Lightroom update in mid November.

Lightroom Product Manager Tom Hogarty has announced over at Lightroom Journal. The update will solve the issues for new users of Mac OS X.5 Leopard. Tom lists a number of issues users are seeing and is requesting that users post others issues in the comments of the post. Hopefully this will appease the users having Lightroom/Leopard issues. Jumping to a new OS is something that should be left for a few days or weeks in my opinion. It's not called the 'bleeding edge' of technology for nothing!

Home at last?

On Aug 18th last year, during the Public Beta phase, I started blogging about Lightroom. It was just somewhere to place my thoughts on the program and publish links on stuff about it. It's been a subdomain of my website ever since, but you know what? It really deserves its own home. And so tonight I finally did what I've been meaning to do: I bought a domain name for my Lightroom blog. And what is it, you may ask? Why Lightroom-blog.com, of course.
Maybe I'll have to start thinking of a logo for it now. Your current link will work, but from now I'll publishing all links using the new name.
I'd also like to thank the folks that have been along for the whole ride!

Formatting your Text for Web

User Judith Nicholls has been frustrated with the lack of formatting in Lightrooms Web module. As I read over the posts I realised that I had posted about this very topic a long time ago. You can see the post over at Lightroom-news.com. Now a lot of the information is based on a much older version of Lightroom, but the inherent principle is the same: An unsupported method of formatting in the caption box.

Let's see how to apply this to the current Caption box.

First go to Image info in the HTML Gallery in Web.

Click on "Custom Settings" beside Caption and choose Edit

Begin by entering the following text: <ag:formatted></ag:formatted> into the text box of the Text Template Editor.
Any proper XML (not pure HTML) entered between these tags will be rendered. Use <strong></strong> for bold text and <em></em> for italic text. To create a new line use <br />. You need to use this from of br because of the way XML works.
Here's a template I've created:

And here's how it looks:

Hopefully this will help in the quest for tidy Metadata in Web. Like I mentioned, this is unsupported and may vanish from Lightroom at any time, but it is working for now.

Not so Simple Scroll Gallery (Updated)

I've been super naughty, staying up late, learning more about XSLT galleries than I care for. And for what? Well not just a bug fixed version of Scroll 0.1.3, but a new version 0.1.5 0.1.7 which includes the ability to change the gap between images. I've fixed the annoying unmentioned bug where the gallery is too big to fit across any size page (mixing 20px padding with 100% width-Doh!). 0.1.7 adds a cool menu bar (well it was there in 0.1.6, but that was seen only by a very small handful!)

However the big feature is something loads of people have asked for in a gallery... a Menu system...

Yep, that's right, I've 5 menu places to add in your page links. I tried to do this before, but failed miserably. Just this time round I was in the zone a bit after figuring out more XSLT and got it to work.

Anyhow:

Updated for 0.1.7: Sample Gallery

Download

0.1.7 also features more commented out code to fix height issues with landscape only height galleries. I've also fixed where '3rd Link' should've read 3rd Page Name and put the link/name fields in the same box to tidy it up.
Big shout to Mark Sirota for his suggestions and bug testing on this.
Finally. If you want to add more menu items, I've included comments in the code on what to cut and paste. Remember to change where it says fifth to sixth with the pasted info and all will be fine. The comments are in both galleryMaker.xml and transformer.xslt.



If you use this gallery, please put a link to a sample gallery in the comments!

To install the gallery, you need to go to User/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom, (On XP got o C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Lightroom -Note that Application Data is a hidden folder, on Vista C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\ ) where User is the name you log in with. Look for a folder called Web Galleries within. If it's not there, create it yourself. Unzip the file into this folder and restart Lightroom.
The new Gallery will apppear in the Right Hand Panel, in the Galleries Pane.

I recommend that you create an alias/shortcut to this Lightroom folder for future use.

Hold On

Over at Lightroom Forums.net we're discussing our favourite tips for Lightroom. We've put together a list of 'hold' tips for Lightroom. Lightroom has loads of toggle shortcuts, but by holding them down, you can toggle them temporarily. Here's a few, but I'm sure there are more.

• Hold L to temporarily toggle Lights Dim.


• Hold Shift L to temporarily toggle Lights Out.


• Hold T to temporarily toggle Toolbar. If it's already on it will toggle off or vise versa.


• Hold G to temporarily toggle Loupe back to Grid. While holding down G you can even select a new image for Loupe.


• Hold S to temporarily expand/contract Stacks.


• Hold Spacebar in Loupe view to temporarily zoom in. While holding Spacebar, you can move the zoom area in the Navigator to view image. You can even use Page Up/Down too, while holding Spacebar. Holding Z will also zoom.


• Hold V to temporarily view a grayscale version of your image in Develop (In Loupe view it just keeps toggling between the 2).

Simple Scroll Gallery

I make no claim to be a Matthew Campagna or Joe Capra, but I did do a lot of playing around to see what made the galleries tick, during the Public Beta. Eventually I made a few of my own. They were pretty much hard coded to my website though. Someone recently was wondering about a simple scroll gallery for Lightroom. I had one and decided to modify it for everyones use.

