The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 book : the complete guide for photographers

624 Pages·2009·69.14 MB·English

by  Martin Evening

The Adobe Photoshop
® ®
Lightroom 2 Book
®
The Complete Guide for Photographers
Martin Evening
The Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 Book
The Complete Guide for Photographers
Martin Evening
This Adobe Press book is published by Peachpit.
Peachpit
1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178
510/524-2221 (fax)
Peachpit is a division of Pearson Education.
Find us on the Web at: www.adobepress.com
To report errors, please send a note to: [email protected]
Copyright © 2009 by Martin Evening
Project Editor: Rebecca Gulick
Production Editor: Hilal Sala
Copy Editor: Liz Welch
Cover Design: Charlene Charles-Will
Compositor: Martin Evening
Indexer: James Minkin
Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For
information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact [email protected].
Notice of Liability
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis without warranty. While every precaution has been
taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or
entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions
contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.
Trademarks
Adobe, Lightroom, and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States
and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks.
Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations
appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identifi ed throughout this
book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefi t of such companies with no intention of infringement of
the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affi liation
with this book.
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-55561-8
ISBN-10: 0-321-55561-9
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed and bound in the United States of America
Dedicated in memory of Bruce Fraser.
Foreword
All through the early stages of Lightroom, the development team often felt
that it was reinventing the wheel. Even some long-time Photoshop evan-
gelists within the company were against Lightroom, asking “Why would
Adobe build this product?” But the vision for this radical new product not
only included the idea that we could help photographers make better pic-
tures. We also had the crazy idea that working on your photographs could
and should be a pleasurable experience. Even fun. We wanted to build an
entirely new environment for digital photography.
It’s no mystery that in just the past couple of years, the entire photographic
world seems to have reinvented and reinvigorated itself. And it’s no mystery
why. Digital has made photography fun again! Digital captures from
today’s higher-end digital SLR cameras easily rival the sharpness, detail, and
enlargability of most medium-format fi lm exposures. And we now have the
freedom to shoot to our heart’s content, without having to worry about
the prohibitive cost of fi lm.
Of course, there is a bit of a hang-over the morning after, once you start
trying to sort and process all your work from the night before. But Martin
is here to help you through that. By far, the most important thing is how
interesting photography has become again. Photo magazines and Web sites
abound. Schools are enrolling more photo students than every before. And
an entirely new world of tools for digital photography is emerging.
For me personally, a specifi c example comes to mind of how Lightroom
makes things easier. I have a Kodachrome transparency that I shot in Japan
way back in 1985. It’s one of my all-time favorite photographs, but the
image itself is not quite perfect. I had a high-resolution drum-scan made of
this picture, and started reworking it in the computer back when Photoshop
was in its infancy. But even bringing all of my digital skills to bear on this
particular photo, I was never really satisfi ed with the result. Because I felt
so sure that there was a great, unfi nished gem in there somewhere, I kept
coming back to this photo over the years, trying new things. Even though
I knew just about every trick in the Photoshop book, I was just not able to
easily make it look or print the way I envisioned it. So this particular photo
has languished in my archive as one of those fi led under “almost great.”
Recently I needed to do some Lightroom 2 test printing of RGB fi les, so I
brought a copy of this old Kodachrome scan into my Lightroom catalog.
Starting at the top of the Basic panel in Develop, I made a quick adjustment
to the White Balance. A small tweak to the Temperature slider did the trick.
Because the white point and black point had more or less been chiseled
iv
into stone during the scanning process, I left the Exposure and Blacks
controls alone. A quick check of Vibrance vs. Saturation revealed the same
answer I get 90% of the time: Vibrance provided a more natural look, and
a small boost improved the photo quite a bit. Next, it was down to the
Tone Curve. As with so many other photographs, bringing up the Darks
and crushing down the Shadows made an easy but dramatic improvement.
And fi nally, coming from fi lm, this scan was already loaded with plenty of
midtone contrast, so there was no need to fi ddle with the Clarity slider.
What did I accomplish in this very quick runthrough of some of Lightroom’s
most basic correction tools? Tapping the L key twice to turn the lights out,
and then using the backslash key, I was able to quickly see before and after
views of my correction.
Hey, wait a minute. That looks better! Much better, in fact. Better than
I had ever been able to make it look over the course of so many years. I
decided to make a quick inkjet print just to see if I was imagining things. A
few minutes later, I’m holding the best print of my favorite photograph that
I’ve ever produced. As it turns out, having the right controls, in the right
order, in the right context, makes all the difference in the world.
