A Close Look at Photoshop Lightroom 2

Adobe Updates the Digital Darkroom Application

Review by Jim Fisher

Adobe has recently updated their digital darkroom application, Photoshop Lightroom. The software, available for Mac and Windows, is aimed at professional photographers and enthusiasts. It features tools to organize, edit, print, and export images. The new version of the software adds 64-bit support, several adjustment tools, volume management capabilities, multiple monitor support, and enhanced integration with Photoshop CS3.

Why Lightroom?

While Lightroom is part of Adobe's Photoshop family, it does not offer the extensive pixel editing tools found in Photoshop CS3. Lightroom's strengths lie in library management and nondestructive image editing.

Professional photographers can easily shoot hundreds of images over the course of a busy day, and often use multiple camera bodies during events. Each of those photos must be reviewed, selected, and retouched prior to delivery to the client.

This is where Lightroom enters the picture. It allows you to access all of your images from one application. Once imported, you can organize them into folders, apply keywords and rankings, and perform nondestructive adjustments.

The software is intended for use with RAW camera files, although it can also handle TIF and JPG formats. Rather than make changes to actual files, it records a record of image adjustments and applies them on the fly. This nondestructive approach to editing ensures that the integrity of image files is not compromised: any adjustments made to an image can be undone without a loss in quality.

Interface and Workflow

Import

The software's interface is broken up into five distinct modules: Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web. Different options and tools are available in each module. Switching between modules can be accomplished via hot keys or mouse.

The Import Window

Lightroom can import photos from memory cards, hard drives, and directly from supported cameras and devices. It can also be set up to automatically import files from a specific folder. The software allows you to apply keywords and develop settings en masse during import.

The Library

The Library module is the organizational hub of Lightroom. It is broken up into three main components: the catalog, folders, and collections. The catalog contains every photo in the Lightroom database.

Folders and collections are both subsets of the catalog. Folders represent the folder structure in which images are stored on the hard disk. They can be customized to suit your workflow, and subfolders can be created. For example, wedding photographers will be able to create a separate folder for each couple: complete with subfolders for the engagement session, ceremony, post-ceremony formals, and reception photos.

Collections are user-selected groups of images. Rather than copying images to a new folder, collections simply reference images in their original location. Making adjustments to an image from the folder view will update it any collections it exists, and vice versa. In addition to creating static collections manually, Lightroom allows you to create smart collections. These can be based on almost any type of metadata, including star ratings, color flags, and EXIF data. Smart collections automatically update when new images meet their defined criteria, or when existing ones cease to meet it.

The Library

Lightroom 2 also allows you to move folders from one hard disk to another. This allows you to move the large RAW files from a completed project to another disk for offline storage. Lightroom will still display previews from offline folders; this is a boon for notebook users, for whom storage space is a precious commodity. You also have the option of exporting self-contained Lightroom catalogs, containing any number of folders; ideal for archiving projects to optical media, the catalogs can be imported into Lightroom at a future date.

From the Library, you'll be able to rank images based on a five star scale, flag images as picked or rejected, stack similar images together, assign and search through keywords, filter images by metadata, and apply basic image adjustments. Image display order can also be sorted from this screen. Sort images by capture time, aspect ratio, edit time, star rating, and other attributes; you'll also be able to create a custom sort order.

There are four viewing options from within the Library. The default grid view displays thumbnail images. The loupe view displays a single image, which can be toggled between a 100% view and a view that fits the image to the viewing pane. The two other view options are for comparing images: the compare view offers a side-by-side comparison of two images, while the survey view allows you to compare any number of images.

The Library also has a powerful filtering feature. Tapping backslash from within the Library brings up a tabbed filtering menu. You'll be able to filter based on searchable text fields, attributes, and metadata. Although the metadata filtering options are fairly extensive, Adobe has not included the ability to filter by focal length. Users who regularly use cameras that record focal length, but not lens identification information, are left in the cold on that one. This also affects zoom lens owners who are interested in tracking often-used focal lengths.

Although not nearly as robust as the dedicated Develop module, the Library also features a "quick develop" tool. This tool allows you to apply preset develop settings, adjust white balance, crop images, and apply auto toning. You'll also be able to make adjustments to exposure, highlight recovery, fill light, black levels, brightness, contrast, clarity, and vibrance.

Develop

The Develop Module

While the quick develop pane may give you a taste of Lightroom's RAW processing capabilities, the meaty part of the program is located in the Develop module. From here you'll be able to make adjustments to your heart's content. In addition to the functions available in quick develop, the Develop module allows you to adjust color saturation, work with tone curves, adjust HSL, customize color and grayscale channel levels, sharpen images, apply noise reduction, remove chromatic aberrations, adjust vignetting, and apply custom camera calibration settings.

Yes, that sounds like a laundry list of features. In part, at least, because it is a laundry list of features. It may be a bit daunting to see them written out, but they are broken up into different panes, which can be collapsed when not in use. Common adjustments are placed towards the top of the right panel for the sake of intuitiveness and convenience. This helps to make the interface a bit more manageable and provides a gentle learning curve.

Lightroom also includes a selection of develop presets that can be applied to any image. You can choose from a variety of Adobe presets, including sepia, cyanotype, direct positive, and two flavors of black and white. You'll also have the option of creating and saving your own settings, or downloading additional settings from Adobe's web site.

While adjustment sliders are applied to an entire image, there are options for localized image adjustments. Although these can't touch Photoshop CS3 in terms of fine editing, they are useful in a pinch. Just as in the previous version of the software, you'll be able to remove red eye and dust spots from images. Lightroom 2 adds two tools for localized adjustments.

