Adobe Lightroom 3 – The Missing FAQ eBook from Victoria Bampton, aka “The Lightroom Queen,” is now available for purchase.

Quick Facts

• Title: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 – The Missing FAQ: Real Answers to Real Questions asked by Lightroom Users
• Author: Victoria Bampton
• Publisher: Self-published (The Lightroom Queen)
• Publication Date: July 7, 2010
• ISBN: 978-0-9560030-3-4 (PDF Format); 978-0-9560030-4-1 (Paperback)
• Cover Price: US $39.95 | UK £25.95 [See other pricing options in the Where to Buy section.]
• Pages: 500

Review

I’ve reviewed Bampton’s previous book, Adobe Lightroom 2: The Missing FAQ, and that book is still available. This book is the updated version for Lightroom 3. She also released Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta: The Missing FAQ as soon as the Lightroom 3 Beta was released. Impressive.

This book moves through the following sections:

• Import
• Workspace
• Library Module
• Working with Catalogs
• Previews & Speed
• Develop Module
• Editing in Other Programs
• Export
• Publish Services
• Slideshow Module
• Print Module
• Web Module
• Troubleshooting & Useful Information
• Keyboard Shortcuts

Each of those sections has many sub-topics, each with a number of answered questions. There were too many to list on this review, but you can view the entire Table of Contents here.

To get an even better idea of the book before you purchase it, check out the generous offering of PDF excerpts on Bampton’s website.

This book is definitely worth having…especially if you don’t already own the Lightroom 2 FAQ book. Even if you do own the Lightroom 2 FAQ book, you’ll still see lots of answers to questions you probably have about some of the major changes between Lightroom 2 and 3. For example, why are some photos unavailable or dimmed in the Import dialog? Curious? Click here to see the answer. This book is full of helpful advice and answers to questions you’ll inevitably ask about Lightroom 3.

Savings hint: Use discount code LRL2009 for an even better deal!

About the Author

Victoria Bampton is known to many as The Lightroom Queen. In Southampton, UK, she runs Photoshop Services, a photography processing and retouching service. Her website, LightroomQueen.com, offers a helpful blog and a free Lightroom Keyboard Shortcuts download. In addition to her work there, she’s a very active moderator at LightroomForums.net and a helpful Twitter resource as @vbampton and @LightroomQueen.

Where to Buy

The author offers the option to purchase the book directly from her website. Here are the all the options and pricing details:

• Color PDF eBook Version – £14.95 (About $22.65 USD) – Get it!
• Color PDF eBook and Black & White Paperback Bundle (Shipped by the author) – Pre-order the paperback book (shipping in 2-3 weeks) and get instant downloadable access to the PDF today. – £25.95 (About $39.50 USD) with Free Shipping in the UK (International Shipping is £3.50 (about $5.30 USD)) – Get it!
• Color PDF eBook and Black & White Paperback Bundle (Shipped by Amazon.com) – As of this writing, the book is not yet available at Amazon.com, but when it is, I’m sure you’ll find a link at the author’s page on Amazon.com. – £25.95 ($39.95 USD)

When ordering from the author’s website, be sure and use coupon code LRL2009 for some savings. If you order from Amazon.com, you might consider Amazon Prime.

Other Book Reviews

TheLightroomLab.com strives to review books on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, photography in general, and other relevant subjects whenever possible.

• Click here to view all Adobe Photoshop Lightroom book reviews.
• Click here to view all book reviews, regardless of subject.

You can also view books and other products in our Store.

Do you have a favorite Lightroom or photography book? Read this book and have something to say…good or bad? Let us know in the comments.

A new website known as Presetpond.com has launched on July 10, 2010. Presetpond is a new online community for photographers enabling them to share preset files for the two popular photo-editing applications Aperture® produced by Apple Inc, and Lightroom® produced by Adobe Systems Incorporated.

By registering at the site photographers can upload preset files to the site along with a set of preview images showing the preset in action. These files can then be downloaded and rated/commented on by the public.

Users of the site can view uploaded presets, download them, comment on them, rate them, and even 'Like' them on Facebook for easy sharing with friends.

Apart from the sharing capabilities the website is also a valuable tool for photographers looking to brand themselves. The profile page of each registered user allows for links to a personal website along with a link to a Twitter and Flickr profile.

Visitors can view an ever-increasing variety of Lightroom and Aperture presets which can be filtered by creator, tag, application, and more.

According to their Press Release, Presetpond aims to become the go to resource for photographers looking to share and download preset-files for Aperture® and Lightroom®.

Presetpond is created by Danish web designer and amateur photographer Thomas Fals.

In photography, practice makes perfect. But how do you organize and manage all that practice? With Adobe Lightroom of course! Take note of your current post-production process and prepare to wave it goodbye. Join us for a whole week of Lightroom instruction at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Missoula, Montana.

David’s experience and ability to convey concepts in a way that is easy to understand translates into you getting more out of the week than you can imagine. Over the course of six days, we will introduce you to Lightroom’s library, develop, slideshow, print and Web modules and explains how each can be used. You will learn how to import, rate, label, keyword and apply metadata to your files. David teaches you to make global—and even some local—enhancements to your images including spot removal, red-eye reduction and converting an image to black and white. By the end of the week we will be preparing your images for output, whether it is to a video slideshow, gallery print or for the Web.

Click here for more information on this tremendous weeklong Lightroom learning opportunity.

Even if you’ve never dreamt of being a full-time photographer, have you ever thought about getting your images into a magazine or a gallery or a calendar? Have you thought about doing a book but you didn’t know how to go about it? Or maybe the thought of earning some money with your images has crossed your mind but you didn’t know where to start? Or you tried but your images were rejected and then you gave up. Maybe you are just stuck in a rut and you want a little inspiration. Trying to earn money in photography sure can be frustrating if you don’t know what you are doing or what the tricks of the trade are.

Did you know that the hardest, most competitive and least lucrative way to earn money with your images is to try to sell single pictures to popular outlets like the Sierra Club calendar or Outdoor Photographer? Did you know that submitting to national magazines just about guarantees you will be frustrated at best and mortified at worst? And did you know that there are lots of surefire ways you can work locally, on weekends and still earn thousands of dollars? You should know these things.

David Middleton has taught this class for 10 years and has continued to refine and broaden the material presented in this class. He draws on all of his 25 years as a professional photographer and shares everything he knows about being a pro and earning money. Scott Rouse adds his considerable expertise of the digital world to the class. Scott is comfortable in both the PC and Mac worlds and is equally skilled in Aperture, Lightroom, Photoshop, Bridge and is a web- and graphic-designer.

Every participant will leave with their own well-developed project to pursue and a customized plan to follow to get money-making images without much money-burning effort. This workshop is unique on may levels and we have added another twist to the workshop this year, it is based in David’s home territory. The class will visit some of his favorite photography haunts and will spend time in David’s personal office to get a close-up view of his workspace and see behind the curtain in to the real world of a longtime pro.

Every one of today’s successful photographers has had help getting started, help navigating the inshore shoals that ground their enthusiasm. If you want help seeing your way clear to the deep, rich waters, this is the class for you.

David’s 25 plus years of success in photography have been distilled in to this 7 day workshop and this is what you will learn:

• how to think like a professional
• how to get, evaluate, develop and execute ideas
• how to sell single images and multiple images
• how to approach publishers, editors and other picture buyers
• how to write query letters and book proposals
• how to manage your images and process them efficiently for the best results
• how to lead photography tours and workshops; how to work locally and regionally for the best returns
• how to photograph people in the field
• how to run your own stock agency
• what equipment is necessary and of professional quality and what is unneeded and substandard
• why writing is crucial
• what the possibilities are in e-commerce
• how to stand out from the crowd.

The class will teach the required and the special skills needed to compete in the digital photography world–image management, processing and presentation. You’ll receive pages of handouts including examples of query letters that worked and did not, book and story proposals that were successful and those that were ignored and sure-fire submission ideas that work in any genre of magazine.

The workshop is based in the thriving little town of Manchester Center, Vermont. There are many nice mom and pop motels from which to choose, as well as many very nice, classic New England inns in the area.

The cost of the workshop is $1,995, but if you use the coupon code LRLAB at checkout, you can receive $200 off the cost of the workshop!

For more information about this workshop, or to register, be sure and visit paworkshops.net.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is designed to index a lifetime’s worth of digital photography. Lightroom creates a database which acts likes a library’s “card catalog.” Thanks to the index, it is easy for a professional photographer to find one specific image out of the thousands that are stored on their computer in seconds.

Lightroom creates thumbnails that act as placeholders for each of your digital captures. Search results are almost instantaneous because Lightroom only needs to flip through the entries in its database. We have a number of videos for Lightroom beginners in in the Getting Started Right with Lightroom 3 section of our website. Before you start adding thousands of images into your Lightroom Catalog, I suggest reading all of these posts on how Lightroom works, and on how to best set up your preferences.

Learning Lightroom is a lot easier if you have all of the settings and templates in place before you start adding thousands of files into your Lightroom index. If you are new to this software and the importing process then I urge you to watch this tutorial on how to build an Import Preset in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 before you go any further. An Import Preset can make life simpler and make importing files into your index far more efficient.

For those who have been using Lightroom for a while, Lightroom’s “Add Photos to My Catalog” without moving or copying is a good option. This choice tells Lightroom simply to create thumbnails and reference points for your files where they currently live. I use the “Add” without moving or copying option when I want to add folders full of images into my index without changing anything about where these files are stored or what these files is called.

Importing with Add in Adobe Photohop Lightroom 3 from David Marx on Vimeo.

You might also want to click here for more information on how to use Lightroom to copy / move images from folder to folder or from one drive to another.

A Vermont Dairy Farm?!? What? Why is this book in here? Though the title may lead you astray, this is one of the funniest and most interesting reads I’ve come across in a while. Now, let me be honest and say that a lot of what I’ve been reading lately are books on PHP, CSS, JavaScript and other computer code, so that may have a bit to do with my impression.

Quite a Sightly Place is a book by my good friend, mentor and incredible photographic professional David Middleton. My review is coming…but first the Quick Facts.

