Photoshop-Lightroom Questions: I have Photoshop and Lightroom. I haven't used photoshop much yet. I have all my photos organized in Lightroom. Is it better to open a photo in photoshop...

Nightski

I have Photoshop and Lightroom. I haven't used photoshop much yet. I have all my photos organized in Lightroom.

Is it better to open a photo in photoshop from Lightroom with the "edit in" choice on the drop down menu? Or is it better just to open the image with bridge so that it opens in camera raw?

When I use bridge it displays the photos in a way that makes it very hard to find them. It's a long line of photos from top to bottom instead of being in a grid format like they are in lightroom.

I have an image that I shot with two exposures. I would like to merge them. Should I just "Merge to HDR in photoshop"? Is there anything I should do first? Once I have done it, how do I save it, and how do I know where the new image will be saved?

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Nightski wrote:

I have Photoshop and Lightroom. I haven't used pho... (show quote)

I am not an expert, but I would stay in Lightroom, use "edit in" Photoshop, and merge to HDR from Lightroom - it works well.

If you want to use Camera Raw in Photoshop it can be called as a filter, or you can tell Lightroom to send the original file from Lightroom to Photoshop for the "edit in" selection, and if it is in raw format it will open camera raw.

Besides, if you are editing in Lightroom, you are already using camera raw with a different interface.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

I import my photos from the camera into lightroom and catalog them the way I want them. Then I work on them in lightroom and then slam them over to photoshop for the final touches. I don't even bother with bridge anymore since I find it redundant.

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

One thing to remember - if you are sending raw files to PS they will return side by side with the original as either psd or tiff files. Set your preference in in External Editing tab in the Preferences.

Using Edit in is by far the best way not to lose images.

When Bridge is open, at the top click on Essentials to show the thumbnails in Grid view.

Nightski

Thanks everybody!! You have answered all my questions. I don't need to do my pre-editing in Camera Raw because it's the same thing as lightroom. I will keep my files more organized if I use the "edit in" and if I do use bridge, I know how to get the grid! THanks so much ... I'm sure I will have more questions once I get past this part.

Nightski

Okay, I have the images in Photoshop. When the images came in it did a bunch of analyzing and then this window popped up that is titled, "Manually Set EV". I don't know what to do. :-(

wisner Loc: The planet Twylo

Nightski wrote:

Okay, I have the images in Photoshop. When the images came in it did a bunch of analyzing and then this window popped up that is titled, "Manually Set EV". I don't know what to do. :-(

Hi Nightski,
The reason you are getting this window is because the files you are using do not have the embedded metadata indicating the different exposures needed for the 'Merge to HDR' command. You will need to set your - and + exposures manually so PS can open your files in HDR. If I recall, you will have the option of setting exposure in the sibsequent dialog box.It is always better to use exposure compensation and bracketing to set exposures for HDR files. Adjusting the exposure in LR won't work for HDR.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

MtnMan Loc: ID

Searcher wrote:

One thing to remember - if you are sending raw files to PS they will return side by side with the original as either psd or tiff files. Set your preference in in External Editing tab in the Preferences.

Using Edit in is by far the best way not to lose images.

When Bridge is open, at the top click on Essentials to show the thumbnails in Grid view.

Yes. And if you opened them directly in Photoshop Lightroom won't have those edits. If you saved over the original in Photoshop your original would be forever changed. If you used "save as" you'd have to synch the folder in Lightroom to see the new image.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Nightski wrote:

...I have an image that I shot with two exposures. I would like to merge them. Should I just "Merge to HDR in photoshop"? Is there anything I should do first? Once I have done it, how do I save it, and how do I know where the new image will be saved?

You really have two files and how you bring them into PS depends upon what you want to do with them. HDR is only one thing.

Why did you take two exposures? To balance the foreground and background better? To erase or enhance something in one of the images? Consequently, you would better to bring them as layers, the last option in the "Edit in" menu.

The neat thing about the LR/PS interface is that PS makes you save its result as a psd or tiff. The default location is where the sources files are. When you are done in PS and close the file, PS saves it where the sources files are unless you override that. Once closed in PS and you are back in LR, you will see the psd or tiff sitting next to your raw. What could be easier?

Nightski

abc1234 wrote:

You really have two files and how you bring them i... (show quote)

I took one exposure for the interior part of the window inside a dark structure and one exposure for the view outside the window.

wisner wrote:

Hi Nightski, br The reason you are getting this wi... (show quote)

I took a 4 second exposure to expose for the interior. I took a 1/20 second exposure to expose for the view outside the window. Is there a formula for setting the - and + exposures in relationship to the length of the exposure?

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Nightski wrote:

I have Photoshop and Lightroom. I haven't used pho... (show quote)

I'm glad you started this thread, Sandra!
Like you, I've both PS and LR, but routinely load my images, as always, by date into PS and Bridge, then do all basic pp in ACR before various purposes forays into PS. I keep hearing about the great organizational advantages of LR, but the prospect of re-cataloging 3+ Tb of images in LR is daunting.
I'm hoping I'm just imagining more problems than actually will be encountered.
The "creature-of-habit" mindset dies hard! Looking for suggestions and encouragement.

Dave
.

Nightski

Uuglypher wrote:

I'm glad you started this thread, Sandra! br Like ... (show quote)

I finally did get the exact answer to my question, so I learned something. I have immersed myself in learning this daunting program for the last few weeks. I know more now than I did when I asked this question. I did run across the place in my tutorials where Ben Willmore says that it's better to adjust CA in ACR. I think most of time I will import my photos directly from Lightroom unless I have CA that I am not dealing with effectively in LR.

I hear you on organizing that many photos ... one has to ask at some point .. What do I want to spend all my time doing? There are things I wish I had done differently in setting up Lightroom, but now that it's done .. it's done. I have more important things to do.