Category: Adobe

A visit from Andie Smith!

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Friend of the blog, Andie Smith has generously donated her time again here to share some insider tricks and tips to get the most out of Lightroom 3 – she shows her work flow, what the effect of various presets are in LR, and how to effectively use them.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…Andie Smith

It is no secret I love Adobe Lightroom… the rumors are true, I refuse to edit without it.  As I’ve created my own presets I realized if they are created correctly you can “stack them”.  What is stacking? It is similar to using more than one action in Photoshop. I assume you want samples.

RAW image:

Andie Smith Photography (Original)
This is the original raw file

1. image with Work It-Awesome Portraits and some local adjustments (cleaned up skin and Work It- Pretty Eyes.)

Andie Smith Photography 1

2.   image with Work It-Awesome Portraits +Work It-Meadow. Medow is in the Tints and Tones and just adds some more blues and greens to the image.

Andie Smith Photography 2

3.   The way the presets are created, you can use the Tints and Tones on color or Black and White images.  Here is the same image with Work It- B&W Contrast Dark and then Work It- B&W Contrast Dark +Bobby

Andie Smith Photography 3

Andie Smith Photography 3

4.  But wait there is more! (I hope you read that in your best “info-mmercial” voice) you can use a vintage preset. I used Work It-Vintage

Andie Smith Photography 5

5. Then add a tint and tone on top of the vintage preset. here is Work It-Vintage + Work it- Little Red School House

Andie Smith Photography 6

There isn’t an image that leaves Andie Smith Photography or Eight18 Photography that hasn’t had one of the Work It presets used on it.  It is my work flow.  No matter the presets you are using don’t forget to customize them to make them work for you… “some assembly is required” as the saying goes.

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Editor Note:  Thanks again to Andie for stopping in and sharing her workflow.  If you like the styles, you can purchase the entire preset package from her website for only $89 here:  Andie Smith Photography

She has also generously donated a full copy of her presets to the Lightroom Workshop, so if you happen to be attending, you will get the set there too.  Not attending, sign up and get the whole rest of the day for only $10 more!  Hope to see you there!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Scott Kelby!

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You’ve surely learned by now that my Q&A with Dave Cross on Monday, and the subsequent discussion with Matt Kloskowski on Tuesday, had to mean that another one was coming, right?  For those of you living under a rock for the past ten years, those two are but 2/3rds of the Photoshop Guys crew.  The guy that started it all, Scott Kelby, has taken the time to sit down and chew the fat with us here, so to wrap up this series, I’d like to present, the Founder of NAPP, the CEO of Kelby Media, and Photoshop Guy – Mr. Scott Kelby! Continue reading “Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Scott Kelby!” →

Q&A With Dave Cross!!

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That’s right, you read that right – I got a chance to get with none other than the Photoshop Guys and ask a few questions about Photoshop, their own projects, and tackle everything from product preferences to personal projects and activities, and even a few personal perspectives thrown in for fun!  Here’s a chance to catch up on the latest with them including their podcasts and shows.  So, let’s just get right down to the brass tacks here…with so much content, it’s broken into three separate posts for today through Wednesday.  Getting things started is Mr. Dave Cross!!! Continue reading “Q&A With Dave Cross!!” →

Lightroom 3 Contest Winner!

Jason4 Comments

After much deliberation over the fantastic compilation of images for the July contest, I’ve finally had to just make probably one of the toughest judging decisions I’ve had to make thus far in the history of the contest series.  However, in light of the theme of the contest (Slick), and the creativity that went into the image itself, I have to give the nod to Stephen Ludgate for his submission: Continue reading “Lightroom 3 Contest Winner!” →

Shooting From the Hip

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While recently taking a reality break and visiting family in my old stomping grounds, I had a chance to tour the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, NY.  Viewing museums like these is a lot of fun for both kids and adults – kids because of the activities, and adults because I think as you get older, you can start to appreciate with more awareness just how tough things were (or how easy they are now). Continue reading “Shooting From the Hip” →

Lightroom 3 is here – Now What?

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With all the hubbub of the release of Lightroom 3 and all the resources that cropped up online in mere minutes of the announcement, we often find ourselves asking more questions once the excitement and energy that surrounds a product release has drained.

I took these questions with me to a conversation with Senior Product Manager Tom Hogarty last week, and got a lot of insights and answers, with both a technical perspective and that of long-term development.  I give you this week’s podcast: Continue reading “Lightroom 3 is here – Now What?” →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Cultures Colliding – a Podcast with Martin Bailey!

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On this week’s show, we’ve got a lot to talk about including a couple of particular news stories to note, with a little insight from the crew, we’ll be taking your questions and answers on the show and the special guest of the week for this show is none other than the well-reknowned Martin Bailey!

Photo News

  1. 3rd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk has been announced by Scott Kelby, and details are here.
  2. Lightroom 3 was announced last week Monday – and is available to purchase and download…you can also download a 30 day trial for free from Adobe here (or buy via the sponsored link in the sidebar!)
  3. New Plugins available for LR – Pro Show Gold, a popular slideshow and movie creation software set.  Info here

Martin Bailey

  1. Photography and Culture in Japan: Laws or hassles shooting in public?
  2. Workshops and your development in photography
    • Workshops
    • Development/Inspiration
  3. X-Rite Colorati
  4. Martin on the web

Links: http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/
Blog: http://blog.martinbaileyphotography.com/
Podcast: http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/podcasts.php
Workshops: http://www.mbpworkshops.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MartinBailey
Folio: Martin Baily Photography

Q&A

  • Professional Critique
  • Cost of Printing
  • Starting Camera Suggestions

Martin was also kind enough to share a sample selection of his portfolio with us here on the show.  These are the low res versions, to see things super nice, head on over to his folio link provided above.  In the meantime, enjoy the photos, the show, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the latest in photography reviews!