Quick Facts

• Title: Quite a Sightly Place: A Family Dairy Farm in Vermont
• Author: David Middleton
• Publisher: Commonwealth Editions
• Publication Date: July 1, 2010 (That’s the official publication date…but it’s available right now.)
• ISBN: 1933212918
• Cover Price: US $29.95 [See other pricing options in the Where to Buy section.]
• Pages: 176

Review

As I mentioned already, this book doesn’t fit into the usual Lightroom book or Photoshop book reviews which are posted on this site. That doesn’t mean it’s not photography-related, though. David Middleton is a well-known photographer and writer who has written numerous books and articles and taught hundreds of workshops. That’s where I first met him, in fact. I took a Professional Photography workshop from him in 2006, and it was, by far, the most useful photographic education I’ve ever had. He teaches real-world, useful information in an informal, down-to-earth manner. But, I digress. I should be talking about the book.

Quite a Sightly Place is full of beautiful images of the rural Vermont dairy farm on which David has spent much of his time over the last five years, or so. Along with the images, you’ll find touching and humorous stories about the farm and its history. Here’s one of my favorites:

A Hoe for Roger
by David Middleton

It’s 9 o’clock at night and the phone rings. It’s Roger.

“Hello, it’s Roger”

“Hello, Roger. What’s up?”

“When are you coming over to the barn in the morning?”

“It’s usually after I get up.”

“That’s not always the case.”

“Why do you ask?”

“The barn needs a new hoe.”

“You’re tellin’ me. What happened to the old hoe?”

“I couldn’t fix’r. Got all loose and then I broke’er.

“It’ll happen if you use’em hard.”

“So could you pick one up on your way here tomorrow?”

“Where am I going to find a good hoe in Danby that early in the morning?”

“Go to Elby’s, he’s got hoes.”

“Elby’s got hoes?”

“Always has.”

“That rascal, but to a hardware store to get you a hoe?”

“Yes, he’s got some that are strong and wide.”

“Strong and wide? What about good lookin’?”

“I don’t care about good lookin’, I want a hoe that works hard.”

“Its come to that has it?”

“I don’t care about pretty anymore. I want a long handle and a good head.”

“Every man’s dream. Am I paying for the hoe?”

“Yes but I’ll pay you back.”

“So this is what it has come to, I am now supplying you with hoes.”

“Well, I can’t ask the old man, he wouldn’t know what to do with a new hoe.”

“Bet he’d like to try.”

“And I can’t ask Trish to get me a hoe.”

“Wouldn’t be right.”

“She’d get one that was all fancied up.”

“Couldn’t have that.”

“I need one I can handle easily, otherwise it seems like work.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, Roger. Don’t you have a hoe at the house?”

“Used to have several.”

“You’re a lucky man.”

“Not anymore, they’re all gone.”

“Nothing worse than losing a good hoe.”

“You’re tellin’ me. Its hard as hell finding a good hoe.”

“This is a big responsibility, getting you a hoe you like.”

“Remember, I like a hoe with a thick neck…

“Got it.”

“And a good curve to it…”

“Uh huh.”

“…and sharp blade.”

“Roger, what are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was talking about hoes.”

“Oh, okay, so was I.”

“And drive the truck, it’ll be easier getting ’em in the back.”

---

I call Elby.

“Hello?”

“Hi Elby, it’s David.”

“Why hello, David. What can I do for you?”

“I need a hoe.”

“Claire gone is she?”

“No, it’s not for me.”

“Never is.”

“It’s for Roger.”

“Roger wants a hoe?”

“Roger needs a hoe.”

“So you now supplying him with hoes?”

“The man can’t get enough.”

“Tell me about it.”

“It’s for the barn.”

“He’ll be using the hoe in the barn?”

“Sure between milking and chores.”

“Not much time for a hoe.”

“Roger is very fast. Grabs a hoe, a couple of strokes and he’s done.”

“Gotta admire a man like that. What does Trish think of this?”

“She’s all for it, got her own hoes. They work better for her.”

“Can’t say that I blame her. What kind of hoe do you want?”

“Roger likes ’em with a thick neck, a good curve and a wide bottom.”

“It’s a sad state of affairs. So just a plain ol’ hoe?”

“Just a plain ol’ hoe will do.”

“Spray some WD-40 on the hoe before you take it to Roger.”

“You want me to spray the hoe with WD-40?”

“Not where you grab it, just the bottom.”

“You want me to spray the bottom of the hoe with WD-40?”

“Makes it work better. “

“I’ll be darn.”

“And bring your truck. It’ll be easier in the back.”

“Easier in the back?”

“Easier for the hoes in the back.”

“Roger said the same thing.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. He knows his hoes.”

“Yes he does, he surely does.”

It’s me again (Scott). So, if you’re looking for a great read with beautiful photos, I definitely recommend that you grab Quite a Sightly Place: A Family Dairy Farm in Vermont by David Middleton.

About the Author

David Middleton is a full-time professional outdoor photographer and writer. During his 25-year career, he has photographed and written ten books (“Quite a Sightly Place” will be his eleventh) and led more than 150 nature/photography tours and over 200 photography workshops across the country. Middleton is a Contributing Editor of Outdoor Photographer Magazine, a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens, and the Executive Director of the Photographers Alliance Workshops company. Middleton now lives on an old dairy farm in southwestern Vermont, not far from the farm featured in this book.

Here are some other books by David Middleton:

• The Photographer’s Guide to the Oregon Coast: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them
• The Photographer’s Guide to the Maine Coast: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them
• The Photographer’s Guide to Vermont: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them
• Nature of America
• The Nature of Vermont: A Year-Long Photographic Journal
• Ancient Forests

Where to Buy

My favorite place to purchase books (and a lot of other stuff) is Amazon.com. They tend to have the best prices online, and I’ve been pretty happy with their quick shipping and customer service.

Here’s a link to Quite a Sightly Place: A Family Dairy Farm in Vermont at Amazon.com.

The other way to get a hold of this book is to attend one of the author’s speaking engagements or workshops. You can learn more about his speaking engagements on his website or his workshops on the Photographers Alliance Workshops website.

Two new video tutorials today for beginning Adobe Photoshop Lightroom users on how to import and move files from one hard drive to another using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. In my opinion, most photographers will get more joy out of Lightroom if they store both their index (the Lightroom Catalog files) and all of their photographs on an external drive. See My Photo Storage System: Two External Hard Drives for more details on my file storage philosophy.

These videos are intended to help new Lightroom users find their photos, or the folders full of images, that currently live on their internal hard drive. Most beginning users need the extra help with this process and its great to know that Lightroom can do all of the heavy lifting. Once we have found these folders we can use Lightroom to copy, or move, these files over to an external disk. Before you start this process though I suggest reading all of the posts on how Lightroom works, and on how to best set up your preferences, in the Getting Started Right with Lightroom 3 section of our website. You will want all of these settings and templates in place before you start moving lots of files around with Lightroom.

If you are needing help with importing I urge you to also watch this tutorial on how to build an Import Preset in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. An Import Preset can make life simpler and make importing new files far more efficient.

Importing Images from a Single Folder with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 from David Marx on Vimeo.

Importing Scattered Files and Folders using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 from David Marx on Vimeo.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is a workflow tool designed to streamline digital photography. Ingesting new images from a digital camera memory card is a repetitive task that a professional photographer will repeat hundreds of times per year. This process just got a whole lot easier thanks to Lightroom 3′s new Import Preset feature.

“Importing” means referencing new images into your Lightroom Catalog. This is a critical step, and it is one of the first tasks that you will do with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. By creating an Import Preset in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, you are spelling out a list of steps that you want the computer to perform again and again. Using an Import Preset makes copying files from a digital camera’s memory card to your computer a painless procedure. The Import Preset is a step-by-step list that tells the software:

• where to put the copy of your new files
• whether or not to re-wrap your digital camera raw files into the DNG file format
• how to rename your new files
• what generic metadata like your copyright or website that you would like to automatically apply to all of your new images
• and how to divide your new files up into manageable, coherent, groups based on the capture date

By creating an Import Preset, you can automate each of these steps so that the memory card to computer transfer process is push button easy. This is a huge time saver for a serious photographer who empties memory cards on a daily basis! Before you build an Import Preset though I suggest reading all of the posts on how Lightroom works, and on how to set up your preferences, in the Getting Started Right with Lightroom 3 section of our website. You will want all of these settings in place before you build your Import Preset and start adding lots of files into your Lightroom Catalog.

Importing from a Digital Camera Memory Card using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 from David Marx on Vimeo.

Just in case you need the review, I find it helpful to explain again how the Lightroom Catalog functions. Lightroom is, first and foremost, a database program. As an analogy, think of Lightroom as if it were the card catalog in a physical library. Think of your Lightroom Catalog as if it were a library’s wooden crate full of index cards. Whenever you import an image, Lightroom adds another index card into this wooden crate. The index cards in your Lightroom Catalog mirror your files but they are not a second copy of the entire image. Each index card records a file’s name, its location within your computer, and all of your file’s metadata. In addition, the index card also includes small thumbnails and previews for each image. The critical point though is that the Lightroom Catalog isn’t a place; it is an index.

You must understand that your images, the actual files, are not stored in the Lightroom Catalog. The Catalog references your files and tracks their changes, but the files themselves do not live in the Lightroom Catalog. You have got to keep this “index vs. file location” distinction in mind when you are looking at the Import Dialog, and this distinction is particularly important when you are using Lightroom to empty a memory card.

You have got to keep this clear in your head, because the Import Dialog needs to know where it should put your new files! On the far right and top of the screen is the critical box that tells Lightroom where your files should go. Pay attention to this line! Too often people neglect this box. If you don’t set it up right, Lightroom will put your files in the wrong folder or on the wrong hard drive.

The Whole Import Dialog

When using a memory card, you only have two choices at the top of the screen. Both choices involve copying files over from your memory card so there is bad option here. How then do these choices differ?

• Copy photos to a new location and add to catalog – This choice makes an exact copy of the files on your memory card, regardless of file format, and places the copies in whatever location you have specified. These files are added into your Lightroom index after the copying process ends.
• Copy photos as a Digital Negative (DNG) and add to catalog – Like the first choice, this option makes a copy of each image on your memory card and stores the copies in whatever location you have specified. When you select this option though, your raw files are re-wrapped using the Adobe Digital Negative file format. All of the files on the card are copied, but only the raw files are converted from one file format to another. Once the copying process ends, all of the new files, regardless of their file format, are added into your Lightroom index. I like this choice, but before you pick this one you should carefully study up on what DNG means and how it might change your workflow.

