Matt at the Turning Gate found a good fix for windows user's that run into script errors when using Lightroom. Joe at the Lightroom Gallery posted it for us. See the Fix Article Here. Thanks guys! ... Read More!
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Backups continue to be a widely written about topic. One of the issues with this is that all backups are treated the same. In fact, some backups are important and some may not be so important. Here we discuss these finer points and try to apply the old 80/20 rule.Foray from Film into Digital
As I continue to get pushed along the sweeping current into digital and out of film, new issues emerge that I haven't had to deal with. Backups are the main issue.
With film, I scan the negatives, and then import into Lightroom. I discard any of the rejects or images that I don't assign a single star. I don't worry about backing the digital files files up of the rejects, because I have negatives that can always be re-scanned. I do backup the 'good' images that are left, but only to easily recover them without having to re-scan. The thinking here is that if I reject it, I probably won't need it, but if I decide I do, then I'll scan it again. In all likelihood, even after re-scanning a reject negative I'll still decide not to use it.Digital Only - Applying a Film Technique
Several sites have posted recent articles on determining whether some backups are worth keeping. I stumbled across one at Inside Lightroom which talks about Why Do We Backup So Much? and it talks about backing up rejects - why or why not.
One of the 'Eurekas' that I had while reading this post was to apply my film technique to digital imaging backups with respect to rejected images. As I said above, I use the negatives as a backup for rejects because I can always rescan them and the life of a properly developed negative is substantial. As a footnote, I have negatives that are 30 years old that look the same as the day I developed them.Application for Digital Images
So how does this apply to digital rejected images? I'll give you an overview and then list the steps I perform. First, remember that DVD's and CD's don't really have a long lifespan. They are prone to scratches, defects in the surface and degrading over time. However, they can still read even after being exposed to a magnetic field and they are cheap storage. Thus, I backup rejects on DVD as they are identified from importing into Lightroom.
That's not the entire process, however. I use two storage drawers for DVD's. The first is where I place the newly copied rejected images - Reject Backups. Then, I wait. Yes, you read the idea correctly, I wait. Should I ever need one of those rejected images, I go back to the DVD. If it is still readable, then I import the image back into Lightroom and move the DVD to the second drawer - Acessed Rejects. If the DVD doesn't read, I discard it. This gives me a simple backup which, like the negative, will degrade over time and eventually be useless. But, chances are I'll never need it anyway.
Using this technique still has one more problem - storage space. Eventually, the first drawer - Reject Backups - will get full. When that happens, I will discard the oldest DVD in the drawer. This limits my space requirements to one drawer of DVD's. Also, discarding the oldest DVD shouldn't be a problem, because I haven't ever used it or it would have been placed in drawer two.
If ever drawer two - Accessed Rejects - were to fill up, then I would again discard the oldest one. The image that was accessed is now in the main catalog and should be part of the regular backup process.Sound Familiar?
Does all this sound familiar? If you were like my family growing up and had at least one parent that was a 'pack-rat', then you would most likely have followed this same procedure with boxed up stuff stored in a closet. Our family regularly found boxes that hadn't been opened since the last time we moved. That made it time to discard the box!Reject Workflow Steps
This is part of my Image Rating and Selection Workflow.Conclusion
It always seems to boil down to time, cost and benefit. There is little chance that you will need a rejected image ever in the future. To protect that little chance you don't want to spend a lot of money and time, but maybe a little money and time is ok. This workflow for rejected images takes little time to make a single CD or DVD and those medium are still relatively cheap. The lifespan of the backup is limited, but should protect you for long enough to determine whether you will ever really use the image. The workflow is safe because you do have a chance to get the rejected image back and use it again. Finally, the workflow takes up limited space through a routine to get rid of the oldest rejected images - again a low cost use. The space needs vary by how many images you file as rejects and how often you shoot. You can set a drawer size customized to your usage levels.
Enjoy!
I had been giving it more thought and the Inside Lightroom article seemed to help me get an answer.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
So you have updated to Adobe Lightroom 2.0? Oh, but you don't have the money to update your computer? Here's a quick overview of the Lightroom 2.0 Catalog settings, which aren't remarkably different from Lightroom 1.4.1. However, with a few tweaks, even your older processor can run Lightroom catalogs a little faster. The really good news? These tweaks will work with Lightroom 1.4.1 as well! First, let's look at where the settings moved to.