Snow Monkeys

Bathing Snow Monkeys

Snowy Hands

Distant Dance

Scene from Hokkaido

Soft Arched Wings

Honking Dance

Kussharo Lake Swans

Eagle Eye

Sunset Flight of the Cranes

Stag in Element

[display_podcast]

Lightroom 3 FAQ

Jason3 Comments

With the release of Lightroom 3 the other day from the folks over at Adobe – I’ve had an influx of several repeating questions.  While I’ve replied to (hopefully) everybody, it’s useful to note those questions and the responses here as well for my first ever:

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Frequently Asked Questions

1.  I tried the tethered capture, but Lightroom does not appear to let me adjust shutter speed, aperture or ISO with my (fill in your camera body type).  Is this model not supported?

Answer:  The tethered capture is only intended as a capture function.  The display shows you the shutter, aperture and ISO, but you cannot make those adjustments on the computer – that must be done at camera.

2.  Will Lightroom 3 upgrade both my catalogs from LR2 and the beta?

Answer: My understanding is that Lightroom 3 will automatically upgrade your LR2 catalog for you.  Once that operation is done, you can then import the catalog from the beta edition to your new catalog in LR3 to bring everything in together.

3.  What if I don’t want Lightroom 3 to upgrade my catalog?  Can I stop it from doing that?

Yes, on first launch you will be prompted to either upgrade your LR2 catalog or to start a new one.

4.  Should I get Lightroom 3 or Cs5 – I can’t afford both.

Answer:  If you are just diving in now, I would recommend starting with Lightroom 3.  It has so many features and the strength and robustness of it really has diminished the need for round trips to Photoshop when you are talking about photography.  Of course if you have serious restoration work, clone work, or need to use features like layers, then Photoshop is a requirement, but I would classify people in this group as graphic artists, not photographers.  If you’re upgrading, both do not have to be done simultaneously.  Go with one (Lightroom) and the other a few months down the road (Cs5).  Or, use the sidebar here to get 30% off the combo pack!

5.  Will there be any contests here on your Flickr Monthly Giveaway Series so I can participate for a copy of Lightroom 3?

No comment! 🙂  In all seriousness, I’d love to, but cannot speak for Adobe – we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.  Don’t be expecting it, but don’t write it off either! 🙂

Got any of your own questions about Lightroom 3 not covered above?  Feel free to sound off in the comments! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Five Tips to Better Photos

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With the sudden surge and swell in the blogosphere, Twittersphere and Photosphere over Lightroom 3 hitting the streets (and a nice combo discount is available in the sidebar by the way), let’s not forget that this software is all meant to be doing one thing – letting us get back to the business of taking photos instead of spending our time in our computer.

With that in mind, I’m bringing back a popular concept of “Top Tips”.  Today, I give you…(drum roll please):

“Five Tips to Better Photos”

  1. Be Ware of Exposure Values – No matter how good your camera is, if you under or over expose too much, you’ll be losing detail which either takes too long to recover in post production or is unrecoverable.  Check your histogram for “blinkies” (meaning stay away from the edges), and you’re in a much better zone to start!
  2. In keeping with watching exposure values, don’t rely on new-fangled features lie “content aware fill” or “clone tools” to fix things afterward.  If it takes ten more seconds to get it right in camera, do it, because it means you are still shooting and not stuck behind a monitor at 2am fixing stuff for tomorrow’s delivery deadline!
  3. Avoid increasing Noise.  It’s like a broken record at this point, but would you rather keep noise down in camera or address it because you were shooting at ISO 64000 in camera?  Yeah, the reduction features are amazing, but it’s even better if you don’t even have to touch that slider.  Swap lenses, check settings, and heck, maybe even add a fill flash.  It helps to keep noise down, which ultimately means your shots are cleaner.
  4. Look for the Light – the direction of the light, the intensity of light, and the shape of the light all can impact your photos.  As a general rule, keep the light to your side and behind you, and try to keep the intensity down as you don’t want to over-expose your subject (see Tip #1).  Don’t forget, you can shape and modify even ambient light with diffusers, reflectors,  and umbrellas.  It’s all part of the larger principle that photography is about “writing with light”.
  5. Shy away from shadows – Just as the quality of light can make or break a photo, so too can shadows.  Watch for overhead lights as this can have nasty effects on things like portraiture (shadows under eyes).  Coming at your subject from the wrong angle can also lead to nasty and unwanted shadows of yourself in the picture.  For instance, if you are shooting a building at sunset with the sun directly behind you, your own shadow can creep into the scene, making for some not-so-fun post production work in Photoshop.

There you have it – 5 easy tips to better photos!  Lightroom?  We don’t need no stinkin’ Lightroom!  (Well, we do, but it made for a good quote! 🙂 )

What sorts of tips have you come up with to make and take better photos in camera?  Share your own in the comments!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

P.S.  Remember, there are two contests going on right now – if you stop over to the podcast day (Monday) where I talked with Rob Sylvan and share a comment you are entered to win a free copy of his upcoming “Taking Stock” book – courtesy of Peachpit Press.  Also, the monthly giveaway for 2 4GB Lexar Pro 300x CF cards is rolling and you can submit your photos to the Flickr thread here!  Enjoy and good luck to all!