Working our way down from the top right side of the Import Dialog there are fiour panels. The File Handling panel controls the Initial Preview size. When you view your images in Lightroom, you are looking at “previews” of your image. Lightroom uses three different size previews for each file; a thumbnail, a standard (full-screen) version, and a zoomed into 100% (1:1) version. Your choices in this box have no effect on your image quality, but rather on how quickly you can flip through your files and zoom in on them while editing and developing later on. This setting controls which of these three preview types Lightroom should create as part of the import process. The four choices are (in order from fastest to slowest):

• Minimal – Immediately displays the images using the smallest previews embedded in the photos. Standard-sized previews will be generated as-needed. This is the fastest method on import.
• Embedded & Sidecar – Displays the largest preview possible from the camera. This option take slightly longer than the “Minimal” setting, but it is still pretty fast.
• Standard – Renders full-screen previews as the files are imported. This takes more time, but once the import is complete you can flip through your images in the Fit on Screen display mode without any delay.
• 1:1 – All three preview sizes are generated on import. The 1:1 (100%) previews take quite a while to create, but once these previews are built you can zoom in on your images without any delay. I use this option most of the time. I would rather wait longer during import then during sorting. Generally, I am not in a big hurry during the memory card emptying stage, and I hate waiting for Lightroom to render my 1:1 (100%) previews while I am sorting through my images.

Beneath the Preview Size box there are two important switches. The Don’t re-import suspected duplicates checkbox tells Lightroom to watch for images that have already been added into your Lightroom catalog. I like turning this option on. It prevents me from emptying the same memory card twice in a drunken stupor!

The Backup to: setting allows you to copy the files on your memory card to two locations at once. The location specified in the File Handling section will be the images that are added into the Lightroom index. The second set, the Backup To set, will not be added into your index. I understand why the folks at Adobe created this option, but I don’t like it at all. I don’t use it because I have my own backup system that does a much better job protecting my files. If you use this choice, be aware that the backup files this option creates are static. These files are not updated automatically nor are they indexed. Since these files are static, they will not contain any of the improvements that you make to their twins while you are working in Lightroom.

Beneath this section are panels for File Renaming and information (metadata) to apply after the copying from card to computer process ends. The File Naming Template drop-down allows you to batch-rename your images as they are imported. The Information to Apply section lets you add metadata or develop settings to your images as they come in to the computer. These choices can be great time savers, but nothing that you add, or change, in this box is permanent. Remember that Lightroom is a completely non-destructive program.

• Develop Settings – You can choose a develop preset to apply to all of your images as they are imported. I rarely use this option.
• Metadata – You can apply a Metadata Preset, your copyright and contact information, to all of your images on import. This is a very useful time saver! More on Creating a Metadata Template is covered here.
• Keywords – Any keywords that you put in this box will be applied to all of the images in your current import. I rarely find this choice useful, since the same keywords rarely fit each and every image on my memory card. There are far more efficient ways to add detailed keywords within Lightroom’s Library Module.

Finally, the Destination panel lets you tell Lightroom how it should distribute your new files. After years of working with Lightroom, I have found that the “Organize by Date” using the “Year-Month-Day” option is the best choice. I urge you to set yours up just like mine though the numbers that you see for the sample folder name will differ.

In my opinion, this is the easiest and most sensible way to go but Lightroom is designed so that you can divide your files up any which way you want. The truth is that file folders serve very little purpose within a sophisticated metadata catalog-based image storage system. Once you start using Lightroom, your folder names are basically decorative. You could lump a lifetime’s worth of digital images into a single folder, but I am convinced that having Lightroom distribute my files into a folder for each and every day that I photograph is the simplest and most elegant choice.

I just wanted to take a moment to announce the pending release of a new reference book for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. Lightroom 3: Streamlining Your Digital Photography Process by Nat Coalson is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

I’ve not had a chance to review this book yet, but Nat has produced great work in the past including the book Lightroom 2: Streamlining your Digital Photography Process and an article for TheLightroomLab.com. I can, therefore, go ahead and safely recommend that you check it out for some help in learning Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.

According to Coalson, the new book is completely updated and covers all the features of Lightroom 3, as well as more coverage on specific topics requested by readers of his previous book on Lightroom 2.

The book is now being printed and will ship within the next couple of weeks. (The official ship date is listed as July 6, but Nat says it will likely be sooner.)

After I receive a copy of the book, I’ll give it a good read and review it here at TheLightroomLab.com. Until then, I’d recommend you go ahead and check out Lightroom 3: Streamlining Your Digital Photography Process at Amazon.com yourself.

My digital camera takes great pictures but it gives them lousy filenames. This is a big problem because the file’s name is a really important detail for a professional photographer. Unique filenames make it easy to communicate with clients and they prevent confusion. Sadly, most digital cameras cannot create unique filenames.

Since I cannot teach my camera to name my file’s the right way I must solve this problem when I add files into my Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 index. Lightroom makes generating unique filenames easy once you understand how to create a File Naming Template.

In this video tutorial I demonstrate two ways to overcome the digital camera’s feeble file naming system using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. In this tutorial, I suggest one style of file renaming templates for working professionals and a simpler system for those just entering the world of serious digital photography.

Getting Started Right: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 File Renaming Systems from David Marx on Vimeo.

Click here for more tutorials in this series on Getting Started Right with Lightroom 3.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is finally here and it is a great to get started the right way with this powerful software! Lightroom is not a hard program to figure out on your own, but there are some critical switches buried deep inside its preference menus. Preference menus are dull material in any program, but a wise man looks the under the hood before buying a used car.

Skip these buttons at your own risk! Adobe Photoshop Lightroom assumes that you know what you are doing from the moment that you import your very first file. This is professional grade software. These software engineers respect your intelligence. They assume that you bring a lot of background knowledge to the table from the moment that you first start up this program. They assume that you already know what proper photo storage is and how to backup all of your precious digital files.

Before you step up to bat you need to know what the Lightroom Catalog is and exactly where it lives inside of your computer. You need to know the name of your Catalog file and you need to know what information it stores. This the most intellectually challenging part of the whole new digital workflow. You also need to know:

• Why the “Automatically write changes into XMP” is such a great switch for beginning Lightroom users to activate?
• What the “store presets with catalog” preference switch does and how it could simplify your life?
• Why Lightroom is worried about your use of “illegal characters” in your file’s name?

None of these switches sound like a big deal until something bad happens. If you skip the critical “write changes into XMP” switch; if you never find Lightroom’s other hidden save buttons, and if your Lightroom Catalog file ever gets corrupted, do you know that you could lose all of your work? Years of effort in Lightroom could vanish in an instant. Are you keenly aware that if things go haywire, and that if you haven’t planned for a disaster, that every repair, that every keyword, and that every star rating would be gone?

Lightroom’s Super Important Automatically Write to XMP Preference Switch from David Marx on Vimeo.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Preference Menus from David Marx on Vimeo.

Once you have all your switches set, I suggest checking out this tutorial on how to build a Metadata Preset so that Lightroom can automatically add your copyright information into each and every photo that it ever references!

So, you’ve heard that Lightroom 3 is out. You’ve read about some of the new features for professional photographers. You’re sold. Now it’s time to upgrade.

Adobe has made the process of upgrading from Lightroom 2 to Lightroom 3 relatively painless in most cases. I’ve upgraded many Lightroom 2 catalogs for use in Lightroom 3 while testing the product and have yet to encounter any serious errors. Let’s do it!

[A quick side note. Step 1 is written specifically for US customers. Our international readers may have a different experience or be required to pay different prices. Let us know about your experiences in the comments section and skip ahead to step 2.]

Step 1: Obtain the Software

If you haven’t yet done so, you’ll need to go ahead and obtain a copy of Lightroom 3. In his post called “Advice on Buying Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3,” David Marx talks about his favorite places to get software. Amazon.com. Well, that’s my favorite, as well. The problem is, we don’t want to wait (not even until tomorrow) to get started using Lightroom 3. That’s ok. We’re still going to end up buying the upgrade from Amazon…we’ll just use the 30-day trial from Adobe until our serial number arrives.

Here’s an important point which some people don’t realize: The downloadable 30-day trial, the downloadable full install or upgrade and the physical CD-in-a-box copy (full install or upgrade) are the exact same thing. In other words, we can download the 30-day trial today, install it, upgrade our Lightroom 2 catalog(s) and begin basking in the Lightroom 3 goodness (for up to 30 days) while we wait for our serial number to arrive in the mail from Amazon (or whatever retailer you purchased your copy of the software from). When the hard copy arrives, simply enter the serial number from the boxed package and your once-trial version is now a fully registered copy. You don’t even need to take the physical disk out of the box.

Here’s the link for the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Upgrade from Amazon.com. If you don’t already use Lightroom 2, you can purchase the full version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 here. Although, if you don’t already use Lightroom and won’t be upgrading, I’m not sure why you’re reading this post. Hmm…

Download the 30-day trial of Lightroom 3 from Adobe here.

Step 2: Backup your Data

Though a Lightroom upgrade doesn’t really mess with any of your computer’s core data, it’s always a good idea to make sure you have a complete and recent backup of your computer’s internal hard drive as well as any external drives containing your images or catalog(s).

Click here for some articles about backing up your computer and its drives.

Step 3: Install the Software

Once you’ve downloaded the software (or received the CD, if you went that route), double-click on “Install Lightroom 3″ on a Windows machine or “Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.pkg” on a Mac to begin the installation process. Follow the instructions in the dialog boxes.

For the timid or the curious, here are the steps on a Mac (click on the images for larger versions):

Double-click on 'Adobe Lightroom 3.pkg' to begin the installation process.

If you receive a security warning dialog, click 'Continue.'

Click 'Continue.'

Read the license agreement and click 'Continue.'

Click 'Agree' to continue with the installation.

Click 'Install' to start the installation process.

Enter your Mac password to allow the installer to continue.

The installer will display the progress as the installation continues.

Click 'Close' once the installation completes.

Close the Finder window that opened when you first downloaded the installer or inserted the CD.

Eject the CD or installer disk image (.dmg).

If you installed from a downloaded disk image, you may delete the .dmg file from your Downloads folder.

Step 4: Upgrade your Catalog(s)

When you launch Lightroom 3, it should ask you if you’d like to upgrade your existing Lightroom 2 Catalog. It’s safe to go ahead and begin this upgrade process as Lightroom makes a duplicate copy of the Lightroom 2 Catalog before upgrading. If you have multiple catalogs, you’ll have to choose the catalog(s) you wish to upgrade one at a time.

