Introduction to Lightroom. Part 2.

Creating a New Catalogue :

• Start Lightroom    (If it asks to backup then select ‘Skip Now’)
• Create a New Catalogue :-
• Select ‘File->New Catalog …’
• Name the Catalogue ‘YourName-Ex-14’
• Create it in a new folder on the desktop called ‘Lightroom Exercise’
• Import about 20 images into the catalogue :-
• Add some keywords to the images as you do this.

Keywords :

• Make sure the ‘Keywording’ and ‘Keyword List’ panels are visible.
• Select an image and add keywords for all the dominant colours in the image - 
• Click where it says ‘Click here to add keywords’
• Enter the new keywords (the colours) separated by commas.
• Press the ‘Return’ key. They will be added to the keyword list above, and to the Keyword List panel below.
• Repeat for another image with different colours.
• Add a keyword to a group of images –
• Select a number of images that all contain one of the colours already entered.
• Move the mouse over the colour in the Keyword List and click on the box at the left hand side to add the keyword to all the selected images.
• Create a keyword set 
• Click on the + sign at the top left of the Keyword List panel,
• Enter the keyword tag ‘Colour’
• Untick ‘Put inside “xxx” and ‘Add to selected photos’
• Select ‘Create’. It will be added to the keyword list and greyed out.
• Drag all the colour keywords into ‘Colours’

Selecting Images with Keywords :

• Move the mouse over the Keyword List panel and click on the arrow to the right of one of the keywords. All the images with that keyword will be selected.
• Click where it says ‘Filter Keywords’ and type a letter that is in at least one of your keywords. Type more letters to search for keywords containing that group of letters. This is useful when you want to find a keyword the list is very long.
• Select ‘View -> Show Filter Bar’ to turn on the filter bar. 

What is the keyboard shortcut for this ? \

• Click on ‘Text’ and type keywords into the entry field to select images with those keywords.
• Click on ‘Attribute’ and select combinations of ratings, Labels and Flags to select images meeting particular criteria.
• You can combine a keyword search with an attribute filter as well.
• Select ‘Metadata’ to select images based on their metadata. At the top of each column the ‘All’ option will clear that search criteria.
• Click on ‘None’ to clear the filter and select all the images.

Stacks :

• Select at least 4 images of the same subject. Eg pictures of the same building or person.
• Select ‘Photo -> Stacking -> Group into Stack’. 

What is the keyboard shortcut for this ? Command G

• Find 3 ways to expand and collapse the stack – list them here –
• Click on the number icon in the top left corner to expand and collapse
• S to expand or collapse the stack 
• Expand the stack and rearrange the images in the stack to move a different image to the top of the stack.
• Collapse the stack. What do you notice ? The image on the top of the stack changes to the one you have now put there

Virtual Copies :

• Select an image and then select ‘Photo -> Create Virtual Copy’.

What is the keyboard shortcut for this ? Command '

• Use the Quick Develop panel or the Develop module to make changes to the virtual copy. 
• Make another virtual copy of the same image and apply a ‘Creative Preset’.
• Click on the number in the top left corner of the one of the copies to make it the master image.
• Click on the number in the top left corner of the master image to collapse the group.

Lightroom Introduction. Part 1.

Creating a New Catalogue :

• Start Lightroom    (If it asks to backup then select ‘Skip Now’)
• Create a New Catalogue :-
• Select ‘File->New Catalog …’
• Name the Catalogue ‘YourName-Test’
• Create it in a new folder on the desktop called ‘Lightroom Exercise’

Import Images :

• Plug your USB drive / Card reader into the USB port. 
• If the ‘Import Photos’ dialogue box does not appear, then select ‘File->Import Photos from Device …’.
• Select ‘File Handling: Copy Photos to a new location and add to catalog’.
• Copy the images into ‘Desktop / Lightroom Exercise / Pictures’ and organise by date.
• Name the files using ‘Custom Name – Sequence’ and add your own custom name.
• Turn on ‘Show Preview’ and uncheck any images you don’t want to import.
• Select ‘Import’ – an indicator will appear under the Lightroom banner (top left corner of window) to show the progress of the import. Click on the red ‘X’ if you want to stop the import.

Interface Options :

• Use the triangle buttons, the Tab and shift Tab keys to display and hide the panels. Use the F and L keys to change the display appearance.
• Click on the buttons at the bottom of the viewing area, to try different Library viewing modes – Grid, Loupe, Compare and Survey. 

