David Mark Erickson | 2/2

Lightroom CC 1.5 and Lightroom Classic CC 7.5 Updates

August 22, 2018 by David Mark Erickson Leave a Comment

It’s only August and Adobe is already pushing out Lightroom CC 1.5 and Lightroom Classic CC 7.5 updates. Again, this is one of the upsides to having a software subscription model: continuous updates! As well, Adobe is demonstrating its continued support for Classic even as CC continues to grow and improve. When CC was released back in October of 2017, many people in the community expressed their concern that CC would mark the slow death of Classic. However, Adobe is showing that their belief in Classic is as strong as ever.

Along with the usual bug fixes and updated camera and lens support, the following are included in the these Lightroom CC 1.5 and Lightroom Classic CC 7.5 Updates…

Lightroom Classic CC 7.5

Upload Presets and Profiles in bulk
HEIC image files support on Windows
Book module enhancements

Lightroom CC 1.5

Keep an album’s photos locally for offline editing
Show album membership in the Info Panel
Album and Photo Sharing
File Type Badge

Lightroom Classic CC 7.5

In this update to Classic, we are seeing two minor (but useful!) tweaks as well some much needed attention given to the Book module. It has been a long time since we have seen Book module updates so these changes are very welcome. Lightroom is integrated with the Blurb publishing platform and Blurb has recently made some updates to their offerings. So, at a guess, those changes on Blurb’s side have prompted updates on Adobe’s side. More on those in a moment. The first two updates to Classic to mention are bulk uploading of Presets and Profiles and HEIC support for Widows.

Upload Presets and Profiles in bulk

In the 7.4 update, Adobe introduced us to the new Profiles feature – which we like to think of as digital film stock. With the 7.5 update you can now upload a bulk set of Presets or Profiles by pointing Lightroom to a ZIP compressed file. Simply point the import dialog at the .zip and, voila, all of the Presets and Profiles in that file will be added in a single click.

HEIC Support for Windows

Not long ago, Apple decided that it would be a good idea to update the image format used by the iPhone. That’s great since the new High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) is really nifty; it’s just that they kind of forgot to let the rest of us know about the change! It has taken a while but, finally, Windows users are getting Lightroom support for the new format.

Book Module Enhancements

As I mentioned, it has been a while since we have seen any attention given to the Book module so these are welcome updates! In brief, Adobe has added support for …

Choosing the new Blurb book styles and paper types
Choosing where a page number is visible when printed
Manual positioning of photos, they are no longer locked into the template
Customized page templates can be saved
Pausing and resuming the uploading of a book to Blurb

We won’t go into the technical weeds for this post. However, if you want more details on the exact nature of these changes, you can check the Adobe site for help on creating books or drop us a note and we would be happy to chat with you about our book making services (yes, we make books for our clients!).

Lightroom CC 1.5

Besides the usual round of bug fixes, this batch of updates seems to be centered all around Album management. Adobe has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and we are expecting more updates before the year is out.

Store Album Locally

Because Lightroom CC depends on an Internet connection, working offline or with a slow connection can be very frustrating. Remember, Lightroom CC works by keeping a full resolution of the photo in the cloud and then the Adobe servers update your desktop/laptop or mobile device by keeping low resolution proxies files on the various devices. Not until you start working with a file will Lightroom download the full version of the proxy.

While there is an option to mark individual photos for full download, this new feature is very useful! With a single click (right click on a mouse or ALT/OPT keyboard) you can designate a whole Album for downloading. This will save you both time and space as you can download only the photos that you want.

Album Membership

To further make Album management a bit easier CC now indicates what Album a photo is a member of. At the bottom of the Information panel will be a badge indicating what Albums the photo is a member of. These badges double as links and you can click on them to jump directly to that Album.

Shared Albums

Lightroom CC Shared Albums

Sharing Lightroom CC Albums is a breeze – you can simply right click (or ALT/OPT click) on an Album and choose to share it. In the last batch of updates Adobe added simple options to allow downloads, show/hide metadata and to show/hide location information.

With this release, Adobe has simplified organization and management by creating a new left panel view for just shared Albums and individually shared photos. Yes, you read that right, you can now share individual photos just as you would Albums!

In the grid view, right click (ALT/OPT click) on an image and choose to “Share to Web …” You have the same show/hide options as with the Albums as well as being able to give the image a unique title.

File Type Badge

Lastly, a very helpful addition to Lightroom CC is the indication of file type. You can now quickly tell what kind of file you are looking at the new badge in the lower left corner of the thumbnail in the Square Grid view (you can cycle the view by repeatedly hitting the G key).

