Whether you’ve just purchased the Nikon D750 or you’re still in the research phase, you likely already know this is a DSLR with an amazing price point. It’s still one of the top rated cameras, even after more than 5 years on the market. Lightweight and extremely reliable, with excellent dynamic range, the Nikon D750 is a full frame DSLR Continue Reading
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The post Answers to Your Most Common Lightroom Questions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.
Adobe Lightroom offers ease of use as well as high functionality for novice users and professionals alike. Although many photographers use Photoshop for retouching, they continue to use Lightroom, not only as a global editor but also for its robust organizational capabilities.
Even if you’ve been using Lightroom for a while, you still may be confused about how to get the most out of the software.
Certain questions crop up again and again with Lightroom users. Here are some answers to your most common Lightroom questions.
Pardon the pun, but this is the “classic” question when it comes to Lightroom, especially with the changes and updates over the last couple of years.
The current “Lightroom” app was formerly known as Lightroom CC. This is a version that is heavily marketed by Adobe but is not necessarily the best version for the serious photographer.
Lightroom Classic is what used to be known as Lightroom CC.
Are you confused yet?
No worries, because this is the most common Lightroom question!
The current Lightroom CC stores your photos on their servers and charges you $ 10 per terabyte. If you shoot a lot, this can really add up quickly.
It also doesn’t offer you full functionality, like the ability to print from Lightroom or export files in any format other than DNG or JPG.
Lightroom CC also doesn’t contain the Map, Book, Print, Slideshow or Web modules. Essentially, it’s suitable for the entry photographer. Beyond that, you’ll find it won’t give you the full suite of tools you need.
Lightroom Classic, on the other hand, is the subscription-based model that you get with your photography plan.
Not only does this version give you great value, but it also provides you with the complete functionality you expect from a post-processing program.
To find out which version you currently have, just go up to –>Help in the top toolbar and select –>System Info from the dropdown menu.
The conversation about color space is a lot more lengthy than what can take place here, but you should be aware of the differences and those most optimal for what you’re trying to accomplish with your photography.
The most common color spaces are sRGB and Adobe RGB.
sRGB is the defining color space of the digital world. Anything involving digital graphics, whether it be video games or photographs, is built on sRGB.
If your photos will appear online, you’ll need to use sRGB. If you upload an image in AdobeRGB, it will look desaturated and dull because the browser will convert it to sRGB and do a poor job of it.
However, if you anticipate your work being professionally printed at all, you’ll most likely need AdobeRGB files. This is a color space developed by Adobe Systems and HP to be compatible with CMYK printers.
Stock agencies often request files to be upload in AdobeRGB because they can be converted to sRGB. Just note that the reverse isn’t true.
Both sRGB and AdobeRGB have the same number of colors but the range is narrower in sRGB. AdobeRGB has a 35% wider color gamut, which means prints will be more vibrant and saturated.
ProPhotoRGB encompasses the largest color space available and is ideal when using Lightroom with other programs like Photoshop to process 16-bit photos. 8-bit cannot use the whole available color range. Prophoto is also ideal if you are printing your photos with a professional printery that uses a printer that can print between 7-10 colors.
sRGB vs AdobeRGB on a computer screen
An important factor in keeping Lightroom running smoothly is to set it up for optimal performance.
One common Lightroom question is how to speed up Lightroom’s performance.
To start with, as with any software program, you should always make sure it’s updated and that you have enough hard drive space. You need at least 20% free space for Lightroom to run optimally.
Also, make sure your catalog is optimized. Lightroom continually updates the catalog file, but eventually, the data structure becomes less optimal over time. It has an “optimize catalog” option you can enable to improve performance.
To access this option, go to Lightroom -> Preferences and click on -> Performance.
Then click on -> Optimize Performance.
Set up Lightroom to back up on a regular schedule, and set it to optimize the catalog following the backup.
Another tip for improving performance is to import your files as DNG files.
DNG is short for Digital Negative. It’s a RAW file format created by Adobe.
When you convert a file into DNG, Lightroom adds Fast Load Data to the file. This results in a partially processed preview that allows Lightroom to render faster previews in the Develop module.
Adobe claims that a DNG file with Fast Load Data can load up to eight times faster.
Another benefit of converting to DNG files is that they are smaller files than other RAW formats and take up 20% less space on your hard drive.
