Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

A few things to keep you busy over the weekend:

• Dave Cross was a guest-blogger on Scott’s blog last week. There’s some really interesting comments when it comes to shooting with Photoshop in mind.

• I love these fake online photo shoots. Yes, I know it’s sad. They’re fun though (warning: half naked sumo wrestler alert!)

• In case you hadn’t heard, the Drobo backup device now supports firewire. I’m definitely thinking about getting one.

• Some really inspiring car photography.

• Lightroom tip: Start using DNG. It’s easy and saves you 20% disk space. And if you have a lot of folders to convert from earlier shoots then start picking one or two away each day. Just select the folder and go to the Library module. Then choose Library > Convert to DNG. Here’s a video with some more info.

Also, next week I’m probably going to start a new type of blog post. I get so many questions and comments that I want to answer, but I just never have time to email each person. So, I’m starting a “catch-all” post each week (assuming there’s enough questions/comments to fill a post) and I’ll answer them right here on the site. Sound good? Enjoy your weekend?

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Well gang, it’s time for another round of presets. This time around I’m following up Matt’s Deep Blue Sky presets with Matt’s Dramatic Sky presets. Most of the presets I’ve used that dealt with enhancing skies usually just enhanced the color. But I’ve put a few other things in these presets that specialize in making the clouds look better too. You can use ‘em in photos with no clouds, but you’ll find they really do some cool stuff where there’s a decent amount of clouds to be found. Or use them in photos with no sky at all. They probably won’t work well but they’re your presets now right?! Oh yeah, when I say clouds, I mean those big white puffy clouds - not an overcast cloudy day OK. Hey… I’m just sayin’

Anyway, let me know how they work and what you think in the comments area. Thanks and have a great Monday!

Click here to see a sample of the presets.
Click here to download Matt’s Dramatic Sky Presets
Click here to see a video on how to install presets.

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In a post last week, I ran a contest for a free pre-conference session at Photoshop World. Well I’m happy to announce the winner is Becky Davis. Although the schmoozing about my classes was greatly appreciated and flattering, I put all the names in a hat and picked one. So congrats to Becky. I also wanted to thank everyone who added a comment. It’s great to see what types of classes you guys are interested in. Make sure all of you stop by and say hi at the conference!

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This one kind of snuck by a lot of folks but Adobe actually launched a Lightroom Adobe Certified Expert exam (ACE). I’m planning on taking it soon, but a few projects have put that on hold. I do hope to give you a full review / lessons learned / low-down on the exam as soon as I do. In the meantime, if you’re absolutely dying to take it I can personally recommend the exam prep from Examaids.com. I’ve been recommending their Photoshop ACE Exam Aid for years. It’s simply the best out there. I’ve looked at their Lightroom exam aid and I think it’s spot on.

Anyway, are you thinking of taking the exam or have you already taken the Lightroom (or Photoshop) ACE exam? Let us know why or why not in the comments section.

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Did you know that you can hide specific panels in Lightroom? You probably know that you can collapse them by clicking the tiny arrow next to the name of the panel but you can also hide them so they simply don’t show up. For example, personally I never use the Camera Calibration panel so why even have it show up there anymore? To hide it (or any other panel) right click under the Histogram in the dark gray empty area in the Develop module. The panels that are visible will be checked. To hide one or more just click on it. that shows where I clicked and the list that you’ll see. It not only works in the Develop module but all of the modules. Neat huh? Well folks, enjoy your weekend and make sure you scroll down to the next post to see the Photoshop World contest and how to enter.

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