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Time for Lightrooam?
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Jun 26, 2015 10:43:52   #
Lovin' retirement Loc: Middletown, New Jersey
 
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and outs of my Nikon D5100, basic photography concepts and how to create interesting / creative photos. Currently reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure but I have a very long way to go. Am thinking of maybe getting Lightroom and learning how to improve my photos post processing. My hesitation is that I'm still not proficient taking photos so maybe trying to learn Lightroom may be too challenging at this time. I enjoy shooting landscapes primarily.
Appreciate thoughts and suggestions from all you great Hogs!

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Jun 26, 2015 10:53:14   #
Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.
 
Lovin' retirement wrote:
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and outs of my Nikon D5100, basic photography concepts and how to create interesting / creative photos. Currently reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure but I have a very long way to go. Am thinking of maybe getting Lightroom and learning how to improve my photos post processing. My hesitation is that I'm still not proficient taking photos so maybe trying to learn Lightroom may be too challenging at this time. I enjoy shooting landscapes primarily.
Appreciate thoughts and suggestions from all you great Hogs!
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and ou... (show quote)


It's just my opinion, but......you should get your pictures as good as possible in the camera, then use PP to fine tune the finished product, NOT rely on post to try and create a good photograph.

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Jun 26, 2015 11:01:00   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Mac wrote:
It's just my opinion, but......you should get your pictures as good as possible in the camera, then use PP to fine tune the finished product, NOT rely on post to try and create a good photograph.

That said ... having a generally acknowledged top tier library management and post processing tool is not a bad thing to begin learning along with the capture process.

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Jun 26, 2015 11:05:54   #
warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA
 
Lovin' retirement wrote:
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and outs of my Nikon D5100, basic photography concepts and how to create interesting / creative photos. Currently reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure but I have a very long way to go. Am thinking of maybe getting Lightroom and learning how to improve my photos post processing. My hesitation is that I'm still not proficient taking photos so maybe trying to learn Lightroom may be too challenging at this time. I enjoy shooting landscapes primarily.
Appreciate thoughts and suggestions from all you great Hogs!
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and ou... (show quote)


Photoshop Elements 13 (Guided)

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Jun 26, 2015 11:08:10   #
mrjcall Loc: Woodfin, NC
 
Mac wrote:
It's just my opinion, but......you should get you pictures as good as possible in the camera, then use PP to fine tune the finished product, NOT rely on post to try and create a good photograph.


I don't believe the OP was indicating he wanted to rely on LR to create good photos. To get the 'best' photo out of LR, you need to start with a 'good' photo! I think we all agree...

I would add that post processing, just like the film darkroom, is an essential part of the process of creating a quality image. Shooting digitally and post processing, necessarily, rely on each other to produce the highest available quality.

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Jun 26, 2015 11:11:54   #
Searcher Loc: Kent, England
 
Lovin' retirement wrote:
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and outs of my Nikon D5100, basic photography concepts and how to create interesting / creative photos. Currently reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure but I have a very long way to go. Am thinking of maybe getting Lightroom and learning how to improve my photos post processing. My hesitation is that I'm still not proficient taking photos so maybe trying to learn Lightroom may be too challenging at this time. I enjoy shooting landscapes primarily.
Appreciate thoughts and suggestions from all you great Hogs!
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and ou... (show quote)


Although I strongly support Mac's post above, a program such as Lightroom will enhance your learning of Photography and is in itself fairly easy to learn.

Be aware there are currently two versions: LR v 6.1 which can be purchased outright and LR CC 2015 which is the subscription version. The latter has more features than the former, and comes with a "free" copy of the latest Photoshop.

A learning resource for any and all post processing can be found on the Hog:

Click here to come in and look around
Click here for the Tutorials and Tips index page
Click here for the Free software index
Click here to subscribe to the Post-Processing Digital Images section, click on "All Sections" and scroll to the third-to-last item:
Post-Processing Digital Images and click to subscribe in the appropriate box.

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Jun 26, 2015 11:13:35   #
lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania
 
warrior wrote:
Photoshop Elements 13 (Guided)

The OP might benefit from some of your reasons for recommending PSE over LR. Otherwise this is like saying "Ford" when someone says they are considering getting a new car.