To enable this Fast Load Data under your Lightroom Preferences tab go to -> File Handling and check off Embed Fast Load Data. Make sure you have DNG selected as the file extension.
Another of the common Lightroom questions is how many catalogs users should use, and often garners much debate.
Some photographers vehemently proclaim that you should only use one catalog, while others insist one catalog is an accident waiting to happen.
When you use one catalog, you risk it becoming corrupt from, for example, constant opening and closing the catalog. It’s actually a rare thing, but it has happened to me a couple of times.
The antidote to this is backing up every day and keeping only the last couple of backups so they don’t clog up your computer.
Catalogs can be a nice way to organize your images. You can, at the very least, have one for your personal photos and another for professional photos.
But you can also have one catalog by utilizing Collections. To me, the whole point of Lightroom is to keep you more organized, so this is a large part of the functionality of the program.
When you have several catalogs, you have to make sure each is properly backed up, which is tedious and adds to your workflow. Also, you cannot have more than one catalog open at a time.
So, in my opinion, it’s easier to back up and manage one master catalog and that you make the most use out of the Collections feature.
The key to success with Lightroom is to keep things as streamlined as possible. It functions as a powerful photo database, but a few missteps can result in a mess.
One of the most common Lightroom questions is where should I save my files?
I recommend that you have a hierarchical folder structure where you have a top-level folder, and in that folder, you have a folder for the year, month, and shoot name – in that order.
This folder structure will make it easy makes it easy to locate certain photos quickly.
It will also allow you to easily back up your photos or copy them to an external hard drive by copying the top-level folder
For example, if you want to back up your entire photo collection to another hard drive, it’s as simple as copying the top-level folder.
Despite how user-friendly Lightroom is, it contains a fair amount of complexity. Knowing all the ins-and-outs will help you get the most out of the software program. Hopefully, this article has clarified some of your most common Lightroom questions.
The post Answers to Your Most Common Lightroom Questions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.
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Upon reading the post earlier this week asking for a male-male hot-shoe-to-mini coiled sync cord, reader Shirley Lu, of Guangzhou, China noted in the comments:
If this cable is 10 meters, maybe it will have a delay on signal transfer. And other point is the cost of a 10-meter cable is much higher than a set wireless triggers.
Great question (er, comment), Shirley. I am so glad you posted it. And especially so, considering a quick look at your screen name shows you work at Pixel Enterprises, a Chinese lighting gear manufacturer. (Welcome!) My answers are below.
Read more »
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When was the last time you got to snuggle a wolf puppy at work?
Never? Us neither. Sharon Montrose, on the other hand, can raise her hand to that one (and we’re green with jelly).
Sharon’s the photographer behind The Animal Print Shop. You might’ve spotted her portraits of wide-eyed baby giraffes, raccoons looking smug, and baby bears being baby bears.
We asked about how she discovered her awesome talent for photographing animal personality and what working commercially is all about.
While wolf pups might not be next up on your model list, you’ll get inspired to sit your pet down for a session!
Sharon Montrose on Animal Photography
p.s. We’re hiring for an amazing opening at Photojojo. We’re looking to re-invent what/how/where we publish online, and we’re seeking one amazing somebody to lead the charge as Editorial & Community Lead.
The first time we heard about Sharon, she was snapping a baby giraffe in this Etsy interview. That’s when we knew that she probably had the best job in the world.
Sharon’s an acclaimed animal photographer who happened upon her talent for capturing portraits of animals when she was inspired to photograph her own dog one day (read more about that in the interview).
While she shoots dogs and cats commercially (you’ve probably seen her photos on billboards), Sharon has had the opportunity to work with less common animals like bear cubs, ostriches, and flamingos in her personal photography. This project is what became her Animal Print Shop series. Read about where the animals come from here.
Looking through Sharon’s portfolio is a roller coaster ride of awwww and is that real! and dang, she’s inspiring. Read on to learn more about how Sharon got started and what gets her inspired.
Q: You’ve photographed buffalo, cows, giraffes, lions even! Is it intimidating to stand in front of an animal that large with your camera?
A: No. I’m naturally a somewhat fearful person, but I when I get behind the lens, my fear is goes away–I think I’m too distracted getting my shot to be afraid.
