Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

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The Digital Photographer's Software Guide
Lightroom allows you to use the same controls whether you work with TIFF, JPEG,
DNG, flat PSD files, or RAW files. It never touches the originals, but instead stores all
the changes to the image as a set of instructions in its database.
Non-Destructive Editing
Whereas traditional photo editors can mix destructive and non-destructive
operations, Lightroom has an entirely non-destructive editing process.
Instead of changing the image data, it stores instructions for changing
the data, applying them on-the-fly to full-scale preview images so that
you can see the effect of any changes you make. In a RAW workflow,
which is recommended by the developer, these changes are written into
XMP sidecar files. It is only when you export an image that Lightroom
needs to create a fully rendered version that takes account of your
changes. To create JPEGs for your friends, you select the pictures you
need and click Export to bring up a dialog box for choosing file format,
destination folder, color space, and resolution.
The user interface makes it easy to apply metadata (Exif or IPTC), which in turn makes
it very easy to find images that share specific characteristics. The organizational structure
also contributes to this by allowing you to group images by shoot or by collection.
An image can appear in only one shoot but in many different collections. There are
some gadgets that first-time users might find confusing, such as Filters, which allows
you to sift through your collections by setting keywords or invoking presets. If your
images disappear from view mysteriously, it is probably because you left Filters on by
mistake. It cannot be over-emphasized that Lightroom is a completely non-destructive
environment, so you need have no fear that any image will be permanently lost or damaged
in any way by processing, whatever you do to it.
Quite apart from its sophisticated navigation and cataloging features, the Library has a
Quick Develop section where you can make quick initial adjustments to white balance,
exposure, contrast, color, and aspect ratio. A (non-interactive) histogram at the top indicates
the spread of tonal and color values, together with four vital pieces of information:
ISO, focal length, shutter speed, and aperture. If you want to carry on working on the
image you can press Continue in Develop, where you have an entire panel of tools, and
where the histogram becomes larger, and, for the first time, interactive.
The Export button, to which you are likely to return after developing the image, leads
you to a panel large enough to resemble a tax return. It offers location (with a Show in
Explorer option for Windows versions); asks you whether you would like to place the
image in a sub-folder or add it to the Lightroom Catalog; gives seven file-naming