The lower left corner of thumbnails in lightroom CC now indicates file type

So this wraps up this Lightroom CC 1.5 and Lightroom Classic CC 7.5 updates. Feel free to ask questions in the comments window below.

Another batch of updates for Lightroom CC and Classic

April 4, 2018 by David Mark Erickson Leave a Comment

Adobe CC Lightroom Updates As of Tuesday morning, Adobe has released another batch of updates for Lightroom CC and Classic, Lightroom CC version 1.3 and Lightroom Classic CC version 7.3, just two short months from the last batch of updates! Additionally, the Lightroom versions for both iOS and Android have been updated with significant enhancements.

The big focus of these updates are with Profiles — more about those below. Beyond Profiles, most of the updates and changes are incremental and/or community specific requests. Below is a quick run down of the changes for each platform …

Lightroom CC Feature Updates

Three new full sets of Profiles have been added, including Adobe Raw, Creative and camera profiles
Support for Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices has been added, allowing CC users to keep local copies of their files on a NAS device

Lightroom Classic Feature Updates

New Adobe Raw and Creative Profiles have been added and are now accessible from the Basic panel in the Develop module
Everyone’s favorite Dehaze slider moved to the Basic panel (a popular community request)
The Tone Curve tool in the Develop module has been enlarged to make it easier to use (another popular community request)

Here is Adobe’s official blog post on these updates:
April Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw Releases: New Profiles and More

Profiles

This is the biggest feature change/update for both CC and Classic. However, you may be asking yourself: what are profiles?? Are those like presets? And the answer is: sort of!

Lightroom Classic has long had this feature but, it was buried deep in the Develop module where few knew about it, let alone used it. The way we at LRG like to think about Profiles is like film stock. Back in the film camera days, different film manufactures and types of film were prized for the different way the individual film stocks would convey color. Some film had more pop while others had smoother or richer gradients of tones. Different film stocks were prized for different shooting and conditions and subject matter. And not just film stock but, most cameras bodies would also produce a wide variety of color results.

Ironically enough, these same fundamental differences continue to play a key role in digital photography. Different camera bodies and different sensors each have a unique look. To manage for this, Lightroom developed “camera profiles” to account for variations in color representations, even allowing for users to manually update these profiles to shift the way colors could be displayed.

The practical upshot of this is: users will now have more creative options to develop a look or style based on different profiles that Adobe has included in Lightroom. Adobe has seeded bother versions of Lightroom with +50 different profiles and 3rd party companyes will be able to write their own Profiles and sell them to consumers, just as we have with the Presets marketplace.

However, it’s easy to confuse the difference between Profiles and Presets. Presets do something very similar visually and they have been in much more regular use by Lightroom users. Without getting into too much into the technical details, here is an easy way to think about Profiles: they’re like film stock.

When you apply a Profile to an image, it will change the visual look of the image. It’s that simple. And, while you will be able to undo the change, you won’t be able to tweak the Profile look very much using any of the sliders. Profiles are design to achieve specific results with a click of a button and from there, you can still use Presets and manual slider adjustments to make changes you want to your photos.

While Classic has always had profiles, they are now more accessible as they have been moved to the top of the Basic panel in the Develop module. Lightroom CC didn’t have Profiles and in this release they are getting a full implementation, thereby keeping CC on par with Classic in terms of developing tools.

You can read more about Profiles and the other key updates on Adobe’s official Lightroom blog post: April Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw Releases: New Profiles and More

Lightroom CC vs Lightroom Classic: Should You Switch?

January 21, 2018 by David Mark Erickson Leave a Comment

Since last October, when we published our first post introducing Lightroom CC, some of the questions asked most by our clients are: What should I do? Should I keep Classic or switch to the new Lightroom CC? The only answer we can offer is: it depends!

Lightroom CC vs Lightroom Classic: Should You Switch?

Besides asking us if they should switch, another oft asked question is: what’s up with the name?? Yes, it is confusing but, so far it hasn’t caused too much trouble in our estimation. The trick is to just be clear when you are talking about CC vs Classic. Classic is the same Lightroom we have grown to love oh these many years (think Coke Classic), and CC is Classic’s new little cousin who’s doing everything differently and, achieving a lot of success in the process.

Lightroom CC is the New Lightroom

Lightroom CC is a brand new program which Adobe has designed from the ground up to address several challenges that digital photographers face today. Adobe Lightroom Classic is the full featured and robust application that is the Lightroom we have been using since it was first released, way back in 2007. However, because Classic is full of features and specialized tools, it can often be too much for users who have simple and straightforward needs.

