Organize, Visualize, Optimize: An Introduction to Adobe Lightroom
Workshop Fee: $150.00 Saturday, November 22, 2008, 9:00am - 4:00pm
We'll take a look at what's coming in this newest version of Lightroom, including one feature that will make Lightroom's tool set resemble Photoshop more closely. The current version of Lightroom allows only "global" adjustments, meaning adjustments to the whole image. The next version of Lightroom will allow localized adjustments to a selected part of the image. Are you still using Adobe's Bridge software? You may find that Lightroom has everything you need, or you may decide that the organizing functions built into Lightroom are more intuitive than working with Bridge. You may decide that Lightroom is the best place to organize your images and perform basic optimization, and then you have the option to export your work into Photoshop seamlessly for further editing if you choose. You'll probably discover that you can do much of your optimization and printing from Lightroom, and reserve Photoshop for those occasional images that have special challenges. Today's photographers need to be familiar with terms like digital workflow, image management, and nondestructive processing. Photography has gone digital and today's photographers are familiar with Adobe's Photoshop software, even if they haven't used it. During 2007, Adobe released the first official version of its new software program designed for specifically for photographers, created with the help of photographers. This new software, Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom, offers a more focused, photographer-friendly approach to photographic success in the brave new world of digital photography. Placing the Photoshop name on this program helps to link Lightroom to Adobe's industrial-strength image editing program, but is doesn't help photographers understand where Lightroom fits in a photographer's life, or even if it is something they should investigate. Photographers know that learning Photoshop is time-consuming and complex, and with so many other demands on their time, both amateur and professional photographers could be forgiven if they don't rush purchase and learn another software program.
During this class, we'll look at the differences and similarities between Photoshop and Lightroom. Then we'll examine each of Lightroom's modules: Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web. We'll dive deeply into the image management features of Lightroom and see why they are so important for all photographers to consider. Whether you're new to digital photography or a veteran Photoshop user, you'll gain an appreciation for Adobe's Lightroom, and you'll learn how it can be integrated into your photographic life. Here are the major topics well discuss in class:
NOTE: Many students prefer bringing their personal laptop to this workshop, so that they can set up the Lightroom software while they attend the workshop. This prepares them for working with the software as soon as they return home. However, we will have workstations available with Lightroom installed if you should decide to use one of the classroom computers. This class provides practical advice on selecting the correct Lightroom and/or Photoshop package for your life, provides a basic introduction to the features available in Lightroom, and aids you in getting started in this program that Adobe has created specifically for photographers. Unlike Photoshop, which grew piece by piece during the digital revolution, Lightroom has been designed with photographers in mind, and its features are designed to enhance our productivity, so we can spend more time looking through the viewfinder of our cameras and less time looking at a computer monitor. We reserve the right to cancel a workshop, with full refund being provided to each registered participant, if running the workshop is not economically feasible. You will be notified at least one week in advance if a workshop is not going to take place. If you must cancel your reservation and your email notification is received at least one month before the workshop, you will receive a full refund. A 50% refund will be given for notice received 2 weeks or less before the workshop date. A full refund, less a $30 overhead fee, will be given if another student is able to fill the spot from a waiting list. |
Lightroom
has evolved again! Version 2.0 arrived at the end of August. Be prepared
to use the latest features and see how the current features have improved.
See the program perform, use its powerful features, and discover its
powerful advantages.
What
does Lightroom have to offer to photographers, and is it worth the effort
and expense to learn this new software from Adobe? The answer is that
many photographers will find that Lightroom could replace most or all
of the work they do in Photoshop--and do it more efficiently and quickly.
Not only does Lightroom offer many of the tools that Photoshop offers,
but also it can replace Bridge and manage digital images more completely.
For other photographers Lightroom could become an assistant to their
work in Photoshop; and for a few photographers Photoshop will continue
to be the only image editing software they will use.