Review of the Adobe Lightroom 1.0

Given the time that this product spent in public beta it now seems a little strange to be talking about its release. After all, it feels like Lightroom has been a fully paid up member of the Photoshop family for months now, not a few short weeks. Lightroom is the first of Adobe’s photography tools – in recent history – to have been built from the ground up. Therefore, it hasn’t had to pay homage in design, function and/or toolset to the mighty Photoshop. To my mind, much of the strength and success of the program is down to this clean-slate approach and the fact that, also for the first time, Adobe saw fit to consult publicly during the development of the software. With the design based squarely around a non-destructive workflow that can be applied to tens or hundreds of images just as easily as a single photo, this is definitely a photographer’s tool of the 21st Century. At its heart lies two core technologies: a database – that tracks your images, metadata, keywords and their enhancement changes; and an editing engine – that provides the image-processing features and tools needed for image enhancement. These technologies are accessed via a slick interface. The workspace Lightroom’s workspace is divided into three sections. The left panel’s role changes depending on which module or mode you are in, but it primarily houses specific presets and templates for each module. That is, except for the Library module, where the panel holds Find, Collection, Keyword and Metadata options. The filmstrip area runs along the bottom of the screen and displays all images from the currently selected Library. Individual pictures or groups of images can be selected from the filmstrip in any module. The centre of the screen is used for previewing (in Library and Develop modules) or layout designs. Images can be viewed in Grid (a sorting area on a slide box), Loupe (single image preview), Compare (side-by-side) or Survey (multi-image comparisons) whilst in library mode. Loupe View offers the extra feature of a single click zoom that enlarges the picture to 1:1 (or any of a range of preset zoom settings). In Slideshow, Web and Print modules the centre workspace displays a preview of the images as they will appear in the selected layout or design. The right-hand panel houses the settings controls available for the current module. In Library mode it displays some speedy adjustment options. In the Develop module the panel contains all enhancement controls and in the Slideshow, Web and Print modules it houses layout and output settings. Module workflow The module menu appears at the top of the screen and not only lists the options available but also highlights the current one. Lightroom groups its features and tools around five modules – Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print and Web. These reflect the core components of a basic workflow that includes download, arrange, enhance and present steps. Library All image management starts with the Library module, where you can import your photos, arrange them into collections, add keywords and metadata, search your library or browse shoots. All this activity is handled with the options in the left-hand panel; whilst in the workspace you can view your images in Loupe, Compare, or Grid mode and make fast enhancements with the Quick Develop settings on the right. Develop The Develop module is the next step in the workflow and is central to all photo enhancement. Just like when you are working in the Adobe Camera Raw dialogue, the enhancement settings and controls are grouped in a panel on the right of the window. A Presets browser panel that houses ready-made conversion settings, as well as those created and saved by the user, sits to the left. The speed with which settings can be applied is impressive. The enhancement controls grouped in the right-hand panel are not only powerful but logical in use. For instance, the histogram is not just an inert display of the spread of picture tones, it also provides the option to adjust the photo by click-dragging pixels in the actual graph. A similarly interactive approach is used in the Tone Curve and HSL controls, where selecting the direct adjustment feature (small dot on the left corner of the panel) enables the user to click drag on the picture to change image tones and colours. Add in Greyscale conversion and Split Toning Options, plus eight sliders for altering colour and you can do some serious tweaking here. Oh, and the shipping version has both Red-eye and Spot removal tools. Slideshow/Print/Web With quality presentation being a component of most photographic businesses, it is no surprise that Lightroom boasts three dedicated modules for this. Slideshow, Print and Web modules take a selection of photos and build a slideshow, print pages or send to the web in minutes. All modules ship with templates, or design presets for fast results, along with a host of custom controls aimed at those who want to create their own distinct style. Photoshop users who have struggled with its print dialogue for years will rejoice at the simplicity with which you can make adjustments, such as the position and number of images to a page. Slideshows are designed for in-studio presentation and production of self-running PDF presentations. The Web module creates HTML or Flash-based websites with ease and includes a FTP utility for uploading the completed pages direct to your website.