Develop

Lightroom provides support for around 100 native RAW formats which is just about the same number as Camera Raw. So, having mentioned Camera Raw it's worth identifying the basic tools common to both applications: White Balance, Exposure, and Tone. We then have the more advanced tools such as: the Tone Curve, Detail, Lens Corrections, and Camera Calibration. Since most readers are already familiar with these tools I'll not waste bandwidth waffling on about them. Nevertheless, I should mention that whilst the Rotate, Colour Sampler, Crop and Straighten tools are missing from this build Adobe have confirmed that they will all be implemented in a later Beta build

February 2006 - Rotate, Crop and Straighten tools added in Lightroom Beta 2.

Image Development Tools in  Develop Module

OK, so the Tone Curve tool looks different, it is different, very different! In many ways the new Tone Curve tool is a vast improvement over the same tool in Camera Raw, that is except that there is no way to pick a point on the curve and drag. The only way you can manipulate the curve is via the slider controls for Compression and Luminance. There are a total of six sliders, two each to control the: Highlight, Midtones and Shadows. Not withstanding the fact that the sliders provide a method of control not previously seen in an Adobe application I expect that, over time, most users will get used to this arrangement. Of course there's also the built-in highlight/shadow Clipping Controls (also known as range sliders) that go with curve adjustment (hold down the Option/Alt key whilst dragging the little triangles on the bottom axis of the graph). Also, whilst I'm waffling about clipping controls I should mention that activating the Clipping Display on the Histogram requires that you click the word Highlights or Shadows. Other than that they work like they do in Camera Raw 3.

I mentioned 100% previews when discussing the Library module but skipped on the detail. I think Adobe have done us really proud in the way they've implemented the Loupe feature. OK, so it's not as cool looking as the loupe in Aperture but it is faster, and it doesn't get in the way of the image.

Loupe View in Develop Module

So now we get to the new tools, the really cool tools, the tools that we should have had all along. So what tools are these? HSL Color Tuning, Split Toning and Black & White. HSL stands for Hue, Saturation and Luminance. It's a tool I found almost indispensable in LaserSoft SilverFast. OK, so many don't like editing in HSL mode, but for me it means that I can fine tune specific colours in the RAW image rather than wait until later in Photoshop. This tool is very powerful and enables me to eliminate some colour issues that even adjusting the Camera Calibration Profile doesn't fix.

Black and White was another area that kept coming up amongst Photoshop CS2 beta testers, especially the desire to have true black and white editing tools within Camera Raw. Well, as we've already established the Develop module within Lightroom has Camera Raw at its heart. So, not only have we got the ability to convert our images into greyscale but we can also manipulate them in such as way as to mix colours thus creating effects such as Split Toning.

Greyscale Mixing and Split Toning in Develop Module

There's really no way in the space available here to do justice to the Develop module. However, as one last taster of the features available I really must mention the ability to edit Camera JPG images. Yep, you read right - JPG! Just about every tool available for editing RAW images is available to JPG's. I must admit that when I first heard this I was aghast at the thought. I just couldn't believe that Adobe would waste their time on such a task, but they did, and man did they do well. Lightroom can also edit PSD and TIFF files, but the layers are not supported.

Slideshow

The Slideshow module in Lightroom is a vast improvement on Bridge. On the left panel you choose the template to be used and on the right panel you configure how you want to show to appear. Some of the slideshow transitions are interesting but they also seem to require a fairly high end graphics card.

Grid View in Slideshow Module

Lightroom has three slideshow output options: Preview (the show appears in Lightroom window), Play (the show appears full-screen on your monitor), and Export (the show is saved to HTML, PDF or Flash format). It's also possible to build web galleries within Lightroom but I've not had the time to test this feature. I don't propose to go into any more detail on the Slideshow because I would hate to spoil your fun.

Print

The last module in Lightroom is Print, which contains all of the Page Layout tools. In this module you can use predefined Templates to print single images, Contact Sheets or create and save your own Custom Templates. In terms of page layout the Lightroom print dialog is a lot more feature rich than it first appears, which is certainly a welcome advance on Photoshop.

