When you first got into photography you probably weren't thinking
much about your digital image workflow. Then you really caught the
photography bug, and several years (or maybe weeks!) later you've taken
thousands of images. If you're anything like me, these pictures are
pretty disorganized. This tutorial shows how to use Adobe Lightroom to
tame your photo collection and get the most from your pictures.
Catalogs & The Non-Destructive Difference
If you've used photography programs like Photoshop before, the biggest difference you'll notice with Lightroom is the Library.
The first time that you open Lightroom, you'll be working in a catalog.
Think of catalogs as Lightroom's organizational metaphor: like a
ledger, as you import images to Lightroom they are added as entries in
the catalog. When you then make changes to an image, the original image
file is preserved as master copy.
In Photoshop, we can save our
progress using TIFF or PSD files - layered Photoshop documents that
include the image and all of the changes to the image. This is called a
"non-destructive" process because it preserves the original image.
However, these files tend to be pretty large: often too large for
sharing online or sending in an email. They are also meant for use only
with Photoshop and a handful of other programs.
If we save
finished images in a smaller, compressed image format, like JPEG or GIF,
we've applied a destructive edit. The changes we've made are saved
permanently and we can't revert back to the original image.
Catalogs
and non-destructiveness are the two crucial features that define
Lightroom as an all-purpose photo management and digital imaging system.
With this system, we can manage an unlimited number of pictures and
make an unlimited number of changes without any loss of quality.
Made of Modules
One
of the key differences in the structure of Lightroom is that it is
divided into a series of modules. The modules are unique workspaces that
allow you to interact with your image collections in different ways.
This set of modules makes Lightroom a nearly-complete photo editing and
image processing suite. Lightroom's modules are unique workspaces for interacting with your images in differing ways.From
a workflow perspective, Lightroom's modules divide the post-production
process in a straightforward, logical way. You can take images from
start to finish simply by switching modules.
The various modules
are shown in the upper right part of the application. Click the name of
the module make it the active module.
Library
The Library
module is for getting your image collection organized and tagged. As
your collection grows, you'll need to add information about your images
to your images to keep them organized, and this is the place.
Lightroom's Library provides all the tools you need to manage your pictures and stay sane. The Library's grid view allows you to view many images simultaneously and apply filters for just the images you're looking for.The
Library module is full of tools that help you tag and add meaning to
your collection of images. Common tasks in the Library module include
culling images to remove unwanted photos, tagging images with keywords,
exploring images in different views, and sorting images into groups. The
tools in Lightroom's Library module are truly effective for managing an
image collection. From left to right in the above screenshot, we first
see four options for viewing our images, ranging from a grid view to a
before and after effect. Lightroom also gives us flagging options to
choose our "picks" from our collection, star ratings, and color labels.
All of these tools can help us add meaning to the photos in our
collection and enhance navigation of our favorite images.
Develop
The Develop
module is where image-processing happens. With a full set of tools for
correcting and adjusting images, you'll probably spend much of your time
in the Develop module. Photoshop just might get jealous! The Develop module in Lightroom is home to the image adjustment and editing tools that are essential to post-processing.On the right side of any module is a series of panels that contain tools for modifying the image. In the Develop module, these sliders are used to adjust the image. Each panel - stacked vertically on the right side of the Develop module - allows us to adjust a different aspect of the image, such as the exposure, color settings, or sharpening.
The bulk of my work occurs in the Library and Develop
modules. The rest of the modules are worth checking out, but many other
photographers I've spoken to note that their habits match mine, taking
images from start to finish in these two modules.
Map
The
Map module is designed to help you visualize where your images were
captured. If your camera adds GPS data to your images, you can load your
images in the Maps module and see them automatically placed on a true
to life map. If your camera doesn't add the GPS data automatically, you
can still drag and drop images on to the map to note their location. The
Lightroom Maps module is an incredible tool for visualizing where the
images are made. It's a great tool if you want to track and maintain the
best places to make photos.One great feature of the Maps module is that it can help you locate where your best images were made. Consider building a location database where your image locations are housed.
Book
In
Lightroom 4, Adobe added the ability to create and print photo books
via Blurb, an on-demand printing service. This is a tool that Lightroom
offers for creating a printed copy of the images in your catalog. The
beauty of this system is that you can layout and print, all without
leaving Lightroom. The
Lightroom Books module is an amazing tool for adding images to a book
layout and printing with Blurb directly from within Lightroom.Although the Book
module is not something that I frequently use, it could certainly come
in handy when you want to create a special occasion book or deliver a
beautifully created keepsake to clients.
Slideshow
Another great client-driven tool is the Slideshow module, used to put together slideshows of any image in your catalog. The
Lightroom Slideshow module is a completely customizable set of tools to
create slideshows of the images in your catalogs. Whether for your own
use or for clients, you've got enough options to tweak the slideshow to
your liking.I'm sure you can imagine the uses
for slideshows, whether it's in-home showings with clients or impromptu
vignettes at a wedding reception (imagine wowing your clients with shots
from earlier in the day.)
Print
The Print
module is great for taking your images from digital to tangible using
your own photo printer. With advanced layout, cropping, and placement
options, the Print module is a full suite for handling this. The Lightroom Print module is designed to help place your digital images on layouts to make tangible copies of your images.One of the more impressive features of the Print
module is Lightroom's ability to "soft proof" your images. This
simulates what the image will look like when it's printed, accounting
for differences in screen-to-paper adjustments.
Web
With the Web module, Lightroom can render HTML templates and images from your catalog into a page ready for publishing to the web. The
Lightroom Web Gallery is used to create web-ready collections of your
images that can easily be pushed to a server for easy viewing.Even
if you're a skilled web designer capable of building your own sites
from scratch, this module shouldn't be overlooked. I've frequently used
this module to push quick previews to my clients.
These modules
all add a new function and way to interact with our images. The key is
that we never have to leave Lightroom, whether we are applying
adjustments or sending images out to the web.
Wrapping Up
In
this intro to Lightroom 5, we've taken a look at what makes Lightroom
unique as well as all of the modules inside of it. This suite of modules
is a completely immerse experience for photographers, capable of
handling images from start to finish.
Are you using Lightroom yet? What modules and features do you want to learn more about?
