1 CREATE CONTACT SHEETS
One of the pitfalls of digital photography is that we tend to capture too many photos. As a result, most of them will end up being lost or buried on a hard drive. The remedy is to create contact sheets for a quick visual reminder.

To create a contact sheet in Bridge, first choose Window>Workspace>Output. (Note: The contact sheet option is in a new location in Photoshop CS5.) Customize the panel settings on the right and after making changes click the Refresh Preview button to see an updated layout. When satisfied, click Save.

2 ADD WATERMARKS
In the current digital age, watermarks are more important than ever. A watermark gives you the ability to protect your image or to reinforce your brand. In Bridge CS5, you can add watermarks in the Output module to either create single or multiple image layouts, or Web galleries. This way, when you deliver or send your files digitally, they can be protected from unfair use. For a basic text-based copyright, select PDF, and then in the Watermark section, enable Add Watermark, Place on Each Image, and Insert Text. Enter text in the text field and then choose a Font, Size, and Color.

3 CUSTOM GRAPHIC WATERMARKS
Another effective way to use a watermark is to use a graphic, logo, or brand identity element on top of the image. First create a graphic in Photoshop and save it as TIF or PNG. (Hint: Use PNG when you want to have transparency.) Then, in the Watermark section, select Add Watermark, Place on Each Image, and Insert Image. Click on the icon to the right of the Path field, select a graphic, and use the sliders below to customize the size, opacity, and position of the watermark. This way you have precise control over how and where the watermark is displayed.

4 BATCH RENAMING
A common need for photographers is the ability to change the name of their images. The good news is that you can now batch rename files with more ease than ever while in Bridge CS5. Select one or more images, Right-click on a selected image, and choose Batch Rename. In the Batch Rename dialog, notice the two new options: Presets and Preview. While these are simple improvements, these are great timesavers. Use the Presets drop-down menu to save, store, and reuse common renaming conventions, and click on the Preview button for a quick visual of how the file names will actually appear.

5 OPENING MINI BRIDGE
If you haven’t used Mini Bridge, you’ll definitely want to start using it. Mini Bridge provides you with the ability to browse, filter, sort, preview, and open images from directly inside of Photoshop.

To open Mini Bridge, click on the Launch Mini Bridge icon (circled) in the Application Bar or choose File>Browse in Mini Bridge. Yet, in order to be even more effective, you’ll want to set up a custom keyboard shortcut. Choose Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts, twirl open the File options, and assign Browse in Mini Bridge a shortcut. This way, you can quickly (and efficiently) access and use Mini Bridge whenever you need it.

6 BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH MINI BRIDGE
The Mini Bridge panel can be relocated or resized just like any of the other panels, and the interface is relatively intuitive except for a few new icons. Use the Filter icon to choose a range of filtering options, the Sort icon to access options to change the order of files, and the Tools icon for image placing options. The View icon (located at the bottom of the panel) allows you to change the interface layout and the Preview icon has various preview options. You can press the Spacebar to enter Full Screen mode and double-click on a file to open an image.

7 EFFECTIVE WORKSPACE CONTROL
Photoshop is a strong program jammed-packed with features. Yet, the downside is that many features aren’t relevant to your own workflow. The good news is that you can quickly and easily customize a workspace to suit your needs. To create a custom workspace, choose Window>Workspace>Essentials (or whatever workspace you want to use) or click on the Essentials button in the Application Bar. Note: To access more workspaces in the Application Bar, click-and-drag the handles (circled) to the left. Make changes in the workspace in regards to panel sizes, positions, or visibility and Photoshop will automatically save the changes.

8 EXPANDED LAYER FUNCTIONALITY
Working with layers and layer style effects in CS5 has been improved. Now you can select one or more layers and then change the opacity of all of those layers at one time. Simply Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on multiple layers and change the Opacity in the Layers panel. In addition, the layer style effects settings (drop shadow, stroke, etc.) are capable of being saved with customized default settings. To set a default, apply a layer style effect and click on the Make Default button in the Layer Style dialog. To reset the settings, click on the Reset to Default button.

9 MAKING SMARTER SELECTIONS
One of the most significant features in Photoshop CS5 is the ability to refine and improve selections and masks. First, make a selection and then click the Refine Edge button in the Options Bar, or create a mask, Right-click on the mask in the Layers panel, and select the Refine Mask options. In both situations, this action will open a Refine dialog. In the Edge Detection section, enable the Smart Radius checkbox and increase the Radius to work on a larger edge area. Then, use the Adjust Edge sliders to dial in the exact selection parameters. Click OK when finished.

10 CONTENT-AWARE FILL
Being able to delete or remove unwanted items in a frame has long been the desire of photographers. Now this process is easier than ever. First, make a selection of an object with the selection just outside the area of the object—if the selection is too close, it won’t work well. To increase the selection, choose Select>Modify>Expand and use the Expand dialog. Then press Shift-F5 to open the Fill dialog and choose Content-Aware from the Use menu in the Contents section. Click OK.

11 CONTENT-AWARE HEALING
In the previous version of Photoshop, the Spot Healing Brush was primarily relegated to removing small blemishes in a frame. Now it can be used to content-aware fill larger areas. It’s especially good at removing items that are distractions, which are on top of complex content—think telephone wires in front of a tree.

To use this tool, select the Spot Healing Brush tool (J), choose Content-Aware in the Options Bar, and then click-and-drag over the element that needs to be removed. For example, here the garment strap was removed with a single brush stroke. (Hint: Make sure the brush size is slightly larger than the blemish.)

12 HDR TONING
HDR and HDR type of effects have taken the photographic community by storm. More and more photographers are beginning to experiment with how they can use these effects to improve their images. HDR toning provides a set of powerful controls that can be used to quickly make subtle or dramatic HDR-like effects. To use HDR Toning, choose Image>Adjustments>HDR Toning. In the HDR Toning dialog, experiment with the various presets from the Preset drop-down menu, or simply create a custom effect by modifying the Edge Glow, Tone and Detail, and Color controls.

13 HDR PRO
Many argue that true HDR has finally come of age in Photoshop CS5, and I completely agree. HDR is a valid and powerful tool for both creative and corrective purposes. HDR Pro is now stronger than ever giving you controls to deal with common HDR problems (like ghosting) and more precise controls over tonal blending. To use HDR Pro, capture multiple frames of the same subject at different exposure settings. Next, select the images in Bridge and choose Tools>Photoshop>Merge to HDR Pro. In the Merge to HDR Pro dialog, use the Edge Glow, Tone and Detail, and Color/Curve sections to create the desired effect.

14 TARGETED ADJUSTMENT TOOL
The Targeted Adjustment Tool (TAT) allows you to make precise adjustments. You can use the TAT with Black & White, Curves, and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers. Simply create one of the aforementioned adjustment layers, select the TAT (circled) from the Adjustments panel, position the cursor over the area of the image you wish to adjust, and click-and-drag. This is one of the most powerful tools in Photoshop, and is something you’ll use frequently. I recommend you choose Auto-Select Targeted Adjustment Tool from the flyout menu (circled). This way, each time you open one of the supported adjustment layers, the TAT will be selected by default.

15 LAB BLACK-AND-WHITE ACTION
Photoshop CS5 comes preinstalled with a few features that you have to dig around in order to find. One of those features is the incredibly helpful LAB Black & White conversion action. To access this action, open the Actions panel (Window>Actions), click on the flyout menu (circled), and choose LAB – Black & White Technique. This will load the action into the Actions panel. Next, open an image and click on the Photo Toner Technique action. Click on the Play icon and the action will run through the various steps, which will help you to create a potentially more compelling black-and-white image.

16 HUD COLOR PICKER
In Photoshop CS5 there’s a new way to work with color. In particular, the Eyedropper tool (I) now features a color-sampling ring that acts as a visual aid to help determine the correct color. Surrounding the selected color is a 50% neutral gray ring, which visually isolates and sets apart the color being sampled. In addition, you’ll find a heads-up display (HUD) color picker, which allows you to quickly choose colors while painting. To open this display, press Control-Option-Command-click (PC: Shift-Alt-Right-click). There are also two options for the HUD: the Hue Strip or Hue Wheel. Choose Preferences (PC: Edit)>General to select the HUD you like best.

17 BRUSHES AND MASKING
As a photographer seeking to create more powerful images, learning how to work with masking is key. In Photoshop, masking provides you with the ability to selectively paint various types of adjustments. New to CS5 is a set of brushes called bristle tips located in the Brush panel (Window>Brush), which helps create more realistic, smooth and clean masks. The bristle tips provide the ability to specify precise brush bristle characteristics, which helps create natural-looking brush strokes. With a bit of practice you can use these brushes in addition with the other brushes to expand and improve how you create masks.

