Workshops

Introduction

The Workshop is all about being creative and thinking outside of the box. These workshops will help your right-brain soar, while making your left-brain happy; by explaining why things work the way they do. Exploring Lightroom’s possibilities is great fun; however, always stay grounded with knowledge of how things work. Knowledge is power.

Getting and Using the Project Files

For certain projects in the Workshop, photo assets are provided. Before you can use these workshop project files, you need to download them from the Web. You can access the files at www.perspection.com in the software downloads area. After you download the files from the Web, uncompress the files into a folder on your hard drive and import them into your Lightroom catalog.

Project 1: Adding a Photographic Border to a Print

Skills and Tools: Identity Plate Overlays

Just as you can choose to display an Identity Plate in the Lightroom Module Picker, you can also display one in your photo prints. By enabling the Identity Plate overlay feature in Lightroom’s Print Module, you can insert a graphical Identity Plate overlay as a graphic border around your print images.

The Project

In this project, you learn how to apply a graphic border to a print image using the Identity Plate overlay feature in Lightroom’s Print Module.

The Process

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the border_photo.jpg project file.

Choose File > Print or click the Print button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Choose Window > Panels > Layout Style to display the Layout Style panel.

Select the Single Image/Contact Sheet option in the Layout Style panel.

Choose Window > Panels > Image Settings to display the Image Settings panel.

Enable the Zoom to Fill and Rotate to Fit options in the Image Settings panel. Disable the Repeat One Photo Per Page and Stroke Border options.

Choose Window > Panels > Layout to display the Layout panel.

In the Ruler Units portion of the Layout panel, choose Inches from the drop-down list.

In the Page Grid portion of the Layout panel, set the Rows and Columns settings to 1.

In the Margins portion of the Layout panel, set the Left, Right, Top and Bottom settings to 0.56 in.

Enable the Keep Square option located at the bottom of the Layout panel.

Choose Window > Panels > Page to display the Page panel.

Enable the Identity Plate option in the Page panel.

Click the Identity Plate preview in the Page panel and choose Edit from the drop-down list.

In the Identity Plate Editor dialog box that appears, enable the Use a graphical Identity Plate option.

Click the Locate File button located under the preview area.

In the Locate File dialog box that appears, browse to the border1.psd project file on your system and click Choose. You can also drag and drop, or copy and paste the project file into the preview area.

Click OK to apply the Identity Plate.

Choose the No Rotation option from the Rotate Identity Plate drop-down list, located in the upper-right corner of the Page panel.

Drag the Opacity slider in the Overlays panel to 100%.

Click the Scale value in the Overlays panel and enter 97% in the highlighted field.

In the Content area, click and drag to center the Identity Plate border over the image.

Choose File > Print or click the Print button located in the lower-right corner of the interface.

In the Print dialog box that appears, click Print.

The Results

Finish: Import the Border Template 1.lrtemplate file into the User Templates folder and compare your completed project file with the template settings.

Project 2: Whitening Teeth in a Portrait Photo

Skills and Tools: Using the Adjustment Brush in Auto Mask Mode

To apply an adjustment to a specific area of an image (such as a portrait subject’s teeth), you must do so using the Adjustment Brush. Each brush stroke that you apply is saved in a stroke set. By enabling the Auto Mask option, Lightroom cleverly analyzes the color and tone of the area where you first click with the tool and continously resamples as you paint. As you add strokes, it applies the effect to matching areas in the image.

The Project

In this project, you learn how to whiten a portrait subject’s teeth using the Adjustment Brush in Auto Mask mode.

The Process

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the whiten_teeth.jpg photo.

Choose View > Adjustment Brush.

Click the Exposure value in the Tools panel and enter 0.25 in the highlighted field.

Click the Saturation value in the Tools panel and enter -50 in the highlighted field.

Enable the Auto Mask mode option in the Tools panel.

To zoom in on the image, click the 1:1 button in the Navigator panel.

Hold down the spacebar to temporarily access the Hand tool. Click and drag in the Content area to navigate to the image area you’d like to adjust (the teeth).

Size the Adjustment Brush by adjusting the Size slider in the Tools panel.

Drag the Feather slider all the way to the right (100) in the Tools panel.

Drag the Flow slider all the way to the right (100) in the Tools panel.

Drag the Density slider all the way to the right (100) in the Tools panel.

Click and drag over the image area that you’d like to adjust. Lightroom adds a reference pin marker where you first clicked.

When you are finished making your adjustment, click the Close button in the Tools panel to turn off the Adjustment Brush.

The Results

Finish: Compare your completed project file with the whiten_teeth_FINAL.jpg file provided.

Project 3: Saving Noise Reduction Settings as Part of a Camera and ISO-Specific Default Preset

Skills and Tools: Enabling the ISO Specific Default Preset Preference

In general, when you shoot digital photos at higher ISO settings, the resulting images contain noise. Luminance noise is a visible grain in the image, that looks like a white, fine-speckled pattern. By increasing the Luminance slider value in the Develop module Detail panel, you can remove luminance noise, especially in the shadow areas where it is most apparent. Images containing color noise include a visible colored dot pattern, which is even more apparent (and ugly) than luminance noise. By increasing the Color slider value in the Detail panel, you can blur the color channels in the image in order to remove the noise. After you get used to working with these noise reduction sliders, you can then save your most commonly used settings as part of a camera- and ISO-specific default develop preset.

The Project

In this project, you learn how to save commonly used noise reduction settings as a default ISO- and camera-specific develop preset.

The Process

Choose Lightroom > Preferences (Mac) or Edit > Preferences (Win).

Click the Presets tab at the top of the Preferences dialog box.

Enable the Make defaults specific to camera serial number preference.

Enable the Make defaults specific to camera ISO settings preference.

Close the Preferences dialog box.

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select an image that contains the noise reduction setting that you would like to save as a preset.

Choose View > Go To Develop or click the Develop button in the upper right corner of the interface.

Choose Window > Panels > Presets or click the Presets panel title bar to display the Presets panel.

Click the Create New Preset button in the upper-right corner of the Presets panel.

In the New Develop Preset dialog box that appears, select Noise Reduction.

Enter a name for the preset in the Preset Name field.

Click the Create button.

Choose Develop > Set Default Settings to apply the settings as the default.

The Results

Finish: Any newly imported images that match the camera serial and ISO setting will automatically apply these settings as the default.