Lightroom Guy

Your go-to guys for Lightroom & photography lessons & Lr catalog Repair

How to Choose a New DSLR Lens Using Lightroom

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How To Choose a DSLR Lens

We’ve discovered a great way to help you make a decision when you’re thinking about buying a new DSLR lens, using Lightroom Classic CC. If you’ve ever wondered whether or not a particular lens is worth investing in, here’s what we do. We start by looking at lenses and focal lengths using the Lightroom Classic Metadata search. Use the Lightroom Metadata panel to choose a DSLR LensThis came about as more and more of our clients have asked us – What would be a good focal length DSLR lens to purchase? Watch the video and see how we do it.

Lightroom Classic Update 7.3.1 and Upcoming Lightroom Workshop

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This week Adobe released Lightroom Classic update 7.3.1

This update includes fixes for presets and profiles in addition to a fix for an issue corrupting backup catalogs. To resolve this particular corruption issue, update to Lightroom Classic CC v7.3.1 and then back up your catalogs again. If you’re backing up your catalogs on Mac, use this link https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/whats-new.html#known-issue-lr-7-3-1 related to catalog compression. It’s an important update to install, even though there aren’t any new features to introduce. To find out more about these fixes, you can read the release notes for this Lightroom Classic update here – https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/whats-new.html. And, if you’re not familiar with the Adobe Creative Cloud app for Lightroom updates, you can find instructions from Adobe here.

Upcoming Lightroom Workshop (Lightroom Classic + Lightroom CC)

Lightroom Classic Update - Lightroom Workshop

Our Lightroom Workshop is conveniently located

Join the Lightroom Guys as we continue to design our ongoing series of unique, semi-private workshops and our New Skills in Lightroom series. All of our LightroomNYC workshops are limited to 4 attendees and we have a two-to-one student to teacher ratio, guaranteeing that you’ll never fall behind in our classes. Classes are held in our convenient and comfortable Cobble Hill, Brooklyn office, one block from the F/G train.

May 12, 2018 Lightroom Workshop

Lightroom CC | Better, Faster, Easier

In this focused hands-on Lightroom Workshop, you will acquire the skills necessary to use the automatic and powerful digital developing tools of Lightroom CC to enhance your photos.

Not to be confused with Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC is designed to be simple and intuitive and works on both Mac and PC as well as Apple iOS and Android mobile and web devices while automatically backing up your photos as you work. Lightroom CC has everything a casual user needs, but is full-featured enough even for the pros.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

  • Setup of Lightroom CC for importing your first of photos
  • Managing your photo library
  • Creating albums of images
  • How to use the smart search that identifies image content, even without keywords
  • How to develop photos using the automatic features that use Adobe Sensei
  • Exporting photos for email and print

Even if you’ve never used Lightroom before, you will walk away with everything you need to know to start, manage and maintain your own Lightroom CC library. So, learn to take control of your photo library now, with the newest and easiest version of Lightroom.

To reserve your seat in this class, click here for our LightroomNYC portal.

May 19, 2018 Lightroom Workshop

From Digital to Print | Making Books

In this small-group, hands-on Lightroom workshop, you’ll use Adobe Lightroom (Classic and CC) to learn how to plan for, design and create a book using our favorite online book creation applications.

This is a specialized semi-private workshop that will use Adobe Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC – so you should have a little experience with one of these applications. You’ll learn to create a selection of best images to tell a story and then develop and design a book using popular online applications. Start to finish, we’ll cover every aspect of creating a book using best practices with an uncomplicated approach. This class is for anyone who is ready to make gorgeous photography books.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

  • Using Lightroom (Classic and CC) to choose the best photos for a book
  • Creating a timeline for your story
  • How to export photos for books: colorspace and pixel sizes
  • Choosing a book size, cover and paper options
  • Importing photos into the book design program
  • Using templates vs. custom page design
  • Proofreading and checking for errors

First, you’ll watch while we demonstrate. Then, after each demo, you’ll get to do the work yourself: developing photos, exporting them, bringing them into the book application and designing the pages.

To reserve your seat in this class, click here for our LightroomNYC portal.

 

 

 

New Skills in Lightroom Workshop Series

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On Saturday, February 3rd, Lightroom Guy dot com held its inaugural New Skills in Lightroom, small group workshop, at our new Cobble Hill, Brooklyn office. The Lightroom Guy “world headquarters” is a cozy, quiet space designed with these small workshops in mind. You can reach us easily by subway with convenient parking nearby as well.

