Photoshop Lightroom 2 Beta Training: Free Lightroom 2 Videos
Lightroom 2 Public Beta
Adobe has announced a public beta of Lightroom 2. Anyone can download and use the beta, however the program will expire after 30 days for people who don't currently have a Lightroom 1 license. In an unprecedented move, Adobe will allow existing Lightroom customers to send invitations to friends. The invitation will contain a serial number that will last the full term of the public beta. (A good place to request an invitation) This beta is for Mac and Windows users.
A Quick note on Beta: Not everyone understands the word Beta. It's the second letter in the Greek Alphabet, meaning that it's really early. This means that the program isn't finished, it's an early build. A beta isn't recommended for production work, it's more for evaluation and feedback to Adobe. You expect some features to be buggy, and even occasional crashes. Don't complain to Adobe about stability issues, it's a beta, it's a work in progress. There is
no warranty with this program. You can't import your LR1.3 Library in the beta. Adobe says that you will be able to import in the final Shipping version. There are even chances that the Library you create won't work in the final Shipping version, so don't get too carried away with building perfectly indexed libraries. Just download, install and enjoy!
What's new in Lightroom 2? :: By Colin Smith
There are quite a few changes in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Beta. (I'll just call it Lightroom 2 from now on.) The first thing you'll notice is that the interface has changed a little bit. The left Panels have been simplified. The collections are available in the Print, Slideshow and Web modules. This allows you to work with collections for output.
Lightroom 2 in 25 Words: The killer feature is localized adjustments. Check out Multiple Monitor support, Smart Collections and Photoshop Integration that includes Smart Objects, Panorama Merge and HDR Merge.
OK, you'll have to watch the videos and read the article for the rest. Here's a quick list of new features.
You'll see that there is now a preview in the detail panel. This allows you to see the effects of sharpening, noise reduction and fringing without having to go to 100% in the viewer. You can drag around in the preview pane or click the pin and drag out over the image. As you drag you'll notice you have a live loupe.
Collections
Looking at the Collections Panel, it's not hard to see some changes here. You can easily add collections and organize them into sets. Check out the video demo of this feature.
64 Bit
Yep, Lightroom 2 is a 64 bit application!
Smart Collections
Smart Collections are similar to what exist in Bridge but with a lot more power. You can create a live collection based on a set of rules. For example, set it up to show all the Photos taken on a particular camera or lens, date or one of many other criteria. Ok, to get really cool try holding down the Alt/Option key while adding a criteria and you can fine tune with variables. Whenever images are added to the Catalog and they meet the criteria, they will automatically display in the smart collection. I like to set a keyword for web gallery or portfolio. This way all the images I need are available in a single click. Add the fact that collections are now visible in other modules, I can quickly create a web gallery. see Smart Collections tutorial.
Filter Bar
The Filter Bar is a really useful way of filtering your images. (This has nothing to do with special effects filters for confused Photoshop Users. Filters in Lightroom refer to showing and hiding images based on a set of defined criteria). You can easily add different criteria and quickly whittle through large collections and find the photos you need. You may have remembered keyword filters in the left panel in Lightroom 1 , and there were filters in the bottom, and... everywhere. Thankfully they are all in one place at the top of the viewer where they belong. To top that, the feature is way more powerful than it was in the past. Use the \ key to show/hide the Filter Bar in the Library Module. Hold down the shift key to combine categories at the top.
Localized Adjustments
It's hard to believe that it would be possible to paint in a non-destructive workflow. It's happened though. You can now paint on adjustments. These include, Brightness, Exposure, Clarity, Saturation and Color Tint. The way it works is through masks. Lightroom allows you to paint a mask and fill it with an adjustment. See the video on this feature. When a mask is created, all changes are made by clicking on a little circle that's added with each mask. You can roll over the circle to reveal the mask. Press the Alt/Option key to erase from the mask.
Adjust Opacity:
Click on the circle and drag to the right to lower the intensity of the adjustment, or to the left to increase it.
There's an option called auto-mask. When you turn this on, Lightroom 2 tries to detect edges and constrain the mask to similar color and tones. It actually works quite well as you can see in the screen capture.
Multiple Monitors
A feature that's always been in rival Aperture, is multiple monitor support. Right now, Lightroom's multiple monitor support blows Aperture's out of the water. The really killer feature here is the loupe view. At the top of the loupe are 3 options. Click on Live. Choose Grid view(G) on the main monitor an now you have a super loupe. The second monitor will display whatever the mouse rolls over on the main monitor. This even works in the filmstrip. Try increasing the scale of the loupe to 1:1 view. It's surprisingly fast, especially for beta software.
Photoshop Integration
Lightroom has always had Photoshop Integration. Lightroom 2 offers expanded support and new ways of Integrating with Photoshop CS3. See it on video (You will need to update Photoshop to 10.0.1). When you right click on an image, you'll see Open in Photoshop CS3, an exciting new Open As Smart Object, and 3 multiple images options which will only be available if you have selected multiple images. The Open As Smart Object allows for you to keep the image as Raw file. This allows you to make raw adjustments in Photoshop. At this point you can't save the file and keep it as Raw in Lightroom. Perhaps they will add this support before Lightroom Ships?
Opening Multiple images in Photoshop.
There are 3 options for opening multiple images in Photoshop. These options are really welcome if you've ever had to export images to create HDR or Panorama.
- Merge to Panorama: Allows you to create a seamless panorama from multiple images.
- Merge to HDR: Create an HDR image from selected images in Lightroom.
- Open as Layers in Photoshop. Create a single Photoshop Document with stacked layer.
Print Module Changes
There is a new Option at the top of the Print Module. This is the Picture Package. You can now create multi-page picture packages. Drag images in from the filmstrip, or click the preset sizes in the module. You don't have to wrangle your images around to see how many you can squeeze on the page. Choose the shoe horn options: Choose Auto Layout to maximize efficiency for printing.
Other Print Module updates
Some photographers are sending images to online printing houses and need to convert to jpg There is now a jpg printing option that allows you to add compression and sharpening o the jpg files. This will also be useful for emailing photographs.
Another option is more accurate Print Sharpening options.
 Post-Crop Vignette
When you use the vignette feature to add creative effects to a picture it works well, until you crop the image. When you crop the vignette, it stays in the original image bounds. There is now a new option called framing. This applies the vignette to the cropped area. All this happens non-destructively. You can add black or white framing options.
Summary
I can't really rate Lightroom 2 because it's still in beta. But so far, there are some really useful changes. The new features, especially the Photoshop Integration, local Adjustments, Smart Collections and Dual Monitor support really make for an exciting release down the road. So what's better, Lightroom or Aperture? I really don't have an answer on that right now. Stay tuned for a shoot-out coming soon,
We have a full one hour video avalibale on all the new features of Lightroom 2 Beta. This is free with the Lightroom For Digital Photographers Disk.
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