18 LENS CORRECTION
To use lens correction, choose Filter>Lens Correction. This will open the Lens Correction dialog where you’ll see a new tab titled Auto Correction. If your camera profile is available, the filter will select a profile for your camera and lens combination. Select the various types of auto corrections you’d like to have applied and click OK. In the example shown here, you can see how even an image captured with a fisheye lens (left) can be relatively corrected (right). Note: While typically you won’t be using this filter to remove such dramatic fisheye distortion, it does illustrate the power and potential of this new feature.

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

Begin in Lightroom

1 RAW IS GOOD, DNG IS BETTER

The advantages of shooting RAW (e.g., more flexibility and more information) are well known and most photographers capture RAW images (versus JPEG). But there’s an often-overlooked step, and that’s converting the RAW files to DNG (or Digital Negative). The DNG format extends the flexibility and stability of your images even further. DNG is a publicly available archival format that’s an appealing solution for those who want even more assurance of being able to open and process RAW files far into the future. For more info, visit www.adobe.com/products/dng. OPTION #1: [Insert 1.tiff]—Note from Chris Orwig: I don’t have a graphic for this first step but I was hoping you could create one from my idea.

2 IMPORT, PART 1: CONVERT & BACK UP

Before you start viewing or working on your images, it’s critical to save them appropriately. Specifically, you always want to copy the files to at least two locations and here’s where Lightroom can help. With Lightroom open, connect your card reader and insert the media card, and the Import Photos dialog will open. If desired, in the File Handling section, be sure to select Copy Photos As Digital Negative (DNG) and turn on the Backup to: option. Click the Choose button and select another external hard drive where you’d like to save the files.

3 IMPORT, PART 2: APPLY INFORMATION

In the Information to Apply section, click the Metadata pop-up menu, and choose New. In the New Metadata Preset dialog, enter important metadata such as copyright, and click Create. To apply the preset, select it from the Metadata menu. Next, manually add keywords to all the images. Begin with the general keywords that describe the entire import (more specific keywords can be added later). Finally, choose the size of the Initial Previews. Typically, it’s best to choose Standard (medium JPEG) or 1:1 (full size) so Lightroom will generate large enough previews now so you won’t have to wait for them later. Click Import.

4 RATE & RANK

With your images imported, it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. You can begin by adding star or flag ratings to the images. This can be done in the Library and Develop modules but for the quickest results, it’s best to work in the Library module’s Loupe view (E), as there will be less preview render time. Next, use one of the following methods to add ratings: Press 0–5 to add or remove star ratings; 6–9 to add or remove color label ratings; P to Flag As Pick; U to Remove Flag; and X to Reject.

5 FILTERS & COLLECTIONS

Photographers use filters with collections to pick their keepers. In the Library module, press Command-L (PC: Ctrl-L) to Enable Filters and select a criteria, such as Library>Filter by Rating of 2 stars only, which will now only show you the 2-star images. Next, open the Collections panel, click the New Collection icon (+), and choose Create Collection Set. Name your collection and click Create. Next, select all the filtered 2-star images, click on the New Collection icon, choose Create Collection, name it, select the set you just created, and click Create. Click on your original set of images and repeat this process for 4- and 5-star ratings.

6 ADD METADATA

It’s typically best to add keyword metadata to your images that matter most. Choose the collection you’d like to work on, select one or more images, open the Keywording panel, and add a keyword by typing it in the Click Here to Add Keywords field. You can also click on one of the Keyword Suggestions to add it to the Keyword Tags field. For even more advanced keywording, use a Keyword Set with frequently used, predefined keywords. To quickly apply one of these keywords, press the Option (PC: Alt) key and a number between 1 and 9.

7 ADJUST WHITE BALANCE

As you process your images, it’s best to begin with white balance. Press the W key to go to the Develop module and select the White Balance Selector tool simultaneously. Next, position the tool over an area of the image that should be neutral. Typically, something white, gray, or black works best. As you do this, look at the Navigator panel on the left and you’ll see the white balance preview. Once you’ve found a desirable neutral area, click on it. If the white balance isn’t prefect, drag the Temp and Tint sliders in the Basic panel to make any needed adjustments.

8 MAKE TONE ADJUSTMENTS

Using the Basic controls to modify tone is as easy as dragging a slider, but let’s take things a bit further. It’s important to process the image so it can be reproduced accurately, so you need to make sure it has good shadow and highlight detail. Press the J key to turn on the clipping indicator. Now when you make a “bad” adjustment (as in the image shown here), the clipping indicator will light up, showing you the problem areas. To correct these problems, modify the sliders until the clipping indicator is reduced or gone completely.

9 CHANGE PRESENCE FOR MORE PRESENCE

The Clarity, Vibrance, and Saturation sliders are grouped in the Presence section of the Basic panel. While this name is a bit vague, the actual sliders are anything but that, providing measurable contrast and color enhancements. The Clarity slider adds local contrast, which adds dimension or depth to an image. Zoom to 100%, then increase the Clarity amount to add subtle contrast. The Vibrance slider affects less-saturated colors and protects skin tones. Increase the Vibrance to add color variety and snap. The Saturation slider adjusts colors equally. Increase the amount to saturate, or decrease the amount to remove color.

10 REDUCE NOISE

Practically every digital image needs noise reduction and sharpening. In the Develop module, open the Detail panel. To begin, zoom to 100% to see the details of the image. Next, use the Luminance and Color sliders to remove the noise. The Luminance slider controls noise caused by brightness; the Color slider removes noise that results from color artifacts by reducing color variance. Increase the amounts of both sliders until the image looks good. Keep in mind that when you use the noise-reduction controls, you’ll soften the photo. As a result, you need to dial in an appropriate amount of sharpening.

11 SHARPEN THE IMAGE

Digital photographs need a certain amount of sharpening to correct any softness that results from capture. In the Detail panel, there are four sharpening sliders: Amount, Radius, Detail, and Masking. The Amount slider controls the overall intensity; Radius controls how far out from an edge the sharpening extends; Detail controls the sharpening of small details; and the Masking slider controls where the sharpening is applied. Begin by increasing the Amount and keep the Radius below 2. For photographs of people, use a very low Detail amount; for photographs of landscapes or architecture, use a higher amount.

12 COMPARING PHOTOS

In traditional film photography, the image emerges in the develop tray. Images also emerge in Lightroom: You slowly build up to the desired result. Thus, it’s helpful to compare the final state of the image to the original. The quickest way to compare a starting version to a final version is to press the Backslash (\) key to toggle between the two. For even more comparison views, choose View>Before/After and make a selection from the list. You may also use one of the following shortcuts: press Y for a Left/Right before-and-after view, Option-Y (PC: Alt-Y) for Top/Bottom, or Shift-Y to Split Screen.

From Lightroom to Photoshop

13 CORRECT PERSPECTIVE

In Lightroom you can only push an image so far. For example, if you need to make a perspective correction, you have to go to Photoshop. After finishing your work in Lightroom, select the image and press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E) to edit the image in Photoshop. If the Edit Photo dialog appears, choose Edit Original. Once in Photoshop, press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to copy the Background layer. Next, choose Edit>Free Transform. While holding down the Command (PC: Ctrl) key, click-and-drag the corner points to fix the distortion or perspective, then press Return (PC: Enter) to commit the transformation.

14 COLOR & TONE

While Lightroom has some great controls, when it comes to specialized and unique color and tone, it’s not as strong as Photoshop. With this image, we’re interested in creating muted colors and a high-contrast look. Click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Hue/Saturation. Lower the Saturation to –100, then change the layer blend mode to Soft Light. The Soft Light blend mode is a great way to add contrast and color, but by applying this mode to a desaturated layer, we can add contrast while removing color. If the effect is too strong, lower to layer Opacity.

15 ADD LIGHT

Photographers use light to direct the eye and to create visual interest. In Photoshop, one technique involves using a filter called Lighting Effects. (Note: This filter works with 8-bit images only.) Select the Background copy layer you created in Step 13, choose Layer>Duplicate Layer, then go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. In the Lighting Effects dialog, choose Omni from the Light Type menu. Reposition the light source on the image as needed, then use the controls to dial in the overall light Intensity. Click OK to apply the effect. Finally, lower the Opacity of the duplicate layer until you like the results.

16 ADD TEXTURE & A BORDER

To add a texture, open an image of a texture and drag-and-drop it onto your image (or create a new layer and draw the texture). Next, try using one of the layer blend modes like Soft Light or Overlay to blend the texture into the image. To add a border, click the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, select a brush with an interesting edge from the Brushes panel (Window>Brushes), and paint with white. To draw a straight line, click where you’d like the line to begin, reposition the brush, and then Shift-click. This way you can create a more uniform edge.