To meet our personal philosophy of maintaining a boutique approach to learning, our workshops are limited to a maximum of 4 attendees.

New Skills in Lightroom

Classes are limited to 4 attendees and taught by two Adobe Certified Lightroom Experts.

They are always co-taught by myself and my fellow Adobe Certified Lightroom Expert, David Mark Erickson. Small group workshops assure that everyone gets personal attention and no one falls behind. And, if you’ve ever been to a large workshop with dozens or even hundreds of attendees, you know exactly what I mean.

 

This is a three hour session focused on teaching you new skills, using Lightroom’s very powerful local Develop tools. Here a description of the workshop:

New Skills in Lightroom | Develop Like A Pro

Whether it’s Lightroom Classic or Lightroom CC, we’ve applied the developing techniques of professional darkroom printers and recreated them for digital photography. You’ll learn these new skills, not by just watching, but also by following along and developing photos with supervision and guidance by two Adobe Certified Lightroom Experts. That’s us!

By the end of the session, you’ll know how to make real-world practical use of the Adjustment brush, Radial and Gradient tools so you can take your photographs further.

You’ll learn how to add depth, emphasize your subject and bring out those subtle details you may not have unnoticed in the original capture.At the session’s end, you’ll get a PDF guide to help you remember the steps for using these tools and a cheat sheet of frequently used keyboard shortcuts.

Lightroom Guy’s next New Skills in Lightroom | Develop Like a Pro workshop will be on Saturday, April 14th from 9:30 – 12:30. Please contact us to reserve your seat.

Don’t forget, seating is limited to 4!

Frequently Used Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic

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You should be using the Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic

Tapping the “D” key brings you right to the Develop module

The more you use Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic, the less time you’ll spend hunting for menus and buttons. And that means less stress, more productivity and definitely more Lightroom happiness.

For example, when you want to develop an image, tap D for Develop. To return to the Library from the Develop module, just press G for the Library grid view. Don’t tap L for the Library, which is a common mistake, as that will put you in “lightbox” view which darkens and hides the Lightroom interface. A little disorienting if you didn’t expect that to happen. If it does, keep tapping L to return to your standard view.

So, D for Develop and G for grid. L for Lightbox. I bet you didn’t even know Lightroom had a Lightbox mode. Easy, right? Here are a few more:

Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic

Tapping the J key in the Library cycles through the metadata options

Wanna make a print? Command (Control on the PC) P takes you right to the Print module. You probably know that the Tab key hides the side panels, but did you know that pressing Shift and Tab hides the side panels and the filmstrip at the bottom. More screen space if you’re working on a laptop! Just tapping on the + and – keys (Mac and PC) will increase or decrease the size of your Library Grid thumbnails. And here’s something that will change the way you look at thumbnails – tap the J key while you’re in the Library and show the metadata associated with each photo. You can choose what data you is displayed by going to the top menu and choosing View>View Options to change the settings.

These Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic speed your workflow, but more importantly, you’ll find working in Lightroom more of a pleasure, not having to move your cursor here and there, pulling down menus and reaching for buttons. And although the shortcuts are incredibly useful, some of the keystrokes used in the Library, will produce different results if used in the Develop module.

Sign up for Lightroom Guy’s Newsletter on the right of this article to download our cheat sheet of our PDF of frequently used Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic. To get the full list of Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom Classic, you can see them on the Adobe site here, but you’ll like our cheat sheet better; it has most of the shortcuts you’ll want to use anyway.

Happy New Year from the Lightroom Guys!

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Wishing you all the very best for 2018!

Lake Region in Provincia del Neuquén, Argentina Lightroom Users can learn to develop images like this

© David Mark Erickson – Provincia del Neuquén, Argentina

As we reflect back on 2017, it’s been an exciting and productive year and one of many travels for both David Mark Erickson and myself: Bangkok, Budapest, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Italy, Qatar, Seattle as we try to decide where to get started with our travel workshops. Ah, decisions, decisions. More on our travel workshops as they develop …

We have also been busy creating instructional videos on Pluralsight. We’ve grown, but we aren’t forgetting our roots. We’re here to serve the community and educate. And on that note, we have a few exciting announcements to make …

Upcoming Lightroom Workshop

One of the many things that we have learned from our clients is that no two students learn the same way. Some prefer the focus of one-on-one sessions, while others enjoy the more social interactions of a group workshop. As it happens, we have decided to split the difference and we will be offering a monthly small group Lightroom workshop at our bright new Brooklyn office!