Q: So, kittens and puppies aren’t known for their sitting-still-in-one-spot skills. How do you manage to get great photos of them regardless?
A: Patience and timing. With animals that move around a lot, you have to be ready and focused to hit the shutter in that split second when they stop.
Q: When you’re shooting for your Animal Print Shop series, how many shots does it take to get that one incredible photo?
A: It really depends on the animal–if it’s a calm animal (like a cow) who will just stand there and look around, I can get my shot in a couple frames. Others though, like little lion cubs, are running all over the place and take some serious time and patience.
Q: Did you know you wanted to get into animal photography off the bat? If not, what was getting there like?
A: At first I had a very tough time turning what I loved doing into a way to earn a living. I floundered before I became established as a working photographer. I was shooting headshots and weddings and doing okay at it, but I wasn’t happy doing either and had lost the love I had for photography.
Around the same time, I adopted my first dog (several members of my family also had dogs), so I started taking photos of all the dogs in my life to see if it reignited the love I once had for photography. It did, and I learned an important lesson as a result: I had to have an authentic connection with my subjects.
Shortly afterwards I began work on my first book Dogtionary (Viking Press 2001). The book came after many failed attempts at marketing myself as a private party pet photographer. Back in 1998 people didn’t spend money on their dogs like they do today.
The book (and subsequent books) established me in my niche because the internet was still new, so being published was more productive in those days and there were very few published photographers with dog books in the United States. There were only a handful of us in the shadows of the great William Wegman, Elliot Erwitt, Henry Horenstein, and Keith Carter. I think it was me, Jim Dratfield, Kim Levin, Valerie Shaff, Sharon Beals, Deborah Samuel, Jeff Selis, and Debra Marlin. If I forgot someone, I’m human, please don’t send me hate mail.
Q: Can you describe a shoot (let’s say one from your Animal Print Shop series) in 5 steps? Give us an idea of what happens start to finish!
A:
1. Phone calls: Reaching out to my contacts to see if there’s anything out there for me to photograph.
2. Production: Coordinating the logistics and equipment for the shoot.
3. Shoot day: The best day!
4. Editing, post production, and test printing.
5. Producing Materials for New Release: Producing product shots, printing inventory, and adding the new release to the site, plus marketing efforts.
Q: What is having a professional team like? Are you ever like, “I wish it was just me?”
A: I never wish it was just me. I literally couldn’t do what I do without my team–I’m very lucky to have them.
Q: You’re pretty much running your own business as a photographer. What do you do a lot of now that you didn’t realize you would be doing when you started?
A: Answering questions about myself in interviews. I take my work seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously–so it’s a weird challenge.
Q: In commercial photography how much creative free-reign do you typically get? We’re guessing you’re working with clients’ marketing teams and maybe stylists — how collaborative is it?
A: It’s always a collaborative effort to get the shot, sometimes with many different creatives coming together: creative director, set decorator/prop stylist, production, and my crew.
If I have been selected for a job by a creative team, it’s because they like what I do and believe I can nail their comp, so it’s inherently collaborative.
Usually after we’ve been successful at getting their comp and the client is happy, I’ll shoot variations and freestyle a little to get extra options and make sure they have everything they need — that’s where I get free-reign. And sometimes they end up using those shots instead or in addition to the original concept.
Sally Mann, Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Weston.
Q: When you want to photograph your own stuff, where or who is your favorite inspiration?
A: Honestly, it’s hard to shoot my own stuff now since I’m so busy running The Animal Print Shop. Inspiration does strike though, and I usually just pull out my iPhone to take a few snaps. It’s usually of my dogs or my crew messing around at the shop to post on Instagram.
Unless I’m in my most favorite place on earth: Yosemite. There you will find me somewhere along the Merced River in all my photo glory looking like a total Ansel Adams wannabe, photo-geek. True story.
Q: We see you’re on Instagram. (OMG wolf puppy!) Do you have any favorite apps or tips?
A: I like VSCOcam and Squareready. But don’t ask me, I’m old.
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A few of you were like, "Yeah, cool, but couldn't you also do that with an Einstein?"
Yeah, turns out you could. And who better to prove that than Jarek Wieczorkiewicz, who specializes in conceptual sculpted-liquid portraiture. His results, along with a (slightly NSFW-ish) vid, inside. Read more »
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