1. © 2008 George Garbeck

2. Is Lightroom© Right for You?
An overview of
Adobe
Lightroom© 2
George Garbeck
How many of you shoot digital?
How many spend more time in front of a computer than you would like?
Would rather be out shooting?
Find it easier to locate an old slide than a recent digital image?
© 2008 George Garbeck

3. My Teaching Philosophy
Concept-Driven vs. Rules-Driven
Limitation of Step-by-Step Tutorials
Don’t always work
Can’t ‘see the forest for the trees’
Understanding Underlying Concepts
Allows for flexibility and self-learning
There is no ‘perfect’ workflow
Rigidity inhibits learning
© 2008 George Garbeck

4. Program Scope
This program is primarily an overview for photographers who are not yet familiar with LR
It’s impossible to cover every aspect of LR in the time allowed
I’ve tried to include some ‘tips’ for those who already use LR
© 2008 George Garbeck

5. Syllabus What is Lightroom? The Library module The Develop module
A Description
The Library module
Key concepts: The catalog; Keywording
Adding photos to a catalog
The Library workspace
Importing and editing a shoot
Managing your catalog
Finding, sorting, moving, filtering images
The Develop module
Key concept: Non-destructive editing
The Develop workspace
Demonstration
The Output modules
Slideshow, Print, Web
Lightroom vs. Photoshop
© 2008 George Garbeck

6. What is Lightroom?
An all-inclusive software program developed by & designed specifically for photographers so they may efficiently accomplish all the most common digital imaging tasks.
Contains 5 ‘modules’
Each one performs different tasks
Library
Organize all your digital photos: ‘online’ or ‘offline’
Import from your camera
Edit a shoot
Back up (archive) images
Export images to , web, slideshows, competitions, etc.
Develop
Optimize: make editing corrections to photos
Crop, tonal adjustments, etc.
3 Output modules: Slideshow, Print & Web
© 2008 George Garbeck

7. Library Module
How many of you have had trouble finding images on your computer; have photos in more than one place; or, worst of all, lost images?
Organize your photos
Manage a large library of images
Stores previews (thumbnails) and information about your photos in a catalog
Quickly locate images or groups of images no matter where you have them stored !
Import and edit a shoot
Automatically back up your photos
Rule: Always have 2 sets of your images in different locations
Dramatically improves your productivity
Spend more time shooting and less time computing
© 2008 George Garbeck

8. Your actual photos are never stored in Bridge, Photoshop or Lightroom
Concept: The Catalog
Your actual photos are never stored in Bridge, Photoshop or Lightroom
Your photos are permanently stored on digital media.
Usually on hard drives either inside (internal) or outside your computer (external)
Memory cards, flash drives or optical media (CDs or DVDs)
An image is only temporarily open in Photoshop or Lightroom while you are working on it. 
The actual image is still in its original location on the hard drive. It does not ‘move’ into PS or LR
© 2008 George Garbeck

9. Concept: The Catalog Lightroom Catalog The Sears Catalog
Contains thumbnail images of all your photos
Contains information (metadata) about your images
The actual images are stored on hard drives, CDs or DVDs
The Sears Catalog
Contains photos of all their products
Contains written information about products
The actual products are stored in some warehouse
© 2008 George Garbeck

10. Concept: The Catalog A Library Catalog
Stores information about all the books in the library on little cards
Even books in remote branches of the library
Tells you where to find them
The LR catalog does the same thing
It keeps track of all your photos, whether they are online or offline
Offline: an external hard drive that’s not turned on or a CD, DVD that’s on a shelf somewhere
Bridge and other browsers, can’t see offline images
© 2008 George Garbeck

11. Where’s the Catalog? You should backup your catalog regularly
LR can do this automatically for you
This is different from backing up your images, which you should also do frequently!
© 2008 George Garbeck

12. Step 1: Organize Your Hard Drive
Before you begin to use LR:
All photos should be kept under one main folder (‘My pictures’, ‘Images’, etc.) preferably on a dedicated hard drive
They should be grouped in subfolders (usually sequentially by shoot)
These subfolders can be named by date, or by a meaningful descriptive name
This entire folder structure should be backed up (mirrored) to separate drive either manually or automatically.
© 2008 George Garbeck

