RL15 wrote:
I remember you talkin about how much you loved LR at Jacks
I still don't know how to use it completely but getting there slowly but surely.
I always learn by doing... so JUST DO IT!
JUST DO IT!
Like many people here have already said ... just jump in and play!
Here are some useful shortcuts I have learned along the way from randomly mashing my keyboard keys:
G - jumps back to grid view in your Library
F - cycles through various display modes which hide your menus and your operating system
D - jumps to Develop mode
T - hides/shows extra options underneath your image while in Develop or Library mode
\ - shows a search by EXIF data option while in Library mode, cycles between before and after shots in Develop mode.
Numbers 1-5 - changes the star rating on your flash between 1 to 5.
TAB - hides the two vertical side bars.
L - darkens everything surrounding your image
I started using it while it was still in beta. I've never taken a class or read a book on LR, but LR Killer tips is cool, and you can subscribe through iTunes.
I don't sharpen in LR, but I run all my images through a PhotoShop droplet for sharpening. It works perfectly.
I agree with most what everyone is saying regarding playing with things on your own, but I also think there's a whole lot to say for having a good organization system and efficient editing process like Sam Obeid has described (very similar process on my end!). In that regard, like Sheri I also purchased the Kelby LR2 book for kicks and loved it. As is true with most photo editing / graphic design junk, there's more than one way to skin a cat when trying to accomplish certain things, and it's good to see how other people do it because quite often you'll find a quicker or better way to get something done based on someone else's unique workflow.
As far as actual photo editing goes, I agree that the best bet is to try stuff out, check out tutorials, and play around a bit to see what works for you. One thing I like to do is search for and download free presets from various sites (Google "free lightroom presets," you'll get plenty of results) and then tweak them a good amount until I get the effect processed to my liking.
I think the best thing about watching video tutorials like on kelbytraining.com or lynda.com is the stuff that you wouldnt have known existed. Sometimes you dont even know something could be beneficial to you. Then once you are aware it exists in the program you cant figure out how you did without it. In addition all of the keyboard shortcuts are very useful to learn makes life so much easier!
There are so many tutorials available and the software is so easy to work with. Check out adobe's site they have a lot of tutorials at the bottom of the page. I also borrowed a friends LR disc's from Photovision that were really good.
Miker Reid wrote:
Scott Kelby has a book. It is great told me everything I needed, very clear and easy to understand.
If you want to learn fast and be able to look up the stuff you need immediately buy the book.
Miller's Lab has live interactive web tutorials on a lot of things including LR2. Apply for the free professional membership and the tutorials are free.
As others have said, just jump in a start using it.
But...
(You knew there was going to be a "but," right? Why else would I be adding onther post?)
Why reinvent the wheel? My time is valuable, so rather than using trial and error -- with too much error -- I bought a book and used it to learn the basics of what, why, and how.
I have "all" the books on LR but have probably learnt more by trail and error. Reading parts of the text books as and when I need them for something specific. Also utube and vimeo can turn up useful stuff!
Andrew Welsh wrote:
self taught, it's not rocket surgery
the basics arent, as well as some of the advanced stuff.. but there are a lot of neat features that are unintentionally hidden that you can learn about in lightroom killer tips
