Wes (and Wacom) are friends of mine. Honestly, I’m hooked. So much so that I grabbed the small version of the Intuos 4 for traveling because my travels were really starting to beat up my medium sized tablet. And now I’m also facing a crisis at home because I don’t have a medium size tablet there and I really don’t want to get a 3rd one. So why am I hooked again? I think its a combination of a few things. First off, the Intuos 4’s just feel better. I can’t explain it but there’s a definite difference between the way that they feel from earlier tablets. That alone doesn’t do it though. The shortcut buttons on the left are cool and I use the wheel-shaped button a lot (not so much on the other ones). Its great for scrolling web pages, zooming in in Photoshop and changing brush size in Lightroom (yes I said Lightroom – it works there too!). Again though, I don’t think that sells it. But I think the main reason I’ve fallen in rekindled my relationship with my tablet is that it just makes sense. Regardless of cool new features and all that, using a tablet for what we do as photographers just makes sense. Even if I’m not using a pressure sensitive tool, being able to paint with the accuracy of a pen instead of the mouse works better for me.

Anyway, make sure you check out Wes’s post. Its quick and to the point. And very applicable to us as Lightroom users. In fact, its got me curious to see what most Lightroom users out there are doing so try leaving a comment to let us know. Do you use a tablet? Do you own one but don’t use it? Use it sometimes? All the time? Thanks!

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