1. Lightroom Advanced Features
A Tom Maddrey Images Workshop
Sunday, March 4, 12

2. Why Advanced Features?
Today We Will be Talking About Some Features of Lightroom that are
“Advanced”
This Means I Expect that We All Know the Terminology and Functions
of Most of the Lightroom Interface
We Will Look at Lightroom not as an Independent Program, but one
Link in a Larger Workflow
Sunday, March 4, 12

3. Why Advanced Features (cont.)
Today we are going to look at unique uses for Lightroom, as well as go
over in detail the core processes behind the program
Please stop me and have me explain any unclear thoughts
Sunday, March 4, 12

4. The Agenda
Brief Overview of Lightroom Batch Processing
A Review of Lightroom Modules The Sharpening Truth
The Catalog Structure A New Way to Import
Color Management in Lightroom A New Way to Export
The Develop Module for Building Droplets
Advanced Users
Lightroom in a HDR Workflow
Looking at Tone Curves
Sunday, March 4, 12

5. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LIGHTROOM
THE STRUCTURE BEHIND THE STORY
Sunday, March 4, 12

6. What is a
Workflow?
A Workflow is a set of repeatable
actions that are designed to maintain
quality, speed up processing, and
ensure consistency when working with
Sunday, March 4, 12

7. Workflow (cont.)
Sunday, March 4, 12

8. Workflow (cont.)
Workflows exist from the moment you press the shutter until you have
finished working with a file
Sunday, March 4, 12

9. Workflow (cont.)
Workflows exist from the moment you press the shutter until you have
finished working with a file
Every Step, Every Keystroke is part of your personal workflow
Sunday, March 4, 12

10. Workflow (cont.)
Workflows exist from the moment you press the shutter until you have
finished working with a file
Every Step, Every Keystroke is part of your personal workflow
This includes
Sunday, March 4, 12

11. Workflow (cont.)
Workflows exist from the moment you press the shutter until you have
finished working with a file
Every Step, Every Keystroke is part of your personal workflow
This includes
How you name your file
Sunday, March 4, 12

12. Workflow (cont.)
Workflows exist from the moment you press the shutter until you have
finished working with a file
Every Step, Every Keystroke is part of your personal workflow
This includes
How you name your file
Where you put your files
Sunday, March 4, 12

13. Workflow (cont.)
Workflow is the key to modern digital photography
How many times have you been unable to find a specific photo?
What about having 10 copies of a certain image?
Workflow is the answer to these problems
Sunday, March 4, 12

14. Workflow Requirements
Workflows must have a way to:
Import from Memory Card Develop Images
Rename Images Crop and Resize Images
Input Metadata Print Images
Rate and Categorize Images Archive and Backup Images
Adjust Image Properties
Sunday, March 4, 12

15. Workflow Goals
To Make the Process Repeatable
To Make the Process Safe for Images
To Retain the Highest Image Quality (IQ)
To Make it Easy for the Photographer
To Make it FAST!
Sunday, March 4, 12

16. ADOBE LIGHTROOM
THE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ANSWER TO DIGITAL WORKFLOW
Sunday, March 4, 12

17. Adobe Lightroom
An Introduction
Lightroom is a Digital Imaging Workflow Software
Built by Photographers, for Photographers
Has (most) Everything you Need, and Very Little of What You Don’t
The Fastest, Most Efficient Way to Fulfill your Digital Workflow
Requirements
Sunday, March 4, 12

18. How Lightroom Works
Lightroom has a Unique Architecture
At its core is an Image Processor and an Image Database
These are the Guts Behind the Program
The “Modules” Access the Core for Performing Functions
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19. TWO MODULES
LIBRARY AND DEVELOP
Sunday, March 4, 12

20. The Library Module
Gateway to Image Management (and Happiness)
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21. Sunday, March 4, 12