Back to Lightroom

17 PRINT WITH TEMPLATES

Close and Save your Photoshop file to head back to Lightroom. Printing in Lightroom is fast and effective because you can use a predetermined template or create your own. Select one or more photos in the Filmstrip. In the Print module, open the Preview and Template Browser panels. Next, position the cursor over one of the Lightroom templates to view it, and click to select it. (Note: You can customize the layout by using the panels on the right.) If you customized the layout and want to save it, click the Create New Preset icon (+) in the Template Browser panel header, name it, and click Create.

18 PRINT TO JPEG

One often-overlooked feature in Lightroom is the ability to prepare your images for printing by a lab. To send your images to a lab, you’ll need to convert the files to JPEGs. In the Print Job panel, choose Print to: JPEG File. Turn off Draft Mode Printing, change the Print Resolution, and select Print Sharpening (typically Standard works best). Turn on Custom File Dimensions and select a size. Under Color Management, set the Profile to sRGB and Rendering Intent to Relative. When you’re ready, click the Print to File button, choose a directory to save the files to, and send them to the lab of your choice.

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

1 [WIDE-EYED WONDER]
When someone watches something with wide-eyed wonder, what exactly does that mean? There’s the childlike connotation: a sense of wonder, astonishment, and surprise. That’s exactly how I imagine the personality of my wide-angle lens. When I look through, the lens begs me to see the world with wonder and awe. A wide-angle lens allows you to quickly change perspective, bending lines or causing them to travel down the frame. And when you’re shooting a larger scene, get low and close so you have a subject in the foreground of the scene.

2 [MOVE]
One of my favorite lenses is a 50mm. I think of this lens as natural, honest, reliable, dependable, and fair. It’s an unpretentious lens with an earnest and genuine soul. It’s not overly dramatic, and it definitely doesn’t play tricks. The fixed and normal focal length lens requires that you do the work, move your feet, and engage. Regardless of what you use, approach your other lenses the same way. Rather than relying on the lens to create the shot, move up, move down, and get close and around until you find what works best.

3 [KEEP IT SIMPLE]
I agree with what Rodney Smith once said, “Composition is to photography what rhythm is to music.” If you want to create more compelling photographs, you need to keep things simple. As you move and change your perspective, look for line, shape, and form. Remember that composing a photograph isn’t only about what’s inside the four walls of a frame; rather, it’s about what’s left behind. The next time you’re shooting, remember Ralph Clevenger’s words, “Reduce and simplify!”

4 [LOOK FOR DIRECTIONAL LINES]
As a beginning drawing student, I remember learning about perspective and drawing with a vanishing point in mind. In photography, similar rules apply. When you’re out shooting, look for directional lines. These lines will direct the eye and if framed a certain way, can resolve or converge. Typically, we don’t see these very well because our minds “correct” the perspective that we see. To make great pictures, we have to unlearn what we know and follow the lines as they travel through the frame.

5 [SLOW DOWN YOUR SHUTTER SPEED]
In photography, creating motion can make even the most ordinary or over-photographed scene come alive. And learning how to work with shutter speed can make photography new and fun. When you select Time Value (sometimes called Speed), the camera prioritizes shutter speed and takes cares of the rest. In other words, you can select a shutter speed without worrying about what aperture works best. With your camera on a tripod, try choosing a slow shutter speed and the world will become a blur.

6 [PAN WITH SLOW SHUTTER SPEED]
Panning involves selecting a slow shutter speed and then panning the camera at the same speed as the subject. For example, if a car drove by, you’d focus and position the lens so that it always pointed directly at the car. As the camera was panning to follow the car’s pass, you would press the shutter and voilà, you’d have an interesting frame. Dial in the right amount of blur with the shutter speed: slower = more blur; faster = less blur.

7 [WITH PATTERNS—FILL THE FRAME]
Cameras allow us to see details in really interesting ways. Rather than seeing all the clutter of our world, we can focus on small details, patterns, and more. Fill the frame with a pattern and it will excite the eye, causing the viewer to imagine the pattern extending beyond the edges of the frame. Patterns exist all around us and change with the quality of light. Some subjects come alive with harsh noon light and others prefer more subdued or even golden light. Whatever the light, begin to look for patterns in your day-to-day life.

8 [PHOTOGRAPH ATHLETES AT THE END OF THE DAY]
Athletes and outdoor enthusiasts have incredible energy. It’s easy to spot them from a hundred yards away: Athletes look different, the way they carry themselves, the composure and confidence; and they’re typically photographed amidst the action. Don’t miss out on their moments of repose though. Relaxed and rested, the athlete’s kinetic force remains full. I’ve found that candid is best, as in this shot after a fun day of skiing: Travis and Holly were standing close by the door, I swung my camera around, they briefly looked up, and I captured the shot.

9 [CONTEXT IS KING]
Do you remember as a child seeing a favorite teacher in a store? How could she be here? In your mind, her whole world was the classroom, and that’s where she belonged. Seeing her out of context was curious, confusing, and kind of cool. The same goes for athletes and outdoor adventurers. We know where they belong. When we see them out of context, it quickens our view, as in this Ironman World Champion triathlete, in front of an old warehouse wall.

10 [CREATE A SENSE OF SCALE]
Humans have intricate sensory receptors and as a result, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. This happens to me every time I hike in the California Sierras: I want to pull my camera out and capture the scene. Yet if we’re not careful, our photographs will be lacking and dull. Many times, the remedy is to position the subject to add a sense of scale and grandeur—as in this photograph. Even more, this perspective invites the viewer to find some snowshoes and follow along.

11 [ALWAYS KEEP YOUR CAMERA CLOSE BY]
Keeping your camera close at hand ensures that you won’t miss a shot. Whenever I travel or go camping, I set my camera bag next to my pillow so I can take a picture of the first sight I see. Not only does this help you capture some interesting shots, it will awaken your senses to the quality of light and colors that you see as the new day begins. And, as the day progresses, always carrying a camera will continually open your eyes to sights that would otherwise have been lost.

12 [EYE CONTACT BRINGS YOU BACK]
Many of the most compelling photographs of all time have been of people. Portraiture has been of profound interest for thousands of years and its course has been as diverse as its subject matter. While it’s impossible to determine the root of our love and fascination with photographs of people, their value—and our interest—continues to grow. The next time you’re making a portrait, try for honest, authentic, and strong eye contact in order to create a connection and cause the viewer to look and then look again.

13 [PHOTOGRAPH FAMILY ACCOMPLISHMENTS]
Photographing what’s most important to you is key and that’s why we take so many pictures of our families. There are times when taking pictures interrupts, and other times when it ignites. Photographing family accomplishments is definitely the latter. Cameras are expected at ballet recitals, soccer games, horse shows, or the top of the mountain after a long hike. When you pull out a camera after a success, it makes people light up, hug tighter, smile bigger, and jump higher.

14 [INITIATE AND INSTIGATE]
As a kid, there’s nothing better than having a cool uncle and my Uncle Jim was the best. He made us laugh harder than anyone else and bent some of the ordinary rules. When we were with him, we wouldn’t get in trouble—my parents let things slide. And the same goes for good photographers. Believe it or not, having a camera in hand gives you a license to bend a few of the rules and act as a catalyst. This means you can ask for different types of behavior—like picking up some fall leaves and throwing them in the air.

15 [SPEND TIME WITH OTHER ARTISTS]
You need to surround yourself with people who love what they do. As with most professions, photography has its curmudgeons who feed off crushing dreams. Those types of people spread their ideas like secondhand smoke: Don’t breathe it in; even better, run the other way. Find people who are passionate and who embrace the challenges of life with grit. Let them be your source of ideas and inspiration. Like surround-sound speakers, let the message of their life stream in from all sides.

16 [DREAM BIG DREAMS]
Daydreamers know that realism isn’t effective. Goals and dreams need to have an edge of unrealistic aspiration to get us out the gate. The more unrealistic the dream, the faster we move. Such dreamers take risks. The best dreams are so risky that they’re ridiculed by everyone. When they’re accomplished, the redemption is sweet. If you want to go far, you need to begin to dream. As T.S. Eliot said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

17 [EDIT WITH SOMETHING IN MIND]
When editing your photos, it’s helpful to actively think what it is that you actually want; otherwise, editing hundreds of photos dulls your senses like channel-surfing satellite TV. Determine a few qualities that you want. For example, you could take inspiration from Diane Arbus, who once said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.” Decide to select the photographs that tell enough, but not too much. Create a whole list of criteria and then begin the search.

18 [PATH TO BEING A PRO]
Photography is a competitive field. And the path to becoming a pro is littered with broken dreams and ill-used expensive gear. People may say there’s no use even trying; you might as well give up. I say no way. The bigger the challenge, the better the reward. Sure, photography might be tough but that’s what makes it so much fun. If you find the idea of getting paid to make pictures irresistible, then the time to begin is now! If this article inspired you, then get outside and start taking things up a notch. Go for it!

