Photoshop and light room questions

Zebrano

Hi All.
So i downloaded photoshop and light room last night.
So far ive just been using iphoto which is quiet easy to use.
Can anyone reccommended some online tutorials.
Also do i have to import the photos to the computer hard drive or can i use an external hard drive
Thanks all
Zebrano

CabanSail

I use an external hard drive.

Not a fan of Lightroom

Only use Photoshop CC and have learned my techniques from Guy Gowan.

D.S.

Zebrano,

If you want to get quickly up to speed - i think the adobe video tutorials are the best bet. The only problem with them is they can be a little long / tedious. Youtube (try serge ramellis channel) also has some great shorter versions of the same thing. If you are willing to pay - some of the best video tutorials are on Lynda (where you will quickly go from basics to more advanced editing).

If you learn faster by reading (personally I prefer written tutorials than video), then there's a couple of digital resources you could use - Thephoboblogger.com has some great links to resources. If you google free lightroom quick start guide you also get some decent free resources. i bought a full book by martin evening (Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5) which was brilliant for understanding how the tool actually works and the quirks as to why the library/develop module work / behave differently but it's complete overkill if you want to learn the basics.

If you want to learn some great editing techniques in Lightroom - I would highly recommend paying for Cuba Gallery's tutorials (think he's at www.cubagallery.co.nz) - he goes through his technique for 'light mapping' in lightroom which is a different take on dodging and burning and also colour toning, and it was one of the best kick starters I got in lightroom editing.

Also - yes you can use an external.

At this stage - I use lightroom for basic editing only, file management, and publishing - I use photoshop for edits on my fav photos.

Anyway - hope that helps.

D.S.

Zebrano

Thanks guys ill have a look at them

Kenny Logins

Grab the free trial week on Lynda.com.

Using and external hard drive could be problematic as Lightroom builds catalogues based on the original photos and their storage location, it's not like PS where you open, edit, and save, it always refers back to the original file and builds non-destructive edits on top of that. It can take a little time to get used to, but I think it's worth the effort.

homerun_homer

Phlearn.com and their youtube channel are great for Photoshop tutorials.

Myksyk

Yeah, Phlearn is good. Subscription tutorials I have found very useful are Phil Steele's on Lightroom (excellent) and Lynda.com for everything!!

Balfey1972

Some decent links here as a starting point
http://petapixel.com/2016/03/10/ultimate-list-photography-videos-learn/

sheep?

Can vouch for Lynda as well, although I'm lucky in that I've been subscribed through my current college course, so I can't comment on price. (Supposed to be learning about ProTools but you know...photos. ^_^)

fret_wimp2

Even though I used Elements for many years, i still needed re-orientation when moving to lightroom.
Luckily Adobe have some great, short videos to orient you and get you up and running.

They do not cover everything, but plenty to get you used to the work flow and the rest you can learn as you hit issues, with a bit of googling.


http://tv.adobe.com/show/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-5/

Ben D Bus

Lynda is excellent. As recommended, take up the free trial and even pay for a month or two if you need to. It IS worth it.

blacon9

Loads of great stuff already mentioned, but I want to emphasize YouTube as a really incredible learning resource. I self taught myself both Lightroom and Photoshop with YouTube, and knew more than most people in my class when I went to actual photography courses. Don't focus too much on a particular channel, just search for the technique you're aiming for and pick a video that has a really high rating.

One key thing to remember though - you need to learn by doing, or you wont remember the techniques. So as you watch a video, pause it and switch over to Photoshop/Lightroom and do it yourself. Otherwise it's really not worth it.

budgemook

Have been meaning to try and find out information like this. Have been paying Adobe for about a year now but only used the applications for the first couple of months, and didn't really get beyond very beginner stuff.

Will check the links and keep and eye on this thread - thanks OP!

Uncle Ben

For what it's worth I'd recommend Anthony Morganti. His tutorials are on YouTube and he also has his own site. I normally watch the relevant video through in full and then import a photo into LR or PS and go through the tutorial again stopping at the different processes and putting these into practice. Keeping a notebook beside me enables me to keep a track of the key shortcuts and the different stages.

