Silex Spring, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

Feature Articles and Essays

Adobe Lightroom - Will an SSD Improve Performance?

The question as to whether using a Solid State Drive (SSD) will help Lightroom performance is one that I regularly see in my mailbox and in the various forums I visit. This essay discusses the aspects of Lightroom that will improve and those where the improvement is marginal at best.

Lens Profiles for Lightroom 3 and Camera Raw 6.1+

Judging by my website statistics and recent email correspondence from readers of my Lightroom 3 Feature Review it has become apparent that the Lens Correction Profiles that I had made available are a lot more popular than I expected. Unfortunately, time was tight when I first published the Feature Review, which meant that I was only able to build profiles for use with raw images, and even then for only some of the Canon lenses I own. So, given their popularity and currently restricted availability from Adobe's own lens profile server, I have decided to finish the job and make all of my lens profiles available from this website.  However, before downloading them it might be worth spending a few moments reading about how lens profiles are created.

Photoshop CS5 Color Management

As it has been since I published my first essay on Color Management back in the days of Photoshop 5, the aim of this essay is to introduce the basic concepts of color management, then to delve into the detail of how Adobe have incorporated these into Photoshop Cs5

Lightroom 2.x Exporting Photos as New Catalog

In general, most Lightroom users will find that one catalog is the most efficient way of managing all of their photos. However, there are occasions when additional catalogs will be helpful. For example, we may wish to separate out a selection of photos into a dedicated catalog that can be taken with you whilst "on the road" or shared with clients. This short tutorial demonstrates the process of exporting photos to a new catalog.

8th June 2010 - The guidance provided in this tutorial is compatible with Lightroom 3

Printing from Lightroom 2.x with Mac OS X 10.5 and higher

I've updated my Lightroom printing tutorial for Mac OS X users to reflect the Print modules changes introduced with Lightroom 2.x I would  like to post a similar tutorial for Windows users, but the wide variation in drivers means the task is likely to help only a small subset of users. Matters are made worse in that Vista is different from XP.

8th June 2010 - This tutorial has been updated to cover Lightroom 3

Digitise Your Analog Images

I'm sure that it won't have gone without notice that it's been a few years since I published any material relating to scanning film. Nevertheless, the absence of such material doesn't mean that I don't scan film any longer, I do, but not in the quantities that I once did. It's also fair to say that when I do scan it will be from film that I shot a few years back or even longer. So why am still scanning film?  This linked essay that I wrote last year for LaserSoft Imaging and Epson answers the question. It's a 3.4MB Adobe Acrobat file that discusses some of the benefits of using a high-end flatbed scanner such as the Epson Perfection V750 Photo scanner and LaserSoft SilverFast Ai Studio and HDR Studio.

Photoshop CS4 Color Management

Photoshop CS4 has been around for a few months and I was hoping that the initial flurry of requests for me to update my color management essay would have subsided. In truth, the changes introduced with CS4 are few and far between, but given that the requests keep coming in I've finally bowed to pressure and uploaded a version of the essay for CS4.

Lightroom 2.x Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifier Keys

Irrespective of whether you love them or loathe them keyboard shortcuts and modifiers have an important role to play in the Lightroom workflow. Unfortunately, some folk are less than satisfied with some of the functionality that Adobe have provided and are continually looking ways to remove some of the restrictions placed upon them. In this short tutorial I will share some of the tips and tricks that I use to get round the Lightroom keyboard shortcut limitations.

Lightroom 2.x Finding Missing or Moved Photos and Folders

Whether it's simply due to your photo library getting larger or you realise that it's become overly complex there will be occasions when it becomes necessary to reorganise things. Unfortunately, if you're not careful this can lead to photos or even whole folders going missing.

8th June 2010 - The guidance provided in this tutorial is compatible with Lightroom 3 and includes a short explanation as to how to store photos off-line.

Configuring Camera Defaults in Lightroom 2.x

I have updated my tutorial on setting camera default profiles in Lightroom and Camera Raw. The update now includes references to Lightroom 2.0 and Adobe Camera Raw 4.5

8th June 2010 - This tutorial has been updated to cover Lightroom 3

Photoshop CS3 - Color Management

Color Management in CS3 has been tweaked a little, but should still "look" and "function" very similar to how it has done since version 6. All of this is good news if you're migrating from an earlier version. Nevertheless, the differences between CS3 and previous versions are still sufficient that some explanation might proof useful.

Photoshop CS3 - Print with Color with Color Management

This provides guidance on how to configure the Photoshop CS3 print dialog. I've also included information on the new Epson 3800 Mac OS X driver for Leopard.

Apple Display Calibration Utility

Apple users often contact me to ask how they can best calibrate their Cinema Displays or laptops without going to the expenses of a dedicated hardware calibration system. This tutorial describes the process of calibrating an LCD display using the Apple built-in Display Calibrator Assistant Utility.

Configuring Camera Defaults in Lightroom 1.x

One of the most useful yet least understood features of Adobe Camera Raw is the ability to define your own camera default develop settings. Sadly, a similar feature was not included with Adobe Lightroom 1.0. However, when Adobe released Lightroom 1.1 and Camera Raw 4.1 they included a significantly enhanced version. The following tutorial is intended to help you better understand how this new feature can improve your Lightroom workflow.