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

1 [START IN THE LIBRARY MODULE]
The first step is to pick out your favorite photos. As any pro photographer will tell you, it’s always better to show a few amazing photos than many average photos. Click on the Library module picker at the top of the interface, and press the E key to navigate to Loupe view. Now, give each image a star rating by pressing 1–5. For example, press 1 to add a 1-star rating, 2 for a 2-star rating, and so on. Only give your absolute favorite images a 4- or 5-star rating. The star rating will appear in the Toolbar below the image.

2 [FILTER BASED ON STAR RATING]
After adding the star rating, press the G key to navigate to the Library module Grid view. In this view you’ll be able to see all of your images as thumbnails. If the Library Filter options aren’t visible at the top, press the Backslash key (\) to toggle them open. Click Attribute and then click on the particular star rating to sort or filter your images based on that criterion. For example, click on 4 stars to only show the images with a 4-star rating or higher. This way you can clear away all the clutter and focus in on the keepers.

3 [ADD RELEVANT METADATA IN LIBRARY MODULE]
While you’re still in the Library module, take a few moments to add titles, captions, and copyright information to your photographs. Open the Metadata panel located in the right-side panels at the bottom. Next, choose a metadata view option to add the information. Choose the Large Caption view to have more space to type out longer captions, or choose Quick Describe to quickly add the Title, Caption, and Copyright information. The advantage of adding these now is that you can show this information with the photos later in the Web gallery.

4 [REORDER AND RENAME IN LIBRARY MODULE]
Reordering the photos in the Library module can improve the flow and order of the Web gallery. In addition, renaming the photos is important because you may want the names to be visible in the Web gallery. While still in Grid view, go to the Toolbar located beneath the Grid thumbnails and click on the words to the right of Sort and choose User Order. Then, simply click-and-drag the thumbnails to reorder the images. Finally, select all of the photos by pressing Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A), then press F2 to open the Rename dialog and choose a new naming convention.

5 [WEB MODULE—COLLECTION]
In the Web module you can create a Web collection to save a specific group of images that aren’t dependent on any folder structure (i.e., it doesn’t matter where the images are located), which allows you to quickly locate the files. To create the Web collection, click on the New Collection icon (+) in the Collections panel bar and choose Create Web Gallery. Next, type a name for the collection and choose Include All Filmstrip Photos to select all the photos (or leave this unchecked to choose only the selected photos). Choose Make New Virtual Copies to create a collection with more flexibility.

6 [CHOOSE A TEMPLATE]
The Web module comes loaded with a variety of HTML and Flash layouts. First, hover your cursor over the various templates in the Template Browser panel on the left until you see something you like in the Preview panel above. Then, click the name of the template you want to use. Lightroom will render the gallery design with your selected images. If you choose an HTML gallery and you have too many images to display on one page, Lightroom even generates the correct number of webpages with the appropriate hyperlinks to present all your photos.

7 [CUSTOMIZE YOUR GALLERY]
You can customize your Web galleries in many ways using the panels on the right side of the Web module. While the customization controls are self-explanatory, let’s take a quick tour of some of the most important options.

1. Engine panel: Choose one of five different gallery styles.
2. Color Palette panel: Choose color variations.
3. Appearance panel: Define the layout attributes such as the number of rows and columns in your layout, as well as image attributes including borders, drop shadows, etc.

8 [IMAGE CAPTIONS AND TITLES]
In certain situations, adding image titles and captions can make your Web gallery more functional. For example, it can help a client identify a particular photo. On the other hand, it can simply provide valuable information about the image that will add to the overall impact of the gallery. To include this information that we added in Step 3, open the Image Info panel and click on the checkboxes. Depending upon the template you’ve chosen, this information can be displayed along with the image. (Note: You can also click to the far right to select other information to show besides Title and Caption.)

9 [ENTER OUTPUT SETTINGS]
Open the Output Settings panel to define the image quality, select the metadata to include, and the amount of sharpening. Typically, when optimizing images for the Web you want a lower quality JPEG compression, but since the Lightroom Web galleries are well optimized, you can choose a higher quality option. In this case, I’ve chosen 70. Next, you can select what Metadata to include: All or Copyright Only. If desired, click on Add Copyright Watermark. Finally, choose between a Low, Standard, or High Sharpening amount. Typically, Standard works best.

10 [ENTER UPLOAD SETTINGS]
Before you can upload your work to the Web, you need to enter your domain and hosting information. Open the Upload Settings panel, click the FTP Server option, and choose Edit. This will open the Configure FTP File Transfer dialog. Enter your Server name, FTP Username, and Password. Back in the Upload Settings panel, define the Subfolder by typing in a folder name. For example, these images could be viewed at www.chrisorwig.com/joe. (As a side note, if you don’t have a domain name and hosting, there’s no better time than the present to get one. Visit www.chrisorwig.com/hosting for a few recommendations.)

11 [GETTING YOUR WORK ONLINE]
Before you get your work online, it’s a good idea to preview the Web gallery. Click on the Preview in Browser button on the left to view a local (i.e., not live on the Web) version of your Web gallery. This way, you can review the gallery before it goes live. If there’s anything that doesn’t look perfect in the local preview, go back to the above steps to make changes. Once you’re satisfied with the gallery, click the Upload button located below the right-side panels.

12 [VIEW AND SHARE YOUR PHOTOS]
After uploading, you can view the images online in your Web browser by typing out the full URL string. For example, this gallery was uploaded to a folder called joe_color, so I typed “http://chrisorwig.com/joe_color.” (In fact, I’ve uploaded images for a client to review at this link so go there to see a sample gallery.) To share the photos with someone, highlight the full URL string and choose Edit>Copy. Open your email program, create a new email, and choose Edit>Paste.

13 [TIMESAVING SHORTCUTS]
Use the following shortcuts to speed up your workflows: To access the different right-side panels, press Command-1 through 7 (PC: Ctrl-1 through 7). For example, to toggle open/close the Color Palette panel, press Command-3 (PC: Ctrl-3). To quickly preview the gallery locally in your browser, press Command-Option-P (PC: Ctrl-Alt-P). On the other hand, if you’d like to export the gallery to upload it with another application, press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J).

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

1 CREATING PRINT COLLECTIONS
Photos that you select to print are typically the best of the best and a print collection lets you create a group of photos based on your print needs. To create a print collection, navigate to the Print module then select from the Filmstrip the photos you want to add to the collection. Next, click on the plus icon (+) in the Collections panel header and choose Create Print. In the dialog that appears, name your collection, check the Include Selected Photos box, click Create, and a distinct icon appears next to your collection in the panel.

2 USING PRINT TEMPLATES
Creating prints and print layouts in Lightroom requires making prints over and over again at specific sizes or configurations. Therefore, using a predetermined template (or creating your own template) can drastically increase workflow productivity.

To use a Print Template, select one or more photos in the Filmstrip. Then, in the Print module, open the Preview and Template Browser panels. Hover your cursor over one of the Lightroom templates and you’ll see the layout appear in the Preview panel above. When you’ve found the template that will work best, click on the template name to select it.

3 CREATE A CONTACT SHEET
A contact sheet is a printed “grid” of many small thumbnails on one page. Photographers frequently use these to review or create a visual catalog of images on a CD, DVD, or drive. This visual catalog lets you see the images without having to browse the media storage device. Creating contact sheets is an integral step in most workflows and it’s simple to do in Lightroom. Just select multiple images in the Library module or Filmstrip, choose one of the two Contact Sheet templates in the Template Browser panel, and you’ll see the layout ready for printing in the main window.

4 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 1
To create or customize a grid layout, click on the Contact Sheet/Grid option in the Layout Engine panel. In the Image Settings panel, choose Zoom to Fill to fill the entire cell—click-and-drag the cursor over the image to position the image. Select Rotate to Fit to view the largest image that fits in the image cell. Check Repeat One Photo Per Page to create a contact sheet with one image per page. Next, choose Stroke Border to add a border, click on the color swatch to choose a new color for the border and drag the Width slider to change its size.

5 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 2
To customize the Grid, use the Guides and Layout panels. In the Guides panel, click Show Guides on/off to see how each guide affects the display. Then in the Layout panel, make specific adjustments. If you’ve chosen to show the Rulers in the Guides panel, select a Ruler Unit, then drag the various controls to make any layout modifications.

Or you can position the cursor over the Margins, Cell Spacing, or the Cell Size in the layout and when the cursor changes into a line with two arrows, click-and-drag to resize that aspect of the layout.

