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:: me! ::
- Leslie C
- CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT: Family. Friends. Hounds. Books. The Beach. Autumn. Cameras. Computer. iPhone. The color orange. Caramel frappucino. The words "dude!" and "nice!". Oh...and world peace ;-)
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22 May 2014
20 May 2014
:: Photography Tips + Tricks: editing in Adobe Lightroom, part 2 ::
Happy Tips + Tricks Tuesday!!! Last week, I talked about the benefits of using Lightroom to edit your digital images. This week, I'd like to show you how I import my images into LR from my memory card. Of course, these suggestions are part of my workflow; others may do things differently according to their workflow preferences.
Importing your images from the camera/memory card into your computer is the one single most important step of the LR editing process. How you organize your files on your hard drive will determine the success of your overall workflow. Be rigorous. Be consistent. Most people organize their images by the date, one folder for each month of the year (April 2014, for instance).
*IMPORTANT: Once you've imported the files into your computer using LR, changing the names of your files, changing file structure or moving the folders around on your hard drive could be potentially disastrous, since LR won't be able to find the original files. You'll end up spending hours on remapping and relocating the files in LR.*
1) To maximize the capabilities of LR, try shooting in the RAW format, instead of JPEG. Most DSLRs and some Point-N-Shoots offer RAW. The RAW format takes up more room on your hard drive, but you will have more editing options in LR.
2) Once you've opened up LR, you will be in the "Library" module by default if this is the first time you're using LR. If not, click on the "Library" tab at the upper right of your screen. Your latest edits will be on the screen by default.
3) Click on the "Import..." button at the bottom left of your screen. The import window will pop up.
4) To import files that are already on your hard drive, set the import mode at the top of the window to "Add" so you could add a file to the LR catalog, without creating another copy of it on your hard drive.
5) To import files from your camera or memory card, set the import mode to "Copy" so the files are copied onto your hard drive and added to the LR catalog. The original files stay on the camera or memory card.
6) I do not suggest using the "Move" mode because your files are moved, not copied, from one location (camera, memory card or hard drive) to another. Essentially, the file is deleted from its original location and relocated to the new location in one step. It always makes me nervous to have just one copy of anything. It's always safer to make sure that the copy has arrived at its new location before deleting the original.
7) Choose the source FROM which to import in the source panel on the left (camera, memory card or hard drive). Choose the destination TO which the files are imported in the destination panel on the right (usually "My Catalog"/hard drive).
8) Highlight the folder(s) in the source panel which you'd like to import. Check "New Photos" to import only photos that have not been imported previously.
9) Click "Import" in the lower right of the destination panel.
10) Once the import process is done, go to the Folders panel on the left -- navigate to & highlight the folder that you've just imported.
11) The unedited images will appear as a "film-strip" thumbnails at the bottom the screen. Depending on your setting, the center of the screen will either be a grid of previews or a single enlarged preview. If your setting is on grid, prepare for editing by clicking on a specific thumbnail image within the grid to enlarge it to a single preview.
You are now ready for editing! Check back next week for some basics on how to use the Develop Panel.
* * *
Importing your images from the camera/memory card into your computer is the one single most important step of the LR editing process. How you organize your files on your hard drive will determine the success of your overall workflow. Be rigorous. Be consistent. Most people organize their images by the date, one folder for each month of the year (April 2014, for instance).
*IMPORTANT: Once you've imported the files into your computer using LR, changing the names of your files, changing file structure or moving the folders around on your hard drive could be potentially disastrous, since LR won't be able to find the original files. You'll end up spending hours on remapping and relocating the files in LR.*
1) To maximize the capabilities of LR, try shooting in the RAW format, instead of JPEG. Most DSLRs and some Point-N-Shoots offer RAW. The RAW format takes up more room on your hard drive, but you will have more editing options in LR.
2) Once you've opened up LR, you will be in the "Library" module by default if this is the first time you're using LR. If not, click on the "Library" tab at the upper right of your screen. Your latest edits will be on the screen by default.
3) Click on the "Import..." button at the bottom left of your screen. The import window will pop up.
4) To import files that are already on your hard drive, set the import mode at the top of the window to "Add" so you could add a file to the LR catalog, without creating another copy of it on your hard drive.
5) To import files from your camera or memory card, set the import mode to "Copy" so the files are copied onto your hard drive and added to the LR catalog. The original files stay on the camera or memory card.
6) I do not suggest using the "Move" mode because your files are moved, not copied, from one location (camera, memory card or hard drive) to another. Essentially, the file is deleted from its original location and relocated to the new location in one step. It always makes me nervous to have just one copy of anything. It's always safer to make sure that the copy has arrived at its new location before deleting the original.
7) Choose the source FROM which to import in the source panel on the left (camera, memory card or hard drive). Choose the destination TO which the files are imported in the destination panel on the right (usually "My Catalog"/hard drive).
8) Highlight the folder(s) in the source panel which you'd like to import. Check "New Photos" to import only photos that have not been imported previously.
9) Click "Import" in the lower right of the destination panel.
10) Once the import process is done, go to the Folders panel on the left -- navigate to & highlight the folder that you've just imported.
11) The unedited images will appear as a "film-strip" thumbnails at the bottom the screen. Depending on your setting, the center of the screen will either be a grid of previews or a single enlarged preview. If your setting is on grid, prepare for editing by clicking on a specific thumbnail image within the grid to enlarge it to a single preview.
You are now ready for editing! Check back next week for some basics on how to use the Develop Panel.
13 May 2014
:: Photography Tips + Tricks: editing in Adobe Lightroom, part 1 ::
First, I'd like to thank EvolvedMommy.com for sharing my iPhonography tips and tricks in this article! As much as I love the portability of my iPhone and the one-of-a-kind look of iPhonography images, I still believe the SLR gives me a lot more flexibility. When edited with Adobe Lightroom, your images be so much more.