Printing in Lightroom 1.x (Mac OS X 10.5)

This tutorial is intended to aid Adobe Photoshop Lightroom users who use Epson printers with Mac OSX 10.5 (aka Leopard). It's a tutorial that many pundits, myself included, thought would not be required.

Lightroom 1.x - Locating Missing Files and Folders

From time to time questions arise on the Adobe User to User Lightroom forum that often require a more comprehensive answer than forum participants have time. This tutorial was written to address one such question, but I have since expanded  it to include details of at least one hidden feature.

Lightroom 1.x and Photoshop Color Management

This short tutorial is intended to aid Adobe Lightroom 1.x users achieve a seamless color managed workflow when working with Photoshop.

Lightroom 1.x - Creating a Unitary Library and Managing Off-line Photos

If asked to identify their two most sought after features for Adobe Lightroom I think most users would pick the management of off-line photos and synchronising of laptop/desktop computer libraries. Unfortunately, neither seems likely to be included anytime soon. So, how do we overcome what are very real problems for many photographers?

 IT8 Calibration Targets

This article was written to complement my Optimising the Scanner Response tutorial. It also discusses some of the quality issues surrounding IT8 targets.

Optimising the Scanner Response Curve

Scanner Gamma is sometimes referred to as Scanner Tone Response and most scanner applications will include a facility for altering it.  This tutorial makes extensive use of LaserSoft SilverFast, however, even if you don't use SilverFast I recommend that you read through the tutorial and try applying it to your preferred scanner software.

Photoshop CS2 - Color Management

This update to earlier Photoshop Color Management essays highlights the main changes that have occurred with the launch of Photoshop CS2 (aka version 9). This version of the essay has been prepared as a single page document, and uses new screenshots derived from Windows XP Professional. So, given that it's a bit more graphic laden than previous versions, it will take a few moments to download.

Photoshop CS2 - Print with Color Management

Photoshop CS2 is now shipping and with it's arrival many users of previous versions find themselves confused with the layout and options of the Print with Preview dialog. Hopefully this tutorial will clear up some off the confusion.

Adobe Bridge & Camera Raw - Tips and Tricks

This tutorial pulls together a number tips and tricks that I've provided to Bridge users on the Adobe User to User forums.

 Adobe Bridge & Camera Raw - 100% Previews

The original idea for this essay came about following a query raised on the Adobe User to User forums way back in late April 2005. Similar queries have been raised since as has been the answer. Anyway, I decided that it was time to convert a quickly typed response into a proper tutorial.

Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw - Keyboard Shortcuts

This article originally was published on PhotoshopNews.com is now available on this site as are updated versions of the PDF files that accompanied the article. The updated PDF's include revised and new shortcuts added by Adobe as part of the version 1.02 update released in July 2005.

Photoshop CS - Color Management

This update to the earlier Photoshop 7 Color Management essay highlights the main changes that have occurred with the launch of Photoshop CS (aka version 8).

Photoshop CS - Printer Color Management

This essay describes the workflow required when printing from within Photoshop 7 and CS. It has been written and illustrated so that Windows, Mac OS9 and OSX are all covered.

Photoshop CS - Working with the File Browser

When Photoshop CS was first introduced many experts sung the praise of the updated File Browser. Unfortunately using it in the real world is somewhat less intuitive than claimed. Furthermore, many users have found that the performance of Photoshop can be greatly effected by the way the new File Browser preferences have been configured. This tutorial should help explain many of those areas causing greatest confusion.

Photoshop 7 - Color Management

Whilst Color Management within Photoshop 7 has changed little from Photoshop 6 there are still some issues that need detailed explanation. This essay, entitled Photoshop 7 and Color Management updates the previous version written for Photoshop 6 and should prove useful to both new and existing Photoshop users.

Photoshop 6 - Color Management

Photoshop 6 - Advanced Printing

The main purpose of this essay is to show how to use Custom or Epson created ICC media/paper profiles with Photoshop. It has all been written before, but in this essay my intent is to keep it simple. I provide details on where the media profiles should be stored, how to configure the Photoshop 6 print dialog and finally how the Epson printer driver must be configured so that your final results aren't a total mess. I've also included downloadable versions of profiles for a range of Epson Photo series printers.

Basic Printing in Photoshop 6 for Windows PC Users

Basic Printing in Photoshop 6 for Mac Users

LaserSoft Imaging SilverFast Tutorials

"LaserSoft Imaging SilverFast" is undoubtedly one of the best scanner software applications available. As scanner software goes it includes more features than any single user will likely ever need. Nevertheless, and good as they may be, these features tend to be complex and not always well explained in the accompanying documentation. Hopefully this series of essays/tutorials will help users better understand the various components that make up this very powerful program.

Color Management in Photoshop 5

An essay written to help those struggling with all the various "set-up" options associated with Photoshop 5's Color Management System. Getting these correct is essential  before we can expect to use the program to anything like its full potential. Includes references to Windows 2000 and Photoshop 5.5. This essay is long, and it's complex, but it should help explain the various issues surrounding a good Color Managed workflow from scanner right through to printer.