Once the upgrade is complete and you’re happy with the results in Lightroom 2, you may delete your old Lightroom 2 Catalog. It may be a good idea, however, to hang onto a copy of it as a backup, just in case.

Step 5: Enter your License Key

If you’re using the 30-day trial version, you’ll be reminded each time you open Lightroom that your copy is unregistered. When you receive your full copy in the mail (if you ordered the CD), simply enter the serial number from that CD sleeve or product box in your already-installed copy of Lightroom 3. No need to insert the CD or try to re-install.

Step 6: Remove Older Versions of Lightroom

Once you’re happy with the upgrade, you’ve tested your new catalog(s), and you’re sure you haven’t lost anything important, you can go ahead and remove Lightroom 2 (and Lightroom 1, if you still have it) from your computer.

Removing Lightroom: Mac

Easy! Just navigate to your Applications folder in the Finder and drag “Adobe Lightroom 2.app” to the trash can. Then just empty the trash. That’s it. All of your images, presets, etc should remain intact.

To remove Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 from your Mac, simply drag the file 'Adobe Lightroom 2.app' to the Trash.

Removing Lightroom: Windows

Use the Add/Remove Programs feature in Windows to uninstall Lightroom 2. It should leave your existing catalogs intact.

Step 7: Enjoy

That’s it. Have fun with your new software. Take lots of pictures. Be creative. Make mistakes. Use Lightroom’s unlimited history to undo those mistakes.

Be sure and keep checking out our articles tagged with “Lightroom 3″ for the latest tips, news and tutorials on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. In fact, you can subscribe to an RSS feed for those articles with this link, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Tell us about your upgrade experiences in the comments section, ok?

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is Now Available: Where Should I Buy the Software?

Life is all about choices and software purchasing is no different. To get your copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, you could buy the product directly from Adobe, you could purchase the software from an online retailer, or you could pick up a copy at your local computer box store. So does your choice make any difference?

The answer is both yes and no. The software is the same no matter where you purchase the product as long as you pick up a legitimate licensed copy. So in a sense it makes no difference where you buy the software, but the price that you will pay does vary depending upon the source. I often see software prices advertised online from sketchy retailers that seem just too good to be true. Some of these “discount software” sites may be legit, but I am going to stick with retailers that I know and trust.

So without going to sketchy sources, how can you save money on this purchase and get the product from a reputable source? Well first students and faculty, with valid identification from an accredited academic institution, qualify for deep discounts on Adobe products. If you meet Adobe’s Educational Purchasing requirements then this is definitely the way to go. Nobody gets better prices then qualified students. [Hook them when they are young and you have a customer for life. It's a very clever marketing strategy that works for software and cigarettes!]

If you don’t meet Adobe’s educational purchasing requirements then I suggest shopping for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, and other Adobe software, at Amazon.com. Amazon’s everyday price is usually a few dollars lower than Adobe’s online store and Amazon often offers discounts and special bundled pricing. Bonus: Amazon Prime member’s can get their software with free second day shipping, or overnight delivery, for just $3.99!

There is another reliable, legitimate, way for anyone to save on Adobe software purchases and other useful services. Members of professional organizations like the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) or the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) qualify for a 15% discount on all Adobe purchases plus hundreds of other benefits. There is no entrance exam to join either group. You don’t have to be a professional photographer or a Photoshop expert to join either.

Let me add that as a professional photographer, I am proud to be a member of the AMSP. My membership in this organization helps support their educational efforts and their legal campaigns on critical issues like copyright law, orphan works, and the business of photography in a digital world. ASMP membership qualifies me for membership in a group health care plan and it has brought me work! Likewise, I am proud to be a NAPP member and think that their magazine, website, and Photoshop World conferences are fantastic ways to learn about my favorite software programs. (See you in Vegas this fall NAPP friends!)

I hope this helps you save some money and please check back in with us regularly because we have lots of new content and video tutorials on Lightroom 3 coming soon!

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Now Available

It’s been a long wait but the third version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is finally shipping! We at the LightroomLab have been playing with the private beta of Lightroom 3 all winter long and we are delighted that now everyone can work with this wonderful new product. Above all else, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is going to make your photos look better!

This is not a sales pitch. We do not work for Adobe and I am not a paid endorser, but Lightroom 3 makes my photographs look great. I have been working with digital camera raw files since 2002 and this is truly the best image processing tool that I have ever seen.

Lightroom 3 is not going to be remember as a program that introduced a slew of new buttons. In the history of digital photography this is not going to be remembered as an event that turned everything upside. Sure, there are some cool new features (see below) but what Lightroom 3 really brings to the table is unsurpassed image quality.

The brilliant minds at Adobe poured their time into improved raw processing algorithms, huge advances in noise reduction and image sharpening, and a tremendous new technology for correcting lens distortion. Although the biggest improvements are in image development, there are plenty of other new features like:

While the engineers at Adobe at were doing their jobs, we have been working hard on new content. We just posted a bunch of new video tutorials on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 and many more on the way. Please come back often, or subscribe to our rss feed, and check out all the new features!

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is a workflow tool designed specifically for the daily needs of most serious digital photographers. Lightroom is designed to streamline your digital photography life. With Lightroom, organizing, enhancing, and sharing digital images is quick and easy!

Lightroom takes the best features from other types of software and combines all of these ideas into one streamlined package. With this program, we get the best features of a file browser like the Adobe Bridge, an asset manager like iView or Microsoft Media Expressions, a raw converter like Adobe Camera Raw, and print layout program like Adobe InDesign. The best part is that Lightroom can learn to automate repetitive tasks. Teaching this program to automate a repetitive process is called “creating a preset.”

At its core Lightroom builds a searchable index for your photos. Think of Lightroom’s index as if it were the card catalog at a large public library. Lightroom’s catalog records:

• The file name for each of your photographs
• The path to each image inside of your computer
• All of the file’s metadata

Libraries need an index. Lightroom indexes your photography.

Click here to learn more on about the role of the Lightroom Catalog

Now Lightroom is a very straightforward program but to use it properly you must rethink your entire workflow from initial capture all the way to final output. To really get your money’s worth, you need to rethink every step in your photographic routine and look for inefficiencies. We want to think everything through and setup ourselves up for long-term success from day one with Lightroom.

I have come to the conclusion that you want to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom with external hard drives from day one. I have reached this conclusion both from personal experience as a professional photographer and from my years of experience as an Adobe Certified Expert teaching this software program. In my opinion, storing both your digital images and your Lightroom index on an external hard drive is the best way to get long-term value out of this program. If you need the additional background information then please click here for more on why Lightroom is best used with external drives and then click here for more information on my favorite external disks.

This video tutorial is all about our initial Lightroom setup. In this movie, I start from square one by formatting a brand new external hard drive and then forcing Lightroom to put my Catalog, the index of my photography, onto this external disk. This is the very first lesson that I teach in my professional workshops and one that I am totally convinced is worth the extra effort for long-term Lightroom happiness.

Lightroom 3 Setup and Catalog Creation from David Marx on Vimeo.

After you have absorbed this tutorial, I urge you to click here for my tutorial on the Preference Menus which are the next critical steps in the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 setup process.

An astute reader pointed out my failure to stress the importance of backing up your external drive in the first version of this post. Apologies, let me make it clear that I use one hard drive for my images and my Lightroom Catalog. This hard drive is automatically backed up to another drive every day.

All hard drives will fail sooner or later. Do not put all your eggs in one basket. BACK EVERYTHING UP!

I really like the ASMP’s Dpbestflow.org 3-2-1 backup rule: Always keep 3 copies of any photo on 2 different types of media with 1 copy stored off-site. For more advice on protecting your images please read these posts:

• My Photo Storage System: Two External Hard Drives
• Archives and Backup Copies
• Backing up Windows Computers with Acronis True Image Home-
• Backing Up a Mac with Carbon Copy Cloner

]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/getting-started-right-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-setup-and-catalog-creation/feed/ 25 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/getting-started-right-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-setup-and-catalog-creation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=getting-started-right-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-setup-and-catalog-creation http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/YSaQiRDSpPY/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/five-new-features-of-lightroom-3-for-professional-photographers/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:00:26 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3347 This video tutorial is a quick overview of my five favorite new features in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 for the professional photographer. This video highlights: improvements to the import dialog, the new IPTC Extension metadata fields, the improved sharpening and noise reduction algorithms, and the incredible new lens correction tool. The video concludes with a quick demo of the new Publish Services feature.

This video tutorial is a quick overview of my five favorite new features in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 for the professional photographer. This video highlights: improvements to the import dialog, the new IPTC Extension metadata fields, the improved sharpening and noise reduction algorithms, and the incredible new lens correction tool. The video concludes with a quick demo of the new Publish Services feature.

Five New Features of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 for Professional Photographers from David Marx on Vimeo.

More videos to come on each of these, and dozens of other new features…..


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/five-new-features-of-lightroom-3-for-professional-photographers/feed/ 4 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/five-new-features-of-lightroom-3-for-professional-photographers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=five-new-features-of-lightroom-3-for-professional-photographers http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/_6gEHQIm1A0/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/getting-started-the-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-view-options-menu-and-library-view-toolbar-customization/#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 06:43:51 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3355 I released a whole bunch of tutorials recently on crucial parts of the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 setup process. The videos in this post are not nearly as important as the ones on building your catalog on an external hard drive or the ones on the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Preferences Menus. Still, setting the View Options Menu up right and customizing the Library Module's Tool Bar is a big help when you are new to the program.

I released a whole bunch of tutorials recently on crucial parts of the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 setup process. The videos in this post are not nearly as important as the ones on building your catalog on an external hard drive or the ones on the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Preferences Menus. Still, setting the View Options Menu up right and customizing the Library Module’s Tool Bar is a big help when you are new to the program.

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 View Options Menu from David Marx on Vimeo.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Tool Bar Customization from David Marx on Vimeo.


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/getting-started-the-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-view-options-menu-and-library-view-toolbar-customization/feed/ 1 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/getting-started-the-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-view-options-menu-and-library-view-toolbar-customization/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=getting-started-the-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-view-options-menu-and-library-view-toolbar-customization http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/dXTdpzi7knQ/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/amazon-prime-is-it-worth-it/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:45:34 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3309 Do you frequent Amazon.com? If so have you considered an Amazon Prime membership? Thanks to Amazon Prime, it is often cheaper and easier for me to have supplies delivered then it is to drive all across this big state looking for photography / computer equipment. If you are already a frequent Amazon customer, or if you live way out in the country like I do, check this service out.

