Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

For those of you that like to keep your Lightroom certifications up to date, you'll be happy to know that the Lightroom 2 Exam Aid is out from examaids.com. The LR2 exam was released back in November 2009 and the folks over at exam aids have since put together another one of their preparation packages for the exam.

I've mentioned this before, but if you're serious about taking the exam, the Exam Aids (coupled with the exam prep guide from Adobe) are the best resources to prepare with. I know its an extra cost but trust me, these prep exams can potentially a) save you time when preparing because you'll have a better grasp of what you know and don't know and, b) save you some money on retests because you'll be better prepared to take and pass the test the first time.

Now, I realize that the Lightroom 3 Beta is out and you may be wondering why worry about the Lightroom 2 Exam. Well, if history is any indicator, its taking about 15 months or more for the current ACE exam to come out. So if you want to stay current, taking the Lightroom 2 exam is about the closest you'll come.

Here's the link to check it out.

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If you're looking for a great gift (for yourself or any of your photographer buddies) then you should check out these off camera flash t-shirts. Scott Kelby came up with the idea earlier this year and showed it around the office and we all thought it was great. Its geeky but hey, we're geeks so its fun too. What's really nice about it is that 100% of the profits will go to a charity (The Springs of Hope Kenya Orphanage). So if you want an early gift to yourself or a friend check out the article on Scott's blog.

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Here's a few things worth checking out as you surf around today or this weekend.

• Adobe has released a beta of Lightroom 2.6 (and Camera Raw 5.6). The major thing I can see is that it now supports the Canon 7D, G11, and Nikon D3s. You can get it over at Adobe Labs if you're dying for support for those new cameras.

• My brand new Photoshop Elements 8 Book for Digital Photographers (co-authored with Scott Kelby) is out in stores and online. Since Adobe released the Mac and PC version this time around we changed things to cover both.

• If you're a photographer (of any level) and looking for an online presence then you've got to check out RC Concepcion's new Wordpress for Photographers class at KelbyTraining.com. Folks, I see ALL of the feedback that comes in through Kelby Training and I've got to tell you, this class is one of the hottest to hit in a long time. RC really struck a chord with photographers who want to get online with their work, so I encourage you to take a look. He makes it really simple to get a wordpress blog/website up and running so you can show off your stuff and let people know what you're up to.

• Check out the "31 Women in Photography Exhibition". Its actually not until March but I mention now because the deadline to submit is today with the late deadline being in December.

• As you may have heard, onOne Software announced Plug-in Suite 5 with new versions of some of the key products. What's really cool for us is that some of the in-house NAPP guys have presets that will be included in the suite. Here's the link to find out more.

• Check out Timothy Armes' new PLUS plug-in for Lightroom. PLUS is an international standard for clearly communicating usage rights for digital images. You can find out more here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Hey everyone! Big day today... I'm heading up to New York to PhotoPlus East early this morning but that's not the big news. Adobe has once again released a public beta of the new version of Lightroom. Lightroom 3 Beta was announced and is now available as a free download for anyone (not just existing Lightroom users). I'll give you the main points here but, honestly, Scott Kelby, RC Concepcion and I have each created various videos and articles over at NAPP's Lightroom 3 Beta Learning Center. So rather than just repeat everything (that I've been up all day and night for the last 3 days creating for the learning center), I'll just point you there instead :)

The Main Stuff:
• The Beta is for everyone
• Big changes in the Import dialog
• Noise removal has changed quite a bit
• Slideshows can now be exported as videos (with music)
• Custom print templates in the Print module
• Houston, we have watermarking!

So here's your marching orders:
1) Don't complain about the beta. Remember, its not finished yet. Its a beta.
2) Head over to NAPP's Lightroom 3 Beta Learning Center
3) Download the Lightroom 3 Beta from the Adobe Labs website
4) If you're a Kelby Training subscriber I've created an entire online training course, The Lightroom 3 Beta Power Session, that dives a little deeper into the new LR3 Beta features.
5) Keep an eye out at Tom Hogarty's (Lightroom Product Manager) blog
6) Don't forget to stop by Scott's blog as well
7) Stay tuned here at Lightroom Killer Tips. As I find and create new things you can bet I'll be showing them here first.

Thanks for stopping by. If you see me wandering around (with red bleary-looking eyes) at PhotoPlus East in New York today or tomorrow be sure to stop by and say hi.

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Here's a few links worth checking out while you're web surfing today:

• Sean McCormack wrote a very cool little article on Lightroom plug-ins. There's a lot of 'em out there and this sums it up very nicely.

• X-rite's Color Checker Passport has direct integration when it comes to custom profiles in Lightroom.

• Rob Sylvan wrote an article called "10 Things I Wish I Could Tell Every New Lightroom User".

• SneakPeek Photo has a Quick Look plugin for Digital Photographers. It lets you click on an unopened photo file (no matter where it is, even on your card reader) and hit the space bar. Up pops the picture into a large view that immediately gives you detailed info about the photo. Its kinda a cool idea but only for Mac.

• Adobe is putting on some e-seminars for design pros. There's one in October and one in November. You can sign up here.

Have a great day!

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