22. Library basics
Like Every Module, the Library is Keyword Tags
Filled with Panels
Metadata Browser
Navigator
Histogram
Find
Quick Develop
Folders
Keywording
Collections
Metadata
Sunday, March 4, 12

23. Navigator Panel
Easy Way to Navigate Around
Images
Useful in Loupe View (1:1)
Can Fit or Fill
Always Gives You a Overall View
of Your Image
Sunday, March 4, 12

24. Library Panel
Quick View Look at Library
Status
All Photographs
Previous Import
Missing Files
Updated Files
Sunday, March 4, 12

25. Find Panel
The Key to Keywords
Allows You to Search for
Images by Date or Text
Many Options
Sunday, March 4, 12

26. Folders Panel
The Folders Panel Lists All The
Locations of Images In Their
Respective Folders
Useful and Valid Method
Not Used in My Workflow
Sunday, March 4, 12

27. Collections Panel
My Favorite Way to Group
Images
Can Make Collections From
Images in Different Places
Collections and Sub
Collections can Reorganize in
a Flash
Sunday, March 4, 12

28. Keyword Tags Panel
Lists ALL of Your Keywords
Not Useful Once You Get More
than 100 Keywords
Better to Use the Find Panel
Sunday, March 4, 12

29. Metadata Browser Panel
Super Creative and Useful Way
to Find Images
Can Search by Almost Every
Conceivable Parameter
e.g. All Shots taken at f/1.4
Sunday, March 4, 12

30. Histogram Panel
First Place My Eyes Go
Shows All Important Camera
Data
Very Detailed
Sunday, March 4, 12

31. Quick Develop
The Only Panel I Disagree With
The Develop Module Does
Everything with More Options
and Control
Useful For White Balance
Changes Across Many Images
Sunday, March 4, 12

32. Keywording Panel
Keywords Make Your Life Easier
Tedious to Input but Lightroom
Helps
You can Enter Keywords
Directly or Use a Keyword
Set
Sunday, March 4, 12

33. Metadata Panel
The Place to Input, Edit, Sync,
and Work with Metadata
Sunday, March 4, 12

34. Library View Modes
Grid, Loupe, Compare, Survey
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40. The Filmstrip
Your Constant Link Between Modules
Sunday, March 4, 12

41. Rating Images
As Part of the Editing Workflow,
One of the First Steps is Rating
the Images
Number Keys 0-5 Assign Stars
to Images
Easy Way to Sort Out The Best
Images
Sunday, March 4, 12

42. Color Labels
A Secondary Measure for Sorting
Images
Useful for Categories
i.e. All Red Labels for Water
Images, Green for Trees, etc.
Sunday, March 4, 12

43. Flagging Images
Lightroom Provides Two
“Flags”
The Picks Flag (P) Puts a
White Flag on the Image
The Rejects Flag (X) Puts
a X Flag on the Image
Easiest Way to Erase
Image From Lightroom
Sunday, March 4, 12

44. Stacking
An Amazing Tool
Enables Images to be Grouped by Subject Matter
Useful for Compressing Your Library
CANNOT be used in Collections only Folders and Library
Sunday, March 4, 12

45. Auto Stack by Time
Lightroom Has an Amazing
Feature to Determine, by
Metadata, when Each Shot was
Taken and Stack Automatically
Sunday, March 4, 12

46. Renaming and Converting Images
to DNG
Located in the “Library” Menu
Bar
Two Separate Functions, Both
Very Useful
Sunday, March 4, 12

47. The Develop Module
Where the Magic Happens
Sunday, March 4, 12

48. The Real Power Of Lightroom
Many Programs (i.e. Bridge) are able to Sort, Organize, Edit, and
Contain Images, But Lightroom Also is a Full-Featured RAW Processor
Lightroom is Also Non-Destructive
Uses the Same Processing Engine as Adobe Camera RAW
Sunday, March 4, 12