Lightroom CC’s new design and feature set were created to make viewing and developing your photos a much more streamlined process. To do this, Adobe choose not to include many of the features and options that makes Lightroom Classic such a powerhouse application. As well, Lightroom CC addresses the issue of being able to access your photos from any device, anywhere, anytime. Their new cloud based “ecosystem” let’s you make a change to a photo on your desktop and then see it almost instantly on your phone or tablet. To be sure, this is no small feat and it seems like Adobe has done a very good job tackling some of the complexities of keeping photos synchronized across multiple devices.

So, to answer the Lightroom CC vs Lightroom Classic conundrum, you should ask yourself these 3 simple questions:

1. Do I use any of the other Lightroom Classic modules, other than Library and Develop? Or, do I use any of the extended metadata features, like Maps or keyword sets?

If the answer is Yes, then you should not switch at this time! Keep using Classic the way you are doing now and trust that Adobe will keep rolling out feature updates and performance improvements. Adobe has been clear on their commitment to Classic users that Classic is here to stay. In fact, the next update of Lightroom Classic is coming in April with even more improvements and features!

2. Is Classic too much program for my purposes? Am I struggling to stay organized with imported files and folders or not using any of the Lightroom modules beyond Library and Develop?

If the answer is Yes, then you should consider switching. Lightroom Classic can be a headache and the new program is a dream to use since the program has been designed from the ground up to be fast and easy to use.

3. Do I need the power of Classic but really, really want to take advantage of the easy sharing features as well as mobile access?

If the answer is Yes, then you may be that rare bird who should use BOTH of the applications, simultaneously. Technically, the two programs aren’t yet playing well with each other. However, we have found some simple workarounds that let you harness the power of Classic while taking advantage of the new CC features.

To recap:

If you use any advanced features in Classic, stay with classic.
If Classic is too much for your needs, then switch.
And, if you need the power of Classic but need the features of CC then use both!

And, if you’re looking to see, in-depth, the differences between Lightroom CC vs Lightroom Classic, Adobe has online manuals for both Lightroom applications here.

Shameless plug: We here at Lightroom Guy specialize in teaching users how to get the most out of any version of Lightroom. And, we’re also experts at migrating third party catalogs into Lightroom, including discontinued programs like Aperture and Picasa. Hundreds of photographers have successfully moved their photos into both versions of Lightroom with our help.

Drop us a note if you have a question or want to learn more about our services! And, feel free to comment or ask questions below. We’d love to hear how you are using either application, especially if you are using both!!

December Updates for Lightroom CC & Classic

December 12, 2017 by David Mark Erickson Leave a Comment

Lightroom CC (1.1), Lightroom Classic CC (7.1), Lightroom iOS Android mobile Apps and ACR

Adobe Lightroom Updates

Hot on the heels of the official release of Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC, Adobe is releasing a full version updates for both of their flagship photography programs. This is an important update as both programs have been plagued with bugs, reports of unsupported camera files as well as a number of key usability issues.

You can read the full, official post here on Adobe’s blog from Sharad Mangalick, who is the Product Manager for Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC.

Auto Sensei Feature

Beyond the bug and stability fixes, the biggest change comes with the new Auto Settings feature which will use Adobe’s Artificial Intelligence engine, called Adobe Sensei. Don’t ask us how this exactly works but we must say that it does work surprisingly well! The Sensei update works across all of the platforms, including iOS and Android mobile apps as well the CC and Classic versions of Lightroom.

Adobe Lightroom 6 Perpetual

One of the biggest gripes from the Lightroom Community following the last updates was that it seemed that Adobe was cutting off support for the standalone version of Lightroom, also known as Perpetual. Version 6 was the last version before Adobe shoehorned users onto the Creative Cloud platform.

Adobe has heard the complaints and have announced that new camera support updates will be released on December 19th!

As well, Adobe has turned off the automatic feature which would uninstall previous versions of Lightroom when doing any install/updates using the Created Cloud application.

Lightroom CC Feature Updates

Specifically for Lightroom CC, Adobe is updating the program with some additional key editing features, including Tone Curves and Split Toning. And, new features for being able to Change Capture Time and view images in Full Screen View (using the ‘F’ key).

Classic & ACR Updates

For Classic and Adobe Camera Raw, updates have been made to the Color Range Masking tool, allowing users to more easily remove individual sample points (using the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key while using your mouse to select the sample point).

Also, Nikon D850 users should be able to use the tethering features in Classic.

