Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

I thought I would post a quick deal on Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom. If you’re not using it or haven’t checked it out yet, where have you been?

Apparently I have been under a rock or something, because I just started using Lightroom.

I hate to admit it, but I had been forever stuck in the Bridge-Photoshop workflow and hadn’t ventured far.  I was accustomed to my comfort zone and turned up my nose at anything that showed promise at removing me from it.

I tried Lightroom out a year or so ago and wasn’t all that impressed, mainly because my thinking was at the time, “Everything that Lightroom will do, I can do better in Photoshop”.

It seems as my workflow evolves so does my open mindedness.

Lately I have been processing a lot more photos and looking to streamline my file organization and also trying to clear up some space on my hard drives.

I stumbled across Lightroom recently and decided to give it another try. After really diving in and spending some time learning how it actually works and what it was intended to be used for, I found myself out of my little workflow comfort zone having some fun.

I will say Lightroom’s interface is appealing and very simple to use. I hate to use the term, but it has “dumbed” down some of the adjustment tools and I guess to say more appropriately, simplified things.

If you are just doing quick edits or things not involving layers and such, it’s super quick and easy to use.The Library interface is easy to navigate through and makes going through large batches of images a breeze.

Lightroom is built as a non destructive editing program. That means any image you select in the Library and make changes to, you are not really altering the original file. It saves the settings and applies them to the Raw image each time it’s viewed.

Pretty sweet.

There’s also a Slideshow mode for designing custom slideshows, Web mode for galleries, and a Print mode for all your printing needs.

Lightroom really does feel like it was designed to meet  all of  Photographers needs in one simple to use program. I still think they have some things to work out, but it’s getting closer.

If you want to learn more about Lightroom check out Matt Kloskowski’s Blog Lightroom Killer Tips. He’s got some great stuff on there and seems to be one of the authorities on the subject.

So if you find your file management system needs an overhaul or you don’t need everything Photoshop has to offer, you should give Lightroom a try. I would say professionals and amateurs alike can benefit from this program.

Your can link at adobe.com