If your organization takes its photography seriously, the graphics people likely process at least some digital images shot in RAW format. But the RAW processing software that comes with digital SLRs often lacks sophisticated editing functions, while Adobe Photoshop is groaning with them.
Adobe has come up with a new RAW image editor called Lightroom, a $328 application which comes in Windows and Macintosh versions. A metadata editor, Lightroom doesn’t replace Photoshop, which is a pixel editor and does tricks with brushes, layers and masks that Lightroom can’t. But in some ways it steps ahead of simpler RAW software, and includes tools for creating slideshows and an advanced image cataloging system.
Version 1.1, which I tested on an AMD 4800+ dual core-powered PC running Windows XP with 2MB of memory, proved to be slick, with tools grouped well for fast access. It has peculiarities you’ll have to get used to, but many will find it an improvement over the Photoshop-Bridge combo.
One of those peculiarities is that to deal with an image you have to import it into Lightroom. Those used to finding images through Explorer’s tree system will have to adjust, but it’s not that hard.
Lightroom splits its functions tools into five groups, Library (for getting, labeling and doing quick edits of images), Develop (where more serious processing image tools are located), Slideshow (tools for creating slideshows), Web (tools for creating Web images) and Print. These groups are easily accessed by clicking on their names on the top left of any screen.
Numerous views
You can configure Lightroom for numerous views, but generally there are three panels: in Library, for example, the right shows the Navigator, where you can search for images, the centre panel shows the selected image, and the right panel holds the relatively coarse Quick Develop temperature, tint and saturation adjustment tools in a vertical row. In Develop, the Navigator nests a number of preset tones for automatic conversion such as greyscale, while the right panel has so-called Basic adjustment tools, which can be expanded to make exacting changes in everything from temperature to chromatic aberrations.
Although a newcomer to RAW processing, I found Lightroom’s workflow to be intuitive and a number of the tools quite helpful. The histogram, for example, includes a handy feature, a triangle in the upper corners. Put the cursor on one and it shows where the blown out highlights are, the other, which shows where the shadows are clipped.
A grey shadow on either side of the Tones Curve gives a guideline on how far the curve can be pushed or pulled. Users may also welcome the Vibrance tool, which boosts saturation to the least saturated colours only and therefore has less of an effect on skin tones. Like converting images to greyscale? Lighroom does it graciously, and lets you add split tones to tint highlights or shadows.
Note that Lightroom does need a recent CPU, and there is a reported bug which can effect importing large catalogues of images.
It may not be for everyone, but Lightroom does have a free 30-day download you can play with. You can leave your images in your current directory structure. (But note it is version 1.0. Version 1.1 adds more functions.). I do recommend you head to a bookstore and buy an instruction handbook because the Getting Started guide merely scratches the surface. Be warned, however, that most books on shelves now only cover V.1.0.
At any rate, try it. You might like it.