What are the shortcut keys for these ? G, E, C, N

• Set the viewing area to Grid mode.
• Use the triangle at the bottom right corner of the viewing area to set which controls to display along the bottom strip of the viewing panel.

Labelling, Rating and Flagging Images :

• Use the controls along the bottom strip to give star ratings, colour labels and to flag and reject some images. 
• Move the mouse over the grid area and click directly on the images to flag some images and give star ratings.

Note : Make sure you have plenty of labelled and flagged images before proceeding to the next step.

Filtering and Selecting Images :

• Go to the Library Filter bar at the top of the viewing area. If it is not visible select ‘View->Show Filter Bar’. What is the shortcut key to toggle the Filter Bar ?    \ 
• Select the ‘Attribute’ filter button to display the attribute strip and use the attributes to control which images are displayed.
  What three options are available for the Star Ratings attribute ? 

Rating is greater then or equal to, rating is less then or equal to, rating is equal to

• Select the ‘Metadata’ filter button and use these options to further control the display of images.
• The button to the right will now say ‘Custom Filter’. Click on this and select ‘Filters Off’ from the menu. All images should be displayed again.

Quick Collections :

• In Grid view move the mouse over the images and click on the circle in the top right corner of some of the images. These will be added to the ‘Quick Collection’.
• To display only the images you have just selected click on ‘Quick Collection’ in the Catalog section of the left panel. 
• Use filtering options (as above) to further refine the displayed images.
• Click on ‘All Photographs’ in the Catalog section of the left panel to view all the images.
• Click on ‘Quick Collection’ again. 
• Press ‘a’ to select all the images in the quick collection, then click on the grey circle in one of the images to clear the quick collection.

Collections :

• Use the filter options to display a group of images. (Eg you might select all the best images to develop and then use in a slideshow presentation).
• Select all the images by pressing ‘a’.
• Click on the plus sign on the Collections panel and select ‘Create Selection …’ from the drop down menu. Type in a name (eg ‘Final Selection’) when prompted.
• Display all the photos, then drag some more images into your collection.

Develop and Present :

• Select the Develop module. What is the keyboard shortcut for this ? D
• Make any necessary tonal and other changes to each image.
• Select the Slideshow module and use the panel on the right to customise your slideshow.

Smart Objects.

Here are a few screen shots to show the progression through this tutorial. However 'placing' an object does not make it a smart object, the layer must first be converted into a smart object. When 'placing' an object the smart object symbol does not appear until after its been converted.

FINAL IMAGE 

Noon-Detructive Editing. Part 3.

What model does cataloguing software use ?

The Library Model – it creates a catalogue or database and stores the metadata associated image, a preview and any other information contained with the image. It does not open the image but grabs the data and preview from the catalogue and not the hard drive where the RAW images are saved.  

Where are the images stored in a catalogue based system ?

Anywhere within your computer system, USB, DVD, CD drive – does not matter as lightroom reads the data and imports it into the catalogue where is stores for future use. Cannot go into develop mode if the RAW files are external.   

Where does the catalogue get its initial information about the files ?

From the metadata, will grab info from anywhere and import it into the catalogue. 

Where does the cataloguing software store this information ?

IN the catalogue 

What is the main organising principle of Browser based systems ?

It used the file system you have created on your computer, it does not create anything it just looks and what you have created. 

How do cataloguing systems organise their images ?

You have to supply it with Metadata, no metadata then you will have trouble finding images. 

How does a cataloguing system make changes to an image ?

It uses your instructions saved as metadata 

Can other programs see these changes ? - In general No as any changes are saved in the metadata in the catalogue as your working within the catalogue – Yes but this is a preference were meta data is saved into the DNG file as an xmp file. (make sure this is ticked off in preferences)  

How does a cataloguing system make changes to an image available to other programs ?

You have to create a derivative file in order for other programs to view the changes made within the catalogue.  

List 5 advantages of Cataloguing based PIE software ?

1. Non-destructive 
2. Work offline – no editing or export – but you can view etc. 
3. Apply the same edits to a large amount of images. Simple metadata is applied
4. Create virtual files / copies 

Give two examples of software that combine Image Cataloguing and Editing functions ?

1. Lightroom
2. Apple Aperture 

Exercise Six. Non-Destructive Editing.

I have completed the non-distructive exercise and imported and placed the pictures and smart object, but had to convert the second image to a smart object after placing it. 

Result is not the best but I was just going through the exercise and not really worrying to much about the result. 

Non-Destructive. Editing Part 2.

What is a Rendering Engine?
The source image and your processing settings are proceeded in the rendering software and a finished image is created. In other words its the software that takes the file and decodes the information to give you an image.