Mobile Updates

Both the Anroid and iOS applications have a number of updates. From the Adobe blog:

Android Updates

App Shortcuts — For Android Nougat and later devices, tap and hold on the app icon to quickly launch the app into popular modes.
More control for managing storage.
Resolved an issue that prevented some Huawei customers from importing images.
Resolved a problem that prevented some Samsung customers from installing the previous version.
Bug fixes and speed improvements.

iOS

Watermarking on export — Create and customize a text based watermark for use when exporting your image from Lightroom CC on iOS.
Improved quality to HDR capturing.
Layout optimized for iPhone X.
Bug fixes and speed improvements.

All in all, these are welcomed updates! For more infomrmation about the new Lightroom CC program and/or the key updates in Lightroom Classic, check out our training video on Pluralsight.

CrashPlan Discontinued, Carbonite Not the Solution

September 9, 2017 by David Mark Erickson Leave a Comment

To the shock of many CrashPlan users, the online backup provider announced on August 22nd that it will exit the home consumer market and is now referring CrashPlan for Home users to Carbonite. As highly rated as CrashPlan is (was), Carbonite is not; its basic plan is Mac only, leaving PC users to pay more. Additionally, Carbonite only rates a 5 out of 10 rating on Tom’s Guide.*

*reference https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-cloud-backup,review-2678.html

Within the online backup market, there are a number of providers who all complete pretty heavily to capture new customers and they’re now all pitching the CrashPlan users who are being abandoned.

Just earlier this year, we dug in and did some heavy research on all the various providers and came to the conclusion that Backblaze meets all our requirements: easy on the wallet, simple to install, uncomplicated instructions and a set-it-and-forget-it approach.

And for that reason, Backblaze is our favorite, the one that we use ourselves and recommend and install the most. The program runs in the background and continuously backups your system with no user intervention. There is no data limit and the billing is simple and affordable at $50/year. There’s a free trial from Backblaze as well. You can get that here: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9kd3

Backblaze Control Panel

The other key feature which we absolutely love are the data recovery options. While you can access all of your data through the web, downloading terabytes of data isn’t really practical if you have to restore a significant portion of your data. With Backblaze, you can request to have a hard drive FedEx’ed to you with all of your data on it. Once you’ve finished restoring, you can send the drive back or buy the drive and keep it.

If you are a CrashPlan customer, we strongly urge you to consider all of your options as there are many providers out there. The folks at CrashPlan have pre-negotiated a special price to migrate users to the Carbonite platform, but that’s not our recommendation. To read more about Backblaze, here’s a great article and comparison chart: https://www.backblaze.com/best-online-backup-service.html#af9kd3

On a final note: Our core business at LightroomGuy.com is to work one-on-one with our clients to support them in all aspects of their digital photography workflow. Having a solid backup system in place is a critical element and we spend a lot of time with our clients making sure their systems work for them. No two clients have the same needs and one of our business philosophies is to work with our clients, and not the other way around. To that end, we are generally agnostic when it comes to recommending specific equipment or 3rd party services; we look at the features and benefits of any given solution and offer our recommendations on the relative merits.

That said, we like Backblaze so much that we both use it and officially endorse them and even have an affiliate account. If you signup using our link, we receive a small commission that costs you nothing. It’s not a lot but, what is greater is knowing that our customers’ data is safely backed up.

Lightroom Before and After Tools – Part 1

December 8, 2016 by David Mark Erickson Leave a Comment

How to use the Lightroom Before and After tools in the Lightroom Develop module

I always love discovering something new in Lightroom that helps my workflow and developing process! I’ve been editing (selecting) and developing some photos that I shot for a wedding at a lovely farm in the Catskills this summer. The groom is a good friend of mine and he happens to be a film director as well so, he knows a lot about color process. He and his wife had some specific requests for how they wanted their photos look, which posed a slight challenge so having a robust set of Before and After tools at my disposal was invaluable for my workflow.

For a small set of the photos the bride and groom really wanted a unique look to really communicate the vibe of their wedding ceremony. After doing some basic corrections, I started experimenting with various presets I found online. Ultimately we decided that we really liked the Vintage Spring 2016 collection from Prolost and so used that as a basis for giving the photos a little something extra.

The Lightroom Before and After tool, allows you to easily compare the originally imported version of your image to the one you are currently working on in the Develop module. However, as with most things in Lightroom, there are the basic functions most people know about and then, there are the not-so-obvious power-users features, which can really extend the usefulness of the tool for everyone! This part 1 video explains the keyboard shortcuts and why Before and After is so useful.