6 PICTURE PACKAGE CELLS
The Picture Package allows you to create a layout that prints one photo on one or more pages—this is especially helpful when you need to print one image in multiple sizes for a client. First, in the Library module or Filmstrip, select the image that you’d like to use. Next, in the Print module, select a Picture Package template in the Template Browser or click on the Picture Package option in the Layout Engine panel. Then use the Image Settings and Rulers, Grid & Guides panels to customize the layout.

7 ADDING OVERLAYS
The Overlays panel can be used to add creative or technical information to your print layout. In both the Contact Sheet/Grid or Picture Package layouts, you can add your Identity Plate, which can be customized with regard to position, rotation, color, and opacity.

In the Contact Sheet/Grid layout, you can also add Page Options—Page Numbers, Page Info, and Crop Marks—and Photo Info, including any of the following: Caption, Custom Text, Date, Equipment, Exposure, Filename, Sequence, or Title.

8 ADD A CREATIVE BORDER
As mentioned above, the Overlays panel can be used to add creative information to your images. Here’s an idea, thanks to Sean McCormack. First, create a border file in Photoshop with semi-transparent edges and nothing inside the border. Save the file as a PNG file, then click in the Identity Plate preview, and choose the border.png file. Next, click on the triangle in the lower-right corner of the Identity Plate preview and select Custom (your border identity plate), then modify the positioning and scale of the border to fit over the photo.

9 PRINTING TO JPEG
When sending images to a lab, you’ll need to convert the files to JPEG. So, in the Print Job panel, choose Print to: JPEG File, then make your print selections: File Resolution; Print Sharpening—Standard typically works best; Media Type (Matte or Glossy) for the type of paper; and JPEG Quality. Turn on the Custom File Dimensions box, hover your cursor over the file dimension numbers, then click-and-drag left or right to decrease or increase them. Finally, choose a color Profile and Rendering Intent by clicking on the menu options.

10 DESKTOP PRINTING: PAGE SETUP
Before you send a photo to your desktop printer you’ll want to set up the page dimensions and orientation. Press Command-Shift-P (PC: Ctrl-Shift-P) or click the Page Setup button located at the bottom of the left-side panels area. This will open the Page Setup dialog where you need to first select your printer (Format for), the Paper Size, and the Orientation (vertical or horizontal). As a side note, it’s typically best to leave the Scale set to 100%.

11 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 1
In the Print Job panel, select Print to: Printer, then choose the Print Resolution. Add Print Sharpening based on the file’s output resolution and media type. Keep in mind that this Print Sharpening is added to any sharpening that you may have already done in the Develop module. In most cases, you’ll find that Standard Sharpening will work best.

Note: If your printer is capable of printing in 16-Bit Output, then select that option; however, if you’re printer doesn’t print in 16-bit output, selecting this option will slow the creation of the print.

12 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 2
In the Color Management section, first select the Profile for the printer. Next, choose either Perceptual or Relative Rendering Intent. Select Relative when you have fewer colors that are out of gamut, as Relative rendering preserves all of the in-gamut color, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to what it determines as the closest reproducible color. Choose Perceptual if you have many out-of-gamut colors, as it tries to preserve the visual relationship between colors, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to colors that can be printed.

13 PRINT TO PRINTER , PART 3
Finally, we’ll open the printer’s dialog to finalize the print settings. Press Command-P (PC: Ctrl-P) or click on the Print button (at the bottom of the right-side panels area). Note: Your printer’s Print dialog may be different.

In the Print dialog, you’ll want to select the media (paper) type and turn off color management. Both of these steps are equally important, but it’s especially critical that the printer color management is turned off because we’re printing with a custom profile. Now click OK and, if you’re like me, wait with excitement as you printer creates the final print.

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG

1 ADD STARS AND LABELS
After importing your images into Lightroom, it’s time to find the keepers. First, press G to enter the Library module Grid view. Scroll through the entire set of photos to become familiar with them. Then go back to the top, click on the first image, and press E to enter the Loupe view. Use the Right and Left Arrow keys to navigate through the images. When you find a keeper, press 1–5 to give it a star rating, or 6–9 to assign a color label. The star and label ratings appear in the Toolbar below the images.

2 FILTER TO FIND KEEPERS
With your images rated and ranked, use the filter features to sort the wheat from the chaff. The quickest way to access the filters is to press Command-F (PC: Ctrl-F). Next, click on the Attribute tab and choose an option for filtering (we’re sorting based on a one-star rating and red label). Now, you’ll only see the images you tagged with those rating values. To focus on the images, press the Backslash key (\) to hide the Library Filter menus. To minimize the interface even further, press Shift-Tab to hide the Module picker, Filmstrip, and the left- and right-side panels areas.

3 DEVELOP MODULE BASICS AND TIPS
Press D to navigate to the Develop module. Open the Basic panel by clicking on the panel name or by pressing Command-1 (PC: Ctrl-1). Move the sliders to improve the image. For more control, press Option (PC: Alt) while moving the Exposure, Recovery, or Blacks sliders to switch to a view that reveals a clipping mask. For faster image processing, press the comma and period keys to select the different adjustments in the Basic panel. The adjustment option will appear as an overlay on top of the image (as shown). Then press the plus (+) or minus (–) keys to increase or decrease the values, respectively.

4 USE THE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH
Now it’s time to work on more specific or localized aspects of the photo. Choose the Adjustment Brush (K) from the Toolbox. Next, modify the sliders for the type of effect you’d like to create, such as Exposure. Next, select a brush Size, Feather, Flow, and Density. Feather controls the edge transition of the adjustment. Flow controls the rate of the adjustment (typically a lower amount works best). Density controls the overall intensity of the effect. Turn Auto Mask on to limit the adjustment to a specific area; turn it off to make a more general improvement. Paint the adjustment on the image.

5 ADJUSTMENT BRUSH SPEED TIPS
The Adjustment Brush is one of the most revolutionary improvements in Lightroom 2; therefore, it’s worth learning how to quickly work with this tool. Press the Left and Right Bracket keys ( ) to decrease and increase the brush size, respectively. Press Shift- to decrease and increase the brush Feather. Press 0–9 to change the Flow amount. After you’ve started to use the tool, press the O key to turn the mask overlay on and off. To better evaluate the mask, press Shift-O to cycle through the different mask colors (black, red, green, and white).

6 OPEN IN PHOTOSHOP AS SMART OBJECT
After completing your work in Lightroom, you might want to take the photo into Photoshop to add some finishing touches. You can open images to Photoshop several different ways, but here I want to highlight the new Open As Smart Object option. This technique gives you extra flexibility once in Photoshop. In Lightroom, press the G key to enter Grid view, Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the photo, and select Edit In>Open As Smart Object in Photoshop.

7 WORK WITH SMART OBJECTS IN PHOTOSHOP
With the image open as a smart object in Photoshop, you can continue your normal Photoshop workflow; for example, you could add a Curves adjustment layer, apply a filter, etc. The advantage of using smart objects is that they preserve the source image, allowing you to make nondestructive editing to the layer. The photo layer will appear with the smart object options. Double-click the Smart Object thumbnail to open the RAW image in Adobe Camera Raw to modify or change any of the RAW adjustments. As you can imagine, this added bit of flexibility is extremely helpful.

8 CONVERT TO BLACK & WHITE
After completing and saving your work in Photoshop, it’s time to head back to Lightroom. And let’s say you want to convert another image to black and white. Select the photo and press D to select the Develop module. Next, press Command-3 (PC: Ctrl-3) to open the HSL/Color/Grayscale panel. Click on Grayscale to access the Grayscale Mix controls. Move the sliders to darken or brighten different areas of the photo, or click on the Target Adjustment tool (circled) and click-and-drag up or down on the image to increase or decrease the brightness of that area, respectively.

9 LIGHTROOM GRAYSCALE AND VIRTUAL COPIES
To evaluate your progress, press the Backslash key (\) to toggle between before and after views. The problem is that when converting to grayscale, the before view goes all the way back to the original color image, making it impossible to compare different types of black-and-white adjustments. To remedy this problem, select your grayscale image and press Command-’ (PC: Ctrl-’) to create a virtual copy. Next, make further grayscale adjustments and then press \ for before and after views.

10 OPEN AS LAYERS IN PHOTOSHOP
Virtual copies allow you to create two different versions of the same image. In this example, one version has no sharpening and a high luminance noise-reduction amount to reduce the noise and soften the sky, while the other version has normal sharpening applied. To take advantage of both settings, press G to enter Grid view. Select both images, Control-click (PC: Right-click), and choose Edit In>Open As Layers in Photoshop. This will open both photos in one layered Photoshop document.

11 LAYER MASKING IN PHOTOSHOP
The layered document contains two photos: one processed with the sky in mind and the other processed for the foreground. To combine the two photos, select the sky layer and click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Next, choose the Brush tool (B) and paint with a soft-edged black brush across the lower portion of the photo. This will conceal the foreground so that only the sky shows through. If the mask edge is too sharp, Photoshop CS4 now has the ability to soften the edge by increasing the Feather amount in the Masks panel (Window>Masks) to better blend the layers.

