jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Hi, Jerry M. This is Jerry C. Yes, LR is a handful, but that's why I like it. There is always a surprise around the corner. I've been looking at the Adobe.TV tutorials, and they help. From what I understand LR is "non-destructive," whatever that means. Although you have modified images with LR, I think you still have the original(?). I always keep the original and rename whatever I am working on, so I can go back to it.

I'm sure someone will chime in with more info about the non-destructive nature of LR.

I would be bored to death if I were proficient at handling all my cameras and software. There's always something new to learn.

Jerry M

Jerry C., that is what i have heard also, non-destructive- in that the original is preserved. i guess my question is how can i transfer all the work on individual photographs to a new program if i decide to move everything. Thank you

Jerry M

Jerry C., that is what i have heard also, non-destructive- in that the original is preserved. i guess my question is how can i transfer all the work on individual photographs to a new program if i decide to move everything. Thank you

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's a good question. I'll be waiting for a good answer.

danielb59 Loc: The South

You folks are great....a wealth of valuable information and help! So far, I have availed myself of one Julianne Kost video and have signed up for the free on the web three day Creative Live seminar to be on the 14th, 15th and 16th. I am considering the purchase of the Nat Coalson book from Amazon.

I looks as though the only things preventing me from learning Lightroom 4 is my own mental limitations and available time. There are literally tons of Lightroom learning resources available, but I would not have been able to find many of them without your help.

Thanks to all.
Dan

jrconcours Loc: Ocean View, DE

Go to Laura Shoe's site and buy her DVD. Once you are up to speed you will love LR4.

http://laurashoe.com/lightroom-video-tutorial-training-dvd/lightroom-4-fundamentals-and-beyond-video-tutorials/

DrAW45 Loc: Maumee Ohio

My best suggestion is Matt K's Lightroom 4 In Depth training video on KelbyTraining.com. You can subscribe for one month for $25 and that should get you up and running. Videos are arranged topically in short sessions. Good luck. LR4 is a great photo tool!

Jaime Loc: Los Angeles

Yes. Also check out Matt Kloskowski's tutorials on Kelbytraining.com. Good luck. I've had my share of question mark icons as well.

allen finley photography Loc: Sunshine State.

First step before importing your pics into LR4 is to get them organized. I use the ADOBE BRIDGE from Photoshop. put your photos into different folders so that you can identify shoots and subject matter before you do anything. When you are ready to work on a pic or a whole shoot, goto library,import photos or vids, select source location, pick the folder where the shot resides, when you open the folder lightroom will select all of the photos that are in the folder( it will exclude previously imported shots automatically ) select all of them or just select the ones you want to work on. hit import photos on the right bottom and wahla they are imported with the folder name into LR. you can change the name when importing the shots as well as when you export them. Do not just import every photo you own into LR without some degree of organization first.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

Jerry (C). You kind of answered your own question about "non-destructive."
It means that it doesn't destroy the original image as it automatically renames it to something else which you can specify in the export dialog box.

I bought Kelby's LR 4 book as a download to my iPad & iPhone. He admits that this is the first of his books where he does a step by step instead of jump in anywhere.
He starts off with Importing and its many nuances.
It's a good book, but expensive.

texaseve Loc: TX, NC and NH

One of my instructors, Winston Hall did several videos explaining LR3 and 4 on YouTube. Those may help. Don't give up on LR, it is a wonderful program.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYDFYQQU2PQ&feature=relmfu

tulsimm

There is so many possibilities to move you files that is determined by what format you have tem in and how you want to save them, there is so many ways.

LR4 doesn't do anything for you. You have to find out or know what you want in the finish. Then go try or don't. It is the same as taking your photos. If you want the camera to do it "Auto", a little help "A-S,A,P", or "M". 1st choice GIMP/Pica/?, 2nd same or PS/LR4/other, or 3rd PS/LR4s/other.

Past taking picture to creating a photo. You have to ask yourself if it is worth the effort and stress or do you "want to" enough to put up with the stress?

tulsimm

Why I like it here? I can be frustrated and troubled, but people will stay with you helping all the way.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

The export function is how that would be done. You would send them to, let's say, an external drive as an intermediate step, and then import them into whatever program you want to use. By the way, Lightroom works rather seamlessly with both Photoshop Elements and PhotoShop CS whatever #.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

This is a part of an answer I gave to a recent post regarding LightRoom. I hope it helps people understand how LR works because it is different from almost every other photo editing program. You almost need to unlearn how you think about organizing and editing your photos when you move over to light room but once you "get it" you will "get It" and realize it is not as complicated or unfriendly as it may seem at first.

LR "Imports" your photos into a "library". It also creates a "catalogue" to keep track of those photos. You can set up as many "folders" as you want or need to help you keep them organized. I usually just do an "Import" to a dated file with the venue name. Once a photo is imported into LR, don't move it except from within LR. If you do it any other way the LR "Catalogue" will not know where it is. It's not too hard to reconnect them but it's easier if you don't get the program confused to start with.

LR is non-destructive with ALL formats whether RAW, JPEG, TIFF etc. Original files are never modified.

"Editing" in LR results in the creation of a side car file that only tells LR how to display/print the file. You can not do a "save" or "save as" in LR. LR allows you to have virtual copies of photos allowing you to have as many versions of a picture as you want. It simply creates another side car file. These side car files or XMP files are contained in the Library folders right with the original file.

Only when you "Export" a photo are the edits applied and a photo in the chosen format is created. "Exported" photos do not show up in LR. If you edited a RAW file and exported it as a jpeg, it would be possible to import it back into LR but I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that.

LR's Develop module is a version of Adobe Camera Raw and as such is SIMILAR to the ACR seen in Elements and PhotoShop.

LR has always had a lot of input from the photgraphic community about how it should work and what features were needed. So it really is something that can work especially if you take lots of photos and need to go through them quickly. It is strong on organization and basic "adjustments".

Taking the time to learn about the program, especially the "Library" module BEFORE you start to import your photos will prevent lots of simple mistakes from occuring and ease the transition tremendously. Kelby, Jardine, Kost, Kloskowski all have extremely good videos and they all have been mentioned before.

Lastly, don't hesitate to ask us on UHH, we'll be glad to answer your questions.