Adobe Lightroom 4 Beta

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RELATED LINKS:

• Download Adobe Lightroom 4 Beta
• Lightroom Beta 4 Unveiling (Kelby Training)
• Lightroom 4 Beta Launch Center (NAPP)

Create Layered Files In Lightroom

Perfect Layers is the fast and easy way to create layered files in Photoshop Lightroom. With Perfect Layers you can create and edit multi-layered Photoshop files directly within Photoshop Lightroom or use it to combine images from within other applications. Use it to change skies, composite multiple images together and retouch portraits using the built-in blend modes. We're extremely excited about Perfect Layers and hope you'll enjoy trying out the completely free Perfect Layers Public Preview Release.

• Combine multiple images into a layered Photoshop-compatible file

• Adjust layer size, position, blending mode and opacity

• Use the built-in layer masks and masking tools to blend multiple layers together

• Layered files are easily opened in Photoshop if needed

• Super fast launch and file-opening speed

Download FREE beta version here.

Terry White: 5 Things I Do To Every Portrait

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.3 Upgrade

The 3.3 upgrade for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is now available. It includes camera support for several new cameras, including the Nikon D7000, and contains corrections for issues introduced in Lightroom 3.0.

• Download Mac Upgrade Here
• Download Windows Upgrade Here

Publish Your Pictures To Facebook Directly From Lightroom 3.2

In this video Terry White demonstrates how to use Lightroom 3.2's ability to publish photos directly to your Facebook account.

Scott Kelby On Aperture Versus Lightroom

In response to a misrepresentation of his views of Aperture versus Lightroom, Scott Kelby wrote a  helpful comparison the two programs. To summarize: far more pros use Lightroom than Aperture; Aperture lacks many of the features found in Lightroom; Aperture is slow and buggy; and Aperture only has one feature that Kelby favors over Lightroom's -- Aperture's making photo books feature.

Here are a few quick excerpts:

...

"I only like Aperture better for one feature -- making photo books. I don’t use it for anything else (I do my slideshows in iPhoto)."

...

"...if I had written an Aperture 4 wish list article, it would have gone on to include features already in Lightroom that Aperture doesn’t do well, or doesn’t do at all, like: automated and manual lens correction and perspective correction, or snapshots and history for your edits, or supporting multiple adjustments with one brush stroke like Lightroom’s Adjustment Brush, or built-in Camera profiles to emulate Nikon/Canon in-camera looks, or a fast responsive crop tool, or crop tool overlays for composition, or setting your default adjustment settings by camera model, camera serial number or image ISO, or expertly-tuned sharpening on output, or saving your print layouts as JPEGs so you can send them to a photo lab, and I could go on and on and on.

"Not to mention that there’s a massive worldwide community built around using Lightroom and supporting Lightroom users, and you can find tons of presets, plug-ins, advice, training books, live seminars, hands-on workshops, and even its own conference available to Lightroom users, that simply doesn’t exist on that scale for Aperture users (and did I mention that Aperture isn’t even available on the Windows platform at all?)."

...

"An independent study by InfoTrends looked at which programs pros are using to process their raw images. Here’s what they found:

"In 2009 (the most current year for which statistics are available) here’s what the pros use:

"Lightroom: 37%

"Aperture: 6.3% (down from 7.5% the previous year, so their pro user base is actually shrinking).

"Now, although Lightroom is available for both PCs and Macs, Aperture is only available on Macs, and you’d think that would help its case quite a bit, but it actually gets worse when you just compare what Mac users are using. Here are InfoTrend’s results when you just look at pro photographers using Macs:

"Lightroom: 44.4%

"Aperture: 12.5% (down from 14.6% the previous year, so their pro user base is actually shrinking on the Mac, too)."

...

You can read Kelby's complete article here.

Lightroom 3 Learning Center

Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskwoski provide a nice introduction to some of the cool features found in Lightroom 3. Here's where to go to watch a series of videos that illustrate their favorite Lightroom 3 features.

Aperture 3.0 Versus Lightroom 2.0 / 3.0

Now that Apple has come out with a 3.0 version of Aperture, the competition between Adobe Lightroom and Aperture is heating up. From my perspective, there really hasn't been any competition until now.  I bought Aperture the moment it was announced, weeks before it was released, before I had heard anything about Lightroom. My early experience with Aperture was horrendous, as were many other users. The program was slow, buggy, and poorly supported. There was, in fact, a mini rebellion among many first adopters about all kinds of issues, including how much the program cost. When Lightroom came out -- and came out as a FREE (did I say FREE) demo -- many frustrated Aperture users, me included, took it for a test spin, migrated, and never looked back.

Until now.

While I haven't taken Aperture 3.0 for a spin yet, I plan to. In fact, while I haven't touched Aperture since version 1.0, I plan to upgrade to 3.0. That's because I want to use Aperture's wedding album / book making functions, which is sadly lacking in Lightroom. And while I'm at it, I also plan to try out some of the new features that people like Chase Jarvis and Joe McNally have been raving about. In advance of purchasing the $99.00 upgrade, I've spent some time watching the tutorials Apple has posted, which are great!

So what, exactly, are the pros and cons? How do these two titans compare to one another? Here's where you can find a few great reviews and feature-by-feature comparisons. The first piece, by Matt Kloskowski, is the best because it includes many real-world comparisons from people who have actually used both programs.

