Anyone here do pp in Lightroom?

[JPnyc]

My friend says it can straighten photos but for the life of me I can't find it.

[hewligan]

I've never used lightroom, but if it's anything like photoshop, you straighten images with the crop tool (since any straightening inevitably involves cropping).

[hewligan]

Oh, hey, I was right: http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/1.0/help.html?content=WS365FDD4E-35AF-4304-9BF7-BBF6BC42FB3E.html

[JPnyc]

Thanks, that was it. It's changed in 1.2.

[urstwile]

Which street fair is that one, JP?

[JPnyc]

Regular old boring one on 6th av, last weekend. But a sausage and peppers hero is a sausage and peppers hero!

[JPnyc]

It needed a bit longer exposure, I think. I added some fill light, not much.

[Red Kittie Kat]

Nice pic JP ... we have no street fairs here ... a couple in neighboring towns but they are so packed it takes all the fun out of it :(

[JPnyc]

Thanks RK. They get crowded here too, but not so much the regular old raggedy ones like this. But San Gennaro can be a nightmare of packed in crowd that can make the Jews exodus from Egypt look like a school outing.

[Red Kittie Kat]

tell me about it ... we just don't have that many of them so the few that we do have .. everyone and their brother comes out for. I feel too claustrophobic to go ... I can't stand weaving and winding through people "'scuse me, pardon me, 'scuse me" :(

[JPnyc]

Ah see, that's where NYers are different. I can't print what we say.

[Red Kittie Kat]

lmao JP :D

[urstwile]

Ah see, that's where NYers are different. I can't print what we say.
I can attest to that. :D

[hewligan]

So what do you think of Lightroom anyway, JP? I've been wondering if it's worth trying.

[JPnyc]

Well my review is mixed, I'm afraid. On the 1 hand it's very powerful. For straightening a photo, or correcting white balance, it's unbeatable. For punching up color; also excellent.

But, it has a tendency to "zero out" settings such as color when you import a photo. It has it's own idea of "neutral" settings which it imposes on a pic just by importing, and that I absolutely hate. Most of the time I do minimal processing to a photo, if I do any at all. I'm not a great believer in post-processing

When it comes to things like redeye reduction or even adding fill light, I actually prefer a simple free program like google's Picasa2, believe it or not. For sharpening, well, there's a hundred programs you can do that in. Also light room doesn't seem to have a means of resizing photos. Fortunately, MS power toys does it very well.

[hewligan]

But, it has a tendency to "zero out" settings such as color when you import a photo. It has it's own idea of "neutral" settings which it imposes on a pic just by importing, and that I absolutely hate.

Yeah, I've noticed that with Photoshop's camera RAW plugin, too. Really starting to get on my nerves.

[JPnyc]

Yeah, that's intolerable to me. I mean sometimes you just want to straighten or crop, and if that's all i do to it, then export, the colors are cooled down compared to the original. There's no reason for that. I don't like those things being decided for me.

[hewligan]

Yeah, that's intolerable to me. I mean sometimes you just want to straighten or crop, and if that's all i do to it, then export, the colors are cooled down compared to the original. There's no reason for that. I don't like those things being decided for me.

When I'm working, there's not a shot I use that doesn't get some work in Photoshop. It's one of those things - you can always make it better.

When I'm taking photographs for myself, though, I'm doing it because I'm interested in photography. The whole point is to find the best results I can produce in-camera. Then I want Photoshop to leave it the hell alone.

[JPnyc]

well I'm not even that competent a meddler when it comes to post processing anyway, so it's just as well that I don't favor it. But I do agree, if you're completely changing a photo in PP then is it still photography, or some OTHER art form? I'm just not sure.

[hewligan]

well I'm not even that competent a meddler when it comes to post processing anyway, so it's just as well that I don't favor it. But I do agree, if you're completely changing a photo in PP then is it still photography, or some OTHER art form? I'm just not sure.

When I do it, it's not art, it's work ;)

More generally, I tend to think about the stuff that a modern, digital camera is really doing in software, anyway. If, say, I use camera RAW to change the white balance - that's just some arbitrary thing the software in my camera did, anyway, it's got nothing to do with the actual physical process of taking the picture. If I change it with a different piece of software, I don't see that makes a lot of difference. Though I do try to get what I want direct from the camera, but that's more because I'm interested in learning that kinda stuff than anything else.

