Attention Photographers: Spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens, with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.  You guys know that I bought Lightroom a few months ago and that I have been learning it and really enjoying it since then. 

And I don’t usually promote Lightroom unless it’s on sale.  But I am so pumped about this program from my Pixel Fairy Princess workshop last weekend.  Debbie processed her photos amazingly, right before our eyes in just a few minutes, using Lightroom only.

And, for $300, Lightroom is a nice step between Photoshop Elements and Photoshop.  With Adobe’s 30 day free trial, you have nothing to lose!

I never thought about using LR creatively.  For me, its biggest benefits were photo organization, Raw processing, and image correction.  But I processed all these images in this post using Lightroom only.  Even added the watermark.  How cool is that? 

One of my biggest problems with Photoshop is that I spend hours in it.   Lightroom produces spectacular effects without the temptation to try lots of extras, scroll through every blend mode or try every setting on every filter.

One one the most exciting things Debbie taught last weekend is how to use Lightroom’s Auto Mask feature.  Lightroom has an adjustment brush that allows you to selectively adjust the following issues in parts of an image only:

• Exposure
• Contrast
• Brightness
• Clarity
• Color
• Saturation
• Sharpening
• Skin Softening (yes, you can soften skin in Lightroom!)
  

So, here is a brief rundown of my trying-to-be-super-quick workflow in Lightroom:

• Import pictures from camera memory card into LR.
• Use LR’s awesome organization and ranking system to quickly weed out bad shots and choose the very best to edit.  I love that there is a side-by-side comparison where you can compare A to B, B to C,  B to D until you decide that B is the best. 
• Crop the image, remove spots and blemishes.
• Run down the Develop panel to make any corrections or adjustments to the picture as a whole.
• Use the adjustment brush to fine tune any specific areas.
• Add fancier effects like glows, tints or that urban grunge look.
• Vignette.
• Sharpen.
• Export as a JPEG with a watermark.

That’s it.  It’s quick and easy.  Considering that many, if not all, of the LR adjustments can be applied to all your photos at once, you really could process a batch of beautiful pictures quickly.

I bet that a lot of you saw  Rita’s recent CoffeeShop post about Lightroom.  We’re both pretty enthusiastic about it right now, so you can expect some really helpful Lightroom stuff in the near future.  So, start downloading Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 in minutes. No shipping needed. Only at Adobe.com.

Also stay tuned for a Digital Photography for Moms contest where the grand prize is a $150 Amazon.com gift card!    Here’s a hint:  anyone who signs up for Clickin’ Moms through my website between May 24 and June 30 is entered.  Plus, learn how to focus your camera better using Back Button Focus.
 

Subscribe to Digital Photography For Moms via email or RSS so that you don’t miss any of this great stuff!