So here's my UPDATED!Simple Scroll Gallery.

To install the gallery, you need to go to User/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom, (On XP got o C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Lightroom -Note that Application Data is a hidden folder, on Vista C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\ ) where User is the name you log in with. Look for a folder called Web Galleries within. If it's not there, create it yourself. Unzip the file into this folder and restart Lightroom.
The new Gallery will apppear in the Right Hand Panel, in the Galleries Pane.

The controls on the Gallery are very simple:
You can change the Site Title and Collection Description in Site Info. In Output settings you control Jpeg Quality, Preview Size, Background Colour, Copyright Watermark and ID Plate.
I've also uploaded a Sample Gallery for you to view.

Update: While it seemed to be working earlier, the background colour control is broken. Colour doesn't stick.

Update on the Update: Version 0.1.3 is now up at the link. I've added a Color Palette with controls for the BG color of the page, the image bar and the area where the collection description is listed, along with control of the text colour of the collection description.

Video: Creating Text slides for Slideshow in Lightroom

The normal route to making text slides is by creating them in Photoshop or another similar program. Here's a little workaround video to getting them in Lightroom directly. For a black background to the text slides, simply take a photo with your lens cap on. For other styles, you could use a photo of a solid colour or texture.
In the Video I use Job Identifier as the holder for the text in the Slides, but you can use anything that is not used by the images in the slideshow. Make sure the text box you use in the Slideshow setup matches whatever metadata you choose.
The video is in .m4v iPod Video format so Right Click the link to download it. I haven't done a video for a while, so excuse any mistakes!

Podcast #41 with Steve McCurry

As if we weren't spoilt enough with the Rainier Podcast, George Jardine has posted a 2nd Podcast this evening, This time with Steve McCurry. You'll probably know Steve from his famous Afghan girl photo. You know the one where her eyes pierce your soul? I thought so.

Some of the great pictures, you just look at them and you marvel at them, for the subject matter and somehow they struck a chord in you. But it’s rarely about the technique. It’s not about the lens, or the film, or the light necessarily. It’s really just some story in that picture. Some emotional element which you connect with.” - Steve McCurry

As mentioned in the previous post, all the Podcasts can be downloaded from George's iDisk. This new one will also be on iTunes shortly (search for Lightroom).

Podcast #40 with Chris Rainier

After a 6 week break from posting Podcasts, George Jardine is back with an interview with Chris Rainier.
"“It [being able to “see and pre-visualize” in black and white] allowed me to speak of things that were beyond the color spectrum, beyond a certain reality, and go into what I like to call magical realism.” - Chris Rainier

This podcast was recorded on Saturday October 6th, 2007 at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington D.C. Chris sits down with George to have a conversation about working with Ansel Adams, Chris’s love of the landscape, and his sense of how photography can influence the social issues of our times. He also tells the story of the genesis of the Society’s Cultures initiative, which he currently directs."

As usual the Podcast can be downloaded from George's iDisk. It will also be on iTunes shortly (search for Lightroom).

A finishing touch? Photoblogging with Lightroom

Lightroom is a great all in one workflow for most users. Obviously not for everyone, but it does the job for most users.
One area that is lacking webwise is the lack of photoblogging ability. For those not aware of photoblogging, it's a bit like a photo a day gallery, but in reverse! When you load a photoblog, you see the full size version of the most recent photo first and can navigate to the next and previous days photos from there. When you go to the archive page, you get a thumbnail view of the image. Opposite to a normal gallery!
Lightroom currently doesn't provide for this. Or does it? Matthew Campagna, being the busiest web gallery developer in the Lightroom community, has put his head down and come up with a solution using Lightroom, Flickr.com, FlickrMSS and PictureSync.

"For many, myself included, Adobe Lightroom has been a revolutionary step forward for the photographic workflow. My photo library is (finally) organized, interfaces directly with my photo processing routine, and can be used forthwith to generate web photo galleries. Despite all this fantasticness, however, a single niggle has persisted to annoy me, the singular niche in my armor, the one task Lightroom had failed to address: my photoblog.

So much for my perfectly cohesive, wholly encompassing photographic workflow … Or so I’d thought.

Utitilizing a handful of third party applications and services, a Lightroom empowered blog can be a reality after all. The setup is long-winded, but straight-forward. Do not be daunted; read on."

Do read on, over at the theturninggate.net

Joe Reifer Photography

Continuing with photographers named Joey (well Joe anyway), I'd like to link you to the wonderful night photography of Joe Reifer. As per his about page 'Joe Reifer is a San Francisco Bay Area based editorial, fine art, and portrait photographer who specializes in night photography.' Well that pretty much sums it up.
He also has a very informative blog, covering the gamut of his work.

Monday Presets

As if he wasn't busy enough, Matt Kloskowski from Lightroom Killer Tips has added a new feature to his Lightroom Blog. It's called Monday Presets. The concept is that Matt will give away a series of presets he uses each week. 

