How to Import Images in Lightroom 4

Click photo above to view the video.

You can read all this stuff or you can watch the included video.

With the cost of Lightroom 4 being dropped to 149.00 there have been a lot of people giving it a go. One of the most often misunderstood aspects of Lightroom with new users is how Lightroom manages your photos. Well, here is the truth. It doesn’t… However, Lightroom does have tools that allow you to better manage your photo files. Lightroom doesn’t care where your photos are located so you can copy them from your memory card to your hard drive in a specific location before importing into Lightroom or you can leave them on the card and ask Lightroom to do it for you.


If you are in the Library Module on the bottom left side of the screen you will see the “Import” button. Push that. The Lightroom dialogue box will appear.

There are really only three aspects to this box.

1. Where From: The left hand side deals with where the files are currently located.

2. How you want Lightroom to handle the photos: This portion is in the middle of the dialogue box at the top of the screen. This is where many folks get a bit confused about what it is Lightroom is really doing. You have three options to choose from. Copy, Move, and Add. Let’s take a closer look.


Copy

• This is the option that I use 99% of the time. This is where you point Lightroom to a specific folder and/or memory card and tell it to copy the files in that location and paste them into a new location. The new location you choose with aspect three listed in the next section. I use this one over the Move choice simply because I like to ensure I have all the images in my backup locations prior to deleting them off the card.


Move

• The Move option does exactly what it says it does. It moves the files from their current location to the location that you have specified. (see the third aspect)


Add

• Add is the one that gives people the most trouble. This is because when you ADD photos all you are doing is bringing in the photos to the Lightroom Catalog. The images remain exactly where they were. This means if you moved your images to a folder on your desktop and you “ADD” them to the Lightroom catalog the files do not get moved or copied. This also means that if you move or delete the desktop folder and you do not tell Lightroom then it doesn’t understand where they all went. If you remove the original location and you open up lightroom you will see the thumbnails that it created when you imported the image. However, you will see writing across the image that says it cannot find the source file. Now, provided you have not deleted the originals there are ways to tell Lightroom where to look.

3. Where to put them: If you have chosen Copy or Move then you have the option of telling Lightroom where you want the files to be copied or moved to.

Revisiting Past Images

Many of you know that the software we use to process our images gets updated every couple of years. Not to mention new software seems to come out all the time. Not only does the software change but your vision as an artists changes with time as well. Have you considered going back to photographs you have taken in the past and “re-editing” them based on software and/or vision changes?

Recently I took another look of a Great Smoky Mountain shoot I did from 2010. There were as many as 6 images that previously had not seen the light of day. It isn’t that they were bad but rather I had not realized the potential of the images. Since 2010 I have gotten the Nik Software Suite which gives some tremendous options. Silver efex Pro II for example allows you to easily and effectively convert images to black and white. Not to mention the Lightroom update with Lightroom 4. The highlights slider alone in that update makes taking a look at past images a must. Don’t forget about the Photoshop update to CS6 either. All of these are tools that can help you realize the potential of past images. 

 

Your ability to see the images differenly can change as well.  For me I know that I view tonality and image contrast much different than I did even last year.  The changing of software, hardware, and artistic vision make it worth the time to revisit your past archives.

Warning: While you might want to spend some time looking at your past images do not dwell there. The only way to truly improve is to get out and shoot.

Use the Tools

What would you say if you went to the DMV to get your drivers license and they asked you to display your horse and buggy driving techniques? Let’s say you interview for an IT job with a major company and during the interview they wanted to critique your ability with punch card computer programming. What would you say to that?

My guess is you would laugh all the way out the door.

Why then do photographers often feel that it is necessary to live with outdated technologies or old ways of doing things? Is it because we have always done it that way and we feel uncomfortable moving on to easier methods? Do we need justification for all the time and money we spent learning the old ways?

I started into photography prior to the digital revolution. I spent time in the traditional wet darkroom (hours and hours). I then moved onto slide film and sent the work off to be processed. Then along came the scanners and hours in early Photoshop removing dust. Don’t forget the tone curve and how important that was.

Do you know how much all of this helped me become a better photographer? None, zero, zip, nada. I become a better photographer by shooting more. Not with outdated Photoshop or wet darkroom techniques.

There are filter effects in Nik Software that I could recreate using Photoshop but it would take hours. The Lightroom 4 sliders can also do some amazing things in just moments. Knowing the old methods served their purpose when we did not have the new tools we do now.

Really, all I am saying is stop trying to justify old methods that are out dated. Take the time you would spend on photography forums defending your techniques and apply that to learning the newer ways and embracing the advancing technologies. Better yet, spend that time taking photos. That will make you a better photographer.

Every image that you see in this post has had some Lightroom 4, Photoshop, and Nik Software adjustments.  Total time per image?  Less than 5 min.  If you can't afford Photoshop or Nik Software then look for Lightroom 4 presets.  They are affordable and powerful tools.  One of the best out there that I use comes from Gavin Seim.  You can find his effects at http://www.seimeffects.com/. 

Take the Camera with You!

I often have to remind myself to take the camera with me...  After all, it is really hard to take photos without a camera.  Today I was headed out the door to visit a local airport for recurrent training and I decided to through my camera in the truck.  While leaving the airfield I noticed the thunderclouds in the background and this beautiful yellow tree in the foreground.  It was the stark contrast that caught my attention.  I hopped out of the truck and took a few frames.

Here is what I got.  Notice how the tree is positioned.  I am using the rule of thirds by placing the branches in the upper left third of the image.  This works because the tree itself is extending out to the right and causes the eye to move.

For post processing I used a little bit of Nik Software (pro contrast, tonal contrast) and Lightroom 4 to really bring out the dark clouds and I put a slight vignette to draw the eyes even more to the tree.

In the end...  I am GLAD I took my camera!!!!

Punishing Pixels!!

Often times we photographers get set in our ways and we feel that the way we do things is the only way.  I get that way myself at times.  I was out today just walking around a field and I came across this old wagon.  I think old wagons are like railroad tracks...  If you have a camera and you come across them you just have to shoot.  Why?  I have no idea!...  Anyway, the one at the top is where I finished up on my initial post processing.  Since pixels are both free and made to be punished I chose to go all out!!!  I even used a texture I picked up off the top of the wagon to overlay.  I don't normally do things like this but I find it fun and interesting to go out on a limb once in a while.  I do like both images and each does have it's own feel.

Photographers should not be locked into one way of doing things.  Great painters didn't become great by simply doing what all the other painters were doing.  They had to find their own voice and expressions.

Don't be afraid to use Photoshop or plugins...  After all, the only real criticism you will get will be from other photographers.  The general public loves this kind of stuff (sort of like HDR).  Besides, in the end if you hate what you did you can simply hit the delete key and never see it again.


Disclaimer:  These images were copied from the originals before being processed...  No pixels were harmed in the making of this blog!

Lightroom 4 Introduction Video

Below is a video introduction to Lightroom 4.  This introduction is based on my first impressions and only pertains to still images.  LR4 has the capability of working with video but I do no have any experience with that portion yet.  All and all this is a solid program worth looking at for an upgrade or initial purchase.  Adobe will allow you to upgrade to LR4 for 79.00 regardless of what previous version you have.  Way to go Adobe.  On top of that if you do not have a previous version but you are considering it the prices is 149.00!!!!  That is half the price of LR3 upon release.  It looks like the lowering of Aperture 3 in Mac App Store had an effect.  As always should you have any questions feel free to drop me an e-mail or even call.  Thanks again and stay tuned!!!!