Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

Here’s a quick gear update. I’m posting this because it was the topic of a lot of discussion during the workshop I taught last month and it’s always a topic whenever a bunch of photographers get together. Let me first say that I paid for the Boda bag I’m about to talk about. I got it at Photoshop World Orlando, so I got a show discount but I still paid for it just like everyone else. My review is based totally on the way I really feel about the bag.

The Back StoryI’ve been wanting a bag for a while now. I first saw the Boda bag being used by (the critically acclaimed) Jeff Revell from Photowalk Pro My travel system is pretty good. I use a smaller Tamrac Expedition backpack and it holds what I need it to hold while I’m traveling. Plus it frees up my hands while getting things out of the car, going through airport security or just walking somewhere with other things in my hands. The problem I’ve had with it is that it’s not that great for shooting. Why? Because it’s on my back. If you ever want to changes lenses or grab something from the bag you’ve got take it off your back and lay it on the ground. Then if you decide to quickly walk somewhere you’ve got to grab it and move it. Oh, and don’t forget to zip it up (I learned the hard way when I lens fell out). Anyway, so I’ve wanted something for when I go on the actual photo shoot out in the field. Something that was easy to keep my lenses, filters, batteries, a flash, and anything else I may need. The Boda bag has successfully filled those shoes.

What is it?
The Boda Bag is a lens bag. It comes in two sizes: small and large. I have the large one. So what is a lens bag? Well, it’s not a camera bag. It’s meant to hold lenses. You hold your camera and keep this bag slung around your shoulder to change lenses, filters, etc… really fast. Now, keep in mind, even though it’s not a camera bag, you can fit a camera body in it. Depending on the lens, you may have to disconnect it but I was able to fit my Nikon D300 (with battery grip) with a 70-200 lens attached. That’s all it fit in the main compartment though. But it is great for a quick trip.

How did it hold up?
I first got to use this bag on my trip to the Great Smokies last month. I checked the bag (with no gear in it) inside my luggage (I actually stored socks, some t-shirts, and my illegal drugs to save space ) and carried on my backpack with all the gear in it on the plane. The bag held up like a champ. Here’s what I put inside once I went out into the field to shoot:
- 70-200 VR lens
- 12-24 lens
- 50mm lens
- 1.4 extender
- 3 filters (polarizing, neutral density, and graduated neutral density)
- extra battery
- extra CF cards
- flashlight
- oh, and some snacks (you gotta have snacks!)

Everything fit perfectly and the best part is that everything had it’s own place. Nothing was stuffed and nothing bulged out of the bag. Every compartment zipped closed perfectly and from looking at it you’d never know if it was empty or full. It wasn’t too heavy and it stayed put. You can even zip open the top and it has a snap on the back side of it to keep the top open and out of your way if you’re digging in there often.

Is it a shoulder bag or a waist bag?
It’s actually both. I opted to keep it as an over the shoulder bag over the optional waist belt. It goes over your opposite shoulder and hangs diagonal across you so it doesn’t go anywhere. I just felt like too much of a dork with a big fanny pack on - Sorry

Pros
- Small
- Easy to get to your stuff
- Perfect for those few-hour photo walks or short outings
- Weatherproof (and we did get rained on)
- made very sturdy
- lots of compartments to store stuff

Cons
The main con is also one of the pros. It’s size. It really depends on how much gear you need when you’re out there. But anything bigger and it would be hard to lug around. It’s meant for a minimal amount of gear. I did wish I could fit my camera body, 70-200 lens, and maybe one more in there but I’m ok with keeping it the size that it is.

The large size that I have rings in at $195 and the smaller version at $165. NAPP members get a discount if you go to the discounts area on the NAPP member website. Here’s their website in case you want to find out more info or see photos of the bag.

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It’s another gorgeous 80 degree day here in Tampa, FL and it reminds just why I love to live in Florida. Anyway, here’s a quick roundup of some Lightroom stuff I’ve found recently.

• I found an interesting read about utilizing Facebook when it comes to our photography. While Lightroom doesn’t really have hooks directly to it, Photoshop Express does. Either way, it’s kind of neat to see where things may be heading.

• Chris Orwig has a sweet article on some workflow features for Lightroom over at Layers Magazine’s website. While you’re there make sure you check out RC’s daily blog. Lots of great things for photographers and designers alike.

• Lightroom Galleries has an update to their wide range of galleries with the Lightroom Contact Form gallery. You can find it here.

• At Photoshop World in Orlando last month, my publisher (Peachpit press) asked us to film some videos based around Joe McNally’s book, The Moment it Clicks. They asked us to share a “click” moment with the audience. Here’s a link to mine as well as a few others who participated.