What three things determine the final colour of the image pixel?

1. The original image data
2. The rendering engine's mathematical forumlas
3. The setting applied by the user to the rendering software 

What are the three main components of a RAW file? 

1. Mosaiced Raw Image
2. Metadata
3. JPEG Preview 

Can PIE software be used on RAW files? 
Yes


What is Live Rendering? 
A live rendering is a view of the image that only exists when the source image is loaded into the software.


Where can the Rendering Metadata be stored? 

• XMP Data - in a side car file (Extentsible Metadata Platform XMP)
• Live inside the file
• In a database 

Give two examples of a Fixed Rendering?

• Print 
• Derivative file, TIF, JPEG, PSD

Is a Preview a Live or a Fixed Rendering of the image?
A preview is neither a live or fixed rendering its a semipermanent fixed rendering of the image that shows adjustments made by the rendering engine/sofware. Fixed as its a JPEG or TIFF file. It's a view of the image but its there just so you can view the image as you make changes. Semi perm as the file is regenerated with each new preview.

Lightroom grabs a preview first and then grabs the live rendering after, this is why images 'flick' and changes as they are loaded or imported.


Where can Previews be stored? 

• Embedded preview in your RAW file
• Cached previews - file browsers such as Adobe Bridge, PhotoMechanic 
• Cached preview - cataloguing such as Lightroom

Why do File Browsers and Cataloguing software create Previews?

• Speed up the viewing of images
• Previews are used as a proxy image for adjustments
• So images are not confused with derivative files 

Non-Destructive Editing.

Define 'Non Destructive Imaging (NDI)'

NDI referes to image processes where the source image may be adjusted in a way that leaves the original data intact. (Krogh. P, An evolution of rendering technology, pg 1)

The most simple way of putting NDI, is that in post processing you create layers on layers to ensure that the original data is kept intact, giving you as much colour and other information as possible. As when you start to process your source image, you start to lose data that can then not be recovered.

List four challenges introduced by digital photography

1. The creation of a vast number of photos
2. The need to apply identical adjustments to many photos in one operation
3. The need to interpret a single source image in multiple ways (B&W, colour)
4. The desire to take advantage of rapidly evolving image technology to reinterpret image with more capable software in the future.  

What is meant by a 'Derivative File?

A derivative file is a copy of the original file, with any adjustment saved, achieved by using the 'save as' function after each change is made. Your creating a new version of the original file, enabling you to preserve the source file or original file and allowing you to go back to each change/adjustment if required.

What are two problems with using "Save As' to create derivative files?

1. Creating multiple files of the one derivative file creates confusion when it come to working out what file you need at a later date.  
2. Storage as you are re-saving the entire image over and over again. 

What is 'Self Referenced Non Destructive Imaging'?  

Photoshop adjustment layers make it possible to wrap up the source image with a set of instructions, or a set of many instructions, for rendering the photo (Krogh. P, An evolution of rendering technology, pg 3). In other words photoshop creates a layer or preview file on top of the original source file, allowing the data to be preserved.  

List two advantages of 'Self Referenced NDI' over the use of Derivative Files?

1. Storage, Self Referenced NDI files are much more economical and take up less space 
2. You are able to see the adjustments you are making and what the effect is and to come back to the file at a later date and clearly and easily see what adjustments have been made
3. You are able to create a separate interpretation of the file, a black and white, while still making use of some of the work you have already done on other versions.   

Define 'Parametric Image Editing (PIE)'

Software programs that assume the original source file will not be altered, instead saved interactions are applied when the file is being output for use. A small proxy of the photo is used and then references the source file at the time of output.

What is the difference between a 'Live Rendering' and a 'Fixed Rendering'?

• Live Rendering is a view of the image that only exists when the source image is loaded into the software. This type of rendering is considered more/less as a temporary preview. Its your photoshop file with adjustment layers, or its your Lightroom image, or its your indesign file. 
• A fixed Rendering is the final version of your image, your adjustments are fixed into your pixels and is a freestanding image on its own. Its basically your photoshop file flattened so you can print it or its your final Jpeg.   

List three advantages of NDI

1. Cost savings
2. Time savings
3. and creative freedom, without distorting or destroying your original source image. 

Week five. Camera Raw.

A very simple exercise and easy to follow apart from the second last option, cropping the image and then selecting a preset to save the image? I have no idea where the preset is, so I skipped this step.

I had no trouble saving the image by selecting the 'save image' button. Below is the cropped and slightly improved image.