So now, for me, working in Lightroom is making photography a lot more
interesting. Photography is fun again! Learning to use Lightroom to process
and correct my pictures has become a process of learning how to trust
what my eyes are telling me. And that is very much what photography is all
about.
OK, so that’s processing. But processing is only half the battle. Now
how about workfl ow? Well, that part is still very much evolving. While
Lightroom provides you with a strong set of the basics (integrated library
and processing workfl ow, smart collections, keywords, compare modes,
etc., etc.), what you do with them is still very much up to you. Building an
effi cient workfl ow is not easy. I admit it. But once you have a glimpse into
how much time and effort can be saved, you’ll never look back. Martin
Evening is one of a handful of photographers who knows the roadmap
and has the extraordinary gift of being able to teach it. Turn the page, and
you’ll be well on your way, not only to making better pictures, but also
toward building an effi cient digital workfl ow.
George Jardine
Pro Photography Evangelist
Adobe Systems Inc.
THE ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM 2 BOOK v
Introduction
Work on the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom program began toward the end
of 2003 when a small group of Adobe people, headed by Mark Hamburg,
met up at p hotographer Jeff Schewe’s studio in Chicago to discuss a new
approach to raw image management and editing that would be built
to meet the specifi c needs of all those photographers who were ”going
digital“ and who needed a better way to work with their growing libraries
of photographic captures. It was shortly after this that I was invited to
join the early alpha test program and help thrash out what Lightroom
(or Shadowland as it was known then and Photoshop Lightroom as it’s
called now) should be. As we all discussed our various digital photography
workfl ows, it became increasingly obvious why there needed to be a better
way of managing and processing our photographs. Lightroom underwent
some pretty major changes in those early stages, with the team trying out
different workfl ow ideas, not to mention numerous interface changes.
Back in the early days of Lightroom’s development, I remember taking a
car journey from a conference in Laguna Beach back to Los Angeles with
my friend and fellow author, Bruce Fraser. During the trip we talked among
other things about Shadowland, and Bruce was quite enthusiastic about it,
saying then, ”I think Adobe would probably like us both to write a book
each about the new program.“ Some of you reading this will be aware
that, sadly, Bruce passed away in December 2006. He had been too ill to
continue working for much of that year, and the last thing on his mind was
writing more books. Even so, he was still keenly involved in helping guide
the Shadowland development process, and at one critical point teamed up
with Jeff Schewe to support Mark Hamburg at a point where Lightroom’s
future was looking uncertain. Bruce was dearly loved and respected by
all: the many readers of his books, my editor Pamela Pfi ffner (who was
previously married to Bruce), and of course his family, friends, and widow
Angela. We all loved him dearly. This is why I have dedicated this book to a
man I admired greatly and from whom I learned so much.
This version 2 book now represents the culmination of four years’ effort in
which I have worked actively with the team who created Lightroom. I have
called this ”the complete guide“ to Photoshop Lightroom, because I think
you will fi nd that just about every detail of the program is covered. I have
to confess that when I fi rst started on this project I never imagined this sec-
ond edition of the book would end up being over 600 pages in length, and
I really had no idea then just how much extra work would go into making
Lightroom as complete as it is today. There were even times when I had my
doubts, but it is a program I now enjoy working with on a daily basis.
vi INTRODUCTION
How to Use This Book
Lightroom is principally aimed at anyone who takes photographs with a
digital SLR camera. When I set out to write the book, I had very much in
mind both amateur photographers as well as professional users. I have
taken the trouble to explain fundamental aspects of digital imaging such as
white balance and exposure in simple, easy-to-understand terms, so that no
one reading this book should ever feel too left out. This book is intended
to be the ultimate reference guide to Lightroom and help you get the
maximum benefi t out of the program.
So many changes have taken place since Lightroom 1.0 was released that
not only has this new version of the book ended up being 56% bigger,
but I have also rewritten almost everything that was in the original edition.
Because there have been lots of rather subtle changes in the Lightroom 2
behavior, I advise readers to treat this as a brand-new book. I therefore
suggest that you approach the book by reading it in chapter order, starting
with the introduction to Lightroom in Chapter 1, in which I have used a
professional shoot that was carried out specifi ally for the book. This shows
just one of the ways you can integrate Lightroom into a photography
workfl ow. The catalog features of Lightroom are equally as important as
the Develop module controls. I recognize that all photographers, from
beginners to pros, have differing requirements when it comes to organizing
their image libraries, so I have devoted over 170 pages of in-depth advice to
working with the Library module, including how to make use of keywords
and metadata to manage your photos better.