  • Small Classes – Each Lightroom workshop will have 3-4 students max, for an intimate  learning experience
  • Co-Teaching – Both D.A. and David present every Lightroom workshop together, so you get to learn from two of the photo industry’s leading educators
  • Individual Attention – Co-teaching means more opportunities for solving individual problems
  • Focused Sessions – every Lightroom workshop is  3+ hours in length so we can go deeper and have more time to help you gain stronger skills with different tools and processes
  • Saturday Mornings – fun and relaxed atmosphere with fellow photogs (our clientele is very select and we personally enjoy the company of all our clients)
  • Coming Soon – live streaming of our Lightroom workshops

Our first Lightroom workshop will be on  Saturday, February 3rd in Brooklyn, NY

The special introductory price is $129.

Book now and save $70 off the normal price of $199

Click here to reserve your place!

 Pluralsight

As mentioned, we have two courses available on Pluralsight: one on the Lightroom Web & Map modules and, our second course on the most recent Lightroom Classic CC Updates, which includes info about the all new Lightroom CC.

If you haven’t checked out Pluralsight yet, we strongly recommend that you do, as we have found them to be the most professional web based training platform. This is why we’ve chosen them to be our exclusive online training content provider!

  • Pluralsight has a strong editorial staff that helps guide our educational content.  
  • For only $30/month, you get access to everything in the Pluralsight library.
  • We’re always  developing more Lightroom content for the site, but in the meantime, Pluralsight is the only other source for online info that we recommend.
  • Our upcoming course will be a full how-to to get the most out of the new Lightroom CC!

 New Website

We are also excited to mention we’re currently in the middle of a Lightroom Guy website redesign!Our goal is to create a more engaging and robust site so that Lightroom Guy is an even better resource for our readers and clients. We’ll be expanding our recommendations and book suggestions, along with more regular blog posts and announcements for local workshops. We’re hoping to have the new site up and running within the next few months.

So, once again, all the very best for 2018!

Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic

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By now you may have  heard that Adobe has introduced two versions of Lightroom. One is called Lightroom Classic and the other Lightroom CC. I equate this new naming to this: after your second child is born, giving that child the name of your first child and giving your first born child a new name. Got that?

This naming was confusing to the Adobe professional community as well – to the point of humor. But nonetheless, Adobe went ahead with the name changes. So let me explain the differences.

Lightroom Classic CC

This is essentially Lightroom CC version 7. It has two great new features – Color and Luminance Range Masking. These masking features make use of new technology, they’re very easy to use and highly accurate. Many of the other improvements are “under the hood,” like faster image previewing using embedded camera raw previews, faster startup, more responsive brushes in the local adjustments and much more. Suffice it to say, Adobe’s primary goal was improved speed and it seems they have accomplished this goal!

And you should note that the Creative Cloud version of Lightroom will be the only version available from this point on. There will be no perpetual version, that is the standalone version that is not part of the Creative Cloud. Lightroom 6 owners will get an update or two in the near future but then, that will be it. No more updates, no more bug fixes. I know this won’t make some users happy. But I can say from experience, Lightroom CC was updated with bug fixes and new features far more often than Lightroom 6. It’s worth the move, even if you hate having to pay a subscription. You can read more about the Lightroom Classic CC updates here.

Lightroom CC

Taking its big sister’s name and changing the Lightroom logo color to turquoise, this is Adobe’s simple to use, cloud-based application that works across desktop, smartphones and tablets. It’s a totally new and different program and It’s a game changer. And honestly, we love it! This is definitely aimed at Apple Photo (or iPhoto) users and Lightroom users who may have found Lightroom too complicated. And, if that’s the case, then there’s a nice feature in Lightroom CC that let’s you easily import your existing Lightroom Catalog of images over to the new, cloud-based app.

Although it’s not free, Lightroom CC offers a wide range of features not available in Apple Photos. The develop features are similar to its big sister, but with an easier to use interface and simpler importing and organization of photos. You can read more about Lightroom CC here.

Lightroom CC is now Lightroom Classic

You’ll notice in the comparison above that there isn’t any Map, Book, Slideshow, Print or Web module in the new Lightroom CC. In fact, there are no modules at all. Just exactly what casual users need, a library (hidden when the develop sliders are available) and developing tools. Lightroom Classic looks exactly the same as previous versions in this new update.