49. RAW vs. Jpeg
Quick Poll
Being Able to Manipulate Data
Without Destroying It is the
Greatest Strength of RAW Files
RAW’s Come With More
Requirements
Sunday, March 4, 12

50. Develop Panels
Navigator
Presets HSL/Color/Grayscale
History Split Toning
Histogram Detail
Basic Lens Corrections
Tone Curve Camera Calibration
Sunday, March 4, 12

51. Presets
These are Essentially Actions
Where You Can Set a Series of
Changes and Save Them to Be
Applied to Other Images
Lightroom Comes Pre-Installed
with Many Creative Choices
The Navigator Shows a Quick
Preview of the Change
Sunday, March 4, 12

52. Snapshots
Much Like History Settings in
Photoshop, This Panel Allows
You to Get Back to A Certain
Setting
Sunday, March 4, 12

53. History Panel
A Running Total of EVERY Action
You Have Performed in
Lightroom from Import to Export
Able to Change or Go Back Non-
Destructively
Sunday, March 4, 12

54. Basic Panel
Very Powerful Imaging Tool
Controls Every Basic Image
Editing Function
Hold Option (alt) to See Clipped
Channels in Exposure, Blacks,
and Recovery
Sunday, March 4, 12

55. Tone Curve
Advanced Way to Adjust
Contrast and Tone
Can Be More Precise Than the
Basic Panel
Localized Adjustments
First Panel that Uses Targeted
Adjustment Tool
Sunday, March 4, 12

56. HSL / Color / Grayscale Panel
HSL = Hue, Saturation,
Luminance
Easiest Way in Lightroom to
Convert to Grayscale
This Panel with the Targeted
Adjustment Tool can Create
Amazing Creative Effects
Sunday, March 4, 12

57. Split Toning Panel
A Specialized Panel that Allows
You to Adjust the Highlights and
Shadows Differently
Primarily Used in Black and
White Image Manipulations
Sunday, March 4, 12

58. Detail Panel
Better Termed “Noise
Reduction / Sharpening” Panel
Lightroom Can Take Out Slight
Noise
Lightroom can Also Do
Sharpening
Both Adjustments Must be
Looked at in 1:1 Mode
Sunday, March 4, 12

59. Lens Corrections
Lens Corrections Panel can Fix
Chromatic Aberrations, as well as
Vignetting
Creative Uses As Well
Sunday, March 4, 12

60. Camera Calibration Panel
In This Panel, You can Adjust
Lightroom to Each Individual
Channel
Advanced, and Quite Frankly,
Not Worth Doing
Sunday, March 4, 12

61. The Develop
Toolbar
Simple Editing Tools
Sunday, March 4, 12

62. The Compare Tool
In the Develop Module, The
Compare Tool Is To Look at
Changes Between Settings
Sunday, March 4, 12

63. The Crop Tool
The Crop Tool Also
Involves the Straighten
Tool
Able to Pick Crop
Based on Aspect Ratio
Sunday, March 4, 12

64. Red Eye Tool
Can You Guess What it Does?
Simplicity
Sunday, March 4, 12

65. Clone / Heal Tool
Lightroom has a Basic
Clone/Heal Tool
Easiest to See In the
Live Demo
Sunday, March 4, 12

66. THE OTHER THREE
PRINT, WEB, SLIDESHOW
Sunday, March 4, 12

67. The SlideShow Module
Quick and Easy Way to Make Instant Slideshows
Useful for Showing Images Within Lightroom
Customizable
Sunday, March 4, 12

68. Outputting to the Web
Most Professional Photographers are Outputting their Images to the
Web for Client Approval
Lightroom Has Streamlined this Process to Make it Efficient and Simple
Not Many Options, Other Than Color
Sunday, March 4, 12

69. Web Module Options
In the Web Module, You Have
Five Options for Galleries
Lightroom Flash Gallery
Lightroom HTML Gallery
Airtight AutoViewer
Airtight PostcardViewer
Sunday, March 4, 12