In Lightroom 1.4.1, the Catalog Settings were under the File menu. In Lightroom 2.0, Adobe moved them to the Edit menu with the other Preferences.
Optimization
After you access these settings, the first tab is the General settings tab. Notice the bottom section on Optimizing. This is where you can have Lightroom reorganize your catalog data file. It doesn't do anything special that you can see, but it does rearrange how the data is stored to make it more efficient to access. Think of it as a routine like disk defragmenting. Do it every so often to keep things running smoothly. You can even see the last date your catalog was optimized in the top section of the General tab. It depends on the size of your catalog, but the larger the catalog and the more often you make changes to data, the more often you might want to optimize your catalog.
Oh yeah, don't forget one of the cardinal rules: BACKUP THE CATALOG BEFORE YOU OPTIMIZE IT! You never know about the power company or some other gremlin. This is good practice anyway.Preview Size and Quality
The second tab in the Catalog Settings is the File Handling tab. Here we determine what size and quality our 1:1 previews are rendered as. Do you have an old or slow video card? Does it take longer than it should to show the 1:1 previews? If it does, then change the size and type of the preview. The image below shows the options for the preview size in pixels. The highlighted choice is the default. You can see that you can lower the size a little. Of course the converse is also true, blazing video graphics? Enlarge the preview!
Next, take a look at your quality setting. I know, I want the highest quality too. But, if you want to speed up what you are doing, set the quality to a lower value. Again, the image below shows the default item selected.
Metadata Suggestions
One of the neat featurs in Lightroom is the ability to help you remember what you typed in the Metadata blanks. However, this feature can slow down your computer with a large database. The program has to search for ocurrences of that data field with typing similar to what you have already input. Sometimes this causes a delay in your typing and you have to wait while the computer catches up. Personally, I don't find this feature necessary for me in the Metadata fields, so I turn it off. Go to the last tab in the Catalog settings, aptly called Metadata. Uncheck the box as shown below.
Don't Forget to Restart!
As with any major setting changes, after you are finished, close down Lightroom and restart the program. This should reload all these catalog settings.
One more point, changing the 1:1 preview settings won't help you until you have new previews. When you have some time, like right before you go to sleep early one morning (all nighter, huh?), use the Library -> Previews -> Discard 1:1 Previews menu item. Then use the Render 1:1 Previews menu item in the same place. This should re-create your previews with the new settings.
Remember that these settings are for EACH catalog and not global. You will have to do this for all your catalogs to make a difference.My Settings
I have a dual core 3.2mhz pentium with 4gb of memory for my main computer and a laptop with a dual core 2.0mhz pentium and 2gb of memory. I use the standard settings on my desktop and everything is reasonable, but on the laptop I find that rendering takes a little longer. While I am out of town shooting images, I use the smaller previews on the laptop and then when I move the catalog to my desktop, I increase the previews to a higher quality. This seems to work well for me. Leave me a comment and let me know what you find.8/1/2008 EDIT:
Also remember that hardware is important and if you decide not to upgrade hardware, you should still remember to defragment your hard disk. For those that don't know much about this, your hard disk gets pieces of files out of order over time. Like a file cabinet that is no longer in alphabetical order, it's takes longer to find stuff. Putting the file cabinet back in order (defragmenting your hard drive) makes it quick to locate things again. Typically, a defrag program comes with your system tools on your operating system. I use Diskeeper 2008 because it does a great job of defraging my computer while it's not doing anything else.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
I have seen several questions about how many computers Adobe Lightroom can be installed on for use with a single license. Below is a copy of the LR 2.0 License agreement and it appears that home users can use two copies - one desktop and one laptop. You can see this here: Lightroom 2.0 License Agreement. If I find out any different, I'll post an update here.Excerpt From Section 2 of the Lightroom 2.0 License
2.1 General Use. You may install and use one copy of the Software on up to the Permitted Number of your compatible Computers; or
2.2 Server Deployment. You may install the Permitted Number of copies of the Software on the Permitted Number of Computer file server(s) within your Internal Network for the purpose of downloading and installing the Software on up to the Permitted Number of Computers within the same Internal Network; or
