lightroom BASICS
training & production support
About Abobe Lightroom
Getting started
Adobe Lightroom is designed for your digital photography workflow.
Lightroom helps you organize, manage, process, print, and show
digital photographs and can create web sites using your selected images.
To Import images into Lightroom, you have several options:
Lightroom keeps track of your photographs through the creating of
Catalogs which are controlled in the Lightroom Library. These
catalogs keep track of files, image data, metadata, image ratings
and other such information.
• Choose File>Import from Device - this will allow you to hook up a
camera or scanner and import directly from that device
NOTE: Though you can view photos in both Lightroom and Adobe Bridge,
the two applications behave differently. To view photos in Adobe Bridge,
your computers hard drive must contain the photos or your computer
must be connected to a storage media containing photos. This is because
Adobe Bridge is a file browser that only displays readily accessible
photos. The Lightroom catalog is a database that keeps track of the
photos you import, so you can view photo previews and data whether
your hard drive contains the actual photos or not.
How Lightroom is laid out
Lightroom has 5 different Modules.
• Library Module - is where you view, sort, manage, organize,
compare, and rate your photos. COMMAND + CONTROL + 1
• Develop Module - is where you adjust the color and tonal range
of your photos. All the adjustments you make in Lightroom are
nondestructive and do not affect your original file. COMMAND +
CONTROL + 2
• Slideshow Module - Lets you create a layout of your photos to
make into a slideshow presentation. Slideshows are made into an
Acrobat PDF presentation. COMMAND + CONTROL + 3
• Print Module - lets you set up the page layout and print options
for printing photos and contact sheets to your printer.
COMMAND + CONTROL + 4
• Choose File>Import Photos from Disk - this allows you to choose a
folder to load the images from
• File>Import from Catalog allows you to import from an existing
Lightroom Catalog
• File>Auto Import - allow
you to set a Watched Folder
that will look for any images
placed in that folder to be imported
• Or just drag an image into the open Lightroom window.
When importing images, you can select to copy the images or move
them from the location you are importing them from. You can also
add metadata and keywords, apply a naming convention and apply
preset color adjustments. You can click on the preview icon in the
Import window to
choose which images
to import or leave out.
You must import
photos into the
Lightroom library to
begin working with
them. When importing,
you can choose to move or just copy the photo files to a specific
location, or reference the photo files in their current location. After
they are imported, Lightroom adds the photos to the Lightroom library
and builds previews and catalogs metadata. Lightroom only works with
previews so even if you move the imported photos off your computer,
the preview and information still resides in Lightroom.
• Web Module - lets you create the look of your website.
COMMAND + CONTROL + 5
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Lightroom Overview
Supported File Formats
Keyboard Shortcuts
Lightroom can support these 5 image formats - Camera raw
formats, Digital Negative format, TIFF format, JPEG format,
or Photoshop format (PSD) - (Layered PSD files must be saved
with the Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility preference on.)
These is no list of shortcuts that Lightroom allows you to print, BUT
they do have a great way to bring up all the short cuts depending
on what module you are in.
Setting Up Preferences
COMMAND + ? will bring an overlay of the shortcuts up on screen;
click on the shortcuts and they will go away.
There are a few preferences that can be set before you begin. Choose
Lightroom>Preferences to access these.
General Preferences: Default Library - This allows you to choose a
different library (if necessary), but keeping it on Load Most Recent
Library will keep you from going crazy finding which library you used.
Import: Sets preferences for importing files, extensions and file preview
External Editors: Allows you to edit photos in Photoshop rather
than in Lightroom
File Handling: An important preference that helps keep file
naming clean and consistent especially if the end use is for
something outside your computer, like in a database where nonconforming characters can be an issue.
Interface: Set the look and feel of Lightroom as well as some
helpful Filmstrip preferences.
Lightroom Icons
There are 3 Lightroom icons that appear on images if edits have
been made:
Keyword Icon
if any keywords have been applied to the image.
Identity Plate Set up: Setting up your Indentity Plate is done
under the Lightroom menu. Choose Identity Plate Set up and define
the parameters and click OK. This will allow you to personalize the
interface by choosing the font and size of some of the interface.
Develop Icon
Creating Catalogs
Collections
In Lightroom, you can create catalogs of images for a project or an
event that can be kept separate from all the other images you work
on. To create a new catalog, choose File>New Catalog. Only one
catalog can be open at a time. Lightroom can back up Catalogs once
a week onto your hard drive (this is optional).
Collections are a way to gather photos for performing a variety of tasks
without having to make a separate catalog of images.
Crop Icon
if any images are cropped.
if any adjustments have been applied.
Create a Collection in Library Mode - select images in the Filmstrip
and right-click on the images and choose Add to Quick Collection. This
will show a circle icon in the upper right of all the images in that
collection. You can also create a Quick Collection by hovering over an image
and simply clicking on the circle icon in the upper right of the image.
To save the collections choose File>Save Quick Collection and it will
save the collection in the Collections Panel on the left side of the Library.