Print Module - 2 by 2 Autofill

I did mention Photoshop, didn't I! With all its colour management settings we know that printing from Photoshop can be a nightmare for some. OK, so you're now thinking: is Lightroom any easier to understand? Well, it depends on what you mean by easy. Lightroom has two options for Colour Managing your prints: Managed by Printer and Other. In the case of Other you simply choose from the list of printer profiles in the ColorSync folder, pick the Rendering Intent (i.e. Perceptual or Relative Colorimetric). Lastly, but not to be forgotten is the Print Resolution and  Print Sharpening feature. The default printer resolution is 360dpi but you can change it by simply clicking the current value and typing your preferred value (e.g. 240dpi). Likewise, the default sharpening value is Low but this is probably insufficient for anything bigger than 10 by 8 inch.

Even though there's an option for Save and Save As under the File menu I've yet to find anything that activates them (both are greyed out and will probably vanish from the shipping product). So, when finished editing an image I simply choose Export. The Export dialog gives you the option to rename the image(s), choose the format (JPG, TIF, DNG), the pixel dimensions, and the ICC profile to be embedded into the image. The list of ICC profiles is rather short: sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998) and ProPhoto RGB. Alternatively, you can choose to continue editing the image in Photoshop. To do this you simply choose Edit in Photoshop CS2 from the Photo menu or hit the Cmd+E keys. Photoshop will launch, but be warned that the image when opened into Photoshop will be in the Adobe RGB (1998) colour space. I have not yet found any way of changing this.

Last but not least are the ways in which you can have Lightroom appear on your monitor - hit the L key a few times and cycle through Lights Dim, Lights Out and back to Lights On. Then we have the try and trusted F key for cycling through the various screen modes. Editing an image in Lights Dim is a real joy for those who can't recall keyboard shortcuts because they can still just barely see the controls. Whilst on the subject of keyboard shortcuts I should mention that Adobe have decided to depart form many of the Photoshop/Bridge/Camera Raw defaults. This may cause you a bit of confusion at first but you'll soon get used to the changes. If you're too lazy to figure them it yourself then Adobe have a comprehensive list on their dedicated web site (see Conclusion for details).

Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning, Lightroom is still very much unfinished. It would be easy to list features that I found missing or downright awkward to use but doing so would miss the point that Adobe are trying to make. So, whilst Adobe have certainly listened to users (me included) and tried to incorporate as many of the features that a Photographer working totally within the digital domain requires, they couldn't include everything. However, they're open to feedback. They want to hear your thoughts on what does and doesn't work, your ideas for additional features, your pain points, etc.

So now we come to the really good news - Adobe have made Lightroom available to everyone as a Public Beta. They've also provided a dedicated web site with feedback forums at: http//labs.macromedia.com/technologies/lightroom The bad news is that Lightroom is only available on the Mac platform at present but Adobe are working hard to get a Windows version ready. If it's any consolation to Windows users please spare a tear for the diehard Mac users who refuse to upgrade to OS X 10.4 (Tiger). The minimum requirements for Lightroom are:

• Mac OS X 10.4.0 (Tiger) or higher

• G4 or G5 processor (Yes, it will work on a PowerBook or MacBook Pro)

• 512MB RAM (preferably more)

• 1GB or more free hard drive space
   

I've tested Lightroom on my Apple PowerBook with a 1.33Ghz G4 Processor and 1.25GB of ram, a PowerMac Dual 2.5GHz G5 processor with 8GB or ram and a PowerMac Dual 1.25GHz G4 processor with 2GB. Apart from the time taken to import he images, etc it's quick, even on the PowerBook.

If you recall right back at the beginning I mentioned 5 rules and that I'd explain the fifth later. Well, the fifth rule is: -

Rule 5 - Enjoy!

Other material related to Adobe Lightroom

Michael Reichmann of Luminous Landscape has a very comprehensive First Look Primer on Lightroom

The Shadowland/Lightroom Development Story by Jeff Schewe