12 USE LIGHTROOM FOR PHOTOSHOP PANORAMAS
The new Photoshop CS4 auto-blend and auto-align features are better than ever and are used for a wide range of purposes, including creating panoramic photos. To take advantage of these features, in Lightroom press G to enter Grid view. Select the files you’d like to combine, then Control-click (PC: Right-click) and choose Edit In>Merge to Panorama in Photoshop. This will open Photoshop and the Photomerge dialog. It’s usually best to choose the Auto option. New to CS4 are the options for Vignette Removal and Geometric Distortion Correction for better results with photos captured with wide-angle lenses. Click OK to create the pano.

—CREDIT: RALPH CLEVENGER

13 CROP PANO IN PHOTOSHOP
Now you’ll need to crop your panoramic photo. Choose the Crop tool (C) and click-and-drag over the image. The grayed-out area shows what will be cropped. Move any of the anchor points to resize the crop. Press Return (PC: Enter) to apply the crop. For faster results, double-click inside the crop area. Another great way to crop is to use the Rectangular Marquee tool (M). Click-and-drag over the area of the image you want to keep, then choose Image>Crop to remove the unwanted area.

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

1 IMPORT PHOTOS
Choose File>Import Photos from Disk to import photos from a memory card or folder into the Lightroom catalog (our photos are in a folder). Click Choose. In the Import Photos dialog, set File Handling to Add Photos to Catalog without Moving so they’ll remain in that folder. Next, add global Keywords that are relevant to all the images, then set the Initial Previews (we chose 1:1 as it gives the best preview). (Note: These previews will take longer to render and increase your catalog database file size.) Check Show Preview to see your images (you can change the thumbnail size with the slider). Finally, click Import.

2 RENAME
Now that we’ve imported the photos, it’s time to begin some organizational work. At this juncture, there are a number of different directions that you can go. Because we’re exploring workflow, you might want to rename the images now. In the Library module, click on one of the images, then press Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A) to select the remaining images. Then choose Library>Rename Photos or press F2 to open the Rename Photos dialog to select a new naming convention, then click OK.

3 ADD KEYWORDS
Adding keywords to photos can help you manage your image database, and the keywording improvements in Lightroom 2 are amazing. To add keywords, open the Keywording panel in the Library module, select one or more images, and then click in the Click Here to Add Keywords field to add keywords tags in alphabetical order. As you add keywords, you’ll notice that Lightroom automatically builds a Keyword Set out of the recently added keywords. In addition, when you select another image, Lightroom will suggest keywords. Click on any of the Keyword Suggestions or Keyword Set words to quickly add new keywords to your image.

4 FLAGS, STARS, AND LABELS
Flags, stars, and labels are used to rate or rank your images. To evaluate your images, press the E key to enter Loupe view in the Library module. Below the image, you’ll notice the Toolbar; press the T key to toggle the visibility on and off. Click on the flag, star, or label icons to add the different rating possibilities to the image, or use one of the following shortcuts: Press P for Flagged, U for Unflagged, X for Rejected; press 1–5 to add a star rating; press 6–9 to add a label rating.

5 FILTER BY ATTRIBUTE
Now that you’ve marked which images are best, take advantage of this information and filter out all of the images that you don’t want to work with. In the Library module’s Grid view (G), you’ll see the Filter Bar above the preview area. (Note: Press the Backslash key \ to hide and show the Filter Bar.) Click on the Attribute filtering option. Next, click on the various flag, star, and label icons to filter your images based on specific criteria. In this example, we filtered the images based on the 1-star rating.

6 FILTER BY METADATA
Another way to filter your images is by using the Metadata filtering option. With this filter, you can search based on additive metadata (labels, stars, etc., as we did in Step 5) or by using descriptive metadata (Lens, ISO Speed, Date, etc.). In the Library module’s Grid view, click on the Metadata filter. Next, click on one or more of the filter search categories below. In our example, we filtered the images to just show those captured with the 16–35mm lens. You can further customize your metadata filtering by clicking on any of the metadata column titles and choosing another option.

7 CREATE COLLECTION
After filtering your images, it’s a good idea to create a collection, which is a way to group images. For example, after filtering your images down to your favorites, open the Collections panel. Next, click on the New Collection icon (+) in the Collections panel header and choose Create Collection. In the Create Collection dialog, type in a collection Name and check Include Selected Photos. For even more flexibility, select Make New Virtual Copies.

8 SET WHITE BALANCE
Select an image that you’re interested in working on, then press the D key to go to the Develop module. Press W to select the White Balance Selector tool. Hover the dropper over areas of the image that should be neutral (whites, grays, etc.) and look in the Navigator panel (top left) to see a preview. Next, click on an area that should be neutral, then drag the Temp and Tint sliders to make other subtle and subjective color changes to the image, if necessary.

9 MAKE TONAL ADJUSTMENTS
After you’ve white-balanced the images, it’s time to make tonal adjustments. The quickest way to make these adjustments is by dragging the sliders located in the Basic panel: The Exposure slider sets the overall image brightness; the Recovery slider allows you to reduce the brightest aspects of the image, which can be helpful to recover highlight details; Fill Light lightens the shadow areas; Blacks increases the darkest tones; Brightness mainly adjusts the midtones; and Contrast adjusts the overall image contrast. Modify the sliders until your image looks good.

10 CROP
While typically, it’s best to crop and compose in camera, the Crop Overlay tool in Lightroom can help improve your overall composition. Press R to select the Crop Overlay tool (this shortcut works in all of the modules). Next, click-and-drag any of the four corner points and position the crop over your image; the grayed-out area will be cropped. For an even better crop view, press the O key to cycle through the various crop overlays. These overlays can help you determine which crop will work best. To apply the crop, press Return (PC: Enter) or double-click inside the crop area.

11 ADJUST DETAILS
Before you output the image, work on the details. In the Develop module, open the Detail panel. Generally speaking, the Sharpening Amount controls the overall intensity; Radius controls the extent of edge sharpening; Detail affects small details (use a low Detail amount for people and medium to high amount for other subjects); and Masking limits what’s sharpened (use a high amount to limit sharpening to the edges). The Noise Reduction sliders allow you to reduce both Luminance and Color noise. Use the Chromatic Aberration sliders only when you need to fix color fringing that can occur when shooting with wide-angle lenses.

12 CREATE PRINT COLLECTION
Now we’ll print some photos, so click Print in the Module Picker. Because we don’t want to print all of the images, let’s make a Print Collection that will serve as a subgroup of images that we’ll print. In the Filmstrip, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the images you want to add to the collection, click the New Collection icon in the Collections panel header, and choose Create Print. Name your collection, check Include Selected Photos, then click Create. (Note: To see larger images for your selection, press G to enter the Library module’s Grid view and create your collection there.)

13 DESIGN PRINT LAYOUT
Open the Layout Engine panel and choose the layout that fits your printing needs. Select Contact Sheet/Grid for a more rigid, grid-based layout; choose Picture Package for a more free-form layout. We chose Contact Sheet/Grid then moved down to the Layout panel and modified the Margins, Page Grid, Cell Spacing, and Cell Size to create a “collage” print of the selected images. Continue to modify settings in the other panels in the Print module to further customize the print layout to suit your needs.

14 PRINT
Before you print the images, head down to the Print Job panel. Select Print to: Printer for desktop printing, or JPEG File if you’re sending the images to a lab to be printed. Next, enter a Print Resolution, then turn on Print Sharpening and select Standard, as this seems to work best with most images. Select the paper Media Type. Choose the appropriate paper Profile for your printer (we’re using the profile for the Epson 3800 Enhanced Matte paper), then select a Rendering Intent. Typically, Relative works best so try that first. Finally, click the Print button below the panels.

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

1 CORRECT COLOR AND TONE
Before beginning the black-and-white conversion, correct the color and tone to bring the image to a “normal” starting point (and minimize later exposure problems). With your image open in Lightoom, press D to select the Develop module, then press W to choose the White Balance tool. Click on an area of the image that should be neutral. It’s best to choose something other than pure white: Try something that’s off-white or gray. Next, adjust the Exposure, Recovery, Fill Light, Blacks, Brightness, and Contrast sliders so that the image looks good.

2 QUICK CONVERSION PREVIEW
How do you know if an image will look good in black and white? Certain photographers have the gift of being able to identify good tonal relationships and “see past the color.” But what about the rest of us? Using Lightroom, it’s as simple as pressing the V key, which will give you a quick black-and-white conversion based on the Develop module Temperature and Tint sliders. Think of this as a quick way to see past the color to determine the black-and-white potential. Don’t expect this conversion to look amazing: Remember it’s just a starting point!