Do you frequent Amazon.com? If so have you considered anAmazon Prime membership? No, this is not a credit card offer and I am not a paid endorser.

Here is my story. Two years ago I got pulled into the Amazon Prime program when they offered me the chance to try it out for a month for free. I never thought that I would wind up joining this program much less loving it. My plan was to try Amazon Prime for a few weeks and then to close my trial account before they charged me the $79 annual membership fee.

After the first month though I didn’t close the account as originally planned. I was hooked. In exchange for my annual fee I get free two-day shipping on most of the items that Amazon stocks. We are talking millions of items here: books, music, photography equipment, even groceries! I can get all of these items in two business days with no additional shipping fees.

Free second day shipping is great but if I am really in a rush I can upgrade to next business day delivery for just $3.99 per item! Yup, $3.99 per item with no minimum order.

Is this a good deal for everyone? Absolutely not. If you don’t shop at Amazon frequently then this is definitely a waste of your money. It is also worth noting here that the Prime shipping discount only applies to the items that Amazon itself sells. The shipping discount does not apply to all of the items that you can find from other retailers who are taping into Amazon’s search engine. Is this a major concern? Not for me, but it is worth knowing up-front.

For me, the discounted shipping has greatly exceeded the annual fee and the ease of ordering / huge selection saves a lot of running around town. A gallon of gas is my area is running about $2.85 per gallon right now. Life in Montana often means long drives to get camera equipment, computer software, external hard drives, and photography books. As fuel prices have skyrocketed, I find myself using my Prime delivery discount more and more. Thanks to Amazon Prime, it is often cheaper and easier for me to have supplies delivered then it is to drive all across this big state looking for photography / computer equipment. If you are already a frequent Amazon customer, or if you live way out in the country like I do, check this service out.


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/amazon-prime-is-it-worth-it/feed/ 4 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/06/amazon-prime-is-it-worth-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=amazon-prime-is-it-worth-it http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/QhfvE5fAPaI/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/whats-new-in-cs5-a-series-of-ten-enlightening-video-tutorials/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 15:07:34 +0000 Scott Rouse http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3285 Join Photoshop luminary Mark S. Johnson from May 13 through May 22 as he introduces Photoshop CS5's most interesting and useful new features.



Join Photoshop luminary Mark S. Johnson from May 13 through May 22 as he introduces Photoshop CS5′s most interesting and useful new features. Each day’s tutorial will examine one of CS5′s remarkable additions.

To view the tutorials, visit www.msjphotography.com.

To download the entire ten tutorial series for $9.95, go to www.msjphotography.com/index.php/bookstore/whats-new-in-photoshop-cs5.

Tutorial Schedule:

• Thursday, May 13 – Content-Aware Fill and Heal
  Learn secrets for retouching with Content-Aware Fill and Content-Aware Spot Healing.
• Friday, May 14 – Refine Edge Refinements
  Discover how to use the Refine Edge (Refine Mask) dialog in a compositing workflow, while exploring the dialog’s new Edge Detection, Smart Radius, Refine Radius, Erase Refinements, Decontaminate Colors, and Output To features.
• Saturday, May 15 – Tools Enhancements
  Take a journey into CS5′s tools enhancements, including a Crop tool Rule of Thirds overlay, a straightforward Straighten button, a scrubby Zoom tool, a Neutral Density Gradient preset, and several others.
• Sunday, May 16 – Camera Raw Improvements
  Take a look at Adobe Camera Raw 6.0′s new features, including 2010 Processing, vastly improved Noise Reduction, Add Grain, and two significantly improved styles of Post Crop Vignetting.
• Monday, May 17 – Automated Lens Correction
  Learn how to use the Lens Correction Auto Correction panel to search by lens criteria and automatically remove geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting.
• Tuesday, May 18 – Layers Enhancements
  Take a peek at several new and improved layers features, including Paste in Place, drag-and-drop smart object layering, Layer Styles defaults, and many others.
• Wednesday, May 19 – Puppet Warp
  Discover secrets for realistically warping parts of a subject using Puppet Warp’s remarkable (almost sci-fi) features.
• Thursday, May 20 – A Giant Leap for HDR
  Take a look at the revamped Merge to HDR Pro feature and the new single image HDR Toning dialog, including HDR presets, ghost removal, and a powerful new slider-based interface.
• Friday, May 21 – Bridge Enhancements
  Explore improvements to the Batch Rename dialog and learn how to watermark in the Output module.
• Saturday, May 22 – Painting on a Photograph with the Mixer Brush
  Learn secrets for using CS5′s Mixer and Bristle brushes to realistically blend paints with colors in a photograph.

Here at TheLightroomLab.com, we’ve been happy to promote Mark S. Johnson’s work in the past, and this is no exception. Mark, in addition to being an all-around fantastic human being, is an incredibly patient and thorough instructor…both in person and on video. I highly recommend that you check out this video series. I’m convinced that you’ll happily spend the ten bucks to own it for yourself!


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/whats-new-in-cs5-a-series-of-ten-enlightening-video-tutorials/feed/ 1 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/whats-new-in-cs5-a-series-of-ten-enlightening-video-tutorials/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whats-new-in-cs5-a-series-of-ten-enlightening-video-tutorials http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/3V3YDOG2nXI/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/what-software-should-i-add-to-a-new-mac-for-photography/#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 13:11:21 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3260 We photographers need to buy some additional software to get a brand new Mac up and running. This article is about the software that I think a new Apple computer needs for professional-grade digital imaging, word-processing, and everyday use. Click here to read more....

We photographers need to buy some additional software to get a brand new Mac up and running. For us sadly iPhoto, which is built into every Apple computer, is not powerful enough to deal with the size and complexity of the modern digital camera raw file. Apple would like me to push Aperture 3 which is their professional image library and Raw file conversion software here. [In the interest of full-disclosure I must admit that I do get a small commission for the banner ads and hyperlinks that lead traffic from my site to the Apple Online Store, but I am not a paid endorser of anyone's products.] I think that there are some really cool features to Aperture, like its visual GPS photo mapping display, but I have chosen to make its rival Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 my main photo-editing and organizing program.

Lightroom is my software of choice because I need to teach and work with both Mac and PC audiences. Lightroom is great and I use it for 90% of my daily photographic work but it has limits. For serious retouching, local corrections, and multiple image composites nothing beats Adobe Photoshop CS5. Photoshop is an expensive and complicated program, but it is the most powerful image enhancement tool on the planet. I wish this was all a new computer needs but working on images is only a small part of my everyday computing needs.

Teaching classes and running a photography business means spending a lot of time writing documents and doing everyday office tasks. There are a couple of options to consider while shopping for word-processing and office type software for a new Mac.



Option #1: Microsoft Office for Mac. Microsoft Office is the biggest fish in the pond and the Mac version includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Entourage. Entourage is the equivalent to Microsoft Outlook on the PC. If you are used to using Microsoft Office software in the PC world, or if you need to share lots of documents with PC users, then this maybe essential software to add to your new Mac. Personally, I have always found Word frustrating and am much happier using iWork which is the far less expensive Apple equivalent.





Option #2: iWork ’09. I like iWork’s word processing application, Pages, far better than Microsoft Word. It is much easier to use and far less cluttered. In my opinion, each version of Microsoft Word just seems to get increasingly bloated with useless features yet it’s basic problems never seem to go away. Pages can both read and write into Word’s “.doc” document format. This means that if someone gives me a Word document that I can open it into Pages, work on it, and then export a copy back out for them as a Word doc. The compatibility with Word is there, but the export routine is a little roundabout. For creating presentations, I think that Keynote is far more intuitive then Microsoft Powerpoint. I use Keynote for all of my lectures and presentations. This is a great program for photographer’s who need to put together a lecture or arrange an elegant slideshow.



The one place where I think the PC software world still has a solid leg up on the Mac is in bookkeeping. It pains me to say this, but QuickBooks Pro 2010 is an essential tool of my business and the Quickbooks version for Mac is definitely not recommended. To get around this hurdle I run a copy Windows in a virtualization shell inside my Mac using VMware Fusion 3. There are strong competitors to Fusion out there and there is always the Boot Camp option but I am hesitant to recommend any of these solutions to anyone who does not have a very strong background in computing. Running Windows inside a Mac is not for everyone and tech support for this sort of setup is nonexistent. If accounting software is important for your business then you might consider also getting an old junk PC and using it just for accounting.

These are the essentials but there are a half dozen other pieces of software that I just love. Most of these programs are either free, or very inexpensive, and all of them fill a vital need in my work day. I suggest adding:

• A better backup program like Carbon Copy Cloner to any Mac.
• A better web browser like Mozilla Firefox.
• Adobe Acrobat which is the world’s standard for reading .pdf documents.
• A password management program like 1Password.
• Google Earth so you can scout places to shoot without leaving home!
• Drive Genius 3 so you can regularly defragment and optimize your hard drives.
• Cyberduck for FTP file transfers.
• Skype for Business for incredibly inexpensive voice and chat communication.

I hope this helps you get the most out of your new Mac and if you have suggestions for other essential programs please post them in the comments section!


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/what-software-should-i-add-to-a-new-mac-for-photography/feed/ 6 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/what-software-should-i-add-to-a-new-mac-for-photography/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-software-should-i-add-to-a-new-mac-for-photography http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/BSGn2n_rJJ0/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/adobe-photoshop-cs5-new-feature-highlights-for-photographers-part-i/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 04:24:48 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3251 Adobe Photoshop CS5 is out now and many of our readers would like to know which features of the new version are going to be useful for photographers. Top's on my list of highlights though has got to be the new processing algorithms in Adobe Camera Raw 6. With the new code inside of Camera Raw, and soon in Lightroom 3, my images look better than they ever have before....

Adobe Photoshop CS5 is out now and many of our readers would like to know which features of the new version are going to be useful for photographers. I’ve been messing with the beta version for a few months now but still feel like I have barely scratched the surface of all that’s new and improved. Top’s on my list of highlights though has got to be the new processing algorithms in Adobe Camera Raw 6.

With the new code inside of Camera Raw, and soon in Lightroom 3, my images look better than they ever have before. The new code is just amazing especially when you see the same image using the new code and the old process version side-by-side. Thanks to the new raw processing routines, my images look cleaner and sharper yet I am still working with the speed and flexibility of a raw file.

