Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

I bet that title drew you in didn’t it? Come on, face it. Anything with the word conspiracy is bound to make you want to read more right? Well, last week, Scott Kelby and I sat down to talk about the mini-Lightroom conspiracy that we’ve read about lately. It really all started when Lightroom 2 came out, but then when CS4 came out last week, things got taken to another level. So if you’ve a) been having some performance problems with Lightroom, or b) been wondering that now that CS4 is out, is there really a need for Lightroom 2 anymore (since Camera Raw is now the same), then jump over to Scott’s website and check out the video. Here’s the link.

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It’s late Tuesday, but I didn’t want the day to go by without mentioning this one since Photoshop is my “gig” and all. Adobe has announced the brand new Creative Suite CS4, which means there’s a new version of Photoshop coming out. It’s not out yet but Adobe generally starts shipping within a month or so after they announce (at least that’s judging from the past). Since most Lightroom users, use Photoshop as well I figured you’d like a look at the new features so make sure you visit the links below for Photoshop (and other creative suite programs) coverage from the NAPP gang.

• NAPP’s Photoshop CS4 Learning Center

• NAPP’s Exclusive Members Only CS4 Videos

• I also had another online training course go live at Kelby Training’s website. It’s called the Photoshop CS4 Power Session and it’s an in-depth look at all the new features. I know no one has the software yet but subscribers are free to log in and get a head start. I really took an in-depth look at all the new features and all of the little settings in CS4 and exactly when and where you’d use them. I’ll also be updating the course as I find new stuff in the coming weeks.

• Layers Magazine Creative Suite CS4 videos (yes, videos on all the Creative Suite apps)

• Terry White’s Create Suite podcast takes a look at Photoshop, Bridge and Camera Raw in CS4

• Jeff Revell also has a new flash as well as a “Why I still use Bridge” article worth checking out

So the magic question… do you plan on upgrading? Let us know in the comments. See ya.

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Adobe posted a Lightroom 2.1 release candidate on the Adobe Labs website on Friday. If you’re wondering what a release candidate is, think of it as “we’re ready to go, but we’re just making sure”. That’s why it’s on the Adobe Labs website because it is technically beta software but it’s supposed to be very stable.

Now, the one question on everyone’s mind is probably going to be performance. Is it better? If you look at the release notes on the website, performance (especially around the Adjustment Brush) is mentioned as something that has been worked on but it’s also mentioned as something that continues to need work. I’d be interested in hearing your input if you’ve installed this update yet so make sure to leave a comment and let us know. I’ve got my head down in a few projects today but as soon as I get some extra time I’m going to install it and I’ll report on my adventures when I do since I’ve got some performance issue with the Adjustment Brush as well.

Here’s the link to download the 2.1 update. Oh yeah, don’t forget to scroll down for a “Worth-a-click” post.

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Happy Monday folks. Hope you had a great weekend. Here’s a few links that are worth a click:

• Scott Kelby’s new Lightroom book is out and tearing up the best seller list (top 100 of ALL books on Amazon!). If you’re thinking about grabbing a copy, Jeff Revell (from Photowalk Pro) wrote the first review that I’ve seen so check it out.

• Frederick Johnson from Adobe did an interview of me when we were at Photoshop World. Here it is.

• Just an overall cool story of how LR and PS are helping a 16-year old photographer get started.

• A very quick and concise review of LR2 for anyone still holding out

• Syl Arena over at Pixsylated (have I ever mentioned that I love the name of his site) wrote a good article about the benefits of shooting tethered into Lightroom.

That’s it for today. I’ve got some cool presets based on some comments from last week that I’ll have out this week as well so check back. See ya.

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Last week, I kicked off a two-part video on the ins and outs of Lightroom’s preferences. It went over really well and spurred some great comments to so make sure you go back and check it out. In the video, I covered most of the preference dialog but left the interface prefs for this week as well as all of the catalog preferences. So that’s where I’m picking up this week. I hope you enjoy!

Click here to watch the video. (20MB)

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