Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
After using Lightroom for years now (this is my third book on the application),
I've realized that although there are a ton of editing adjustments you can do to
your photos in Lightroom, I wind up doing the same seven things to nearly every
photo I touch. So, if you can get really good at just these seven things, you'll be
a Develop module shark, because there won't be any photo where you just
don't know what to do first, or what to do next. The first image we'll take
through my 7-Point System is a travel photo.
Project One
The First Point:
Choose a Camera Profile
Here's the original RAW photo, straight out
of the camera (I know—yeech!). The first
point in the 7-Point System is to go to the
Develop module and choose a better start-
ing place with your image for your editing
(so you start with a photo that looks more
like the already processed JPEG—see page
122 for more). Go to the Camera Calibration
panel and try out some of the camera pro-
files in the Profile pop-up menu near the
top of the panel (by the way, you only get
to choose camera profiles for images you
shot in RAW mode, because JPEGs already
have an embedded camera profile, but
RAW photos don't). I usually wind up using
either: Camera Landscape, Camera Vivid,
or Camera Standard.
Here's the image after choosing Camera
Vivid. It's hard to tell, because the white
balance is so far off on this particular
photo, but take a look at the sides of the
clock and you'll see it's more contrasty,
it looks sharper, and the colors are more
vivid (in other words, it looks more like
the image you saw on the back of your
camera). This one adjustment can often
make a huge difference in your image, but
in this particular one, the white balance is
just off by so much, it's pretty subtle,
but usually, this change will appear more
dramatic, and that's why it's the first
thing I do when editing images.