Adobe Bridge. Week four.

I have gone through the Adobe Bridge exercises placed up on eLearn and I found tBridge to be really easy to use. I think bridge is a much more effective program to use when importing image, storing image and also sorting and moving image. I like the fact that it mirrors my computer so it allows me to find things very easily.

I could see myself using Bridge when importing images and then organising them into folders, as Bridge places files onto my computer, whereas in Lightroom, they are placed into a Lightroom database.

Below is a screen shot of bridge as well as my contact sheet just to show that I went through the exercises.

Contact sheet

Screen shot

Exercise Three. Colour Theory 2.

Start Photoshop and open the document you created in Exercise 3.

What is the keyboard shortcut for opening an existing Document ? Command O

Change the Blending Mode of the layer Group to ‘Pass Through’.

Make the background layer the working layer by selecting it in the Layers palette.

Use the Rectangular Marquee tool to select the top half of the image.

Use the Paint bucket tool to fill this area with Black.

What is the keyboard shortcut for this tool ? G

Change the Blending Mode of the ‘Red Circle’ layer to ‘Lighten’. 

Do the same for the Blue and Green Circle layers.

Select the Move tool. 

What is the keyboard shortcut for this tool ? V

Turn on the ‘Auto-select’ option and set it to ‘Layer’ (Not ‘Group’).

Drag the three circles so they all overlap each other.

This simulates the Additive Colour System.

Rename the group of circle layers to indicate this.

Add a text layer (using white text) saying ‘<name> Colour System’.

Select the group of circles in the layers palette.

Duplicate the group using ‘Layer -> Duplicate Group …’. 

Use the Move tool with ‘Auto-Select’ set to ‘Group’ to drag the new group to the bottom half of the page.

Change the Blending Mode of the this group to ‘Difference’.

This simulates the Subtractive Colour System.

Add a text layer saying ‘<name> Colour System’.

Save the document as ‘Ex 4 – Primary_Colours.psd’

Exercise Four. Primary Colours.

Start Photoshop and create a new document with the following properties :-

Name : ‘Ex 3 – Primary Colours’

Size : A4 @ 300dpi

Colour Mode : RGB / 8 bpc

Background Colour : White

What is the keyboard shortcut for creating a new Document ? Command N 

What is the size of the image in :-

Megapixels _______      Megabytes 

Set the foreground colour to Red (ie R 255, G 0, B 0).

Select the Ellipse Tool (not the Marquee tool). What is the keyboard shortcut :- U

Draw a circle with the Ellipse tool approximately 6cm in diameter (about 1/3^rd of the page width) – display the rulers and use Preferences to set the units to cm .

Which key forces the ellipse to be a circle ? SHIFT

Change the layer name to ‘Red Circle’.

Duplicate the layer and 

change the colour to green and 

change the name to ‘Green Circle’. 

Note: To change the colour click on the colour button on the option bar immediately after duplicating the layer, or double click on the layer in the Layers palette.

Duplicate this layer and 

change the colour to blue and 

change the name to ‘Blue Circle’.

Select the Move tool. What is the keyboard shortcut ?   V

Turn on the ‘Auto-select’ option.

Spread the three circles across the top of the page with a small space above them (they may overlap a bit – that’s OK).

Fit the image to the screen (ie so the whole page is visible)

What is the keyboard shortcut for this ? Command Plus

Go to Full Screen Mode – ‘View -> Screen Mode ->Full Screen Mode’.

What is the keyboard shortcut ? F

Stare at the centre of the middle circle for 20 seconds, then look at the white area below. You will see an after image.

What colour are the after images for each circle ?

Red - Yellow (I have no idea if this is working but this is what I see!)

Green - RED

Blue - Not really a colour just a white/yellow circle

Select all three layers in the layers palette.

Group the three layers together by selecting ‘Layer -> Group’.

What is the keyboard shortcut ? Command G

Select the group in the layers palette containing the three circles.

Change the ‘Blending Mode’ for the group from ‘Pass Through’ to ‘Difference’. (We will be looking at Blending Modes later, so don’t worry if you don’t understand them now).

Stare at the centre of the middle circle for 20 seconds, then look at the white area below. You will see an after image.

What colour are the after images for each circle?

Cyan - RED

Magenta - GREENISH

Yellow - Same here - I don't ready get an after      colour but I am guessing its bluish! 

Save the document as ‘Ex 3 – Colour Theory.psd’

What is the size of the .psd file on disk ? 1.1 MB 

How does this compare to the image size you recorded in step 3 above.