On top of these improvements we can now fix problems like chromatic aberration and geometric distortion without ever leaving Lightroom or Camera Raw through the new lens correction feature. This is going to be a huge timesaver for photographers. This new tool is going to vastly improve the quality of my photographs particularly those shot with wide-angle lenses where the geometric distortion is most noticeable.

Next on my list of favorite new features has got to be the revamped “Refine Edge” / “Refine Mask” toolset. I’ve been teaching Photoshop and Lightroom for eight years and yet there are still times when I still struggle to create the perfect mask! There are certain subjects, like hair or feathers, that are traditional a beast to mask. Traditionally masking things that are soft, irregular shaped, and partially translucent is a nightmare. Making the perfect selection around a blonde haired child against a colorful background would have taken hours in CS4 but now this sort of work is going to be much easier.

Would you like to see these features and more in action? If so then please play these videos tutorials.

Bryan O’Neil Hughes video on the new Lens Correction features

Terry White’s favorite new features for photographers and designers

Russell Brown’s five favorite new features for all types of creative visual artists

Ready to learn more about these new features? Check out the Adobe Photoshop CS5 learning center from NAPP and consider joining this awesome educational organization.



P.S. Adobe is currently offering free shipping for Photoshop CS5 orders placed through their online store. This free shipping offer expires on May 31, 2010 so don’t wait too long.




]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/adobe-photoshop-cs5-new-feature-highlights-for-photographers-part-i/feed/ 2 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/05/adobe-photoshop-cs5-new-feature-highlights-for-photographers-part-i/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=adobe-photoshop-cs5-new-feature-highlights-for-photographers-part-i http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/w7_A84QJmM8/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/adobe-creative-suite-5-now-available/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:52:37 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3235 Adobe Creative Suite 5, and all its parts including Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, are now available. Adobe is even offering free shipping on Adobe CS5 Suites and on Photoshop for a limited time. Read on for more details.

Adobe Creative Suite 5, and all its parts including Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, are now available. Happy new toys day to all of us visual artists!

Adobe is currently offering free shipping for orders placed through their online store. This free shipping offer expires on May 31, 2010 so don’t wait too long.

I am downloading the 30-day trial version right now even though I already ordered the latest version of Photoshop and the Adobe Production Premium CS5 video suite two weeks ago. If the past is any guide, the copy that I ordered on disk should arrive long before the 30-day trial runs out. Once it gets here all that I will have to do is to key in my new serial number and my version of the free trial will become fully licensed!

Ready to learn about all the new features? Check out the Adobe Photoshop CS5 learning center from NAPP.




]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/adobe-creative-suite-5-now-available/feed/ 4 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/adobe-creative-suite-5-now-available/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=adobe-creative-suite-5-now-available http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/getJlvlTVyA/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/lightroom-3-lens-correction-sneak-peak/#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:30:41 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3231 Adobe Project manager Tom Hogarty recently released this video which shows off the fantastic new Lens Corrections tool that will ship with Adobe Camera Raw 6 and Lightroom 3. I have been messing around with this feature in the private Lightroom 3 beta for a few weeks and I am amazed at how much better some of my old photos look. Check it out!

Adobe Project manager Tom Hogarty recently released this video which shows off the fantastic new Lens Corrections tool that will ship with Adobe Camera Raw 6 and Lightroom 3. I have been messing around with this feature in the private Lightroom 3 beta for a few weeks and I am amazed at how much better some of my old photos look. Check it out!


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/lightroom-3-lens-correction-sneak-peak/feed/ 4 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/lightroom-3-lens-correction-sneak-peak/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lightroom-3-lens-correction-sneak-peak http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/MAEA61Snr3g/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/my-camera-equipment-digital-slr-advice-from-david-marx-2010/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:44:51 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3213 This article is all about the photography equipment that I use professionally. Among photographers there is no easier conversation starter then the question "what camera do you use?" For some reason, we photographers are obsessed with our camera bodies. I currently own two Canon bodies. Click here to read more about what I use and what photographic equipment I recommend.



This article is all about the photography equipment that I use professionally. Although some of this material is brand specific, I hope that there is some good advice in here for any serious digital photographer.

I make my living teaching digital photography, and in the winter I love to shoot sports: particularly skiing and snowboarding. I need durable, portable equipment that I ski around with everyday. As a professional photographer, I usually carry just one lens and one camera body. I carry whatever I am going to use for the day in either a LowePro Off Trail 2 hip sack or a waterproof Pelican Case. For true camera protection, noting beats a Pelican box, but they are awkward to lug around!

Advice on Camera Bodies

Among photographers, there is no easier conversation starter then the question “what camera do you use?” For some reason, we photographers are obsessed with our camera bodies. I currently own two Canon bodies; a Canon EOS 7D for everyday use and an old beater that I converted for black and white infrared capture only. I shoot Canon because this is the system that I knew back in the film days. If I could start all over, I might stick with Canon but I truly believe that there are phenomenal camera bodies on the market right now from Nikon (Nikon D3x, Nikon D3S, and Nikon D700) and from Olympus. There are great bodies from all these brands but since I have been using Canon’s system for such a long time this is the one place where I feel qualified to give detailed advice on all of their current DSLR models.

If money were no object, I would love to have a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. I loved my 1D-Mark II and 1D-Mark III bodies. These are top of the line equipment and they are built like a tank! Yes, these are very heavy cameras, but for the professional level sports / action photographer they are a solid investment that will hold their value for many years. When I sold my perfectly good Mark III last fall I considered putting the money into a new Mark IV, but could not justify the difference in price over the Canon EOS 7D.

For my needs, the Canon 7D is the perfect mix of professional image quality at an affordable price. I love this camera’s 100% viewfinder, its image quality, and the electronic bubble level feature is cool. The sensor in the 7D is definitely not as good as the sensor in the 1D Mark IV, or the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The Mark IV and the 5D Mark II definitely take cleaner pictures, with more useable detail especially at higher ISO settings, than the 7D. Still, the 7D’s image quality is more than adequate for my professional needs and it is a whole lot less expensive.

This is the camera body that I recommend for any serious photographer unless you are making a living shooting only landscapes, studio product images, or architecture. If products, or architecture, are your market niche then I would definitely pick a Mark IV, a 5D Mark II or a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III over the 7D. For these types of photography, a full-frame sensor is essential, but for a sports shooter like me the Canon 5D Mark II is painful slow and the Mark IV is just out of my price range.

For those on a really limited budget, I recommend the Canon T2i / 550D. This camera has a lot of the features that I love in my 7D though its controls and ergonomics are not nearly as good. Still, for under $1000 its image quality is excellent. Ironically, its sensor far exceeds the quality of the “kit lens” that Canon usually bundles with the body. To get your money’s worth out of this, or any of the other camera bodies that I recommend, you need to invest in a very good lens.

Advice on Lenses

Digital SLR camera sensors can record amazing levels of detail with today’s technology. Unfortunately this is double-edge sword. When everything is right, our photos look amazing. Sadly though if you put a low quality lens in front of a great sensor then you get lousy photos. The image quality suffers because the sensor will record every flaw that the lens creates. Low-grade lenses are prone to soft spots and create a lot more chromatic aberration.

My advice is to get the best lens that you can possible afford. I would rather have just one great lens then a bag full of mediocre choices. Trust me, every year I teach hundreds of photographers and I lead dozens of classes. If you are just starting out, then I urge you to buy just one good lens!

As a professional photographer, I can build powerful images with just one lens. I may have to move my feet a lot more but the photos that I create will be winners. With cheap glass though, I am just going to get frustrated and create more work for myself when I get home. Instead of getting it right in the field, I am going to waste a lot of time in Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, repairing the flaws that were created by the low quality lens the moment I clicked the shutter. Start with just one great lens and learn to use only this lens for at least three months. If I were you, I would not buy another lens until a job, or event, comes along that is clearly beyond your current equipment’s capabilities. Even then I would consider renting gear from a company like www.borrowlenses.com before purchasing more glass.

Still you have to start with something on your camera. Starting out, I would put my money into high-quality “wide to telephoto” zoom lens. In the Canon product line, the best lenses are marked with an “L.” For Canon users the “L rating means the best glass and the first one that I would buy is the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens. This is my favorite lens for everyday photography and it is the one that I use ninety-five percent of the time. For wide angle work, my top choice is the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens. I love the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM for telephoto work though I carry around the smaller, lighter, and not quite as sharp Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens most of the time. I love the 70-200mm, but it is just a little too big for the waist pack that I wear when I am skiing. Again though, my advice is start with just one lens and add others only when you need them.

I hope you found this helpful. For more advice on digital cameras please visit:

• www.dpreview.com
• www.steves-digicams.com
• Lens Advice from Neil Chaput owner of the Rocky Mountain School of Photography

Always remember that these are just tools. They don’t make art for us. Buy what you need but never forget that a talented artist does not need a huge bag of expensive toys to create great work.

__
P.S. This article, and most of my posts, are peppered with hyperlinks to products from retailers like Amazon.com and B&H Photo Video. If you use any of these links to make a purchase then we get a tiny reward as a “click-through revenue affiliate.” I have no problem with this since I am not a paid endorse any item and I truly use every item that I recommend in this article. I too buy my gear on the retail market and I support these merchants.

If I could, though, I would gladly fill this article up with hyperlinks for Stephen Neal, owner of Neal’s Photo in Philipsburg, Montana. Unfortunately Steve doesn’t have a website yet. This is a small-town one-man country camera shop. This is a reliable business though where the guy who answers the phone is the owner and sole employee! Neal’s is not a major corporate player, but he is a Canon, Epson, Lowepro, etc. dealer. His business may be small but his prices are fantastic and he has never let me down. if you are shopping for equipment then I urge you to give Neal’s Photo a call first at 1-800-859-3855 or 406-859-3855.


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/my-camera-equipment-digital-slr-advice-from-david-marx-2010/feed/ 1 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/my-camera-equipment-digital-slr-advice-from-david-marx-2010/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-camera-equipment-digital-slr-advice-from-david-marx-2010 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/Ve30z1xglPk/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/lightroom-2-7-and-adobe-camera-raw-5-7-now-available/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:47:15 +0000 Scott Rouse http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3009 The free update to Lightroom 2, version 2.7, is now available from Adobe. To install the update, go to your <em>Help</em> menu in Lightroom and choose <em>Check for Updates…</em>



Adobe has released Lightroom version 2.7. This is a free update for users of Lightroom 2.