Overall, I am very excited about Lightroom, and I hope the book provides
inspiration and insights into how you can get the most out of Lightroom.
As it says in Rule 5 of the Lightroom Five Rules Help dialog: Enjoy!
Martin Evening, June 2008.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my editor, P amela Pfi ffner, for prompting me to get
started on this project and for her advice and help during the planning
stage of this book. For this edition, Rebecca Gulick has project managed
the book and done an excellent job of making sure everything went
smoothly. And I would also like to thank Hilal Sala and Charlene Will from
Peachpit for their work on the book production.
THE ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM 2 BOOK vii
Lightroom is really the brainchild of Mark Hamburg, and my involvement
with Lightroom began several years before the fi rst announcement of the
program, when Mark and the other lead engineers invited me to provide
feedback on some of the ideas they were working on. In that time I have
been helped a lot by the engineers and other members of the team to
gather the background technical knowledge required to write this book.
In particular, I would like to thank Thomas Knoll, M ichael Jonsson, Z alman
Stern (who worked on the Camera Raw engineering), Troy Gaul, M elissa
Gaul, Tim Gogolin, S eetha Narayanan, E ric Scouten, K evin Tieskoetter,
Andrew Rahn, Phil Clevenger (who designed the Lightroom interface),
andAndrei Herasimchuck (who helped guide Lightroom through the early
stages). I would also like to thank product manager T om Hogarty and
product evangelist G eorge Jardine for the huge amount of support and
help they have given me. Thanks also go to F rederick Johnson, Addy Roff,
andMala Sharma on the Photoshop and Lightroom marketing teams. I
would especially like to thank Ian Lyons, who tech-edited the book. Thank
you, Ian, for helping me get the technical points clarifi ed and for providing
some additional insights.
I also self-commissioned a photographic shoot to help illustrate the book
for which I would like to thank the models: Yuliya and Kelly from Zone
and Lucy at Bookings Agency, Camilla Pascucci for make-up, Terry Calvert
for hair, Harriet Cotterill for the clothes styling, Stuart Weston for the use
of his studio, and Harry Dutton for assisting me, plus a big thank-you to
Jeff Schewe and George Jardine for documenting the shoot with stills
and video.
It has been an interesting experience to see a new program emerge from
scratch and has been a pleasure to share the development process in the
company of a great group of alpha testers and fellow authors who were
willing to share their knowledge about the program with one another. From
this group I would most like to pay tribute to John Beardsworth, Richard
Earney, Katrin Eismann, George DeWolfe, Bruce Fraser, Peter Krogh, Karl
Lang, S ean McCormack, M ichael Reichmann, S eth Resnick, Andrew Rodney,
Jeff Schewe, Daniel Sroka, David Schloss, and Michael Tapes, who have all
made valuable contributions to Lightroom’s continued development.
A book like this would be rather boring to read through without having
some decent photographs to illustrate it with. To supplement my own pho-
tography I would therefore like to thank Greg Gorman, George Jardine, and
Jeff Schewe for letting me use their photographs, which are all individually
credited throughout this book. And lastly, I would like to thank my wife,
Camilla, for yet again being so understanding and patient while I was glued
to the computer!
viii INTRODUCTION
Contents
1 Introducing Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1
. . .
What is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Keeping things simple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Modular design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Lightroom performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Adobe Camera Raw processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Color controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Lightroom workfl ow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Managing the image library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Integrating Lightroom with Photoshop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What you’ll need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Installing Lightroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Lightroom preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Customizing the Identity Plate and appearance . . . . . . . . . .14
Help menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Introducing the Lightroom interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
A quickstart guide to Lightroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Importing the photos into Lightroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Viewing photos in the Library module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Simplifying the interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Zooming in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Working in the Develop module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Synchronizing Develop settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Reviewing and rating the photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Making contact sheet prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Reviewing the fi nal shortlist in Survey mode . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Dimming the lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Saving the shortlisted photos as a collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Retouching a photograph in Lightroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Editing a copy in Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Creating a Web photo gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Making a fi nal print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Exporting the edited photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Working through the book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
CONTENTS ix