70. Differences in Galleries
The Airtight Set of Galleries are Flash Based Unique Ways to Put the
Images on the Web
The More Traditional Lightroom Galleries are Familiar to those Web
Galleries that Used to be Found in Bridge
Sunday, March 4, 12

71. Printing with Lightroom
Fine Art Printing from a Computer has been a Difficult Thing to Do in
the Past
Lightroom Streamlines the Process, but There are Still Some Quirks
Sunday, March 4, 12

72. THE LIGHTROOM CATALOG
THE CENTRAL DATABASE
Sunday, March 4, 12

73. The Catalog Structure
Lightroom Catalogs are Simply
Databases
Lightroom Makes it Easy to Run
Multiple Catalogs, however, Only
One Can be Open at a Time
Multiple Catalogs Can be Used
for Differing Image Sets, but Not
Excessively
Sunday, March 4, 12

74. The Catalog Structure (cont.)
You can Export a Selection to Its
Own Catalog
Useful for Including Lightroom
Specific Instructions (i.e.
Collections) with Images
Great Way to Backup
To Open, “Import From Catalog”
Sunday, March 4, 12

75. The Lightroom Database
The Lightroom Database File (.lrdb) is Where Your “Instructions” Reside
Lightroom Prompts You To Backup this File to a New Location, Do It
If You Lose This File, You Lose all the Changes You have Ever Made in
Lightroom
Sunday, March 4, 12

76. COLOR MANAGEMENT IN LIGHTROOM
A UNIQUE APPROACH
Sunday, March 4, 12

77. Color Management in Lightroom
Lightroom Uses A Unique Color Space, You Have No Choice of Color
Space When Working In Lightroom
It is Important to Understand How Lightroom Is Affecting Your Color
Lets Take a Closer Looks at Gamuts and Color Spaces
Sunday, March 4, 12

78. The Gamut
The Total Range of Colors a
Device Can Reproduce
Each Device has its own
Gamut
Sunday, March 4, 12

79. Color Spaces
A range of colors available for a
profile or model
Pro Photo RGB
Adobe RGB (1998)
sRGB
Thousands of others
Sunday, March 4, 12

80. Color Management (cont.)
Lightroom Uses the Pro Photo RGB Color Space Parameters, but has a
Gamma of 1.0 Instead of 1.8
The Reason is that All RAW Files are Linear in Nature, and Therefore
Have a Gamma of 1.0, so Lightroom Does No Conversion to RAW Files
Lightroom Also Use a 16-Bit Edit Space as Default!
Sunday, March 4, 12

81. THE DEVELOP MODULE
FOR ADVANCED USERS
Sunday, March 4, 12

82. Tone Curves
An Advanced Way to Edit
Sunday, March 4, 12

83. Tone Curves in Lightroom
The Curves Function Differs Between Lightroom and Photoshop
The Basic Panel and the Tone Curve Panel are Used in Conjunction
with Each Other
That Means Settings Are Applied in the Basic Panel First, and Tone
Curve Panel Second
Major Tone Controls Should be Performed in the Basic Panel
Sunday, March 4, 12

84. Curves (cont.)
The Point Curve Drop-Down
Menu Helps to Offer A Quick
Adjustment
It Also Provides a Starting Point
for Images Originally Developed
Outside of Lightroom
Sunday, March 4, 12

85. Curves (cont.)
The Tone Curve is Designed to
Be Used with the Sliders or TAT
You can Shift the Tone Curve
Split Points to Alter What the
Sliders Affect
Sunday, March 4, 12

86. Syncing Images
The Time Saving Approach
Sunday, March 4, 12

87. Syncing in Lightroom
Primarily Looking at the Develop Module, However Metadata Syncing
is Just as Important in the Library Module
You can Sync Most Settings in the Develop Module or the Quick
Develop Panel of the Library Module
Sunday, March 4, 12

