Tuesday , March 19 2024
Do you want to become more efficient when working in Lightroom?

Video Training Review: Raw Workflow For Lightroom 2 with Kevin Kubota

While Adobe Lightroom 2 may not have all of the bells and whistles that Adobe Photoshop has, it is still a complex program in its own right. If you are a professional photographer, it is all about getting in, getting out, and getting on to the next job. That means you need to have efficiency. That means workflow.

But you also have to have a workflow that provides good results. Kevin Kubota was named by Popular Photography as one of the top ten wedding photographers in the world in 2007 and to be put in such company also have to get great results.

Raw Workflow For Lightroom 2 comes with three parts. There is a video portion which is where you watch and learn how the entire workflow unfolds. The video itself is one large QuickTime file, but it is broken down into segments so you can jump around very easily.

Raw Workflow For Lightroom 2 comes with a PDF book that contains an outline of the steps used in the video that can be used as an online reference guide (there is also a printable PDF that is more condensed and has a light background so as not to waste ink). There is also a whole set of presets that you can use to process your images. Finally there is an online download of a studio project software system that can be used to manage your projects.

Section 1, "Introduction" begins by looking at why you would want to use Lightroom. It then shows you the Lightroom folder structure, how to navigate around, working with dual monitors, importing, and filtering images. You will also look at shortcuts and how to use them move around efficiently as well as exactly how Lightroom edits an image and how the .XMP file is used.

Section 2, "Getting Ready" to use Lightroom is about setting up preferences before starting a job. Here you will examine how the folder structure looks on disk, how best to set up your job folders, as well as working with a client/job tracking system. This includes the KIT E-Studio Software system that you can download when you purchase the workflow. Here you will also learn about how to create jobs in the KIT E-Studio, as well as other important topics like downloading images from the camera.

Section 3, "Preset Power" is all about creating re-usable adjustment presets for use in Lightroom. You will create a blank catalog, import images, import presets as well as how to make a preset. In this section you will see how to create a "Look" preset that you can use on your different types of work.

Section 4, "Import and Edit" means it is time to get to work and this section explains all about getting your images into Lightroom and how to organize them. This includes things like consolidating to a single folder, fixing time sync problems, batch renaming, marking images out, the use of filters, and labeling for Black and White conversion.

Section 5, "Adjusting Images" will have you creating great looking photos. This section starts off by working with some basic presets to adjust your images. Then you will learn how white balance affects tone, how to use exposure, learn how to understand the histogram, and finish up with seeing how to target specific things like tone, luminance, hue, and grayscale.

Section 6, "Enhance with Photoshop" means that as much as you can do in Lightroom, there will be times that you need to pull out the big guns to accomplish some adjustments, and that means using Photoshop. In this section you will see how to get into Photoshop and round-trip back into Lightroom as efficiently as possible.

Section 7, "Batch Processing" looks at the fact that, once you are done with processing your images, what do you want to do with them? You can use them for presentations, Web galleries, or proofs for your clients. Here you will see how you can process for lower resolution JPG copies of your final images for preview type work.

Section 8, "Present and Print" examines what it takes when you want to present more professional copies of your images. You will look at Talaphoto, a third party photo printing and slideshow program, and Lightroom 2. Here you will see how to make slideshows, contact sheets, proofs and produce print orders.

Section 9, "Advanced Tips and Tricks" is a whole cornucopia of other tidbits that will make your life easier. These include making virtual copies of variations on a single image without actually creating another image, key wording your images, using Lightroom across a network, working with Adobe Bridge, and learning Lightroom's short cuts.

Section 10, "Resources" finishes up the workflow by presenting a number of different resources to make your job easier. There is also information on contacting Kubota Image Tools for additional comments or questions.

The Raw Workflow For Lightroom 2 is very well done and brings a lot of information to you in one place. Kevin Kubota has a very natural style of teaching that makes everything seem so simple.

As far as what this video is about — workflow — it hits its mark. Everything is about efficiency and doing the job right, from why you want to use Lightroom to setting up your folder structure, to using a project tracking system, to giving you one to use for free, all the way to getting your images to your clients.

Raw Workflow For Lightroom 2 is available from Kubota Image Tools for $99.00. Keep in mind that this workflow is for Lightroom 2. They have a version for Lightroom 1, just check out their site.

While Raw Workflow For Lightroom 2 is geared for the professional photographer, it is equally useful for anyone who uses Lightroom and wants to spend more time shooting and less time processing. I very highly recommend this video.

About T. Michael Testi

Photographer, writer, software engineer, educator, and maker of fine images.

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