13. Adding Images to the Catalog
A Lightroom catalog starts out empty
You have to ‘import’ your photos to it
You’re really ‘linking’ or ‘pointing’ the catalog to your photos, not importing them
The catalog creates previews (thumbnails) of your images and stores their metadata
Two types of import
Existing photos on your hard drive
Photos stay at their present location
New photos from a memory card
Copies photos from the card onto a location (new subfolder) you specify on your hard drive
© 2008 George Garbeck

14. The Library Workspace
© 2008 George Garbeck

15. Workspace: Center Preview Area
Size slider
Select by clicking a thumbnail
J shortcut toggles cell info
E or spacebar for loupe view
Shift tab to hide panels
Navigation panel to fit; spacebar to 1:1 view
F & L shortcut keys toggle view
Right click to view images location in Explorer (Finder)
Selecting Images
Ctrl vs. shift
Selected vs. active
Cell border to deselect others
Sorting Images
Sort images by capture time, aspect ratio, edit time, star rating, other attributes or create a custom sort order b y clicking and dragging.
Stacking
© 2008 George Garbeck

16. Workspace: The Panels Collapsible Auto Hide & show vs. manual
Click on gray triangle to show
Auto Hide & show vs. manual
Right click on triangle to change setting
Filtering Menu
Tapping backslash to access. Filter based on searchable text fields, attributes, and metadata.
Filmstrip view
Shows image path
© 2008 George Garbeck

17. The organizational hub of LR
Workspace: Left Panel
The organizational hub of LR
Navigator
Catalog
Folders
Shows the folder structure, by volume, in which images are stored on hard disks and other media.
Can move folders from one hard disk to another.
Click to view images of any folder in main area
Collections
A great organizational tool
User-selected groups of images. Rather than copying images to a new folder, collections simply refer to images in their original location. Making adjustments from the folder view will update it any collections it exists, and vice versa.
Click to view in preview area
Valuable sorting and organizational tool
Example: collection of possible includes for the next competition
© 2008 George Garbeck

18. Workspace: Right Panel
Histogram
Of active image
Quick develop
Keywording
Keywording List
Metadata
Default, exif, etc.
Presets (copyright)
© 2008 George Garbeck

19. Importing and Editing a Shoot
Import from memory card, adding metadata, editing, choosing and deleting rejects, finding picks, rating, comparing, adding keywords, backing up
© 2008 George Garbeck

20. Importing & Editing Workflow
Dialog Box
A & B Choose Location
C Rename
D Add copyright
E Add generic keywords
Edit
Flag rejects and picks
Pick ‘keepers’
Rank images based on 5 star scale
Delete rejects
Choose: Photo / delete rejected photos
Using compare view
Created collection of ‘keepers’
Add specific keywords
Backup
© 2008 George Garbeck

21. Managing Your Images
ALWAYS move, copy, rename or delete your photos in Lightroom
If you manage your photos in Explorer or Finder, Lightroom will not be aware of any changes
delete a photo outside LR and it will still appear in the catalog
If someone puts a book on the wrong shelf in a library, the card catalog will not help you find it
The Library Filter Panel
Search by
Text: filename, title, caption, etc.
Attribute: ratings, labels, flags
Metadata: keyword, date, lens, shutter, etc
© 2008 George Garbeck

22. Concept: Keywording
Keywords (tags) are descriptive words or short phrases that you attach to your photos so you can find them
They are hidden in the metadata
Use keywords to locate your picture
Rather than looking through dozens, maybe hundreds of folders
There are many ‘keywording strategies’
Create keywords that fit you and the way you think about your images
© 2008 George Garbeck

23. Keywording: An Example
Nature
Water
Waterfall
Spring
New York State
Fitzgerald Falls
Appalachian Trail
People
Friends
Janet
Sports
Hiking
© 2008 George Garbeck

24. Finding & Sorting
Selecting images, the filter bar, sorting, collections & exporting images
© 2008 George Garbeck

25. Filter Menu Backslash key to access
Choose all photos from catalog panel
Filter based on:
Searchable text fields
Attributes
Metadata
Can use multiple criteria
Click ‘done’ when finished
© 2008 George Garbeck