2.3 Server Use. You may install the Permitted Number of copies of the Software on the Permitted Number of Computer file server(s) within your Internal Network only for use of the Software initiated by an individual through commands, data or instructions (e.g., scripts) from a Computer within the same Internal Network. The total number of users (not the concurrent number of users) permitted to use the Software on such Computer file server(s) may not exceed the Permitted Number. No other network installation or access (either directly or through commands, data or instructions) is permitted, including, but not limited to: (i) from or to a Computer not part of your Internal Network, (ii) for enabling web hosted workgroups or services available to the public, (iii) by any individual or entity to use, download, copy or otherwise benefit from the funtionality of the Software unless licensed to do so by Adobe, (iv) as a component of a system, workflow or service accessible by more than the Permitted Number of users, or (v) for operations not initiated by an individual user (e.g., high-volume automated server processing of wire feed content); and
2.4 Portable or Home Computer Use. Subject to the important restrictions set forth in Section 2.5 below, the primary user of the Computer on which the Software is installed (“Primary User”) may install a second copy of the Software for his or her exclusive use on either a portable Computer or a Computer located at his or her home, provided that the Software on the portable or home Computer is not used at the same time as the Software on the primary Computer. You may be required to contact Adobe in order to make a second copy.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Sean McCormack posted an article on Lightroom News about a new Adobe exchange area for Lightroom. We have long awaited such a site where developers can post Develop Presets, Export Plugins and Web Galleries to share with the Lightroom Community.
This is a must visit site and be sure to bookmark it and visit back often as I am sure it will take hold over time. Adobe Photoshop and the other creative products by Adobe have had such exchange sites. They have been sucessful and there is no reason not to believe this one won't be sucessful as well.
Enjoy!
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Adobe Lightroom has specific terms when it comes to web galleries, templates, saved settings and presets. When you use a word processor, you refer to a template as a base for filling in the blanks and creating a new document. In Lightroom, this type of template is referred to as a WEB GALLERY. Also, in many software realms, you refer to a collection of stored items that get applied to a template as presets. In Lightroom, these presets are called TEMPLATES.
While this can be confusing to the beginner, this Lightroom convention is used throughout the community. I am in the process of reviewing my articles here to be sure I use that convention - Please bear with me while I make the change!
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Adobe has announced the release of a beta version for Lightroom 2.0! More importantly is the availability of the Beta to the public in general. As a registered Lightroom user you can use your existing key to install the Beta, which runs through August 2008. You can download the Beta version here at Adobe Labs and try it out.
There has been significant chatter since this release and a few of the new items are very interesting. However, the question begs: Will Adobe still work on and release version 1.4 (1.5??) to fix the last patch that had such big meta data problems? Or, will Adobe focus on 2.0?
Some of the great new enhancements in store for 2.0 include:
These are just a few of the items, view the Release Notes in order to see more.
I am downloading a copy now and will let you know what I find!
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Adobe indicated that there is a known bug in Lightroom version 1.4 that affects the Identity Plate overlays in the printing module. We reproduce that bug below to show you how to fix it.
In the print module the Overlays section looks like the image to the left. Notice you can check the Indentity Plate box and the Render on every image box. This will cause the text or graphic to show on every picture selected to print. This is true for contact sheets and other forms of printing.
Now try to deselect ONLY the Identity Plate checkbox. Notice in the image below how the Render on every image checkbox is greyed out, but still checked. Also notice the identity plate is still visible in the image.
If you reselect the Identity Plate check box, deselect the Render on every image checkbox and then finally deselect the Indentity Plate checkbox again, you will end up with what is shown below. Notice the identity plate is no longer shown in the image.
Remember this is a known bug and Adobe should fix it in a future release. The good news is we know about it and we can fix it on our own.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Adobe didn't make many large enhancements to their just released Update to version 1.4 outside of continuing to enhance the compatibility of RAW cameras and updates in Adobe RAW (now version 4.4).
