lilwolf386

Well, I'm totally addicted and in spite of my being new to photography - I've downloaded an installed lightroom 4...and I can't figure out how to work the software - any suggestions or tips would be much appreciated

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

There are loads of free videos on YouTube and various other sources. I would start with adobe tv with Julianne Kost. Go through them from beginning to end and you will be launched pretty well. I took a 3 day weekend and immersed my self in the above and was pretty much up to snuff. There are some good how to,s on UHH by birdpix. Great instructor and easy to understand for newbies.

lilwolf386

guess I have some homework to do.... thank for the quick reply gmcase

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

Welcome. You will absolutely love LR if you take the time to learn what it can do. The learning curve really isn't all that steep but you just need to set some quality time aside and go throughout videos. You,ll really really be glad you did. It is one powerful program.

MtnMan Loc: ID

I don't find videos useful to learn programs from. There are usually multiple steps to do anything useful with these programs and you have to go back and forth many times to get them down.

I am sure there are some great books on Lightroom. The one that saved me on Photoshop Elements was by Kelby and Kloskowski. I know they have one on Photoshop but don't know if they have one on Lightroom. If they do I'd get it because of the way they do their books. They don't organize around the features. They tell you step by step how to get results. That is what is needed with these complex programs.

I suspect the learning curve from scratch is pretty steep. It seems to me to be about as complex as Elements and the learning curve for it is very steep. Once you get it you tend to forget how hard it was at first.

I am pretty happy with Elements but was thinking of going to Photoshop because I can now get the educators discount. But I went to a presentation tonight where the best photographer in our club showed how he uses Lightroom...demonstrating with the photo he just won first place with at the Idaho State Fair.

I'm almost sold because of how easy it is to save presets. You can't do that with Elements. You can save "actions" with Photoshop which is the same thing and I know you can use actions in Elements; i.e. create them in Photoshop and apply them in Elements. But that's more putzy than just using Lightroom...and I can get the educational discount on it so that may be my direction.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

Everyone learns differently but videos and books both work for me. The videos I mentioned are free and very thorough. I use photoshop extensively so I am keenly aware of it's abilities and synergism with LR.

And again, the learning curve is not steep on LR if you dedicate some quality time. If you are unfamiliar with photo editing completely then you have another whole layer to learn no matter what pp program you choose. There are the free programs that are fine if that's all you need but they aren't,t going to compare to the Adobe products except in cost advantage, if cost is a primary concern.

I am self taught in many complex programs. I say self taught in the sense I attended no formal classes. I bought books and watch videos and learned complex programs such a Autocad some 20 years ago to current releases, Inventor Professional including built In FEA analysis, Photoshop, LR, Advanced Excel skills, and thermal modeling programs I use in my design work on fenestration products. I did go to a class for certification butit wasn't related on how to use the software but proper methods of modeling and calculating thermal performance of fenestration products.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Certainly if you can run Photoshop you won't find the learning curve with Lightroom difficult. But if you are starting from scratch with photo processing and not used to Adobe's quirky ways I can assure you it is steep.

There are many threads here on UHH by frustrated users to support this.

My problems with Elements were twofold as noted above. I see those same two problems with Lightroom for a novice. It is simple stuff once you know it but until you do it drives you crazy. Stuff like, "What the heck does Dodge mean?" and Adobe's not requiring "Enter" on some things (like selections or sliders) and requiring it on others (with green arrows for example).

Also Adobe's organization of features on both Elements and Lightroom sucks...it does not follow a logical workflow. One of the guys at our club meeting this evening relayed a conversation with Adobe on this regarding Lightroom 4. They agreed it was a screw up but said it would take too much effort change at this point.

Just so you know what you are getting into if you are a novice.

I do agree it is worth the effort to learn it.

Niko65 Loc: Colorado

Trey this web site. It is four free hours of Lightroom 4 training.
http://prodesigntools.com/free-adobe-lightroom-4-tutorials-4-hours.html

MtnMan Loc: ID

I just saw B&H has it with the Educators training discount, including the Kelby training videos, for $58 through Sep. 30. I am off to scan in my faculty card and get it on...

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

mtnMan -

I have seen those post where people got frustrated but the frustration aspect tells me they didn't dedicate the time to go through the training videos or books methodically. Some of their comments revealed they didn't understand how it worked even in a basic sense after claiming they tried and blamed the program in some cases. It was obvious they didn't spend much time even understanding how it catalogs photos much less image processing.

The work flow is fine. Could it be mproved? Sure, anything can be except maybe sliced bread but if someone who is of average learning ability spends 12 hours just in the adobe videos they will have acquired substantial skills in LR. This is assuming they understand more than complete novice levels of post processing. If they get more from a book then choose the,multitude of sources for available books.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Your opinion is the minority. I think it disservice to suggest to novices that it isn't a steep learning curve.

I put many hours a day into it over three months because I was retired at the time. This included many videos, including Adobe's and the Photoshop Elements magazine stuff (which is the best). I have two Master's degrees and extensive computer experience. Nonetheless I found Elements highly frustrating.

Your assertions don't wash for me.

Only Kelby and Kloskowski's book saved me.

Tonight the whole camera club that used Lightroom (about 35 people) agreed that the organization does not match the usual workflow. One reported what I wrote above about Adobe agreeing. Might be fine for you but not for the majority.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

Well, it is a highly popular software program used my 10's of thousands. If it had an abnormally steep learning curve and had lousy workflow I doubt it would be the success it is. I have stated twice now that if someone knows little or nothing about post processing then they should address that as a separate issue. If they have a decent understanding of post processing, especially raw files, LR is not a steep learning curve.

What is "the usual workflow"? I never realized there was a "normal" workflow standard. Everyone develops their own workflow over time. You can do anything in LR with minimal clicks and navigation so I am hard pressed to understand what is the deficiency to which you refer.

If someone is challenged for time or ability to learn on their own then it would be best to stick with the simpler, less robust programs until they understand basic post processing.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

Here,s the link for the Adobe training by Jullianne Kost.

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-lightroom-4/

There are several YouTube channels that have dozens and dozens of videos such as lightroomlabs. Search for Lightroom 4 in youtube and the list is endless. Lots of good extensive resources readily available to anyone that wants to learn quickly and well.

photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

Hi Niko65
Do you have a link for training for Lightroom 3? I went on the LR4 site you recommended to check whether they still had a training programme for LR3 but could not find anything. I bought LR3 several months ago, but haven't done anything with it yet.

sportyman140 Loc: Juliette, GA

HI, I too have Lightroom 4 and yes the videos on youtube do help, you just have to start with the first video. Then go from there. The one about catalogs an such.