To install the Lightroom update, choose Check for Updates… from the Help menu in Lightroom 2. The program will walk you through the installation from there. Optionally, you can download the update directly from Adobe.

No database update is needed when upgrading from version 2.6, but as with any upgrade or installation, make sure you’ve backed up your catalog before proceeding.

Keep in mind, this update is for users of Lightroom 2. If you’re still using Lightroom 1, you can click here to purchase an upgrade. It’s well worth it. Here’s an article that highlights some of the new features in Lightroom 2. Here’s an article on upgrading from Lightroom 1 to Lightroom 2.

Release Notes

Here are the release notes from Adobe:

Bugs – Fixed

• Lightroom 2.7 fixes a slideshow playback bug on Windows could cause Lightroom and/or the computer to crash.
• Lightroom 2.7 camera raw cache limit has been raised to 200GB.

Camera Support

Newly supported camera models include:

• Canon EOS 550D (Digital Rebel T2i/ EOS Kiss X4 Digital)
• Kodak Z981
• Leaf Aptus-II 8
• Mamiya DM40
• Olympus E-PL1
• Panasonic G2
• Panasonic G10
• Sony A450

Working with Lightroom 2 and Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw

Lightroom and Photoshop Camera Raw share the same image processing technology to ensure consistent and compatible results across applications that support raw processing. These applications include Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements 7.0 and Premiere Elements 7.0.

Photoshop Camera Raw 5.7

Adobe applications must be updated with the Camera Raw 5.7 plug-in in order to ensure compatibility with Lightroom 2 develop module settings and Photoshop integration features. Photoshop CS4 users can update the Camera Raw plug-in automatically using the Update tool listed under the Help menu. The Camera Raw 5.7 plug-in can also be downloaded and installed manually by visiting the Adobe web site: www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html. Please follow the installation instructions carefully.

Sharing Lightroom Settings with Camera Raw 5.7

By default, Lightroom’s develop module settings are stored in Lightroom’s database. In order to ensure that Lightroom develop settings can be viewed by Camera Raw 5.7 the settings must be written to the XMP metadata block for that file. This metadata is stored in an XMP sidecar file (Imagename.xmp) in the current image directory of proprietary raw files or stored directly within DNG files. To update images with the latest develop settings, choose the library module and select the group of target images. Choose the shortcut Command(Ctrl) + S to save the settings to the XMP metadata block.

[More information about this can be found here.]

Viewing Lightroom settings in Camera Raw 5.7

Before working in conjunction with Lightroom and Camera Raw please set the Camera Raw preference to: Save image settings in: Sidecar “.xmp” files. By default Camera Raw will display the image adjustments exactly as performed in Lightroom’s develop module.

Viewing Camera Raw settings in Lightroom

Raw files edited by previous versions of Camera Raw will maintain their previous appearance when imported into Lightroom. Note: Those files must have been edited with the preference set to Save image settings in: Sidecar “.xmp” files in order for Lightroom to respect the previous edit. Files edited in Camera Raw after importation into Lightroom can be updated in Lightroom by choosing the “Read Metadata from Files ” from the Metadata file menu. Note: This menu option is only available in the Lightroom Library.

Additional Notes on Camera Raw and Lightroom

• Camera Raw will only read the current settings for the primary image in the Lightroom Library. Virtual Copy adjustments will not be displayed or available in Camera Raw 5.7.

A PDF version of the release notes for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.7 is available by clicking here.

Your Thoughts?

Once you install these updates, please let us know in the comments if you see any improvements or issues. Thanks.


]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/lightroom-2-7-and-adobe-camera-raw-5-7-now-available/feed/ 1 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/lightroom-2-7-and-adobe-camera-raw-5-7-now-available/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lightroom-2-7-and-adobe-camera-raw-5-7-now-available http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/neLG_MYy6vw/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-17-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:21:22 +0000 Scott Rouse http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3143 The 17-inch MacBook Pro is a great desktop replacement. When I see a 17-inch model after staring for hours at my 15-inch Mac, I feel like I'm watching a movie in a theatre! I kid, of course, but the 17-inch display is strikingly large for a laptop. That large display comes at a price, of course. Weight. A full pound (0.45 kg) heavier than the 15-inch MacBook Pro, the 17-inch model also calls for a non-standard carrying case in most circumstances.



Apple announced updates to its professional line of MacBook Pro laptops. In a series of four articles, I’m introducing the overall changes and providing detailed information on each of the three main laptops in the MacBook Pro lineup. Click the links below to skip to a specific article:

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates.
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. (You’re already here!)

Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro Review

The 17-inch MacBook Pro is a great desktop replacement. When I see a 17-inch model after staring for hours at my 15-inch Mac, I feel like I’m watching a movie in a theatre! I kid, of course, but the 17-inch display is strikingly large for a laptop. That large display comes at a price, of course. Weight. A full pound (0.45 kg) heavier than the 15-inch MacBook Pro, the 17-inch model also calls for a non-standard carrying case in most circumstances.

It’s a bit much for me to carry around. If you’re up to the task, however, I’ll still give you the thumbs up when I see you in Starbucks.

Technical Specifications

Size and Weight



Height

0.98 inch (2.50 cm)

Width

15.47 inches (39.3 cm)

Depth

10.51 inches (26.7 cm)

Weight

6.6 pounds (2.99 kg)

Connections and Expansion

• MagSafe power port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
• Mini DisplayPort
• Three USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
• Audio line in
• Audio line out
• ExpressCard/34 slot
• Kensington lock slot


17-inch MacBook Pro Connections and Expansion - Click for larger image.

Communications

• AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking2 (based on IEEE 802.11n specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology
• 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Audio

• Stereo speakers with subwoofers
• Omnidirectional microphone (located under left speaker grille)
• Audio line in minijack (digital/analog)
• Audio line out/headphone minijack (digital/analog)
• Support for Apple iPhone headset with microphone

Display

• 17-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
• Supported resolutions: 1920 by 1200 (native), 1680 by 1050, 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, 1024 by 640, and 800 by 500 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1280 by 1024 pixels at 5:4 aspect ratio; 1280 by 1024 pixels at 5:4 aspect ratio stretched; 1600 by 1200, 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 1600 by 1200, 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio stretched; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio stretched


17-inch MacBook Pro with glossy widescreen display - Click for larger image.

Graphics and Video Support

• NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory
• Intel HD Graphics with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
• Automatic graphics switching
• Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
• iSight camera
• Mini DisplayPort

Input

• Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement)
• Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities


17-inch MacBook Pro Keyboard and Trackpad - Click for larger image.

Processor and Memory

• 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 3MB shared L3 cache; or optional 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache
• 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB

Storage

• 500GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 500GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB solid-state drive
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Maximum write: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW
• Maximum read: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD


17-inch MacBook Pro SuperDrive - Click for larger image.

Battery and Power

• Up to 8-9 hours of battery run time
• Built-in 95-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 85W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system
• MagSafe power port

17-inch MacBook Pro Configuration Options

The 17-inch MacBook Pro comes in one standard base configuration:

• 15-inch: 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 Processor with a 500GB Hard Drive and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB – $2,299

This model comes standard with 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB modules) but all MacBook Pro models support up to 8GB of RAM.

Upgradable hardware options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include:

• 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 [Add $200.00]
• 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm [Add $50.00] *In my opinion, this is well worth the upgrade price. This is the drive you want.
• 128GB Solid State Drive [Add $200.00]
• 256GB Solid State Drive [Add $650.00]
• 512GB Solid State Drive [Add $1,300.00]



Follow the links below to read other MacBook Pro reviews:

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates.
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. (You’re already here!)

]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-17-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/feed/ 7 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-17-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=apple-17-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/-qPTV3J3_DI/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-15-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:21:03 +0000 Scott Rouse http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3128 The 15-inch MacBook Pro is <strong>my pick for the perfect computer</strong>. It's the computer that I personally use 95% of the time. It's robust, easy-to-carry, fast, and a bit sexy.



Apple announced updates to its professional line of MacBook Pro laptops. In a series of four articles, I’m introducing the overall changes and providing detailed information on each of the three main laptops in the MacBook Pro lineup. Click the links below to skip to a specific article:

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates.
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. (You’re already here!)
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro Review

The 15-inch MacBook Pro is my pick for the perfect computer. It’s the computer that I personally use 95% of the time. It’s robust, easy-to-carry, fast, and a bit sexy.

Technical Specifications

Size and Weight



Height

0.95 inch (2.41 cm)

Width

14.35 inches (36.4 cm)

Depth

9.82 inches (24.9 cm)

Weight

5.6 pounds (2.54 kg)

Connections and Expansion

• MagSafe power port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
• Mini DisplayPort
• Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
• SD card slot
• Audio line in
• Audio line out
• Kensington lock slot


15-inch MacBook Pro Connections and Expansion - Click for larger image.

Communications

• AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking2 (based on IEEE 802.11n specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology
• 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Audio

• Stereo speakers with subwoofers
• Omnidirectional microphone (located under left speaker grille)
• Audio line in minijack (digital/analog)
• Audio line out/headphone minijack (digital/analog)
• Support for Apple iPhone headset with microphone

Display

• 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
• Supported resolutions: 1440 by 900 (native), 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, 1024 by 640, and 800 by 500 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio stretched; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio stretched
• Optional 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen display with 1680 by 1050 pixels (glossy or antiglare)


15-inch MacBook Pro with glossy widescreen display - Click for larger image.

Graphics and Video Support

• NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz configurations; or 512MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.66GHz configuration
• Intel HD Graphics with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
• Automatic graphics switching
• Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
• iSight camera
• Mini DisplayPort

Input

• Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement)
• Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities


15-inch MacBook Pro Keyboard and Trackpad - Click for larger image.

Processor and Memory

• 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 3MB shared L3 cache; or 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache
• 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB

Storage

• 320GB or 500GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 500GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB solid-state drive
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Maximum write: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW
• Maximum read: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD


15-inch MacBook Pro SuperDrive - Click for larger image.

Battery and Power

• Up to 8-9 hours of battery run time
• Built-in 77.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 85W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system
• MagSafe power port

15-inch MacBook Pro Configuration Options

The 15-inch MacBook Pro comes in three base configurations:

• 15-inch: 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 Processor with a 320GB Hard Drive and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB – $1,799
• 15-inch: 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 Processor with a 500GB Hard Drive and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB – $1,999
• 15-inch: 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 Processor with a 500GB Hard Drive and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB – $2,199

All three models come standard with 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB modules) but all MacBook Pro models support up to 8GB of RAM.