And, below is a side-by-side detail comparison the develop panels. 

Lightroom CC is now Lightroom Classic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if you’ve already updated to Lightroom Classic, you’ll want to have Adobes’s Lightroom Classic CC User Guide and Lightroom Classic Tutorials.

Lightroom 6

And, if you’ve updated Lightroom 6, you may have been misdirected  to download a Lightroom Classic trial. This deletes Lightroom 6 from your computer, you’ll need to reinstall Lightroom 6 (a major Adobe error!). If this has happened to you, you can download the most recent version of Lightroom 6 again here: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/lightroom-downloads.html Keep in mind that you will need your Lr6 serial number to reinstall the application. If you don’t know your serial number, you can find by signing in your Adobe account here: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/membership/index.cfm?loc=en_us&nl=1

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In the next few blog posts David Erickson and I will go more in-depth, discussing the most important new features of Lightroom Classic (formerly known as Lightroom CC) and review the new, cloud-based Lightroom CC.

Using the Lightroom Radial Filter for Portraits

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I love using the Lightroom Radial Filter. It’s my most used of the Lightroom CC local adjustment tools. One of our clients even calls it the “instant spotlight” tool.

The Radial Filter Tool

This is the Lightroom Radial Filter icon

With the Lightroom Radial Filter, it’s possible to add that light back into the subject’s face by simply drawing a circle and opening up the shadow detail. In portrait photography, it’s not unusual for a professional photographer to use something called a “fill card” to reflect light back into the subject’s face. But the Lightroom Radial Filter can add a spot-of-light anywhere you want it  (you won’t need to learn how to use a fill card!) and a portrait is the perfect way to demonstrate exactly how I make use of the Lightroom Radial Filter.

The Radial Filter is also great for landscapes. And, when used in combination with the Gradient Filter, you can add amazing depth and contrast to specific areas of your photos. If you would like another video tutorial for using the Radial Filter, watch the “Lightroom Layering Techniques with the Radial and Gradient Filter.” In the tutorial, I develop an ordinary capture into beautiful tableaux using one of our students’ photos from Namibia, Africa.

For further reading on the radial filter, check out the online help from Adobe: Lightroom CC Manual on Using the Radial Filter.

Lightroom Videos from the Lightroom Guys

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After years of teaching and training hundreds of clients, we are pleased to announce Lightroom videos from the Lightroom Guys.

For a while now, we have been looking at options to get our content online in the form of educational Lightroom videos. Not content to work with just any online content provider, we feel fortunate to have had the folks at Pluralsight ask us to join them as authors. Pluralsight’s commitment to quality is a match for what we are all about: learning Lightroom to become better photographers. We also believe strongly in their editorial process of content review and learning paths to build a highly personalized platform for a custom learning experience.

Our first Pluralsight course is on the Map & Web modules in Lightroom CC. These are two frequently overlooked modules that have many exciting and useful features. Our next course will be an in-depth instructional video on the Print module. In coming months, we will be creating more custom and advanced Lightroom content so stay tuned!

Lightroom Videos for learning web and map

Latest Version of Lightroom CC 2015.12 Available for Download Now

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Lightroom CC 2015.12/6.12 Available for DownloadAdobe Lightroom CC logo

So, as a quick aside – What happened to Lightroom CC version 2015.11?

Lightroom CC and Camera Raw both share the same Camera Raw engine (Photoshop also uses Camera Raw). So Adobe decided to skip the Camera Raw update name of 9.11 (with respect to the events of 9/11) and rename it to 9.12 and while they were at it, renamed Lightroom to version 12 as well. This also kept the product version naming consistent.

Also, we know that Adobe now has on the front burner, a number of performance improvements coming in the very near future. Speed improvements are at the very top of that list! So, we can’t wait to see what that looks like…

But for now, here’s the list of customer reported issues that are resolved in this version:

  • Restriction on exporting a catalog with dots in the filename – Resolved
  • HSL Target Adjustment Tool erratic behavior – Resolved
  • Target Adjustment Tool erratic behavior – Resolved
  • Issue adding more than one line of text using identity plate in Print module – Resolved
  • Navigator preview pane shows wrong photo – Resolved
  • The inability to use larger sample sizes with the White Balance eyedropper tool – Resolved
  • Image “blinks” when toggling between “Before Only” and “After only” views in Develop module – Resolved
  • SDK LrDevelopController no longer works with ToneCurve PV 2012 Settings – Resolved
  • Export from DNG to JPG for Flickr results in an error GPS data from iPhone video not captured – Resolved
  • iPhone video capture time is shifted upon import – Resolved
  • Moving files causing erratic deletion of files – Resolved
  • Filmstrip covers/overlaps filter and breadcrumb bar – Resolved
  • Map module flashing “map offline” – Resolved

And, for you PC users:

  • When creating a text Identity Plate, pressing Control and Enter on Windows will move the cursor down one line for additional text. The Identity Plate is available in the Slideshow module, the Page panel of the Print module and the top left of your Lightroom interface (Control Click for access to the interface Identity Plate). Mac users already had this feature, it’s the same: Press Control and the Enter or Return key to create a second line of text.

Lightroom CC version 2015.12/6.12

also has Camera Raw 9.12 updates:

New ColorMatching Lightroom CC Camera Profiles

NIKON

  • Nikon 1 V3: 5 Color Profiles + Monochrome + Green, Orange, Red, Yellow Monochrome filter effects
  • D3400, D5, D500, D5600, D7200, D750, D810 and D810A: Green, Orange, Red, Yellow Monochrome filter effects
  • D610 and Df: Monochrome + Green, Orange, Red, Yellow Monochrome filter effects

PANASONIC LUMIX

  • DC-FZ80, DC-GF9, DMC-G7, DMC-G8, DMC-GX8, DMC-GX85: Color and Monochrome profiles

New Camera Support in Lightroom CC

·      Canon EOS 6D Mark II

·      Canon EOS 200D (EOS Kiss X9, EOS Rebel SL2)

·      Leica TL2

·      Nikon D7500

·      Olympus Tough TG5

New Lens Profile Support in Lightroom CC

Mount                                                      Name
Canon EF Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f2.8 Zero­D
Canon EF­S Canon EF­S 18­55mm f/4­5.6 IS STM
Fujifilm X Fujifilm WCL­X100 Wide­Angle Conversion Lens
Fujifilm X Fujifilm WCL­X100II Wide­Angle Conversion Lens
Fujifilm X Fujifilm TCL­X100II Tele Conversion Lens
Nikon F Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f2.8 Zero­D
Pentax K Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f2.8 Zero­D
Pentax K Venus Optics Laowa 105mm f2 (T3.2) Smooth Trans Focus
Sony A TAMRON SP 15­30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD A012S
Sony A TAMRON SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD F012S
Sony A TAMRON SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD F013S
Sony A TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 VC USD F017S
Sony FE Sony FE 12­24mm F4 G
Sony FE Sony FE 16­35mm F2.8 GM

That’s it for all the resolved issues and Camera Raw updates. To update your version of Lightroom CC, open your Creative Cloud desktop app, (login to your Adobe account required) choose the Apps tab and select the Update button to the right of any of your apps listed.

Four Ways to Adjust Lightroom Sliders

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Do you ever find yourself dreading the amount of time it takes to develop all the photos from your last trip? Well, you are not alone! Over and over again we hear from clients about how they avoid selecting and developing because of the shear number of photos they took. One of our solutions is to demonstrate how we take advantage of all the features that Lightroom has to offer. And one of them is, that there are four ways to adjust Lightroom sliders in the Develop module.

We know it sounds a little to simple but, knowing how to quickly adjust the sliders in the Develop module can really speed up your workflow.We’re going to show you four different ways to make slider adjustments, most of them without even having to use your mouse. You’ll be surprised by how much time these four little tips will save you!

And, whether it’s sliding, dragging, entering numbers or making incremental changes, each of these methods is designed to give you total control.  Try each of them the next time you develop. It may not seem like a big deal, but like all things Lightroom, these different techniques will enhance how you work when developing your photos.

Making the most of the Lightroom Slider AdjustmentHovering over the slider and tapping the up/down arrow keys is my favorite for making incremental adjustments. It gives me the most control over my adjustment settings. And, while holding down the SHIFT key while tapping the up/down arrows will make larger changes, holding down the OPTION key (ALT on the PC) will make smaller changes. It’s the most exact way to make critical adjustments when developing in Lightroom.

While you might know what all the Lightroom adjustment sliders do, play our quick 90 second LR:Shorts video below and see how fast it is to learn the four different ways to adjust them.