You can create a slide show or web site from this Quick Collection and
when done, you can delete the Collection (but this doesn’t delete the
images from Lightroom).
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Lightroom Library
The Library module is where you can view, sort, manage, organize, compare, and rate your photos using the Lightroom Tools.
The panels on the left side are for
searching, zooming in, comparing
and viewing specific photos.
You can search for photos by
keyword tags, metadata, file type
or by date.
The panels on the right side let
you view the histogram of a
selected photo, add metadata
and keywords photos. The Quick
Develop does just that, it lets you
apply simple adjustments to
photo(s) within the Library
module.
The main viewing options are
located at the bottom of the
Library Module above the FilmStrip
area. They are:
• Grid view (G)- Displays photos
as thumbnails in cells, which can
be viewed in different sizes by
using the thumbnail slider.
View Options
Painter - (available in Grid view only) lets you apply keywords or
other attributes quickly by “spraying” the Painter tool across photos.
• Loupe view (E)- Displays a single photo. Controls let you view the
entire photo or zoom in to see part of it. Zoom levels up to 11:1 are
available in the upper
left corner of the
Library Module under the Navigator Panel. Double-Click, press
Return, or press Space Bar to enter in and get out of Loupe View.
Sorting - (available in Grid view only) Specifies the sort direction or
sorting criteria for displaying the photo thumbnails.
Rating - Applies or removes rating stars for selected photos.
Pick - Applies or removes a Pick or Rejected flag for selected photos.
Color Label - Applies or removes color labels for selected photos.
Rotate - Rotates selected photos clockwise or counterclockwise.
Navigate - Selects the previous or next image.
• Compare view (C) - Displays photos side-by-side so that you can
evaluate them. Select 2 or more images and go into compare
mode to compare. These can be Linked to zoom together.
Slideshow - Plays an impromptu slideshow of the photos.
Zoom - (available in Loupe view only) Zooms the view in or out.
Info - Displays the selected photo’s filename in the information panel.
Filter Options
• Survey view - Displays the active photo with selected photos so
that you can evaluate them. The active photo has a Selected Photo
icon and the other photos have a Deselect Photo icon.
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Below the thumbnail view is a Filter Bar that allows you to click on
Accept or Reject Flags, Rating Stars and Color Highlights as a way of
searching through your images. These Filter icons do not apply these
settings to the images, it simply filters them if these settings are
applied. The “switch” on the end shuts the filter off.
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Lightroom Develop
The Develop module lets you adjust the color and tonal range of your images without having to exit to Photoshop. Any adjustments you make in
Lightroom are done in a nondestructive way, which means your original file is not altered – you just see the result of the adjustments.
The panels on the left side are for
navigating (on all panels),
accessing color adjustment presets,
taking snapshots in history as well
as a history panel.
The panels on the right side let
you view the histogram of a
selected photo, perform Basic
color correction, adjust the tonal
curve, adjust HSL, Color and
Grayscale mix, perform Split
Toning, control the amount of
noise reduction and sharpening
and perform Lens Corrections
(chromatic abberations)
The History Panel shows a history
of all options performed on the
image but it doesn’t allow you to
scroll through a list like you can in
Photoshop. To access all these items
in history, choose COMMAND + Z to
undo and SHIFT + COMMAND + Z
to redo.
Presets
Presets are a list of preset image adjustments that are in Lightroom as
a default. To create your own preset adjustment, use the adjustment
panels on the left side of the
window, then click on the + next
to the Preset Title and a dialoge box
will appear, name the Preset and
select the options and click OK. This
will capture the settings of the
adjustments you have applied.
Once the preset is created it can be
applied to images and edited by
clicking on the name of the preset
and changing the adjustments.
• Crop - Allows you to crop the photo free form or constrained and
also to straighten a photo that is crooked.
• Red Eye Removal - A simple way to remove red-eye from an
image by drawing over the area to be adjusted.
• Clone/Heal Tool - Allows cloning or healing of an area.
- To Clone or Heal, click on the area you want the clone (or heal)
and drag the circle to the area you want to sample from.
- To Erase the clone/heal areas, click on the area (defined by the
circles and DELETE.
Image fixes and clean-up
Under the image window is a set of options that can be accessed to
crop and image, get rid of red-eye, see a before and after comparison
of the image editing and simple cloning and healing options.
• Before and After - Displays photos in a
split view (vertically or horizontally) or
split in half on top of each other.
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To enlarge or reduce the brush size of the clone/heal tool, use the
cursor slider or (right bracket) ] to enlarge, (left bracket) [ to reduce.
To exit from any of these clean up operations you can click the
Reset button at the bottom of the Panel or undo these in the History
Panel or use COMMAND + Z.
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Lightroom Slideshow
The Slideshow module lets you create a slideshow that can viewed in Lightroom or exported as an Acrobat PDF that can be viewed as
presentation with transitions.
The panels on the left side are for
previewing the options that are
applied and accessing default
templates and create your own.
The panels on the right side let
you control the options for laying
out the slide, image sizes, colors,
drop shadows, text, and apply
music or a sound track.
