Lightroom updated

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.

DIY Home Photography Studio

I've started a series on building a do-it-yourself (DIY) some photography studio. The first article considers the concepts and introduces some of the terms I'll be using through the anticipated 5-part series. There are several sites out there that tell you how to build this or that, and many of them have great information.

What they lack is philosophy. Why do you want to build a home studio? How do you know what you need? When can you DIY versus having to go out and buy the real stuff?

My approach is to educate readers about the fundamental aspects of a studio setup. I am not going in to wiring diagrams, optical theory, or even shooting aesthetics. What I am going to do is give folks a set of tools they can use to evaluate their own needs and capabilities. More than anything, this will guide the enthusiast to making good choices about lighting and scenery, and help them balance elements that sometimes conflict, like reflection and detail, or efficiency and cost.

You can check it out at CommunityMX. There is a form at the end of the article you can use to send feedback or questions.

Future installments will talk about equipment and improvisation, and will go into more detail about how to approach building a home studio out of real-world, but non-obvious items. Find out how a USB hub can handle some tricky lighting situations!