For professionals and amateurs alike, Adobe's Lightroom has quickly become the program of choice for editing, organizing and printing digital images.
Why Lightroom, as opposed to Photoshop? LR has a lot of the capabilities of PS, with these added features (but not limited to):
1) smaller file sizes - since LR saves your edits as previews, there's no large, unwieldy .PSD files to wrangle.
2) real-time editing - the results of your edits are shown in real time, you don't need to wait for your computer to process/render your edits.
3) faster editing - the LR tools are designed in such a way that glaring mistakes, such as over/under exposure or color/lens distortion can be easily corrected within seconds.
4) more intuitive - the interface is quite different from PS, it is somehow more user-friendly and easier to navigate (in my opinion).
5) batch processing - once you've edited one image, you can process the rest of your images in the same series by syncing them to the edited image.
6) presets - similar to actions in PS, LR presets allow you to program and save a customized sequence of processes to be used in future edits.
7) batch export - once you've finished editing, you could export the images all at once into a myriad of file types using customizable settings (medium, size, resolution, water-mark etc.)
8) less expensive - instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a copy of the PS program, you can purchase a fully licensed copy of LR for less than $140.00.
Generally, I import, edit and export in LR. However, I still use PS for more intricate touch-ups and to get the finished "look" that I want. Overall, for each image, I spend about 2 minutes in LR, export it as a JPEG, and spend another 2 minutes in PS to put on the finishing touches.
Come back next week to see how to import your images into the Lightroom catalog.
 |
| SOOC (straight out of camera): Canon 5D Mark ii | Canon 24-70mm L | 67mm/f2.8/ISO 800 |
 |
| Edited using Adobe Lightroom only, no Photoshop. I thought this moody, grainy image would be better in BW, so I custom converted it into a grayscale image, crop/straighten for better framing, increased clarity/contrast. I liked the exposure SOOC, so I did not modify it in LR. |
For professionals and amateurs alike, Adobe's Lightroom has quickly become the program of choice for editing, organizing and printing digital images.
Why Lightroom, as opposed to Photoshop? LR has a lot of the capabilities of PS, with these added features (but not limited to):
1) smaller file sizes - since LR saves your edits as previews, there's no large, unwieldy .PSD files to wrangle.
2) real-time editing - the results of your edits are shown in real time, you don't need to wait for your computer to process/render your edits.
3) faster editing - the LR tools are designed in such a way that glaring mistakes, such as over/under exposure or color/lens distortion can be easily corrected within seconds.
4) more intuitive - the interface is quite different from PS, it is somehow more user-friendly and easier to navigate (in my opinion).
5) batch processing - once you've edited one image, you can process the rest of your images in the same series by syncing them to the edited image.
6) presets - similar to actions in PS, LR presets allow you to program and save a customized sequence of processes to be used in future edits.
7) batch export - once you've finished editing, you could export the images all at once into a myriad of file types using customizable settings (medium, size, resolution, water-mark etc.)
8) less expensive - instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a copy of the PS program, you can purchase a fully licensed copy of LR for less than $140.00.
Generally, I import, edit and export in LR. However, I still use PS for more intricate touch-ups and to get the finished "look" that I want. Overall, for each image, I spend about 2 minutes in LR, export it as a JPEG, and spend another 2 minutes in PS to put on the finishing touches.
Come back next week to see how to import your images into the Lightroom catalog.
20 April 2014
07 April 2014
11 March 2014
:: Photography Tips + Tricks: creating a video out of your digital photos ::
Last time, I highlighted some creative ways of getting your digital photos onto paper. Today, I'd like to show you how to make a video/digital slideshow out of your digital photos.
Before we start, I'd like to mention a fun video app that will turn your so-so iPhone videos into fabulous vintage-y looking films reminiscent of home movies of the past. Similar to Instagram, the app 8mm allows you to use color/texture filters to create a old-timey 8mm digital movie in real time. Try it! It's a lot of fun.
Now, most people generally take more still images than videos. But how do you group all those images (and the occasional video) from your fabulous vacation together and share them with family and friends...digitally? The folks at Animoto has come up with a way for you to make and share beautiful video online.
Choose from one of their beautifully designed video styles, personalize using music and text, and voila! you have a professional-looking movie that you could proudly share. You could create a FREE 30sec personal web-quality video, or choose a pricing plan that will allow you to make longer, higher quality videos.
Other apps, such as Flipagram, allows you create beautiful, short video slideshows from photos directly from your camera roll or mobile albums. Great to use with Instagram or Camera+ images.
Before we start, I'd like to mention a fun video app that will turn your so-so iPhone videos into fabulous vintage-y looking films reminiscent of home movies of the past. Similar to Instagram, the app 8mm allows you to use color/texture filters to create a old-timey 8mm digital movie in real time. Try it! It's a lot of fun.
 |
| 8mm App | Nexvio |
* * *
Now, most people generally take more still images than videos. But how do you group all those images (and the occasional video) from your fabulous vacation together and share them with family and friends...digitally? The folks at Animoto has come up with a way for you to make and share beautiful video online.
 |
| Animoto - how it works |
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| Animoto - gallery |
* * *
You could also create similar video slideshows using iPhoto on your Mac. One of the issues I have with using iPhoto to create a video slideshow is that, depending on the number and quality of your images and the speed of your computer's processor(s), it could takes forever for the video to render. Meaning, once you've laid out the images, music and text together the way you want, the computer has to process the data in order to string them together. Another issue I have is, you have to first import your images into iPhoto, which for someone (like me) who stores all of my images on an external drive, it is a bit of a pain.
 |
| Apple iPhoto |
So go on, try these out. Judge for yourself!
10 March 2014
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