How I Sharpen

Here is a short tutorial on how I sharpen my images.  The important thing to remember is that you must have a good in focus shot before doing this.  If you have an out of focus image and you sharpen it you still have an out of focus image.  A good sharp shot starts in camera.

Comments welcome and appreciated.

Lightroom-Photoshop Transition

This video is a quick tutorial on how to transition an image from Lightroom to Photoshop and back again.

Workflow

This is a quick Lightroom 3 tutorial on may basic workflow.  Specifically, how I import my files.  Understand that this is MY workflow so take any nuggets you get from this and leave the rest.  Your workflow has to work best for you.  I hope this gets you started.  Thanks again for watching.

Lightroom 3 Brush Tutorial

Here is a quick Lightroom 3 Tutorial on how to use the brush tool.  This will get you in the right direction as far as using the brush.  I certainly would encourage you to play around with this feature until you are very familiar with the tool.  If you have any questions ask away!!

Working a Subject

Often times when I go out for a fun day with my camera I find a single subject that catches my attention.  Ages ago I would set up a shot that I thought was good and take a couple of exposures.  Then, I would pick up and move along.  Now days though I tend to want to work the one subject just to see the different looks I can produce.  That extends to post processing as well.  I create several "virtual copies" in Lightroom and try different settings to see what happens.  I might even move it over to Photoshop and try working with some layers.  Sometimes all of this works and sometimes it doesn't.  I recently went to South Beach for some sunrise fun.  I wasn't overly excited about the photos I was getting in the beginning and so I became interested in the lifeguard stand that was next to me.  I worked it from many angles and took multiple exposures so that I could do some HDR work on them in post.  Take a look and let me know what you think.  Remember, don't just run up, take a shot, and run away.  There are many ways to explore a single subject.  

Lightroom 3 Keyboard Shortcuts

Lightroom 3 Keyboard Shortcuts

I have been using Lightroom for a good bit of time now and I have learned some very useful shortcuts.  These may not seem like they save that much time but when you spend hours editing it can really add up.  There are hundreds shortcuts in Light room but I want to show you the ones that I find most useful.  Since I am now a Mac guy that used to be a PC guy I will also list the shortcuts for both Mac and Windows.  Reminder:  This is not a complete list.  You can find all of the short cuts straight from the Adobe website here.

Action	Mac OS	Windows
Show/hide side panels	Tab	Tab
Hide all Panels	Shift + Tab	Shift + Tab
Enter Library/Develop Grid view	G	G
Open selected photo in the develop module	D	D
Cycle forward/backward through Lights Out modes	L / Shift + L	L / Shift + L
Cycle Screen Modes	F	F
Zoom	Z	Z
Increase/decrease Grid thumbnail size	=/-	=/-
Scroll up/down Grid thumbnails	Page Up/Page Down	Page Up/Page Down
Cycle Grid Views	J	J
Group into stack	Command + G	Ctrl + G
Unstack	Command + Shift + G	Ctrl + Shift + G
Flag Photo as Pick	P	P
Flag Photo as a reject	X	X
Unflag Photo	U	U
Star Rating	1 – 5	1 – 5
Show/hide Library Filter bar	\	\
Edit in Photoshop	Command + E	Ctrl + E
Develop Shortcuts
Sync settings	Command + Shift + S	Ctrl + Shift + S
Select Spot Removal Tool	Q	Q
Select Crop Tool	R	R
Constrain Aspect Ratio	A	A
Select Adjustment Brush	K	K
Increase/Decrease Brush Size	[ / ]	[ / ]
View before and after	\	\

Guest Blog for Angeline-Marie - Developing a Style

Recently I was asked to write a guest post for Art Studio Reports by Angeline Marie.  Take a look!  If you are interested in art make sure you check out some of her other blog posts and website.  Just follow this LINK.

How to Make Lightroom Presets

Check out this short video and find out how you can quickly create Lightroom presets.  By having presets available you can significantly decrease the amount of time you spend in post processing.  While it might now be set exactly right for each photograph it will get you very close.  If you are seeing this post of Facebook you can follow the YouTube link here.

Well, Crop it!

Should you crop your photos? It depends. If you are a photojournalist then you should not crop your photos. Photojournalists generally do not make any adjustments to their photos because their clients (newspapers, local news tv etc) require that the photos be untouched for authentic reporting purposes.

If you are not a photojournalist then CROP the photo if it is needed. I attempt to get everything correct in camera because when you crop you lose image quality. This cannot always be accomplished so when cropping is necessary I crop. When you are not taking a photojournalist approach the end result is the most important part of the process. If you photographed a crooked image then straighten it with the crop tool. If you see some weird person stupidly standing in the frame and you can crop them out then crop them out. While you are processing and you can use the crop tool to tighten down the image to really bring out the rule of thirds then crop…

The small example I have here is of a cat.  I took the photo and it stands as is with two exceptions. The location of the cats head within the frame and the distracting white wall and assorted stuff on the right side of the photo...  However, when I crop it down and remove any distracting objects or areas of the frame it has a stronger feel.  The head of the cat is now in the third nodal point of the rule of thirds.  Remember, the rule of thirds can be power but think of it more as a guideline than a hard fast rule.

First and foremost get it as right as you possible can in camera but always remember… You are an artist so use the tools that are available to make the best possible image for you and for your clients.