However, they did make one very welcomed change to those of us that like black and white photography and the difference is outstanding. Adobe added the ability to use the Color noise reduction when developing images converted from RGB to greyscale. Obviously the Color information still existed after the conversion to greyscale, but Lightroom 1.3 disabled that control and only allowed Luminance noise reduction.
The image below shows the result of making the Color noise reduction available. The left side shows version 1.3 in Lightroom which had 100% of the Luminance noise reduction applied. See how grainey the image still is (click on the image to see a larger version). The image on the right has had 80% of the Color noise reduction applied. The difference is so great that, without using third party tools, the color layer noise reduction can be reduced and larger prints can be made without unacceptable grainey patterns in the print.
Previously, I had to export the image to a separate noise reduction software package, reduce the noise and return to Lightroom. In the process, I lost the RAW image to use for black and white because it was converted to a TIFF for outside processing (always make a copy of an image prior to editing in a third party program, including photoshop).
Once again, thank you Adobe!
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
There is a mysterious triangle located in Lightroom just above the Previous and Reset buttons in the Develop module. See the picture to the left. As it turns out, the triangle is also above the Copy and Paste buttons in the same module. In fact, it appears above every pair of buttons in the various Lightroom modules.
I have seen blogs on the internet asking about this triangle. I almost called it the Bermuda Triangle of Adobe Lightroom except that it doesn't cause any mysterious loss of pictures or data. In fact, I don't believe it was the result of lost code or a beta leftover. I'll show you excactly what the triangle is for!
Study this picture and you will notice the triangle is no longer there. It has disappeared. No, this is not a fancy setting in the options section. The triangle is actually a user friendly tool that your eyes will get used to seeing if you look for it. Notice in this picture the tool bar above it has been scrolled such that the bottom of the tool bar is showing. I.e., there is no more hidden tool bar in the panel at the bottom. Thus, the little arrow is gone.
Now go look at the photo we started with. Notice how the toolbar is extended below and out of view. Thus, the little arrow tells us there is more to view.
Sorry, no mystery here. In fact, the little arrow isn't even developer's eye candy to spice up the interface. It is simply a little reminder that there is more to see and it is hidden from view.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Image sharpening is one of the most important image enhancements in the digial world. This is especially true of scanned negatives or slides. However, the importance of sharpening is due to fuzzy images, but rather due to noise.
Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Imports take a significant amount of time for large raw files or tiff files in any volume. This is especially true through a usb cable and a camera. There are a few steps you can take to increase the speed of the import if you are sitting and waiting to get started in Lightroom.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
The Lightroom workspace can have a large number of toolbars and panels active. Sometimes viewing just an image is important without all the clutter. Here are a few shortcuts to help manage the clutter. These shortcuts work in all views.
L - Cylcle the Light views
Tab - Turn on / off just the side panels
Shift Tab - Turn on / off all the panels
Don't forget to view the shortcuts with the fantastic help system in Lightroom.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Part of the Importing Dialog Box in Lightroom is the Information to Apply section.
This section houses the presets that can be applied for Developing, Metadata, Keywords and Initial Previews.
Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
The metadata is the information about the camera, exposure, copyright, photographer, location and other data about the image. Universally, it is stored with the image and is separate from any development or image altering effects. The camera and exposure data is automatically populated from today's digital cameras. Also, if you use a negative scanner, the camera may be listed as the scanner, but no exposure information will be stored.
Adding the photographer information and the copyright information is easy to do in Lightroom and is best done at the import stage. We will use a metadata template to apply this information effortlessly each time.
When the import dialog box is shown, as we saw in the article on Importing Images into Lightroom, the third block is Information to Apply. The metadata item has a drop down box which defaults to None. It is here where we will create our template. Click on the drop down box for metadata and select New.
You will be presented with this dialog box. Here we will be able to input any standard information you wish to include with all your basic image imports.
Here it is important to note that only ONE metatdata template can be applied for each import. This means you don't want to create a template for the photographer and one for the copyright because you would have to apply them separately and only one can be applied at import time.
