Watermark Editor
It's been a
long time coming, but at last Lightroom has a Watermark Editor.
With this new editor you can apply a text or graphical watermark
directly to a photograph. It's also possible adjust the size,
orientation, location and opacity of the watermark. Saved watermarks
can be applied from within the Slideshow, Print, Web and
Export modules. In figure 11 I show a sample watermark applied
to an image in the Print module.
Figure 10 - Watermark Editor
Figure 11 - Watermarking a photo in Print module
(Click image for larger view)
As discussed above, the main changes within the Develop
module are associated with the raw image processing algorithms,
sharpening and noise reduction. Nevertheless, there are a few other new
features within Develop that many Lightroom users will no doubt find
useful. Figure 12 below shows a Before and After comparison of the new
raw conversion and colour noise algorithms in use. The images was shot
on a Canon EOS5 Mk11 at 3200 ISO in quite poor lighting conditions. The
color noise and sharpening are at default settings. Even allowing for
JPG compression associated with the screenshot it should be pretty
obvious that color noise in Lightroom is much better than Lightroom
2.5.
Figure 12 - Comparison between Colour Noise in
Lightroom 2.5 and Lightroom 3 Beta
The inclusion of the Collections panel on the left panel
track and the Effects panel on the right side are probably the
most obvious. Figure 13 below shows both bounded in red.
Figure 13 - New Effects and Collections Panels
(Click image for larger view)
Local Adjustments
The Local Adjustment tools have been modified
slightly with the removal of the button sets from the Adjustment
Brush and Graduate Filter panels. The adjustment brush and
graduated filter sliders can be reset by holding down Option/Alt and
clicking on Amount. Another enhancement to these tools is the
provision of an 'X' overlay when no colour is selected.
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 |
Adjustment Brush
|
Graduate Filter
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The Gradient Tool and Adjustment Brushes
have their own set of keyboard shortcuts, with the following being the most important:
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Open Adjustment Brush - K
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Open Gradient Tool - M
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Show/hide Pin - H
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Increase/decrease brush size - ] / [
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Increase/decrease feather - Shift+] / Shift+[
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Commit a brush stroke or gradient and/or start new - Enter
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Delete selected pin - Delete
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Holding down - Alt/Option key activates erase
mode
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Toggle Auto Mask On/Off - A
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Pressing 'O' toggles on/off the overlay
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Shift+O cycles through alternative
colours for overlay
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Constrain gradient to vertical - hold down Shift
plus drag
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Invert gradient - '
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Scale from centre - Alt/Option plus drag
Grain and Post-crop Vignetting
What do the sliders in Grain mean? Roughness affects
the consistency of the grain. If we consider a smooth, flat area of an
image (e.g. sky). Adding Grain with the Roughness slider
at the left, the nature of the grain will appear relatively consistent
across that area as you visually scan over it with your eyes. If you
move the Roughness slider to the right, the grain becomes less even.
Increasing the Size slider amount tends to soften the image
(rove detail), so be careful not to push it too far to the right. The
actual grain effect is designed to be close to visually uniform across
the tonal range, unlike digital sensor noise. The high-level goal is to
transform the visually unappealing characteristics of digital sensor
noise into the more visually pleasing characteristics of traditional
film grain that photographers are used to seeing. Figure 14 below shows
an example were grain has been added for effect rather than to disguise
a problem.
Figure 14 - Grain Effect at 3:1 zoom level
Post-crop vignetting was introduced in Lightroom
2, but many users complained that the manner in which it was
implemented did not properly reflect the desired effect. In particular,
photographers wanted a tool that increased/decreased
exposure/brightness rather than simply paining black or white into the
image corners. This time round we get two options, i.e. Highlight
Priority (default) and Colour Priority. Figures 15 and 16
show the two options with the same settings applied. Again, like other
new features you re encouraged to provide feedback on which you prefer
and why.
Figure 15 - Highlight Priority Post-crop Vignette
Figure 16 - Color Priority Post-crop Vignette
Other Develop module enhancements include:
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Crop presets choices have been edited for clarity
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A checkbox has been added to the toolbar to turn on/off
overlay visibility
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The targeted adjustment tool is deactivated when
switching to a new Develop panel
Adobe has added the ability to export your slideshows
from Lightroom 3 beta as HD video. In addition, the link to
iTunes has been broken which means that incorporating your music tracks
is much easier than it was in the past. Lastly, for the slideshow
mostly, is the facility whereby double clicking on the music track
duration will automatically adjust the slide change time so that the
slideshow duration matches the music.
Figure 17 - Export slideshow as HD video
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