• (Blatant self-promotion alert!!!) The Digital Photography School created a list of 9 Hot Photoshop Books. I’m extremely proud to say that 2 of my books (Layers and the Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers I co-authored with Scott) made the list. (FYI… I’m still signing books if you order from Kelby Training)

• In other book news, Scott Kelby is currently entrenched in his Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers. I’ve seen a glimpse of some stuff he’s putting in there and let me tell ya’, no one is out there teaching Lightroom like this. I’ll put it to you this way. There’s not another author/trainer in the world that has personally come across as many Lightroom users as Scott has. So he knows first hand exactly what everyone wants to know. Obviously, the book is available for pre-order so if you want to be the first to get the book when Lightroom 2 ships (beta expires in August so you be the judge) you can pre-order here.

That’s it for today folks. If you’ve got any cool links or Lightroom/Digital Photography/Workflow related links please post ‘em in the comments area. Thanks and I hope you have a great Wednesday.
(photo credit: Chris Orwig)

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Hey folks, here’s a quick news update since I just finished teaching a workshop primarily on Lightroom and I figured I’d let you know where I’ll be teaching for the rest of the year. There’s another post today (another free preset) so feel free to scroll to the next post if you’re not interested in this.

Thank youI just wanted to say a great big huge thank you to everyone that came to my Great Smoky Mountains workshop this past weekend. We had a fantastic time and I made some really friends along the way. It was great getting to know all of you and the laughs we shared will stick with me for some time to come.

I also wanted to thank my friend Alessandro, from the workshop, for leaving such a nice comment here on the site. Here’s a peak if you’re interested. He totally made my day I can’t tell you how cool it is to see that I’ve helped people out like that. Thanks Alessandro (your pay off check is in the mail ) and thanks to the whole class for a great weekend!

Coming Up
OK, here’s where I’ll be for the rest of 2008 in case you’re thinking of coming out to a workshop or conference.

• May 5-6 - New York City: I’ll be teaching some Lightroom sessions at B&H photo on these two days. They’re totally free and you can find out more as well as register right here.

• Tuesday June 3 - Philadelphia, PA: I’m not sure about the details yet but I’m teaching a session for a CDW event (that is open to the public) that morning. I’ll update with details as they become available but I’ll definitely be there.

• August 9-16 - Hawaii Cruise: I’m teaching along side Dave Cross, Moose Peterson and Laurie Excel on a week long cruise through Hawaii. Folks, if you can make it out to this (I know it’s a stretch) it will be one amazing week.

• September 3-6 - Photoshop World Las Vegas: This is my favorite event of the year. It’s a 3-day Photoshop Love-Fest and hosts the best instructors in the world all in one place.

• October 15-18 - Bar Harbor/Acadia Natl. Park, Maine: This is another workshop for the Great American Photography Workshops (just like the one I taught in the Great Smokies last weekend). I’ve been to Bar Harbor before and I liked it so much that I’m going back. Sign up soon though. This is a hot spot for workshops and this one will definitely fill up.

That’s about it for now. I know there’s some more Lightroom training that I’ll be doing toward the end of the year but I don’t have the specifics yet. I’ll update here on the website as soon as I know. Thanks and I hope to see you out.

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I’ve got another quick video tip for you today (I mean really quick - like 60 seconds quick). It’s on a little known feature that helps out when using the Remove Spots tool and spotting your photos in general.

Click here to watch the video. (6Mb)

Now for some news and links…• Legendary wedding photographer (and just one all around really nice guy), David Ziser, has a workshop coming in July. David truly has a gift when it comes to photographing a wedding and working with people. Anyone who has been in one of his workshops comes out knowing it was worth 10 times what they paid. If you’d like find out more check out this link.

• You’ve heard me mention it before but Dave Cross, Moose Peterson, Laurie Excel and myself are teaching on a one week cruise through Hawaii. It’s got a great itinerary and a perfect mixture of classroom time, shooting time with the pros, portfolio review time with any of us, and free time to enjoy the cruise and the Hawaiian Islands. I’ve been to Hawaii once and it’s so darn cool because you’ve got landscapes, people, wildlife, flowers, fabulous sunrises, sunsets all in one place. Find out more and see the itinerary at Cruising Through Life’s website. Oh yeah, mention that you’re a NAPP member and you get a discount.

• I’ve been visiting the Weekly Photo Tips blog lately and Scott has some really nice finds on there. I’m especially liking his blog since he did a review of my Layers book Seriously though, review aside you’ll find some neat stuff on the website and Scott brings some unique posts to blogosphere.

• Terry White, author of the critically acclaimed Terry White’s Tech Blog (and one heck-of-a great photographer) wrote a cool post about controlling the whole studio from his laptop. It’s definitely worth a read and I’m sure you’ll find some other good stuff on his site.

