Come in! There are a few adventures I’ve written about, but most of the content offers classes in photography and mentoring for photographers, including photo theory, which, although a vital part in our profession, is largely an overlooked subject in all published media that profits from and feeds our gadget minded mindset today.
Just when you think you have it down they come at you with another upgrade. Lightroom 1 has an upgrade and you guessed right, it’s called Lightroom 2.
No doubt it keeps getting better for digital photography. This version has several shining improvements, although I’ve heard like all initial new offerings, some bugs to. The main addition is what might best be called a magic brush.
This brush can, selectively mind you, lighten or darken areas of your photograph, and paint in clarity, sharpness, saturation, etc. It is amazing how much science is enabling a new art. There are other features of worth that make the upgraded version just that much better.
Fortunately it has little effect on the introduction to the program I have been presenting in the previous two articles, and so I will complete this overview with this third installment.
Hopefully you will still have a copy of the last Triton issue on board, or if you have been following me on this, I suggested tearing out the last article as the photograph included is helpful in following my descriptive words.
In the previous installment I had been going over the right and lower sections, around the main center window, in the Library and Develop Modules. Now looking at the left of the main window in the Develop Module, shown in the photograph, we are given the following: Navigator, Presets, Snapshots, and History.
Navigator let you choose how you would like images to be displayed by fit, fill, 1 to 1 or many other sizes. Presets allow you to customize how this program will run and look. Snapshots are versions you can make virtual copies of as you go through making changes to a photograph.
One thing worth noting and repeating is that Lightroom adjustments are non-destructive. This means that the original will always remain and be there to go back to.
The History button keeps track of all you do to the image, that is it is the image log.
In the same location of the Library Module looks basically the same, only with more helpful sections, beginning again with Navigator, followed by Library, Find, Folders, Collections, keywords, and Metadata Browser.
The important thing to note is that in this module the information is universal to the program. By this I mean the information covers all photographs imported and exported through it, all the Keyword Tags, all the Metadata Browser information. Here it is not about individual images.
The Navigator is the same as in the Develop Module. The Library section goes into your last import, or everything you’ve imported, etc. Find, Folders are the same as found in any other program. Collections are terrific in allowing you to make a collection out of, for instance, all photographs you have given a 5-star rating to. Keyword Tags are words you give to any selection of photographs to make them easier to find. For instance, you are on a ship in Aruba. You can keyword tag all the photos taken there by the name of your ship name and Aruba. Later at home you can easily find your shots to show to friends by entering these keywords. Finally the Metadata gives you all the particulars, such as the time and date, or shutter speed and aperture used.
You have been taken around the opening Library and fabulous Develop. I have always been on the level, and the Slideshow Module has had limited use so far, except to exhibit a body of images to guests by clicking the arrow below the window, which begins the slideshow. There are few options on the left side and many on the right.
The same applies to print. I have questioned using this at all, since I use the module of my wide format Canon printer to set all my print parameters. But, let me mention Lightroom 2 were I hear it now offers templates were a configuration of different size prints can be chosen for output. In other words, if you want to make some 5×7’s and wallet size prints on an a sheet of paper. This I want to explore, as it can be very helpful.
The Web Module I have used anytime I can and I love it for making presentations of my photographs I can send right to my web site. The window at center shows you how things look as you work with the right and left panels. The right panel gives you options for either html or flash galleries. Below this you can set your site info and titles, followed down by color selections, custom photo settings, image info, quality and metadata settings, and upload settings. The left panel has many templates you can customize for both html and flash formats, and these you can customize. Below the window you will find left and right arrows to click through the photos of your web presentation and a way to preview it in your browser.
What else can you ask for if you are a photographer? O.K. so now are you going to go out and spend your money on this program? When you do buy it, be sure send me the ten percent commission. In the meantime, I’ll take permission to come ashore.