88. Syncing (cont.)
Sunday, March 4, 12

89. Syncing (cont.)
Applying Changes to Large Batches of Images is a Key to an Efficent
Workflow
Realize the the Settings Will Override Previous Work!
Sunday, March 4, 12

90. Sharpening
The Truth of the Matter
Sunday, March 4, 12

91. A Sharpening Workflow?
Ideally, Sharpening Should be Done in Three Steps
Input (or Capture) Sharpening
Creative Sharpening
Output Sharpening
Sunday, March 4, 12

92. Sharpening (cont.)
Lightroom Offers All Three of These Steps If You Know Where to Look
Input Sharpening is Done to All Images, Lightroom is Preset to Amount
- 25
You can Make some Creative Sharpening Choices
Output Sharpening is Applied to Both Web Output and Print Output
Sunday, March 4, 12

93. Sharpening (cont.)
Third Party Software (Photokit Sharpener) is Still Prefered On Tough
Images
Lightroom Sharpener is Better than Unsharp Mask in Photoshop,
Though Most Likely Not as Good as Smart Sharpen (CS3)
Sunday, March 4, 12

94. Live Demo :: Curves, Sharpening, and Syncing
Sunday, March 4, 12

95. A NEW WAY TO IMPORT
WATCHED FOLDERS
Sunday, March 4, 12

96. Watched Folders
Tethered Shooting is a Way of Life for Many Studio Photographers
Cameras Can Now be Tethered Wirelessly or Wired
Lightroom Can Streamline this Process
Sunday, March 4, 12

97. Watched Folders (cont.)
You Must Have Some Camera Control Software
Canon Viewer Capture
Nikon Capture or Camera Control Pro
Bibble
Sunday, March 4, 12

98. Watched Folders (cont.)
Once You Start the Camera Software, Direct the Images to a Specific
Folder
Lightroom Can then “Watch” the Folder and Simultaniously Import then
Delete the Images from the Folder
Sunday, March 4, 12

99. Watched Folders (cont.)
Sunday, March 4, 12

100. Live Demo :: Watched Folders
Sunday, March 4, 12

101. A NEW WAY TO EXPORT
DROPLETS, ACTIONS, PHOTOSHOP AND MORE
Sunday, March 4, 12

102. Export Actions
Lightroom Can Call on Photoshop to Perform an Action Upon an Image
Export
You Must First Make a Droplet in Photoshop
Then Put the Droplet Into the “Export Actions” Folder
Sunday, March 4, 12

103. Export Plugins
There are Many Popular Export Plugins
Flickr
Pictage
ZenFolio
Picassa
Sunday, March 4, 12

104. Live Demo :: Export Actions and Plugins
Sunday, March 4, 12

105. LIGHTROOM IN A HDR WORKFLOW
A UNIQUE USE OF LIGHTROOM
Sunday, March 4, 12

106. Lightroom and HDR
You Can Make the Source Files for an HDR (High Dynamic Range)
Image Directly in Lightroom With Minimal Effort
Using Virtual Copies, You Can Create the Source Files from Only One
Image
Not As Effective as Using Multiple Images, but Can be Used in a Pinch
Sunday, March 4, 12

107. Live Demo :: Lightroom and HDR
Sunday, March 4, 12

108. WRAPPING UP
KNOWING THE LIMITATIONS OF LIGHTROOM
Sunday, March 4, 12

109. Wrapping Up
Lightroom is an Incredibly Powerful:
RAW Converter
Digital Asset Manager
Website Builder
Sunday, March 4, 12

110. Wrapping Up (cont.)
There are Some Things Lightroom Can’t Do, However
Anything With Layers
Localized Adjustments (LR 2)
Advanced Sharpening
Filters
Sunday, March 4, 12

111. Wrapping Up (cont.)
Knowing When to Use Lightroom and When to Use Another Program
Will be the Key to Successful Image Editing
Sunday, March 4, 12

112. Thank You!
Sunday, March 4, 12