Now in its second beta release, Lightroom is getting great feedback from the folks who’re
on board testing it. There have been a number of great articles in LAYERS and PHOTOSHOP USER magazine that
cover Lightroom extensively. This article is less a formal software review and more a list of
personal reactions.
First, it should be noted that Lightroom is not positioned to be a replacement for Photoshop. For many
photographers Lightroom is all they will ever need, but I think having a workflow that seamlessly allows
movement between both of these Adobe applications is wonderful.
Lightroom is divided into 4 tabbed interfaces – Library, Develop, Slideshow, and Print. Movement
between the four is simple and intuitive and the workflow tasks seem to have been laid-out with photographers,
not software geeks, in mind. Of course, if you happen to be a software geek with a photographic habit then
you’ll appreciate Lightroom all the more.
LIBRARY |
DEVELOP |
SLIDESHOW |
PRINT |
|
LIBRARY is where your images are imported and sorted. There is a solid metadata, keywords,
and EXIF area, as well as a Quick Develop dialogue which allows you to make quick changes without going over
to the more extensive Develop tab. There are three things I like very much about Lightroom’s Library
functions.
- The first is the import function which allows you to easily import and convert to DNG, a process I plan
to include in my workflow once Lightroom is available for purchase (no word yet on when that might be).
- Secondly there are several viewing options – several different configurations for the light-table,
if you will. Lightroom has a tool, for instance, that allows you to instantly view images at 100%.
- Third is the way Lightroom converts RAW data – somehow my stuff looks better in Lightroom that it
ever has. I can’t explain why this would differ from the presets in Adobe Camera Raw, but these
are the best looking RAW interpretations I have seen and it makes me look like a better photographer
than I think I am.
One of the little innovations I like so much but never knew I wanted it is Lights Out. A simple keyboard
shortcut [L] allows you to cycle through three ways of looking at your monitor. Lights
On is the normal way of looking at a monitor – all the elements on the screen appear normal. Lights
Dim allows you to view only your image normally, all other elements on screen are darkened by what looks
like 50%. Lights Off creates a black screen with only your image visible. Very handy for showing images without
the distractions of other interface elements. It’s not a must-have but once you start playing with
it – it’s wonderful. Lights Out works in all four panes – Library, Develop, Slideshow,
and Print.
The DEVELOP pane allows for significant tweaking to your image, all of it non-destructive.
One of the best features so far is the flexibility of greyscale conversions – much easier than the
Photoshop channel mixer, for example. I won’t dive into this because frankly there’s too much
good stuff in there and I won’t do it justice. But you get all the stuff you need for advanced photo-editing – here’s
a shortlist: basic adjustments, tone curve, crop and straighten, greyscale mixer, split toning, colour tuning,
details, lens corrections, colour calibration.
SLIDESHOW is what you’d guess, and while I first overlooked this – I don’t
seem to be a slide-show kind of guy – I went back for a second look when I discovered you can export
your slideshows to Flash or HTML – making great-looking Flash or HTML web-galleries with the click
of a button. This is clearly one of the advantages of the Adobe merger with Macromedia. In addition to the
export function, you’ll find the flexibility of the slideshow pane remarkable. Options abound. This
is nothing like iPhoto – which I concede is a nice entry-level piece of software (if you can stomach
the odd way it stores your images) – this is a really slick, professional piece of software.
PRINT allows remarkable flexibility as well. As with the other panes there is a panel of
sliders to the right – in this case the adjustments for margins, page grid, cell spacing, cell size,
overlay options and print job settings. This beats digging around in the menu bar – it’s all
where it ought to be. To the left of the pane is a Template browser, which allows you to create and store
printed-page templates, as well as make use of the included ones.
Without having spent tonnes of time on
this, I know that Lightroom makes importing, organizing, tweaking, printing,
and presenting my images easier than ever. I find other applications like Extensis Portfolio cumbersome and
only a partial solution to my needs. Lightroom will allow me to store my library over several drives, access
them by keywords, EXIF, shoot name, or collection. It interprets RAW data more brilliantly than ever, and
allows me to print without fuss and create great-looking, highly functional web-galleries simply.
What Lightroom will look like on final release is anyone’s guess, but if it contains only the features
the beta now has, I’m in. Mac users can download
and use the beta for free, PC people can now express interest to sign up for the WIN beta test. It’ll
be worth the wait.
About the Author
After shooting for twenty years and spending twelve of those as a professional comedian, David duChemin turned back to his first love – photography. An impassioned travel and humanitarian photographer, David has shot on five continents for assignments and projects covering places as diverse as Paris, Haiti, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and India. David’s portfolio can be found online at www.pixelatedimage.com and his blog can be read at www.pixelatedimage.typepad.com. David makes his home in Vancouver, Canada.