5 Reasons To Stay With Lightroom (And Not Switch To Aperture)
By Matt Kloskowski

Five Reasons For Switching From Lightroom 2 To Aperture 3
By Marco Davi

First Impressions Of Aperture 3
By Thomas Fitzgerald

Apple Aperture 3.0 Awesomeness
By Chase Jarvis

Aperture 3 Was My Idea
By Joe McNally

Apple's Aperture 3 Causing Significant Memory Leak For Many Users
By Seth Weintraub

Kelby TV

Your one-stop source to learn everything about Photoshop, Lightroom, Nikon, and photography in general, including an endless stream of easy to understand tips from pros who know what they are talking about. Go here to pick from hundreds of fast-paced, informative, user-friendly programs.

Scott Kelby On Twitter

Scott Kelby on Twitter: @ScottKelby

Viveza 2

I first reported on Viveza in March of 2009. Viveza 2 arrived a couple months ago and I finally got around to upgrading. The creators of Viveza have added a lot of cool features to an already "must-have" plugin. Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User Magazine describes Viveza 2 as "a time-saver and 'game changer' for anyone who makes a living at photography. Mind-blowingly easy and incredibly accurate!" I concur. You can find out more by going here.

Behind-The-Scenes With The Lightroom Team

Julie Kmoch, Lightroom senior development manager, shares secrets of the Lightroom development process, her favorite Lightroom time-saving tip and some of her wildflower photos.

Lightroom 3 Learning Center

Most of you have probably heard that Adobe has released a beta version of Lightroom 3. They have also made this beta available to the general public, for free, until April 30, 2010, which is when the beta expires. There are a bunch of mouth-watering features, including new algorithms that allow for more accurate and sophisticated editing of images. You can download the new beta here. For some great video tutorials, check out NAPP's Lightroom 3 Learning Center and Adobe's own video tutorials.

Adobe Lightroom 2 Soften Skin Brush Video Tutorial

Source

Viva Viveza!

I first heard about Nik Software's U-Point technology when they worked with Nikon to develop Capture NX. I was so impressed with what this technology could do, that I bought Capture NX when it first came out -- and then, because of a clunky interface and buggy program, abandoned it. My interest was recently reawakened when Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski began showcasing Nikon's Capture NX 2 software on their new D-Town program. I upgraded, but was again unhappy with the clunky interface and also didn't relish the idea of using (and learning) another software program to edit images in. Wasn't there a way to incorporate U-Point technology into Photoshop or Lightroom, which are the two main editing programs I use?

Turns out there is! The Nik software folks have come out with a program called "Viveza" which provides a U-Point plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture. Although pricey ($249.00), I think it is worth it. I bought the software and now have it working in both Lightroom and Photoshop -- and love what it can do!

Here's how Nik Software describes Viveza:

"Two of the most important factors in creating great photography are color and light. Mastering the art of selectively correcting or enhancing each of these is now possible for every photographer without the need for complicated masks or selections, or expert-level knowledge of Photoshop. Integrating award-winning U Point technology, Viveza is the most powerful and precise tool available to control light and color in photographic images.

"U Point powered Color Control Points, placed directly on colors or objects in an image (such as sky, skin, grass, etc.), reveal easy-to-use controls that photographers can use to quickly adjust brightness, contrast or color in a fraction of the time needed by other tools. With Viveza you’ll spend more time shooting photographs and save hours of image editing."

Here's where you can read more about it, watch tutorials, and download a 15-day fully functioning demo.

And, finally, here's a coupon code that will shave some buckeroos off that hefty $249.00 price tag: NIKPSS.

Photoshop News Feeds

Alltop Photoshop News Feeds

Adobe Releases Lightroom 2.3 & Camera Raw 5.3

From dpreview: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3. These are final versions of updates which were originally posted as release candidates on the Adobe Labs site, and are now available for immediate download. Both provide additional Raw support for Nikon D3X and Olympus E-30 DSLR’s. Lightroom is also now available in 8 new languages.

Click here to download Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v2.3 (Mac)
Click here to download Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v2.3 (Windows)
Click here to download Adobe Camera Raw v5.3 (Mac)
Click here to download Adobe Camera Raw v5.3 (Windows)

Lightroom 2.2 Now Available

Lightroom 2.2 is now available on Adobe.com. (Mac, Win) The release includes new camera support for the following models:

- Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Canon PowerShot G10
- Panasonic DMC-G1
- Panasonic DMC-FX150
- Panasonic DMC-FZ28
- Panasonic DMC-LX3
- Leica D-LUX 4

We've also fixed a few bugs that were introduced with the Lightroom 2.0 release...

Click here for more information.

FrederickVan Interviews Matt Kloskowski

FrederickVan Writes:

At the recent Photoshop World Expo in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Kloskowski from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

Along with Scott Kelby, Matt produces a weekly online video containing great Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom tips and tricks. Matt is also a highly sought-after educator, and has authored several books on the topic of photography — his latest being “Layers: The Complete Guide to Photoshop’s Most Powerful Feature“.

In this interview, Matt and I sit down to chat about his photography, Lightroom, and more. Matt shares some tips on how to manage photos in Lightroom, features he’d like to see in future versions, and what his favorite new feature in Lightroom 2 is.

Original Link

Lightroom 2.1 'Release Candidate'

Lightroom 2.1
From Adobe Labs

"Welcome to the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.1 release candidate on Adobe Labs. The 'release candidate' label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Lightroom team would like the community to help verify the quality of this update through normal usage as this will ensure that the application is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe. If you do experience an issue with this release candidate please report it to the Lightroom User to User forum..."

Lightroom 2.1 Release Candidate for Macintosh and Windows.