And finally, an inspirational update…
• There was a lot of interest in the architecture and real estate post I did a few weeks ago. Well I got an email from one of the guys I mentioned (Thomas Grubba) and he pointed me to a Flickr group for Real Estate photographers. Not only is it inspirational but it’s educational too, as a lot of the photographers share their setups and experiences. The real estate market being what it is today, you can get a great competitive advantage if you work in this area by visiting this group. Heck, even if you’re selling your own home you might as well be the one taking your photos if your realtor pulls out their $110 point-n-shoot. Thomas also let me know that he and Scott Hargis (another really popular photographer in the business) are working on a DVD. Sign me up for it when it comes out!

Well campers that’s it for today. And yes, whenever I end a post with the word “campers” you know what that means. Yep, another cub scout camping trip this weekend. Say a prayer that the bird-sized mosquitos don’t get the best of me. See ya!
(photo credit: Thomas Grubba)

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I thought I’d share some of my Lightroom confessions in the hopes that I would either a) get a quick laugh from you as you realize you’re not the only one that does something odd in Lightroom or, b) undermine my professionalism and credibility by showing you some of the silly things I do. Make sure you leave a comment here if you have your own confession or just want to second your favorite of mine. Here goes:

1. Whenever I go into Photoshop I set the bit depth for 90% of my photos to 8 bit instead of 16 bit. Yes, I know I could easier call some of your first born ugly as opposed to choosing 8 bit but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

2. I don’t keyword my photos nearly as much as I should. I mean, I know the benefits of keywording. I keyword about 80% of the photos I import into Lightroom. But that’s not enough because you can bet whenever I search for photos, the ones I want to find end up being part of the 20% that I didn’t keyword. It probably has something to do with that 80/20 rule thing.

3. I’ve accidentally synchronized the develop settings on ALL 480 photos in a folder (on more then one occasion). While the settings I used may have worked on a few photos, the majority look really bad with the same develop settings. The worst thing is, that sometimes I didn’t know I did it and I’d later look through my photos cursing myself, wondering how the heck I could be such a bad photographer.

4. I hate metadata. I’m sorry, I had to say it. I can’t stand it when I look at feature lists for Lightroom (or any other product for that matter) and I see anything with the word “metadata” listed as a feature. It’s important stuff, I know, but it’s also very boring. I just assume it should be there but don’t try to sell it to me as a feature.

5. I love the benefits of metadata. The Metadata panel rocks and the benefits of good metadata support is very important. That’s what makes me feel bad about the #4 confession above. It’s an inner struggle I deal with daily

6. I add an edge darkening vignette to everything. I think it’s safe to say I’m addicted to the Lens Vignetting setting.

7. I avoid the slideshow module at all costs. If I’ve got a quick slideshow to show a friend or client near my computer then sure I’ll use it. If I’m presenting in front of a group I use Fotomagico on the mac. (iPhoto on the Mac or Slideshow Pro on the PC are really good too).

8. I NEVER EVER EVER EVER use Lightroom’s noise reduction feature. While we’re on the topic of things I never use, I don’t use the Camera Calibration and the Snapshots panels either. Oh and I rarely use anything other then the 3 contrast presets in the Tone Curve panel. Hey… this is confessions right. I’m just bein’ honest here.

9. I have 3 backups of all of my photos. However, I just realized that I only have 1 backup of my catalog. So if I’m so paranoid about losing my photos you’d think I would be just as paranoid about losing all of the work I’ve done to them right? Well I just realized as I wrote this that my Time Capsule (my backup drive for my mac) is the only backup I have of my Lightroom catalog. If something happened to it and my laptop (which are both in my house) then I’d be in trouble. That’s going to change today though, as I’ve started another Time Machine (the backup program on a Mac) backup at work.

10. I get upset every time I find myself constantly hitting D to go into the Develop module with a photo, then pressing G to quickly get back to the Library grid to pick another photo. Then pressing D again, and then G again, and so on. Truth be told, I guess I’m paranoid because I feel like I’m missing something because I never hear anyone else complain about this. So I quietly keep doing it.

11. I have WAY too many Develop presets. 156 to be exact. But I love ‘em so I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

12. Since I’ve gotten Lightroom, I’ve found I get just a little ticked when I have to take a photo into Photoshop for further editing.

13. Unless a feature is so good I just can’t stand it, I typically wait about 1 week before installing Lightroom updates.

14. It bugs me a little when people don’t believe that I didn’t “Photoshop” a photo. I may have Lightroom’d it, but I didn’t Photoshop it. And so what if I did!

I hope you enjoyed my confessions and leave one of your own as a comment here. Whether you agree or have a totally different one, go ahead and let us know.

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