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Jun 26, 2015 11:20:10   #
GDRoth Loc: Southeast Michigan USA
 
The next step in your progression as a photographer is learning about post processing. How much PP you eventually use will be your decision as you move forward. I recommend Lightroom because it has all the tools you'll probably need and also helps you manage you photo collection as you shoot more. The Scott Kelby books on Lightroom will give you a solid foundation on the benefits of LR and how to take measured steps as you learn more about all aspects of photography.
Dave

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Jun 26, 2015 11:25:55   #
minniev Loc: MIssissippi
 
Lovin' retirement wrote:
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and outs of my Nikon D5100, basic photography concepts and how to create interesting / creative photos. Currently reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure but I have a very long way to go. Am thinking of maybe getting Lightroom and learning how to improve my photos post processing. My hesitation is that I'm still not proficient taking photos so maybe trying to learn Lightroom may be too challenging at this time. I enjoy shooting landscapes primarily.
Appreciate thoughts and suggestions from all you great Hogs!
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and ou... (show quote)


Lightroom is a great tool for keeping up with your photos and doing basic editing. I think it's the best tool for beginners for a lot of reasons.
1. Great catalogue capability will let/force you to organize your work where you can find it now and later. Tools range from simple to complex so it grows with you.
2. Parametric editing forces (not just allows) you to maintain your original photos as shot, unedited, so you can revert to them and redo them at any time, as your skills and the software's capabilities improve.
3. The layout of the editing tools is well ordered, easily accessible and easily learned.
4. LR links readily to other editors such as Elements, Photoshop, On One and all the most popular plugins from NIK, Topaz and others, so that there is no need to "leave" the program to do something extra to a photo, and your final product will come back to LR and reside beside the original. This lets LR grow with you and add other software as your skill warrants.
5. LR is easy to use as a home base for printing, web posting, slideshows, etc, so that everything is in one place.

The drawback? The cataloguing thing takes some study to get it set up right, and get your mind wrapped around how it works. Plus some self discipline to use it correctly and not just tinker/dabble around.

You're on the right track to learn all you can about your camera and about exposure and composition. But keeping your photos organized and getting them optimized for end use are also very important and make our hobby more fun.

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Jun 26, 2015 11:32:42   #
Searcher Loc: Kent, England
 
lsimpkins wrote:
The OP might benefit from some of your reasons for recommending PSE over LR. Otherwise this is like saying "Ford" when someone says they are considering getting a new car.


I think I can help out here.

Adobe Photoshop Elements comes in two parts, the Organiser which is a little like the file management system in Lightroom, and the Editor which is a scaled down version of the full Photoshop.

The Organiser is not my favourite piece of software, (I found it slowed down considerably when the catalogue reached 2000 images), but it does work.

The Editor is very good. It has a guided section which is a boon if you have little idea of what to do next, and overall it performs well. Ideal for learning pixel based editing.



You can purchase PSE and use it for many years, though most users upgrade annually or biannually to get any new features Adobe puts in.

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Jun 26, 2015 13:06:35   #
Smokey66 Loc: Hanover, ON, CA
 
Lovin' retirement wrote:
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and outs of my Nikon D5100, basic photography concepts and how to create interesting / creative photos. Currently reading Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure but I have a very long way to go. Am thinking of maybe getting Lightroom and learning how to improve my photos post processing. My hesitation is that I'm still not proficient taking photos so maybe trying to learn Lightroom may be too challenging at this time. I enjoy shooting landscapes primarily.
Appreciate thoughts and suggestions from all you great Hogs!
Hi everyone. Am still learning all the ins and ou... (show quote)


I bought my first DSLR last July and started my subscription to Lightroom a month later. I have read books and watched video tutorials galore, and truthfully, progress always seemed to be one step forward and two steps back........until the penny dropped a couple of weeks ago, and I kind of now get it. While I have a long long way to go (and Photoshop still baffles me), it was a sudden revelation in my understanding of Lightroom. I'm still working so I cannot get a dedicated time every day to practice, but if you are retired as your moniker seems to indicate, then the more time you spend at your computer practising, the quicker it will be to learn LR. Hang in. You will get it eventually.

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Jun 27, 2015 05:32:58   #
sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD
 
I think you should get Lightroom. It is a part of the process no matter what stage of it you are in.

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Jun 27, 2015 06:09:40   #
TonyP Loc: New Zealand
 
Mac wrote:
It's just my opinion, but......you should get your pictures as good as possible in the camera, then use PP to fine tune the finished product, NOT rely on post to try and create a good photograph.


After 50+ years of taking photos, today I started an intermediate course in 'Creative Photography'.
My first dedicated schooling for many many years.
The course is being run by a very qualified Artistic Director from one of NZs largest studios.
In the introduction this morning he started off by saying he'd be teaching us to ignore most of our incamera settings.
By the end of the course we would only be capturing RAW files using manual settings including colour temperature, ISO, aperture and shutter speed.
Just like a professional.
He promised, by the end of the course, we would notice major differences in how we approached a shoot and the results would be a major improvement on what we had captured in the past.
We were then sent out to a location (a Historic Village) to take pics as we normally would for an hour. On our return we edited and saved the pics on a school computer for reference and comparison at the end of the course.
Going to be interesting.

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Jun 27, 2015 06:43:46   #
Psergel Loc: New Mexico
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
That said ... having a generally acknowledged top tier library management and post processing tool is not a bad thing to begin learning along with the capture process.


I agree :thumbup:

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Jun 27, 2015 07:03:19   #
mborn Loc: Massachusetts
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
That said ... having a generally acknowledged top tier library management and post processing tool is not a bad thing to begin learning along with the capture process.


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

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