Lightroom Tips, Tricks, & Techniques-2010

[drg]

Another set of TT&T for working in Adobe Lightroom, the 2010 version. I am getting ready for the LR3 release by reviewing several past comments and reviews I've written including the Beta reviews.

This is not a Lightroom 3 (it isn't out yet) post but a place to note current or future TT&T for Lightroom that are very useful, overlooked, or minimally documented.

One item that pops up in several posts is the integration of Lightroom with external sites on the web. There is some initial indication that a higher degree of Publish facilities will be available in the new product for use with various social networking or photo sharing sites on the web. I'm not making any predictions about what will make the cut in LR3 but I will remind everyone that:

Since Lightroom v1, there has been a FTP upload facility built in to Lightroom It is at almost the extreme bottom of the right hand panel in the Web module. It has custom parametrization for the site where you wish to upload images. It is called in the latest incarnation Upload Settings. A user will need to click on the label that says Custom Settings and then select Edit from the pull down menu. Once set this makes one less step needed to get images to the web.

CAUTION: This isn't a full FTP enabled tool. It just puts the images where you want them along with minimal index.html or Flash coding or other as indicated. There is no built in ability to delete or mange files via FTP a remote server at this writing from within Lightroom. There are some add-ons (i.e. plug-ins for Lightroom) available from third parties to enhance this capability directly if so desired. In other words you still will want an FTP software product if you use this type of setup. It does however allow a lot for a lot of work to be done 'in the background' to be used later. Not for one or two photos, but if you are uploading several hundred proofs at a time or a days work to buyer's server then this is one more option.

[Canuck935]

I recently got plugins for LR to export to flickr, picasa, shutterfly.. It's really handy.. I can export to any of those accounts only, or export and save a local copy at the same time. It really saves me from a lot of extra work..

[jetrim]

The FTP utility actually works pretty well DrG, I've used it for proof uploads with success, and it does save time. Another cool feature you don't hear talked about often, though it isn't really a trick, are the optional crop overlays. Lr defaults to the rule of thirds, but there are actually a bunch of options based on some of the classic "rules" (golden mean, golden spiral, etc). Here's how to find them:

[drg]

Yes! This is a good one to know. There is the cycle through the various possibilities by tapping the 'O' (letter) and you can toggle the orientation between Landscape and Portrait. It is the orientation for the composition overlay that is flipped or turned! Not the crop itself.

jetrim has posted screen shots for Mac. The Windows version is very similar but you use Shift+'O' (the letter) to Cycle the Grid Orientation.

[Photo-John]

Good thread! I only use the Library and Develop modules in Lightroom. My biggest issue with Lightroom is how best to deal with images stored on my laptop when I'm traveling. What's the best way to transfer them to my home system and Library without having to use the Export tool. The Export tool is very slow and I've had it crash on me too many times after I've waited and hour or more for it to process gigs of roadtrip photos.

[jorgemonkey]

Geez, did we not answer your question on the FB thread?

[SmartWombat]

I want to change the colour of the overlay, sometimes my photos are grey and I want a nice bright red/green/yellow spiral so I can find it!

[drg]

Good thread! I only use the Library and Develop modules in Lightroom. My biggest issue with Lightroom is how best to deal with images stored on my laptop when I'm traveling. What's the best way to transfer them to my home system and Library without having to use the Export tool. The Export tool is very slow and I've had it crash on me too many times after I've waited and hour or more for it to process gigs of roadtrip photos.

John,

Are you Exporting to an external hard drive or to the internal drive of the laptop/notebook?

If the internal hard drive is over half full of images it's going to choke because of buffer/space requirements. If not, it still needs about 1 Gb of spare free space to move things around to set up the export. Adobe hasn't documented this thoroughly and claim only the need for a few hundred Mb of disk space, but I've found that if there's less than a a full Gb on notebook it just doesn't find the room to write the temp files.

This is on top of the added space for the 'export'. Exporting to a powered external hard drive and then mounting it to the desktop/home/server, etc. seems the best route to go.

Working with an external hard drive when traveling I put the entire work on the external drive and run my LR catalog(s) from that and then can just incorporate that drive back into the system later or hand it off to someone else for their work or additions.

