When I bought my G12 2 years ago, I thought it was time to also get a good editing program. I did a little research and decided Adobe Lightroom was the right choice. I got a great deal on an educator's version and I got a book and started to learn how to use it. I quickly discovered that it was way beyond anything I had used before. After a few weeks, I quit using it because I was having a hard time trying to use it quickly to do basic editing, and I realized I did not have the patience to be able to spend hours perfecting a photo. I went back to Microsoft's basic edit program so I could crop, and I did not edit anything.
With the new camera and my desire to enter a few photos into contests, I knew I would have to go back to Lightroom. I got a free upgrade to LR4 but I am still struggling on how to use the program quickly. I have managed to create a watermark (see below) yet, I can't even figure out how to put it on a photo, let alone find my photos after I edited them.
My solution to all this is to take a class. My friend Wenmei Hill teaches a class on Lightroom, so I think I will enroll as soon as she announces her next class. My husband also has Photoshop and will be working with it next quarter so he may also have some tips for me. Until them...not sure what I am going to do other than swear at my computer.
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| My watermark |
2 comments:
Two quick hints:
1. To find your photos after you've edited them, you'll need to export them out of Lightroom. When you're in LR, all you're doing is editing the metadata that's attached to the digital files. In order to apply them to the actual image, you need to export it as a JPG. (You're shooting in RAW, right? That will give you more control over the images as you are editing them.) You can export images by selecting them and then right-clicking to show the pop-up menu. "Export" is about 2/3 of the way down the menu, and there are a ton of options you can experiment with.
2. To add a watermark, you need to apply it to the image as you are exporting. In the Export dialogue box, you'll see a checkbox next to "Watermarking" near the bottom. There's a dropdown with some watermark options (or just "Simple Copyright Watermark" if you don't have any others saved). Click on the dropdown, then click on "Edit Watermarks..." and a window called Watermark Editor will open. Click the radio button choosing "Graphic" (rather than "Text") on the top right. That will let you browse for the image you created as your watermark. Then you can use the "Watermark Effects" to adjust the size, placement and opacity of your watermark. Click on the Save button and you'll have the chance to name your watermark. Then your watermark will be listed in the Watermarking section of the Export dialog box. Pick the watermark you created when you export and it will appear on your photos.
These two tips are based on exporting your images to a digital image file. There are lots of other options as well (ex: I publish photos directly into FB without exporting them first), but this will work to at least get you some watermarked photos!
Looking around the internet for White Balance tips for underwater photography, I ran across your blog entry regarding Lightroom 4. Check out www.creativelive.com for live and recorded video tutorials including one that's currently running called Lightroom Mastery. (Jan 17-19, 2013) Takes you from absolute zero with the software through importing, organizing, editing, exporting. Each day gets more in depth into the program. Very helpful. Free to watch live, then you can purchase if you need to.
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