3 CONVERT TO GRAYSCALE OR DESATURATE?
After we’ve determined that the image looks good in black and white, the most important step in getting good black-and-white images is to remove the color from the image in the Develop module. If you press V to Convert to Grayscale, Lightroom displays the Grayscale sliders, but…the more superior option is to “stay in color” and remove the saturation manually. Just go to the Develop module’s HSL panel and lower the Saturation slider for each color. While more time-consuming, this option allows you to make stronger adjustments without adding unnecessary noise (compared to converting to grayscale).

4 CREATE A DESATURATION PRESET
It would take forever to convert your images to black and white if you had to lower the saturation sliders for each color, so instead, let’s create a preset. Select an image that hasn’t been adjusted and in the Develop module’s Saturation panel, lower the sliders to remove the saturation from the image. Next, click on the plus icon in the Presets panel. In the New Develop Preset dialog, enter the Preset Name (Desaturation), choose the Folder (User Presets), and click Create. Now you’re set for the next time you want to convert an image to black and white.

5 VIRTUAL COPY
Now that our image is desaturated, we’re about ready to begin making adjustments. We’ll want to see a quick before/after to determine if the adjustments look good; however, by pressing the Backslash key (\) to do this, it will display the original color image. How can we ensure that our “before” is the desaturated image? The easiest way is to create a virtual copy, which will then act as our “original.” Just press Command-’ (PC: Ctrl-’) and the virtual copy will appear to the right of the original image in the Filmstrip.

6 TARGET ADJUSTMENT TOOL
Select the virtual copy from the Filmstrip and in the Luminance section of the Develop module’s HSL panel, click on the Target Adjustment tool. This tool lets you change the luminance of specific areas of your image. For example, to darken the tonality of the sky (which used to be blue), move the Target Adjustment tool over the sky, click, and drag down. To brighten the shorts (formerly red), click on them and drag up. As you progress, evaluate the quality of the adjustments by pressing the Backslash key (\) to toggle between the before and after view of the image.

7 BASIC ADJUSTMENTS
At this point, the image is looking much better but as a result of the Luminance adjustments, the overall contrast and tone of the image has become a bit muted. In the Develop module’s Basic panel, use the Tone sliders to make any needed final adjustments. In our example, we wanted to create a high-contrast image so we brightened the image using Exposure, Fill Light, and Brightness while at the same time increasing Contrast and Blacks, and slightly decreasing Recovery. (Although these adjustments are subjective, I based them on my knowledge of my printer and paper type.)

8 VIGNETTING
Lens Vignetting is a critical step that many photographers overlook. In Lightroom, Lens Vignetting allows to you darken or brighten the corners and edges of an image. In the Develop module, open the Lens Corrections panel. Under Lens Vignetting, move the Amount slider to the left to darken corners or to the right to brighten corners. Move the Midpoint slider to the left to apply the vignetting adjustment to a larger area or to the right to limit the adjustment to the corners.

9 NOISE REDUCTION
When you convert a color image to black and white and make significant tonal adjustments, you run the risk of adding noise—although there’s a risk, oftentimes the risk is well worth the reward. So, be on the lookout for noise. In this particular image, we made substantial tonal adjustments to the sky, so that’s where we need to look. Open the Detail panel in the Develop module. Click on the warning (!) icon, which will zoom the image to 100%. Examine the image and increase the Luminance slider to remove any noise.

10 SHARPENING
When you reduce the noise in an image, you simultaneously reduce sharpness. Therefore, we’ll need to add some corrective sharpening while being careful not to exaggerate any noise. First, increase Amount to adjust the overall intensity of the sharpening, then modify Radius to adjust the size of the details that are sharpened. On this image (as with most images), we’ll have a relatively low Radius because the details are small. Next, modify the Detail slider, using a lower setting to focus the sharpening on the edges. Finally, increase the Masking to further limit the sharpening to the edges.

11 BEFORE/AFTER
After all of this work, it’s easy to overlook something, so I find it invaluable to look away from the computer, stretch, blink a few times, and then look back. Next, use one of the shortcuts to toggle between the before and after view of the image. As mentioned previously, try pressing the Backslash key (\) to toggle between the before/after view of the entire image. But try pressing the Y key to get a more interesting side-by-side view of the before/after image, or Shift-Y to view a split view (as shown).

12 CREATE ANOTHER VIRTUAL COPY
Let’s make one final virtual copy so we can experiment with the image even further in the next step. (I use virtual copies almost like layers or history snapshots, as they allow me a certain amount of creative freedom.) Press the shortcut Command-’ (PC: Ctrl-’) to create a virtual copy. Remember that when you create a virtual copy, it’s automatically stacked with the master photo. To expand and collapse the Stack in the Library module Grid view, press the S key.

13 ADD COLOR TINT
Many of the traditional black-and-white printing processes add a bit of tone to the final print—there’s something compelling about a slightly toned black-and-white image. Here’s how: Select the virtual copy created in Step 12, then open the Split Toning panel in the Develop module. Determine the color by moving the Hue slider, and the intensity of the color by moving the Saturation slider. Try adding a mix of color to the Highlights and Shadows. Finally, use the Balance slider to fine-tune the strength of the Highlights/Shadows adjustments.

1 FAST FILTERS
One of the advantages of digital capture is the ability to create a high volume of photographs; on the downside, as photographers shoot more, it becomes more difficult to find images. Not to worry, the new Filter feature will help. Press G to enter Grid view in the Library module. Next, click on one of the filtering options: Text, Refine, or Metadata. Use Text to type in words to search based on filename, metadata, and more; use Refine to search based on rating, flag, or label; or use Metadata to search based on a newly enhanced set of criteria.

2 COOL COLLECTIONS
If you used Collections in the previous version, forget what you know because that feature is now smarter and more functional. Accessing Collections from the left-side panels area in the Library, Print, Slideshow, and Web modules, you can use them to create groups or sets of images based on specific criteria. Use “regular” Collections to group selected images and use Smart Collections to group images based on specific predefined metadata. To create a Collection or Smart Collection, select multiple images in the Filmstrip or the Library Grid view, click the plus icon, and choose the type of collection from the list.

3 ADDING KEYWORDS TO IMAGES
On the right-side panels area in the Library module, you’ll find two panels to add/manage keywords in Lightroom: Keywording (see Tip 4) and Keyword List. Start by selecting one or more images in the Library Grid view. To use the Keywording panel, just type keywords in the space provided, separating the keywords with a comma. If you’d like to use the Keyword List panel instead, just click on a keyword and drag it over the image thumbnail, or click on the image thumbnail and drag it over to the specific keyword.

4 KINETIC KEYWORDS
Now you know how to add keywords to your images, but it takes time. Here’s some great news: Keywording just got simpler and the more keywording you do, the faster it will become. New to this version is the Suggested Keywords feature: When you add one keyword, Lightroom will do some serious behind-the-scenes work to figure out what other keywords might also be appropriate (suggestions are based on time, subject matter, other keywords, and more!). If you like the suggestion(s), just click to add the keyword to the selected image.

5 DEVELOP IS DYNAMIC
The Develop module is where you make your images really come to life. It’s the most important module in Lightroom and it’s incredibly important to learn how to navigate quickly. Did you know that in Lightroom 2 Beta, you can modify your images without using your mouse? Here’s how: Press Option- (PC: Alt-) to scroll through and target the various adjustments in the Basic panel. And once you highlight the adjustment name, press Option-+ or – (PC: Alt-+ or –) to increase or decrease the slider amounts. Add the Shift key for greater increments.

6 RAW PAINTING IS RADICAL
One exciting capability of Lightroom (and of RAW image processing in general) is being able to make nondestructive adjustments to your images. In Lightroom 2 Beta, this capability has been extended to retouching with the all-new Retouch tool (circled). This is about more than a new tool; this is about a new way of thinking. We can now make retouching edits, burn and dodge, and more to our images without drastically increasing file size or without permanently affecting the pixels. For many photographers, this will literally revolutionize how we work on our images.

7 INTRO TO THE RETOUCH TOOL
Click on the Retouch tool under the Histogram in the Develop module (or press K) to open the menu. Next, click on the menu to the right of Paint to select the type of effect you’d like to modify or paint: Exposure, Brightness, Saturation, Clarity, or Tint. Then define the Brush: Size is the overall size of the brush; Feather, the hardness/softness of the brush; and Flow, the intensity of the effect. (I recommend that you start with a low Flow amount and then slowly build up more of the effect.) Just click and begin painting on the image.