26. Exporting Images
Use the ‘export’ button on the left library panel for a quick way to output a group of selected images
Presets
Use existing or create and save your own
Competitions
Burn CDs
© 2008 George Garbeck

27. Develop Module Develop (image editing) Non-destructive editing Presets
Cropping – before doing tonal adjustments
Color adjustments
Tonal Adjustments
Sharpening
Spot Removal
Can only develop ‘online’ images
Presets
History
© 2008 George Garbeck

28. Concept: Non-Destructive Editing
LIGHTROOM NEVER ALTERS YOUR ORIGINALS
Rather than make changes to actual files, LR records image adjustments as a set of instructions in a separate file and applies them on the fly to the image.
The integrity of original files is not compromised
All adjustments made to an image can be undone without a loss in quality at any future time in the future.
© 2008 George Garbeck

29. Develop Module
Cropping, basic tonal adjustments, advanced adjustments, presets, snapshots, history, before / after views.
© 2008 George Garbeck

30. Develop workflow Work sequentially down the right panel Crop
White Balance
Presets
Eyedropper
Sliders
Histogram
Clipping warning
Hover or click
© 2008 George Garbeck

31. The Tone Sliders Exposure Recovery works to bring back highlights
Fill Light lightens shadows w/o affecting blacks
Blacks - for the darkest shadows
Brightness - like the gamma slider in levels
Contrast - avoid
Clarity
Vibrance - brightens dull colors without oversaturating the already brilliant ones
Saturation – avoid using
© 2008 George Garbeck

32. More Adjustments Tone Curve HSL / Color / Grayscale Detail
Direct edit ‘bullseye’
Sliders
Point curve presets
HSL / Color / Grayscale
Ability to adjust saturation of individual colors
Detail
Noise Reduction
Sharpening
100%
4 sliders
© 2008 George Garbeck

33. The Adjustment Brush Make local adjustments (dodging & burning)
For exposure, sharpness, saturation, clarity, etc.
Set amount first (guess – you can change after)
Cursor over pin shows mask
Option / alt to erase
Auto mask - leave checked
© 2008 George Garbeck

34. Other Develop Options Before / After Virtual Copies Presets
right click (one button mouse? = ctrl click)
to make different versions
non-destructive
Presets
Monotone, contrast, sharpening, etc.
Same changes to multiple photos
Copy / paste
History
Snapshot
© 2008 George Garbeck

35. Photoshop Integration
You can send images to Photoshop CS3 for editing.
File is opened in Photoshop for editing.
Use ‘save’ to have file automatically added to catalog
Changes made in Photoshop are automatically reflected in Lightroom.
You can also:
Send to Photoshop as smart objects
Send multiple images to Photoshop for a panorama or HDR merge
Send multiple images to Photoshop as layers in a single image. (Requires Photoshop CS3 or later)
© 2008 George Garbeck

36. The Output Modules Output your photos Print Slideshow Web
Many different configurable templates
Contact sheets, one or more images per page
Can make multiple prints with one click
Slideshow
Create .pdf slideshows
Not as sophisticated as Pro Show Gold
Configurable
Web
Create web galleries which can be automatically uploaded to your server (website)
Many configurable html and flash styles
© 2008 George Garbeck

37. What Makes Lightroom Different?
LR vs. Bridge
LR manages entire collection of photos. Bridge looks at one folder at a time.
Workflow: LR designed for the way photographers’ work
Bridge is for everyone (designers, etc.). LR only ‘sees’ photos.
LR vs. Camera Raw
Develop module in LR similar camera raw but has more features. (Adj brush, etc.)
LR vs. Photoshop
LR printing module better. If you want to print several pictures in PS have to do one at a time; in LR select the pictures and print them all at once.
PS has better pixel editing features (layers, selections, masks etc.)
Use PS to create montages and ‘manipulated’ images.
Slideshow and web gallery in LR better
Summary
PS and LR do essentially the same thing but LR does it better and faster
With LR you can spend less time at your computer and more time shooting.
© 2008 George Garbeck

38. For More Information
For a powerpoint version of this program:
For private tutoring in Photoshop, Lightroom & Digital Photography:
© 2008 George Garbeck