If not using the standard Catalog names, just be sure to know what the catalog is called and be sure to remember it is followed by the extension .lrcat for that catalog.

For sorting and review, Exports can be done without 'negatives' or without the RAW files but then the editing options are very limited even though LR will still show the work history.

I've also found that if the version of PS isn't the same between the two systems/computers there have been some problems with any .xmp files that were created. Can't quite tie this one down. As a result I don't do a lot of back and forth editing when traveling if I can avoid it. If Photoshop-CS is needed on the roadI don't try to get everything back into LR until later.

If you need a step by step to get the export set up let me know.

[drg]

One Technique to aid in cranking out the work in Lightroom is to create added presets that can be applied to a whole range of photographs. Then use variants of the same. This applies to Export operations. Illustration/Screen Shot shows several 'possibilities' for added presets to the Export dialogue circled in Red:



The expanded Watermarking functions and the file size limitation option alone make this worth using!

Illustrated are various possible additions to the defaults that come in Lightroom. Note the 'specials' for Photography Review including the partial parameters visible for 'Forums' that is selected. It is very similar to the '600 Long/240K limit' above it in the sublist. Just has different Metadata and sharpening variations.

Also this illustration is for Export One file, but they can be used for any number of photos 'selected' from the other Modules and then 'Exported'

The Proofing Presets use a larger graphic that is superimposed over the entire image to prevent most copying and unauthorized printing (click for an illustration of a graphic watermark in LR3).

Further options in this set include presets for Full Size output and test outputs for Printing Ready Files.

NOTE: The 'prior' preset will return you to the last used export parameter set or the one 'saved'. Prior is a built in preset that comes in handy if you forget where you were or change something and want to go back.


To Create a New Preset:
1: Set all export parameters as desired.
2: Click Add in lower left of Export Screen.
3: Select a name and optionally a folder.

That's it! The presets can be dragged from one grouping to another, renamed, or delete as needed.

Have fun!

[OldClicker]

The Proofing Presets use a larger graphic that is superimposed over the entire image to prevent most copying and unauthorized printing...

OK, I followed the link to the image of the barn. I right clicked and saved the photo to my HD??? How does this protect it? What it evidently did do was prevent me from seeing the EXIF, which I consider a negative. – TF

[drg]

OK, I followed the link to the image of the barn. I right clicked and saved the photo to my HD??? How does this protect it? What it evidently did do was prevent me from seeing the EXIF, which I consider a negative. – TF

Not that kind of copying! If it is on a screen, it can be copied or 'grabbed'! Proofing watermarks are meant to keep people from taking a printed or e-proof and using it without paying for it or the like. Examples would be how Senior/Class photos are being e-proofed or wedding photos either for proof books or virtual studio proof web sites.

LR3 augments the ability to add larger graphical watermarks over an image on a whole series of images as part of the output. The user can have any number of Watermarks available and include them in a 'preset'.

EXIF files are highly overated in many cases as after PP manipulation they are only a starting point. There is an option under Photography Review that I created labeled '800L/100Q/FullMetadata' that generates an image for the Web and does it with the long edge of the photo being set at 800pixels, the image quality at 100 and includes both the full EXIF and IPTC metadata for the image.

[OldClicker]

Not that kind of copying! If it is on a screen, it can be copied or 'grabbed'! Proofing watermarks are meant to keep people from taking a printed or e-proof and using it without paying for it or the like. Examples would be how Senior/Class photos are being e-proofed or wedding photos either for proof books or virtual studio proof web sites.

LR3 augments the ability to add larger graphical watermarks over an image on a whole series of images as part of the output. The user can have any number of Watermarks available and include them in a 'preset'.

EXIF files are highly overated in many cases as after PP manipulation they are only a starting point. There is an option under Photography Review that I created labeled '800L/100Q/FullMetadata' that generates an image for the Web and does it with the long edge of the photo being set at 800pixels, the image quality at 100 and includes both the full EXIF and IPTC metadata for the image.

Got it - thanks.

I have learned a lot by looking at the basic shutter speed, aperture and ISO along with the focal length in the EXIF on this site. Valuable to me.

TF