8 RETOUCHING: NEXT STEPS
Once you’ve “painted” with the Brush, it’s time to add some finishing touches. First, hover over the retouching node to see a preview of the retouched area, then click on the node and drag to the left or right to decrease or increase the amount of the overall effect. Or click on the Edit button in the retouching controls to modify the retouching. If you’re content with the overall edit, click New to add another retouch effect to the image. If you don’t like the retouching, click on the node and press the Delete key.

9 SLICK SPLIT TONING
Split Toning gives you the ability to add color tone to highlights and shadows. It’s a unique feature that you can use to add subtle or dramatic visual interest to your images. In the past, using this feature was a bit awkward but with this latest release, it’s sophisticated and simple at the same time. To choose a color, click on the color swatch to open the color selector dialog (shown here). Click-and-drag to choose a new color or drag the Hue and Saturation sliders.

10 DELICIOUS DETAILS
The Detail panel has also been upgraded in Lightroom 2 Beta. Previously, this panel only contained Noise Reduction and Sharpening; now it includes Chromatic Aberration sliders as well. In this way, you can really focus on all the small detail work at one time. But wait…there’s more: a 100% preview window built right into the panel so that you can actually preview the effects of the sharpening!

11 VERY COOL VIGNETTES
Adding a vignette can strengthen your overall image. Because the eye is attracted to brightness, darkening corners or edges of the frame keeps the viewer focused on the subject in the frame. Many photographers have taken advantage of the Vignettes feature in the Develop module in Lightroom, except in previous versions, this feature didn’t work when you cropped your image. Now in Lightroom 2 Beta you can choose a Post-Crop vignette that follows the size and shape of your crop. Sweet!

12 GROOVY GRID AND PICTURE PACKAGE
There’s nothing more exciting than seeing the final print of an image. And now, printing in Lightroom 2 Beta is better than ever. In particular, there’s a new layout feature called Picture Package in the Print module that gives you incredible layout flexibility. The Layout Engine panel allows you to choose between Grid and Picture Package to print multiple images on one (or more) page(s). Choose the Grid layout for a standard grid or Picture Package to position images freely on a page without the confines of a grid.

13 PROLIFIC PRINTING
In the previous version of Lightroom, printing was a bit limited, but you can now define Print Resolution, Print Sharpening, and even print to 16 Bit Output. Another new feature is the ability to Print to JPEG File: In the Print Job panel, choose Print to: JPEG File to view the other menu settings (as shown). Then define File Resolution, Print Sharpening, Custom File Dimensions, and Color Management. These settings will ensure that all your end results will be as good as possible.

14 MULTIPLE MONITORS ARE MONEY
When you’re working in a software application, screen real estate is always a consideration. This is especially true when working on photographs because it’s so critical to minimize the interface to really focus in on the image. Now in the Lightroom 2 Beta, there’s support for multiple monitors. Just click on the monitor icon (Show Secondary Window) above the Filmstrip on the right and you can view images on a second monitor in Grid, Loupe, Compare, and Survey mode.

1 UNDERSTANDING DATABASE CATALOGS
Many of my colleagues say, “The Lightroom database catolog thing is daunting…I don’t even know what a catalog is!” At first glance, it does seem confusing; so let’s dispel this misconception. For starters, a catalog is simply how Lightroom tracks file location and remembers file information—file previews, metadata, Develop module settings, ratings, keywords, and collections. Why have catalogs? They provide flexibility in managing, identifying, and organizing photos and media files. For example, you can transfer files from a laptop to desktop and preserve the changes. Think of a catalog as something that contains file location and information.

2 WHY CATALOGS MATTER
Understanding catalogs is important for two reasons: First (and maybe most importantly) is that certain catalog techniques can optimize performance, i.e., make Lightroom run faster. As your image library grows in size and scale, you’ll need to take specific steps to ensure Lightroom runs quickly. The second benefit is that catalogs allow you to work in Lightroom without any loss of information across multiple computers. In this case, catalogs become instrumental.

3 CATALOG SETTINGS—BACKUP
Catalogs contain valuable image information; therefore, it’s critical to back up your catalogs frequently. Choose File>Catalog Settings and in the dialog that opens, from the Back Up Catalog drop-down menu (under the General tab), choose how frequently the current catalog is to be backed up. How much you use Lightroom will determine how often the catalog needs to be backed up; for example, power users would choose at least Once a Week. This way, if a catalog is accidentally deleted or becomes corrupt, the backup file may help you recover your data.

4 CATALOG SETTINGS—OPTIMIZE
One of the main advantages of using Lightroom is that it gives you quick access to large collections of images; however, you may experience performance issues as your database of images grows or if you’ve removed a number of files. If you feel as if Lightroom is “chugging,” your first plan of attack should be to Choose File>Catalog Settings and in the dialog that opens, click the Relaunch and Optimize button. Optimization takes a couple of minutes but it’s well worth the wait!

5 CATALOG SETTINGS—FILE HANDLING
To quickly view your images, the Lightroom catalog contains important file previews, and as your image library grows, the number of previews grows as well. So, in the Catalog Settings dialog, first click on the File Handling tab and choose a Standard Preview Size that’s no larger than your monitor resolution; e.g., if your laptop resolution is 1280×800, choose 1280 or less. Next, choose Medium for Preview Quality, which is probably best for most users. Finally, to keep your catalog file lean and mean, choose After 30 Days in the Automatically Discard 1:1 Previews field.

6 ONE COMPUTER, MANY CATALOGS
Another way to increase performance is to use multiple catalogs, thus preventing one catalog from becoming too big. Choose File>New Catalog, name your catalog, and save it in a specific folder. (I recommend saving all your catalogs in one location.) To open a catalog, just choose File>Open Catalog. The number of catalogs you use will be contingent upon how much you shoot. (I know one prolific wedding photographer who creates a new catalog for each wedding; on the other hand, a colleague of mine only creates a new catalog for each calendar year.)

7 ME AND MY COMPUTERS
Working with catalogs is critical when using multiple computers. Consider the following scenario: I use a laptop when traveling or on location, and while on the road, I import and process my images in Lightroom (I also back up the images to two external hard drives). Upon returning to the studio, I need to transfer the files to my studio backup system to, you know, back up the files and access them from my desktop. (Note: The following techniques will be effective when using any type of computer.)

8 LAPTOP TO DESKTOP—EXPORT
To export your catalog choose File>Export as Catalog. (Think of exporting a catalog as similar to taking your images, proof sheets, etc., and boxing them up to be sent to a new location.) Name your catalog and choose a destination folder. Be sure to check the Export Negative Files and Include Available Previews options, as these are the best choices when moving an entire catalog from one computer to another.

9 LAPTOP TO DESKTOP—IMPORT
The catalog is now ready to be imported to the studio backup system so you can access it on your desktop computer. Open Lightroom on the desktop and choose File>Import from Catalog. (I like to think of importing a catalog as a merger.) What literally happens is the laptop and desktop catalogs become one, with the end result a “super” desktop catalog that contains all of the laptop catalog images, previews, information, etc.

10 LET’S SHARE
Other Lightroom workflow scenarios require sharing images and database catalogs, and in these situations, the workflow model is based on teamwork. In the following steps, let’s consider a workflow where a photographer shoots and then imports and processes images in Lightroom. After the photographer has completed her work, an assistant adds keywords to all of the images, then finally, a studio manager will deliver the images to the client.

11 PHOTOGRAPHER—EXPORT
The first step in this scenario is for the photographer to import and process the images in Lightroom. Once she has completed the workflow, she’ll have to export the catalog. This step is identical to Step 8: Choose File>Export as Catalog, then name the catalog, and select a destination folder. Because the catalog will be shared, it’s critical to check the Export Negative Files and Include Available Previews boxes.

12 ASSISTANT—OPEN AND EXPORT
The next step is for the assistant to add keywords to the images. In this case, the assistant will need to open (as opposed to Import) the catalog (File>Open Catalog). The catalog will then remain intact (it won’t be merged with another catalog). When the assistant’s work is complete, he’ll need to export the catalog (File>Export as Catalog)—again choosing a name and destination for the catalog and checking Export Negative Files and Include Available Previews (because the catalog will be shared).

13 STUDIO MANAGER—OPEN
For the final step in this scenario, the studio manager opens the catalog to manage the images and deliver the files to clients, etc. In this case, the process mirrors the initial procedures in Step 12: Choose File>Open Catalog. The process is now complete.

Note: If the studio manager needs the assistant to do some more keywording, the catalog would have to be exported.

14 GOOD OL’ ACHILLES
Now that you’ve learned some Lightroom database skills to improve your overall workflow, let’s not forget about the Achilles’ heel! So what’s our potential weakness? The database catalogs and our images live on hard drives that have a limited lifespan. Therefore, make sure to follow the words of Peter Krogh, digital asset management guru: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Put your files on at least three hard drives.” If you haven’t backed up your files recently, let today be the day—you won’t regret it!