[JPnyc]

I agree, but suppose you don't shoot RAW and don't postprocess much? In that event the only real difference between film and digi is the mode of storage, and the amount of time until you see the photo. You're still manipulating light, subject, and lens in the same way as film, just recording it differently.

Oh, and the other big difference, with digital, camera/lens/memory card purchase is the only outlay. After that, all the shots are free. (assuming rechargables)

[hewligan]

I agree, but suppose you don't shoot RAW and don't postprocess much? In that event the only real difference between film and digi is the mode of storage, and the amount of time until you see the photo. You're still manipulating light, subject, and lens in the same way as film, just recording it differently.

That's not quite true. Don't forget, in film phtography - particularly art phtography - there were a lot of tricks done in the darkroom. Plus, there are certain things, like double exposures, that you just can't do in digital (well, you sort-of can, with a long exposure, a lens cap and quick hands...).

Those sorts of things, you now have no choice but to do in software.

Oh, and the other big difference, with digital, camera/lens/memory card purchase is the only outlay. After that, all the shots are free. (assuming rechargables)

That's really one of the best parts. One of the best ways I've found to learn about my camera is to take 20 shots of the same thing, twiddling knobs between shots. That would be a mighty expensive way to go with film.

[frankster]

Plus, there are certain things, like double exposures, that you just can't do in digital (well, you sort-of can, with a long exposure, a lens cap and quick hands...).

I had lots of fun with a strobe light, long exposure and juggling gear! That was about 15 years ago though when digital was insanely expensive and well out of my reach.

I am in love with being able to take an unlimited number of digital shots! It makes it less painful financially when you totally suck at it! :D

[Red Kittie Kat]

that is what I love the most about the digital camera ... I was spending a small fortune in processing before ;)

[JPnyc]

That's not quite true. Don't forget, in film phtography - particularly art phtography - there were a lot of tricks done in the darkroom. Plus, there are certain things, like double exposures, that you just can't do in digital (well, you sort-of can, with a long exposure, a lens cap and quick hands...).

Those sorts of things, you now have no choice but to do in software.

But what's the difference? the only difference I can see is that the post processing was mechanical rather than software based . It's still something removed from the actual photograph taking process . Manipulation after the fact .

[JPnyc]

I didn't even bother with film. Way too tedious and too much trouble for the likes of me. Had it not been for the advent of digital I wouldn't even own a camera.

[hewligan]

I didn't even bother with film. Way too tedious and too much trouble for the likes of me. Had it not been for the advent of digital I wouldn't even own a camera.

Yeah, same here.

[JPnyc]

Only film cams I ever owned were a Kodak Instamatic my dad got me as a little kid, and a Vivitar I bought in Westminster because I was on holiday and I broke mine in the carpark at Stonehenge. Not even sure where that one is now.

[Mynock]

I try to use the bathroom for pp not a lightroom.

[JPnyc]

*glares at Mynock, arms folded, foot tapping*

[GraphixNPrint]

I try to use the bathroom for pp not a lightroom.
hehe ... sorry JP! :o

[willy_flew]

I try to use the bathroom for pp not a lightroom.

NIce LMAO......Crap in crap out

[JPnyc]

Lately I'm using Picasa3 for postprocessing. I've found out you can do a lot of the basic necessities with considerably less fuss than LR, and with the same result. You can't do very complex adjustments, but the basics it easily handles, even white balance correction and straightening.

[fredrich]

What exactly is Lightroom? A Photoshop RAW extension of some sort, or just a RAW software like Capture One?

[hewligan]

It's a RAW photo editing and management application.

[JPnyc]

It's really for any type of photo editing. Very powerful however there is a steep learning curve compared to something like Picasa3, which is now the program I use most of the time for postprocessing of photos. I can't recall the last time I even opened light room.

Picasa3 is much easier, faster, far less resource intensive, and for basic editing achieves the same results. You can do most of what light room does, or least the things I was using it for. The one unfortunate omission in both programs is the ability to resize, but I use MS power toys for that.

One thing Picasa3 does not do well is sharpen. You have no control over the amount of sharpening, whereas you do in light room.

[morea]

<mini tangent>

every time I see the title of this thread I think that "pp" is an abbreviation for "prepress".

</mini tangent>

[JPnyc]

I think "power play"

[Mynock]

I think peepee. Hehe.

Runs off and continues to chase girls around with earthworms.

[JPnyc]

Just an example of what this free program can do. Here's a shot taken with the wrong white balance (MSG has very yellow lighting). Below it is the same shot after being Picasa-ed.