LightningSymphony

Lots of folks have already blogged this, but Adobe updated Lightroom to version 2, and added support for the Nikon D700 (unofficially, though). If anyone wants to send me a D700 for testing, just drop me a note and I'll make time in my schedule to accommodate you.

John Nack (linked above) lists some of the highlights in this release, so I'm going to ramble a bit about why I'm finally going to add LR to my imaging lineup.

First off, I'm doing more and more actual photography, where I want the image to be done right in the camera. And while I am writing a book on composite photographs using Photoshop, I want to keep my photography at the highest quality I can on its own. Yes, Photoshop has most everything I need, but I want to keep my brain on the images themselves for some projects, and LR has more flexibility in tweaking photographic images.

As a user group manager, I have been obligated to point out that Adobe has always meant for LR and PS to be used together, though either can stand alone for their own particular target audiences. Indeed, you can survive quite nicely as a photographer using only PS (the converse is not true for designers and LR). However, I never figured I needed to make the kinds of adjustments LR is capable of. That is changing, and it is mostly due to my changing perspective on photography alongside the availability of a more powerful image tool, LR.

If you are a PS user and a photographer, join me in adding LR to your lineup. It may take some getting used to, but I think it will be worth it to keep focused on a photography work flow that is distinct from an imaging or designing work flow.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinions on this.

Labels: Design, Photography, Photoshop