Sonialena Photography Blog » editing

Lightroom-licious

Sonia — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:51:00 +0000

I finally broke down and bought Lightroom. I decided to give it a try because the workflow I had with Aperture was not working. I only used Aperture to organize images, so I’ll be the first to admit that I was not using Apeture to it’s full potential.

With Aperture, I was importing my images, exporting them to another folder on my computer, opening them in Photoshop’s version of Camera Raw, saving them as PSD files, then re-importing them back into Aperture. And while Aperture has the ability to send files directly over to Photoshop, I couldn’t figure out how to open them in ACR, which resulted in my import/export dance.

With Lightroom this is greatly simplified. I can use ACR to edit the photos directly in Lightroom, and when I need to open anything in Photoshop I can open it as a Smart Object. Smart Objects have become my preferred way of working in Photoshop, because at any time I can double click on the photo and it will open in ACR.

Lightroom also has some wonderful slideshow and web gallery options, which reminded me that one of these days I’m going to redesign my website. I’ll probably plunk down the money for SlideShow Pro, but for personal projects and photos for friends, the options in Lightroom will be all that I need.

I feel like an Apple traitor. And who knows – maybe Aperture will woo me back. But for now, Lightroom is my new BFF.

Lightroom vs. Aperture: The Saga Continues

Sonia — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:40:00 +0000

A few months ago, I waxed philosophical over whether to stick with Aperture or switch to Lightroom. At the time, Apple had just released Aperture 2.0. I read really wonderful things about it. And I was not up to the task of trying to convert my Aperture library into one that would be accessible to Lightroom. So I purchased the new Aperture.

And now . . . Lightroom 2.0 is out! The debate continues. Converting my library might be worth the trouble after all.

Aperture Plug-Ins

Sonia — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:10:00 +0000

I only have two plug-ins for Aperture 2.0: one that exports images directly to SmugMug, and one that exports images directly to Flickr. Man, have they made things easier. Since Aperture collapses everything into one library that cannot be accessed by other programs (at least I haven’t figured it out), I used to have to export files as JPEGs to another folder on my hard drive, then use a different program to upload them to my website of choice. Now I can do everything from within Aperture, which is just easy, easy, easy.

I haven’t explored other options for Aperture plug-ins because, frankly, I am addicted to Photoshop. I mostly use Aperture for as an organizational tool, and Camera Raw and Photoshop for editing. But I might play around with Aperture’s editing options and see what they have to offer.

To Kubota or Not to Kubota?

Sonia — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:29:00 +0000

I recently received some promotional materials from AsukaBook, and included was some information about Kubota Image Tools. Of course the images look beautiful, and the website has many more examples – with before and after pictures – of various actions.

But all these action packs get me to thinking – how many do I need? I really do love Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 and Alien Skin Exposure 2.0. They allow me to make quick adjustments to a photo, I can edit each individual filter for more control, and I can combine various filters on one image to get very cool, unique effects. So how different could I make my images look with yet another set of actions/filters? And should I just spend time with Photoshop creating my own actions rather than money on more and more software?

The professor who taught my Photoshop class used his own laptop with the overhead projector, and he had a million plug-ins. He said that we could play around with Photoshop and try to figure out the effects ourselves, but he would much rather pay the money for a “quick fix” and spend more time and energy shooting.

Of course, either route requires “playing around” – even armed with tons of filters and actions, it takes time to figure out which combinations look good with which images. And in the end, most people don’t want cookie-cutter images that look like everyone else’s. So as I toy with the idea of Kubota, I’m still dedicated to learning a little something new about Photoshop every day.

Master of Disaster

Sonia — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:24:00 +0000

As in Photoshop Disasters. A must read!

To Lightroom or Not to Lightroom

Sonia — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 +0000

I use Aperture to organize my photos. I bought the program when it first came out, so Lightroom was not on the scene. Now it is. And I’m debating whether to switch to Adobe’s photo management software or plunk down the money for Aperture 2.0.

I know that more people use Lightroom, but the idea of trying to migrate my entire Aperture library into Lightroom is less than appealing. Not to mention having to learn another program. From what I can gather, people who prefer Lightroom like the better integration that Lightroom has with Photoshop. Aperture can connect to Photoshop or any external editor you like. My only problem with the version I have (Aperture 1.5) is that when I send RAW files over to Photoshop, they don’t open in Camera Raw. I don’t know if Aperture 2.0 fixes this, but if it does then I’m sold.