The Slideshow module
contains these panels:
• Preview - Displays the layout of
a template with a thumbnail
preview. Moving the pointer over
the template name displays its
page layout in the Preview.
• Template Browser - Selects or
previews the slide layout for
photos.
• Options - Determines how the photos appear in the slide layout,
and whether they have a border or cast shadow.
• Layout - Customizes the page layout by specifying the size of the
image cell in the slide template. You can adjust the margins to
change the size of the image on the page.
• Overlays - Specifies the text and other objects that are displayed
in the slide with the photo.
- The identity plate is for your own bit of flair on the slide. It can be
edited by clicking on drop down arrow on the identity to set the
font and size.
- Ratings can be applied to the slide as viewing options set
- Simple text overlays such as page numbers or user-generated
text can be added to each slide and the options for how that text
will appear can be adjusted. Font and size can be specified here.
• Backdrop - Specifies the colors or image behind the photo on
each slide. You can apply a color wash (a gradient) or apply a
background image and fade it back as a backdrop for all the slides
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•Playback - Specifies how long each slide is displayed in the
presentation, the duration of the transition between slides,
whether music plays with the slideshow, and whether to present
the photos in random order.
- Audio files can be MP3s and can added directly from iTunes
- Slideshows with audio when exported as a PDF no longer
contain the music or audio files
Slide duration can be set for how long the slide is shown and how
long or short the fade between slides is. Slides can also be played in
random order.
Slide commands
Under the Play menu are
a list of commands for
playing a slide show.
You can select specific
photos to make a slide
show or include all the
images in the collection
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Lightroom Print
The Print module lets you specify the page layout and print options for printing photos and contact sheets printing settings.
The panels on the left side let you
use default templates and preview
page layouts.
The panels on the right side lets
you modify the printing template,
set image settings, control the
page layout, page look and feel
and printing management.
The Print module contains these panels:
• Preview - Displays the layout of a template. Moving the pointer
over a template name in the Template Browser displays that
template’s page layout in the Preview panel.
• Template Browser - Selects or previews the layout for printing
photos. Templates are organized into folders that include
Lightroom presets and user-defined templates.
- To create a new user defined template, set the page set up and
style the way you would like, click the Add button, and save the
template. That newly created template will reside under the User
Templates
• Image Settings - Determines how the photos fill the cells in a
page layout.
• Layout - Lets you customize the page layout by specifying the size
and distribution of cells within the page margins.
To add images to a Template, choose the template or define your
own, and click on the image thumbnails in the Filmstrip section at
the bottom of the main window. This will add any images you select
to the layout you have created. You can create multiple pages with a
layout by choosing multiple images, the layout will automatically
accommodate all the images.
NOTE: Once you create a user-defined template, any additional
edits you make DO NOT apply to that template, you must right click
on the template and
choose Update with
Current Settings in
order for that
template to mirror
your current changes!
• Overlays - Specifies the text and other items that get printed with
the photos.
• Print Job - Specifies the print resolution, color management, and
sharpening.
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Lightroom Web
The Web module lets you specify the page layout of the web site.
The panels on the left side let you
use and create templates and
preview the page layouts
The panels on the right side let
you modify existing templates,
adding text to web pages, setting
up the web gallery.
The Web module contains these panels:
• Preview - Displays the layout of a template. An icon on the
lower-left side of the panel indicates whether the template is for a
Lightroom HTML gallery or Lightroom Flash gallery .
• Template Browser - Displays a list of web photo gallery
templates. Moving the pointer over the template names displays
its page layout in the Preview.
•Gallery - Selects the default Lightroom Flash Gallery or Lightroom
HTML Gallery templates. Galleries done in Flash will have a ghost
Flash Icon on the Main Window to let you know it is done using
Flash.
• Site Info - Specifies the title of your web photo gallery, the
collection title and description, contact information, and the Web
or mail link.
• Color Palette - Specifies the colors for text, web-page
background, cells, rollover, grid lines, and index numbers.
• Output Settings - Specifies the maximum pixel dimension of the
photos and JPEG quality, and whether to add a copyright
watermark.
• Upload Settings - Specifies upload settings to send your web
gallery to a server.
• Preview In Browser - Exports your web gallery for viewing in
your default browser.
Upload or Export your Site
Once your site is created you can export your site to a folder on your
computer or click on the Upload button to upload to your web
host. To Set your FTP Upload settings, choose the Custom
Settings>Edit from the Upload Panel on the right side. Enter in
the server name, user name and password to access the web
server that it will be hosted on.
• Appearance - Specifies the image cell layout (for a Lightroom
HTML gallery), page layout (for a Lightroom Flash gallery), and
whether an identity plate appears on the web pages. You can also
add drop shadows and define section borders.
• Image Info - Specifies the text displayed with the image
previews.
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Lightroom Preferences
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COMMAND + ?
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Lightroom Menus
File
View
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Edit
Library
Window
Slide Show
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Photo
Print
Metadata
Web
Develop
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Settings
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Lightroom Notes
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