Although these MacBook Pros come standard with either a 320 GB or 500 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive, there are upgradable options. The upgrade prices vary depending on the model you are upgrading. Options include:

• 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm *In my opinion, this is well worth the upgrade price. This is the drive you want.
• 128GB solid-state drive
• 256GB solid-state drive
• 512GB solid-state drive



Follow the links below to read other MacBook Pro reviews:

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates.
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. (You’re already here!)
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-15-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/feed/ 7 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-15-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=apple-15-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/8oIj2IfzryY/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-13-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:20:47 +0000 Scott Rouse http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3123 The 13-inch MacBook Pro is a well-performing candidate for great photography computer. The display is smaller than I like, but I recommend the use of external displays with laptops when you're in a relatively controlled environment such as your office or studio. It certainly doesn't have all the bells and whistles of it's larger siblings, but it's a great contender. This machine will perform well for you. Just plan on adding some screen real-estate for those pixel-hogging applications such as Lightroom.



Apple announced updates to its professional line of MacBook Pro laptops. In a series of four articles, I’m introducing the overall changes and providing detailed information on each of the three main laptops in the MacBook Pro lineup. Click the links below to skip to a specific article:

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates.
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. (You’re already here!)
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro Review

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is a well-performing candidate for great photography computer. The display is smaller than I like, but I recommend the use of external displays with laptops when you’re in a relatively controlled environment such as your office or studio. It certainly doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of it’s larger siblings, but it’s a great contender. This machine will perform well for you. Just plan on adding some screen real-estate for those pixel-hogging applications such as Lightroom.

Technical Specifications

Size and Weight



Height

0.95 inch (2.41 cm)

Width

12.78 inches (32.5 cm)

Depth

8.94 inches (22.7 cm)

Weight

4.5 pounds (2.04 kg)

Connections and Expansion

• MagSafe power port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
• Mini DisplayPort
• Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
• SD card slot
• Audio in/out
• Kensington lock slot


13-inch MacBook Pro Connections and Expansion - Click for larger image.

Communications

• AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking2 (based on IEEE 802.11n specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology
• 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Audio

• Stereo speakers with subwoofers
• Omnidirectional microphone
• Combined headphone/line in (supports digital output)
• Support for Apple iPhone headset with microphone

Display

• 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
• Supported resolutions: 1280 by 800 (native), 1152 by 720, 1024 by 640, and 800 by 500 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio stretched; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio stretched


13-inch MacBook Pro with glossy widescreen display - Click for larger image.

Graphics and Video Support

• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
• Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
• iSight camera
• Mini DisplayPort

Input

• Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement)
• Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities


13-inch MacBook Pro Keyboard and Trackpad - Click for larger image.

Processor and Memory

• 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache
• 1066MHz frontside bus
• 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB

Storage

• 250GB or 320GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 320GB or 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive, or 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB solid-state drive
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Maximum write: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW
• Maximum read: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD


13-inch MacBook Pro SuperDrive - Click for larger image.

Battery and Power

• Up to 10 hours of battery run time
• Built-in 63.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 60W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system
• MagSafe power port

13-inch MacBook Pro Configuration Options

The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes in two base configurations:

• 13-inch: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with a 250GB Hard Drive – $1,199
• 13-inch: 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with a 320GB Hard Drive – $1,499

Both models come standard with 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB modules) but all MacBook Pro models support up to 8GB of RAM.

This MacBook Pro comes standard with a 320 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive. Other options include:

• 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm [Add $100.00]
• 128GB solid-state drive [Add $300.00]
• 256GB solid-state drive [Add $750.00]
• 512GB solid-state drive [Add $1,400.00]



Follow the links below to read other MacBook Pro reviews:

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates.
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. (You’re already here!)
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-13-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/feed/ 30 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-13-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=apple-13-inch-macbook-pro-the-ultimate-guide http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/es8lNchoR_c/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-updates-macbook-pro-laptop-line/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:20:35 +0000 Scott Rouse http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3092 Apple has announced significant performance updates to its professional-grade MacBook Pro laptops. The 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pros all received performance updates to varying degrees. Read this article for an overview of the updates, as well as links to detailed reviews and specifications for each of the three main MacBook Pro models.



Apple has announced significant performance updates to its professional-grade MacBook Pro laptops. The 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros received updates including:

• New Core i5 and Core i7 processors
• Next-generation NVIDIA graphics
• Up to 10 hours of battery life
• Available higher-resolution display

The smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro received a minor processor speed bump (without the new Intel Core i5 or i7 technology) and a graphics card update.



Apple has updated its MacBook Pro line of laptop computers. The 13-inch model starts at $1199, the 15-inch at $1799, and the 17-inch at $2299.

MacBook Pro Computers for Photographers

It’s no secret that I believe Macs are the best computers for photographers…and just about anyone else, for that matter. I won’t get into a heated debate, although you are, of course, welcome to express your contradictory opinion (or offer your resounding support) in a G-rated and neighborly manner in the comments below. Mac just work for me. They’ve just worked in every situation and with almost every client that I’ve dealt with. Sure, there are problems and they’re not perfect. But…they are vastly superior to the competition.

Are these new updates good news for photographers? You bet! As our cameras produce larger and larger files for our still images and relatively gigantic files for the video that many DSLRs capture, it’s tough to get by with that 3-year-old laptop that got handed down to you when your son went to college.

New Intel Core i5 and Core i7 Processors



The new Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors boost performance up to 50 percent over the previous generation. Based on Intel’s latest 32-nanometer process technology, these are the fastest dual-core processors available and they set an all-new benchmark for Mac notebooks.

Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors also feature Turbo Boost. If you’re using processor-intensive applications like Aperture 3 or Final Cut Pro that would benefit from an extra performance kick, Turbo Boost dynamically increases the speed of one or both cores, taking a 2.66GHz MacBook Pro all the way up to 3.33GHz.

Built-in Hyper-Threading allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core, so Mac OS X recognizes four virtual cores instead of just two. When you’re running multiple applications at once, the Core i5 and Core i7 processors spread tasks more evenly across a greater number of cores — so you can get more done, faster.

Unlike systems that connect memory to the processor through a separate controller, the new MacBook Pro uses an integrated memory controller to connect memory directly to the processor. In a sense, this cuts out the middleman. With faster access to memory, each core gets right to work on your data, rather than waiting for it to arrive. Together with up to 4MB of shared L3 cache, the integrated memory controller ensures MacBook Pro can keep up with you.

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M Graphics Processor



Inside the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro models is the new NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics processor — the fastest graphics ever in a Mac notebook. With 48 processing cores and up to 512MB of dedicated video memory, this graphics processor delivers even more horsepower than the previous generation. And you don’t have to sacrifice efficiency for speed: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M is up to 30 percent more energy efficient than its predecessor. For even greater power savings, MacBook Pro also includes integrated Intel HD Graphics.

The 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro models come standard with automatic graphics switching. It’s a breakthrough technology from Apple that switches graphics processors on the fly to give you performance when you need it (when you’re playing the latest 3D game, for example) and better battery efficiency when you don’t (such as when you’re reading email). MacBook Pro transfers the workload between the powerful discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor and integrated Intel HD Graphics so seamlessly, you won’t even notice. Whether you’re using applications like Aperture, Motion, or Final Cut Pro or just surfing the web, your MacBook Pro always knows which processor to use. You don’t have to log out, shut down, or change your preferences. Automatic graphics switching does it all for you.

Detailed Specifications and Reviews

In order to keep things organized and readable, I’ve split each review into its own article. Click on the links below to visit each article.

• Apple Updates MacBook Pro Laptop Line — An introduction to the updates. (You’re already here!)
• Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.
• Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro: The Ultimate Guide — Detailed specifications and a review of the 17-inch MacBook Pro.



Should I buy now?

Well, sure…if you are in need of a good new computer. It’s very difficult to know when to purchase when it comes to technology. In fact, I just assisted a client in purchasing a brand new 15-inc MacBook Pro…YESTERDAY! Ouch. It’s certainly not the end of the world, though. The same purchase today would have cost $100 more and may not, in the long run, have made much of a performance difference in his situation.

There’s hardly a “right time” to purchase a new computer. I’d say, when you’re having trouble accomplishing necessary tasks on your current machine, it’s time for an upgrade.

Your Thoughts…

So, what do you think? Are you getting a new MacBook Pro? Are you deliberately not getting a new MacBook Pro? Tell us why.

Now, for your unrelated enjoyment, my video pick of the week. I love the American West, and I really love the work that Tim Lowe does at Timescapes.org. Hope you enjoy it.

Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.




]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-updates-macbook-pro-laptop-line/feed/ 8 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/apple-updates-macbook-pro-laptop-line/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=apple-updates-macbook-pro-laptop-line http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thelightroomlab/~3/R-ewvz0R_oY/ http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/kevin-ames-demo-of-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-beta-and-photoshop-cs5-in-kalispell-montana-april-21/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:04:37 +0000 David Marx http://thelightroomlab.com/?p=3063 Photoshop expert Kevin Ames will be presenting a demonstration of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v3 Beta and Photoshop CS5 in Kalispell, Montana next week. Kevin is the author of four books on digital photography, a frequent Photoshop World Instructor, and an expert at retouching glamour photos. Even better, this lecture is free and open to the public!



Photoshop expert Kevin Ames will be presenting a demonstration of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v3 Beta and Photoshop CS5 in Kalispell next week. For those of us who live up here in Northwest Montana this is a rare opportunity. Even better, this lecture is free!

Kevin Ames is the author of four books on digital photography and he is an expert at retouching glamour photos. He is a frequent presenter for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and leads workshops throughout the country.


For more information on this event call 406-755-5122 or email info@creativevisiononline.com.



Bonus: Here’s a video of Kevin teaching both the Layers Palette in Photoshop CS4 and how to create the appearance of rock hard abdominals in an athlete’s portrait!


Peachpit TV: Using the New Layer Palette in Photoshop CS4 –





]]> http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/kevin-ames-demo-of-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-beta-and-photoshop-cs5-in-kalispell-montana-april-21/feed/ 0 http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/04/kevin-ames-demo-of-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-beta-and-photoshop-cs5-in-kalispell-montana-april-21/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kevin-ames-demo-of-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-3-beta-and-photoshop-cs5-in-kalispell-montana-april-21