Matt: I’m really excited to introduce a new feature on this site. Presets (or downloads or whatever you want to call them)! See…I realized I had an extra 15 minutes each week that was being wasted, so I decided to give myself one more item on the weekly “to-do” list. All joking aside, I just think presets are cool. They fit into my favorite 3 categories:
1) They’re easy to use.
2) They save me time
3) They’re fun"

This weeks Presets are Develop Presets for edge darkening, but he'll be adding Web Galleries, Slideshow and Print Presets also.

If you are interested in free presets, don't forget that Richard Earney has bucketloads over at Inside Lightroom.com

New Lightroom Forums

With the User to User forums a little on the awkward side, and with Lightroom only taking up a small subsection on other forums, Ian Farlow has started LighroomForums.net. The forum membership is starting to rise and a few of the testers and expert users of the program have made their way there as members. I joined as an ordinary member and was crowned a Guru, but I suppose if I'm not instigating it, I'm okay with it.

Is there not enough forums already? Probably, but like all communities, some suit and some don't. And of course all forums are ultimately self selecting, so pop by and see what you think.
LighroomForums.net

Via Lighroom Galleries/Victoria Bampton

Audio for Slideshows

While we can of course use our own music for presenting slideshows, it becomes an issue when we are using them for commercical purposes. If you use a video capture tool to record your slideshow as a movie, then music licensing is going to rear its ugly head. We don't like when someone steals our image, and the music companies are the same about their music collections. One way around this is to find somewhere that you can license music. One place is Pump Audio. You can browse their fairly extensive collection and get music that you probably won't hear anywhere else. As an example of prices, I did a search on for a little ambient track to suit using either for website background or web video. Using their Flash based Soundtrack engine, I was able to find a short piece I liked very quickly. I then had a look at some pricing options. 

• Web Video/Animation: Stream only €25 per video in perpetuity


• Web Video/Animation: Stream + Download €35 per video in perpetuity


• Web Background: €40 per year


• Podcast (Audio only): €35 in perpetutiy

Now obviously there are more terms to the licenses, but that's just to give you an idea of what's there. Hopefully some of you will find this of some use!

Lightroom Vs Photoshop Curves.

Martin Evening has done a great post comparing Curves in Photoshop Vs Lightroom. It's an excellent and informative read. 

Monoslide Gallery update

Matthe Campanga from theturninggate has updated his Lightroom Monoslide gallery to Version 1.1.
If it’s options you want, you’ll get them in spades with TTG MonoSlideshow Gallery, a template that integrates Monokai’s MonoSlideshow into the Adobe Lightroom‘s Web module. Every aspect of every element in the gallery is completely configurable to the user’s preferences. In fact, TTG MonoSlideshow Gallery is only a part of the iceberg; those willing to spend some time with the MonoSlideshow manual and to get their hands a little dirty with XML will find a wealth of additional options that go beyond the scope of Lightroom – things like sound-effects, custom fonts and watermarks, and more.

But there’s a catch. TTG MonoSlideshow Gallery is free, but MonoSlideshow is not. MonoSlideshow must be purchased from www.monoslideshow.com for $19.95 in order to use the Web module plugin.

Check it out here.

Via Lightroom Galleries

Why do my photos go dull when I import them into Lightroom?

When you first import images into Lightroom, the preview you see is the camera created JPG. This is a preview of the RAW file, with all the in camera settings applied. The look depends on how you've set your saturation, contrast, etc on the camera.
Lightroom the reads the RAW file and applies the default (or a chosen) Develop Preset. Of course, because it doesn't know what the in camera settings are, it can't apply them. The only RAW processor that will do this is the Camera Manufacturers software. The solution is to create a set of Develop Presets that match the look of the camera JPG. Probably the quickest way is to do a series of shots using RAW+JPG. Make sure the 'Treat Jpeg files next to raw files as separate photos' preference is checked in Preference>Import. Import the files.
Develop the RAW to look similar to the JPG. Use Compare mode in Library until you are happy with the look you are getting. The key things to watch for are contrast and saturation (although I prefer to use vibrance). The option to apply capture sharpening is up to you. Save the result as a Develop Preset.
Obvious cameras have different modes/picture styles, so you'll need to repeat the process for these settings if you use them.
When you Import, simply choose the setting you want from the Develop Preset drop down menu in the Import Dialog.

Eric Scouten on Worklist Keywords

Lightroom Engineer Eric Scouten has posted a highly informative article over at the Official Lightroom Blog: Lightroom Journal

Eric: "So you want to make sure you've identified all of the people you know in your Lightroom catalog, but ... you have several thousand photos in your catalog and you don't want to spend time reviewing photos you've already keyworded. How to avoid that?

This is where a technique I call worklist keywords comes in handy. The idea is simple: Use another keyword to keep track of which photos you've reviewed for a certain subject area. Here's how it works:"

Read the whole article