At the top I labeled my preset as Basic Info so that I knew it was the most basic information for all my imports. Then I input the copyright information by typing the copyright symbol and other information. I typically use All Rights Reserved in the rights usage terms, but your conditions might be different depending on what your images are used for.
Then I input the creator information which is me. I use my business information and any web site for the company, etc.
When you are done, click the Create button and the template is saved. Now you can choose this template in the metadata drop down list for importing.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
When you open Adobe Lightroom, you should see the dialog below before the main window opens. The purpose of this well placed dialog is to ask if you want to backup your catalog.
Do not skip this dialog box! Your catalog is the lifeblood of Lightroom. All of your thumbnails and metadata is stored here. Hopefully, you have also allowed Lightroom to write the Metadata to your images, but this might not always be practical and some Photoshop files do not allow the writing of metadata. Note that this is typically due to leaving off the choice in Photoshop to maximize compatability when saving an image.
In this case, choose a location for your backup. This should be on a separate hard drive than the original catalog and preferably one that is not in your computer. This will allow you to disconnect and move the backup if your computer becomes corrupt. Lightroom saves your file location selection so that you do not have to choose it each time.
As others have stated on the web, it would be nice if Adobe would allow you to ask this question as you Exit Lightroom as well. Typically, this is just after all your new changes have been made and the point where you are most vulnerable to losing data.
One workaround would be to start Lightroom immediately after exiting to allow another backup to be made. You can then exit Lightroom a second time. This is inefficient, but then safety of your data is important.
NOTE: While I have not attempted this, my gut feel is that you could create a batch file in Windows (I don't know the equivalent in Apple OS) to start lightroom twice, once immediately after the first session. This might allow a single icon and single click to start the program twice, saving the catalog after a working session. I leave the work to others to post the results here.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
When exporting images in Microsoft Windows, which can take a considerable amount of time depending on size and volume, the screen saver will probably kick in. If you are burning these images to CD or DVD, then a dialog box comes up for each disk asking about burn information and disk naming.
After bringing the screen out of screen saver or hibernation, the dialog box may show, but now controls or text may be present.
Move the mouse over the dialog box and the buttons and drop down box will show again. However, only the active buttons will show. If no blank CD or DVD is in the burner, the Burn button will not show even when moving the mouse over the dialog box. Insert a blank CD or DVD, wait a moment and try again.
Note that none of the labels or text show, just the drop down box and buttons.
Everything appears to work fine and none of the export or burn appear lost. I assume this is an operating system and programming issue.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Lightroom makes especially functional use of presets and templates (for web galleries). Photoshop allows a user to add preset tools in a list, but the presets are of all types and to find one a user has to scroll throughout the list looking for the correct tool.
Lightroom has various sections where presets can be stored and used, but each is unique to the module being worked in. For example, you can store templates or presets for meta data to attach to newly imported images. I use this template for my copyright and ownership information - i.e., information that should appear in every image no matter what.
There are also presets that can be saved for items such as custom cropping aspects. I use 11x14, 13x19 and 11x17 here.
Printing, slideshows and web layouts all have user definable presets or templates available. This makes repeat work in these areas a snap. The printing area I use the most and it is finally nice to have a way to set printing properties without having to reset the printer each time.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
Lightroom has an extensive set of shortcuts that aren't too difficult to learn. Adobe added an extra feature that makes using shortcuts a must. In any of the modules - Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print or Web, press the Help, Module Name Shortcuts, menu item and get a quick popup window with categorized shortcuts for the module you are in. Pressing escape or enter will cause the window to disappear.
It has never been so easy to find shortcuts. By making this easy, learning them is a cinch and they will become second nature in no time.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
The second step I like to perform after making a virtual copy is a crop. If I know I will only print this picture in a certain format size, I will crop to that size. Most of the time I crop to a 1:1 aspect. This means that I trim off the edges.
Note that cropping is only necessary if an image is scanned from a slide or film. Digital images have no rough edges. However, cropping a scanned image also has the advantage of making the image more comparable to the digital images. After cropping, all the library images will look the same.
Another added benefit of cropping is that the image is ready to make a slideshow or html page. Even if further development is desired, the image can be used in a slideshow to proof.
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Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.
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