Zascar

Lightroom is absolutely brilliant. I wish I had started using it years ago. It has really taught me so much and enabled me to get far better photos. I highly recommend anyone to use it. There are plenty of free tutorials, this is one that was recommended: https://library.universalclass.com/i/librarycourse/learn-adobe-lightroom.htm but loads more on youtube etc

budgemook

Zascar wrote: »

Lightroom is absolutely brilliant. I wish I had started using it years ago. It has really taught me so much and enabled me to get far better photos. I highly recommend anyone to use it. There are plenty of free tutorials, this is one that was recommended: https://library.universalclass.com/i/librarycourse/learn-adobe-lightroom.htm but loads more on youtube etc

How much does this one cost?

Kenny Logins

budgemook wrote: »

How much does this one cost?

Free to library card holders.

budgemook

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Free to library card holders.

Sorry now for the questions, what do you mean library card holders?

Kenny Logins

budgemook wrote: »

Sorry now for the questions, what do you mean library card holders?

Big building, full of books. No chatting or mobile phones allowed. SSShhh. You know? :pac:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/recreational_activities_in_ireland/sport_and_leisure/public_library_services.html

budgemook

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Big building, full of books. No chatting or mobile phones allowed. SSShhh. You know? :pac:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/recreational_activities_in_ireland/sport_and_leisure/public_library_services.html

:rolleyes:

Okay so I'm struggling with the link between a library and this course - https://library.universalclass.com/i/librarycourse/learn-adobe-lightroom.htm

I suppose you mean there are other adobe lightroom learning resources in my local library for free, is it?

Kenny Logins

budgemook wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Okay so I'm struggling with the link between a library and this course - https://library.universalclass.com/i/librarycourse/learn-adobe-lightroom.htm

I suppose you mean there are other adobe lightroom learning resources in my local library for free, is it?

No, that course and all of the others on that site are provided free of charge to public library card holders. More info here -

http://www.dublincity.ie/story/free-online-training

budgemook

Kenny Logins wrote: »

No, that course and all of the others on that site are provided free of charge to public library card holders. More info here -

http://www.dublincity.ie/story/free-online-training

Thanks! I did not know about that. I'll give this course a go.

Kenny Logins

budgemook wrote: »

Thanks! I did not know about that. I'll give this course a go.

Not many people do. I posted a thread on here when I first heard about it but it sank. I renewed my membership but haven't had time to look at the courses yet. Let us know how you get on.

Ideo

I've been following the Cuba Gallery Instagram for a while now. Bought the Lightroom tutorial and presets pack a good few months and worked through some of that, good techniques but I've still only scratched the surface of the package. I'm trying to understand the technique that he has used to achieve the effect of this photo - any suggestions?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDNl3eXBkaN/?taken-by=cubagallery

D.S.

Ideo wrote: »

I've been following the Cuba Gallery Instagram for a while now. Bought the Lightroom tutorial and presets pack a good few months and worked through some of that, good techniques but I've still only scratched the surface of the package. I'm trying to understand the technique that he has used to achieve the effect of this photo - any suggestions?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDNl3eXBkaN/?taken-by=cubagallery

Love that tutorial also.

First off he shoots on a D800 which had amazing dynamic range. That's important as it helps with his shadow detail.

Assuming he's still only in Lightroom (and not photoshop), he had two main approaches here from what I can tell:


- light mapping - i reckon he's used a gradial filter on the top half set to darken and bottom third at a 45 degree angle from bottom left. am guessing he's used a radial filter or a brush set to lighten just below the half way mark under the mountain ridge
- colour toning - he's a particular colour style he uses. Am guessing he's altered the HSL levers particularly yellow, green, blue, cyan. he may also have used a set of radial / graduated filters where he may have desaturated and reintroduced the navy / cyan / green.

Apart from that - probably some overall tone work to deepen contrast and clarity / sharpening adjustments. May have adjusted the rgb curves to finalise colour work.

Bit of a guess. Just one way. I would approach this differently In photoshop.

D.S.

Zebrano

9R2A4454.jpg by stephen harborne, on Flickr

9R2A4499.jpg by stephen harborne, on Flickr

Some of my first attempts with lightroom
C&c welcome

budgemook

Could you do a before and after?

Zebrano

Ill give it a try later