The first is the graduated filter. This tool applies adjustments to a portion of an image, with their effect trailing off as it travels across its virtual surface. It can be placed anywhere in an image, and rotated at any angle. The only restriction is that you cannot adjust its length, only its width and angle of coverage.

The graduated filter can be used to adjust exposure, brightness, saturation, clarity, contrast, and sharpness. It can also be used to add a color cast, or to soften skin. You can also save adjustments as a preset, allowing you to apply the same filter to multiple images.

It is a very nice tool to have at one's disposal, but I found the implementation to be a bit clunky. It's difficult to reposition and sluggish to rotate. The sluggish response makes it very difficult to make fine adjustments to its size and rotation.

The other new tool, the adjustment brush, is the real show stealer. It mirrors the adjustment feature set of the graduated filter, but works on a much smaller scale. The brush allows you to make these adjustments on a spot level, and features adjustable brush size, feather, and flow settings to help better control results. This brush tool also exhibits some of the same sluggishness that you see when using the graduated filter.

Last in the Develop module, but by no means least, is the history pane. If you've used Photoshop, this will be very familiar. It's simply a list of adjustments you made to an image, in sequential order. You'll be able click on any item, reverting the image back to that point in your editing. Mousing over the list of actions changes the thumbnail image in the upper left of the screen to reflect what the image looked like at that step.

There is one very important thing to remember when stepping back through the item history. If you've gone back to a previous step, you retain the ability to step forward up until the time that you make another adjustment to the image. If you are only interested in undoing one change, it is easier to simply change a slider than to go back through the history. You can also switch to a "Before and After" view to help better see the results of changes in realtime.

If you want to experiment with an image, without worrying about undoing adjustments made to an existing version, you can create a virtual copy. This copy retains all of the adjustments applied but excludes image history. Virtual copies do not drastically increase storage space requirements since they only create a new set of adjustments; a physical copy of the original RAW camera file is not created.

Photoshop Integration

Lightroom allows you to send images to Photoshop CS3 for editing. When an image is sent to Photoshop, Lightroom must first convert it to a JPG or TIFF, based on your preferences. This file is automatically added to the catalog, and opened in Photoshop for editing. Changes made in Photoshop are automatically reflected in Lightroom.

In addition to the standard "Edit in Photoshop" option, the software can send images to Photoshop as smart objects, send multiple images to Photoshop for a panorama or HDR merge, or send multiple images to Photoshop as layers in a single image. This requires Photoshop CS3 10.0.1 or later to function; owners of previous versions of Photoshop will see those options grayed out.

Define a Custom External Editor Preset

Some Lightroom users are reporting issues when sending items to Photoshop. If you do run into trouble, have no fear, there is a rather simple workaround. In the Lightroom Preferences menu, tab over to "External Editing." Create a new preset for Photoshop CS3 in the "Additional External Editor" part of the screen. Save the preset and it will be available for future use.

Slideshows, Printing, and Web Output

Lightroom's final three modules -- Slideshow, Print, and Web -- are three peas in a pod. Each module allows you to share images, and is fairly straightforward in use and function.

The Slideshow module allows you to create and play a slideshow, complete with music, from within Lightroom. Ideal for presentations to clients, the slideshow cannot be exported in any form. It's a nice way to show off some work, but it can be a bit sluggish when advancing between slides. Chances are you won't spend very much time at all in the Slideshow module, but its presence certainly doesn't hurt anything.

The Print module allows you to export images to a printer. It features full support for ICC profiles, custom paper sizes, and layouts. You'll be able to print multiple images on one page to maximize paper use. You can also create custom templates for oft used print picture packages and paper sizes.

The Web Module

The Web module allows you to create web galleries, in either HTML or Flash format. Lightroom includes several templates, all of which can be customized to suit your tastes. Additional web gallery engines are available for download from the web: many of these are free, but there are also some commercial ones available. And, of course, you'll be able to save your own settings as templates for future use. Galleries can be exported to your hard drive, or uploaded to a web site via FTP, without having to leave Lightroom.

Odds and Ends

The Plug-in Manager

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Lightroom's new plug-in manager. Nestled away in the "File" drop down menu, the plug-in manager ties into Adobe's Plug-in Exchange web site. From there you'll be able to download various plug-ins that extend the feature set of the software. There are already plug-ins available to upload images to popular social networking and photo hosting web sites. Adobe's site also hosts develop presets, custom web templates, and other nifty add-ons -- many of which are available for free.

The software has also added support for dual monitor systems. You can configure a second display to present a full-screen grid, loupe, compare, or survey view. This window can be set to refresh in normal, live, or locked modes.

Lightroom is a solid application, full of useful tools for professional and enthusiast photographers alike. Its robust management and search capabilities, develop presets, and integrated printing features will help to streamline the post-processing workflow for working pros. Those of us who like to tinker with our images, trying to get the most out of that "perfect shot", can spend hours in the Develop module.

Users of Lightroom 1.x shouldn't hesitate to upgrade to version 2, as it adds many cool features, without drastically changing the interface and workflow. Performance seems to be better on the whole, although a few of the new tools aren't the speediest. Users with dual monitors will appreciate the ability to utilize a second display.

Those who have yet to give the software a try needn't take my word on its benefits: Adobe offers a free 30-day trial of the software for download. They also host user forums on their web site, giving you access to an active community of users who are always willing to give support, share ideas, and answer questions.

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