Lightroom for Aviation Photographers

[DJdeRidder]

Just a message to let you know I released the Lightroom for Aviation Photographers book a couple of days ago, which is now available from our webshop.

If you haven't heard about Lightroom yet, it is about time you do! Many aviation photographers have already switched from Photoshop to Lightroom, because it combines photo management and powerful image editing into one program with an easy-to-learn interface. We have an extensive introduction to the software with lots of screenshots (so you can see what everything looks like) and a downloads section (to help you get started). Please have a look here: http://www.milaviapress.com/lightroom/index.php

More info and a PDF preview of the book can be found here: http://www.milaviapress.com/lightroom/book.php

Tonight we will also announce an opportunity for you to win a free copy of the book. Just keep an eye on the homepage of our website or our Twitter account..

[Established02]

Thanks for the PDF preview.

I've been using Lightroom for a while now and I'm quite happy with it, even though I'm still using only a fraction of all the possibilities that Lightroom may offer. It was mainly the decision to start shooting RAW rather than JPEG than pulled me over to Lightroom.

[DJdeRidder]

Yes Lightroom works brilliant with Raw files. You never have to open your photos in Camera Raw before getting them into Photoshop anymore. Many people still shoot JPEG because they think it takes more time to edit Raw photos. I can tell you one thing: I spend less time on a Raw photo in Lightroom than I would on a JPEG in Photoshop. Develop presets, non-destructive editing, an easy interface and the fact that you can do everything in one piece of software saves you lots of time..

[DJdeRidder]

More details about how to win a free copy of the book: http://www.milaviapress.com/lightroom/win.php

[FanFel]

Cool, thanks!

I have tried using Adobe Lightroom but still some how feel really limited in it's functions and always switch back to Photoshop. I think I need to learn how to use Lightroom properly, then I could do a lot of the common things like adjusting contrast and stuff very quickly.

[DJdeRidder]

I have tried using Adobe Lightroom but still some how feel really limited in it's functions (..)

What was the last version of Lightroom you tried? Lightroom 3 introduced some new and improved features including Lens Correction and (my favorite improvement) Noise Reduction. Working in Lightroom is totally different from Photoshop, so it does take some getting used to. I love the fact that all edits you make are non-destructive and that you only have to edit an image only once and it is saved in Lightroom forever (and still, you can continue to make small improvements)!

[Devon Rex]

I love the fact that all edits you make are non-destructive and that you only have to edit an image only once and it is saved in Lightroom forever (and still, you can continue to make small improvements)!

That's the case in PS4 too...

[DJdeRidder]

I love the fact that all edits you make are non-destructive and that you only have to edit an image only once and it is saved in Lightroom forever (and still, you can continue to make small improvements)!

That's the case in PS4 too...

Technically, you are right that non-destructive editing in Photoshop is possible. However you would need to create adjustment layers, layer masks etc to do that and you would need to save your original photo to a different file type (because JPEG and Raw don't support layers) so you will need more space on your computer, it will take you more time to organize and find your photos etc etc..

Apart from that, I don't think it is possible to crop non-destructively in Photoshop (but please prove me wrong). In Lightroom, I can crop an image and if I don't like the crop tomorrow, next week or next year I can remove or adjust it (without affecting other adjustments). In Photoshop I think you would need to start all over again..

I currently have 1760 edited aviation images, ready to be printed or published. No matter if I need three, a hundred or all 1760 images -for printing, publication in a book/magazine or on the internet with a watermark- I can just create JPEG images with the right size and specifications, by just one press on the button. Could you tell how to do this in Photoshop with 100 images?

[Devon Rex]

I love the fact that all edits you make are non-destructive and that you only have to edit an image only once and it is saved in Lightroom forever (and still, you can continue to make small improvements)!

That's the case in PS4 too...

Technically, you are right that non-destructive editing in Photoshop is possible. However you would need to create adjustment layers, layer masks etc to do that and you would need to save your original photo to a different file type (because JPEG and Raw don't support layers) so you will need more space on your computer, it will take you more time to organize and find your photos etc etc..

Apart from that, I don't think it is possible to crop non-destructively in Photoshop (but please prove me wrong). In Lightroom, I can crop an image and if I don't like the crop tomorrow, next week or next year I can remove or adjust it (without affecting other adjustments). In Photoshop I think you would need to start all over again..

I currently have 1760 edited aviation images, ready to be printed or published. No matter if I need three, a hundred or all 1760 images -for printing, publication in a book/magazine or on the internet with a watermark- I can just create JPEG images with the right size and specifications, by just one press on the button. Could you tell how to do this in Photoshop with 100 images?

Well to my experience you can edit RAW pics in PS and afterwards still change the crop, without having to redo the changes to eg. brightness, curves etc... As long as you stay in the RAW editor. If afterwards you leave the RAW editor then you need indeed to redo the changes.

Björn