Welcome to...

I’ve heard a lot about Lightroom before, but always was intimidated by it. Why I am not sure, because I found it relatively easy to use. I’ve always used Photoshop 7, slowly learning all the jargon and lingo and different techniques. I was happy, I knew how to use the program, never gave it a second thought to upgrade or try something else. Until…I read that Lightroom had a free 30-day trial period. I decided to give it a go and now I’ll share my take on the program with you all. If you’d like to try it yourself, you can download it here.

The first thing I liked about the program is that it’s very visual. It’s more for photographers and not as much graphic design as Photoshop.

I had to figure out the jargon for this program too, but it was user-friendly! I simply had to click on File>Import photos from disk (Ctrl+Shft+I)

Up popped my picture!

Next I clicked on Develop over on the right hand side. Miraculously, a set of presets showed up on the right hand side below the little version of my picture.

I played around with the different presets. Notice how you can see a preview in the upper left corner under ‘Navigator’? Once I found one I liked, I clicked it.

Now I could click on the button that looks like two YY and see the before and after versions of photos. Neato!!

If you want to you can crop the picture easily too. The program overlays a cropping grid that can be customized. It also helps with the rule of thirds. See how my boy fits the rule? I decided to leave the picture as it is.

Now to save the picture! Simply choose File>Export (Ctrl+Shft+E).


Head on over to Rocks in my Dryer for more WFMW ideas!

Posted in: adobe, lightroom, photoshop, WFMW on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at at 8:22 PM