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Landscapes and Lightroom

lightroom landscape 1

Lots of Clarity in Lightroom makes the details pop. Graduated filter recovers washed out areas. Click for Before-After comparison.

First off, an admission: I’ve never been much of a landscape photographer.

It’s never very been high on my photography interest list, because I’m drawn more to people and action—two things that are generally absent from landscapes.

Nevertheless, when I find myself in beautiful surroundings—like the jaw-dropping red-rock country of Sedona, Arizona—I naturally want to pull out the camera and bring home some knock-out photos. (more…)

Meetups, Models, and Photo Retouching

Meetup Model Photo

Click to enlarge

Last week I participated in a “Models and Photographers” Meetup event where I took the photo at left. If you’re an aspiring photographer, or even a pro looking to meet new models or experiment with new techniques, I highly recommend using Meetups (www.meetup.com) as a low-cost, low-stress way to get out in the field and work with like-minded people.

In my city there are at least a dozen photography Meetup groups, many of which hold events at least once per week. Some Meetups charge a small fee to help cover administrative costs, but usually everyone involved is working for trade to build their portfolios (called TFP).  At last week’s meetup I found half-a-dozen would-be models and a similar number of photographers all working hard to create great images together with no financial pressure, and no expectations except that any good photos would be provided to the model afterward.

My photo above got some attention from the group, because other photographers who shot the same model in the same location did not get equally good results. They asked me to explain how I made the shot, and I happily obliged (sharing our techniques is one purpose of this group).  I thought you might enjoy the explanation as well. (more…)

Perspective Correction in Lightroom 3

For me, this feature alone was worth the $99 upgrade from Lightroom 2. And it’s just one of many improvements. If you want to buy me a beer, use one of the links below when you buy or upgrade.

Click Here for Lightroom 3 at Amazon.com

Upgrade from Lightroom 2 to 3 at Amazon.com

Video: Introduction to Adobe Lightroom Workflow

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Box

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is the premiere photo managment software for digital photographers.  It can handle your entire photo workflow from importing images, to organizing, editing, printing, and exporting to websites like Picasa, Flickr, or your own custom-made web galleries.

I just created a free 23-minute video tutorial illustrating the process of working in Lightroom. If you’re considering buying Lightroom, or if you’re a new Lightroom owner looking to get more out of the software, this video is for you.

In this tutorial, I walk you step-by-step through my own Lightroom workflow, narrating as I process a set of photos from camera import through organizing, renaming, editing, and exporting as a fully-functional flash web gallery.

If you’re curious about Lightroom, I invite you to check it out on my photo tutorials page.

See Lightroom at Amazon.com

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