Lightroom with Mac

[DawnM]

I downloaded the 30 day free trial. Moving pictures looks like a big pain. I haven't quite figured it out yet but plan to work on it tomorrow.

I have Aperture 3 but never use it because I really don't like it.

Are there any other lower priced photo editing software ($100 or less just for home personal use) options that are more fluid in their interface with a Mac?

Thanks.

Dawn

 

[Shutterbug]

I have an Imac and use Lightroom 3, I like it better than Aperture. Though I probably dont use Lightroom 3 to its full potential in the way of organizing. I mostly use it to edit photos that need more retouching than what Canons Raw program can do.

I wouldnt pay full price for Lightroom, you can usually find a good deal on it. My guess after the holidays and many having new cameras, that there will be some good deals on it.

 

[DawnM]

Then once you manipulate your photo, do you store it in Lightroom or where do you put it? Can you move it back over to iPhoto?

Dawn

I have an Imac and use Lightroom 3, I like it better than Aperture. Though I probably dont use Lightroom 3 to its full potential in the way of organizing. I mostly use it to edit photos that need more retouching than what Canons Raw program can do.

I wouldnt pay full price for Lightroom, you can usually find a good deal on it. My guess after the holidays and many having new cameras, that there will be some good deals on it.

 

[Shutterbug]

Once I edit a photo, I export it to a jpeg folder thats in the same folder of the subject. You can choose to any folder you want to export the photo to. I really dont use Iphoto at all to tell you the truth. Only time I use it is when importing photos from my Iphone.

 

[DawnM]

Hmmm.....in the Youtube that I watched they said not to put anything in jpeg that was shot in RAW or you won't be able to change it.

But I still don't know what I am talking about because I don't even know what kind of folder you are talking about that I can put the photo into.

The video says I need to take the photos out of iPhoto (take them out different depending on if they are jpeg, RAW or already touched up in iPhoto) and then save them to an intermediary folder, THEN load them into Lightroom.

I am lost as to where I put them in this "intermediary place."

Dawn

Once I edit a photo, I export it to a jpeg folder thats in the same folder of the subject. You can choose to any folder you want to export the photo to. I really dont use Iphoto at all to tell you the truth. Only time I use it is when importing photos from my Iphone.

 

[Shutterbug]

Hmmm.....in the Youtube that I watched they said not to put anything in jpeg that was shot in RAW or you won't be able to change it.

But I still don't know what I am talking about because I don't even know what kind of folder you are talking about that I can put the photo into.

The video says I need to take the photos out of iPhoto (take them out different depending on if they are jpeg, RAW or already touched up in iPhoto) and then save them to an intermediary folder, THEN load them into Lightroom.

I am lost as to where I put them in this "intermediary place."

Dawn

I am not sure what they are talking about in that vid, I never use an intermediary folder.

Again I dont use iPhoto at all for my main photos.

This is what I do. I manually create a folder where I will store a subjects photos. I import the the photos from the card into that folder. I then open lightroom and import that folder into lightroom.

Also I dont know why they would say never to save something as a jpeg. Its true that you can make alot of changes to a jpeg file but I dont know why they would say to never do that. Jpegs are needed when you want to post a photo online.
When I save something as a jpeg I am not replacing the original RAW file I am just creating another version of it and saving it somewhere else.

 

[Pixel Dust]

Lightroom doesn't actually modify the original file you import, RAW or JPG. It just saves the changes you make, as smaller instruction coding, into the catalog file. That means you can always go back into Lightroom later and undo or modify those changes. Only when you 'export' will those changes be applied to a new photo, but the original still exists un-modified. This is known as non-destructive editing.

You always want to use the RAW file to edit with. You will need to then 'export' that edited RAW file to JPG so you can display/share it online.

Lightroom 4 is available on sale at B&H photo for $99 and includes a free training DVD for Lightroom.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/845955-REG/Adobe_65165061_Photoshop_Lightroom_4_Software.html

 

[photo_chick]

Hmmm.....in the Youtube that I watched they said not to put anything in jpeg that was shot in RAW or you won't be able to change it.

But I still don't know what I am talking about because I don't even know what kind of folder you are talking about that I can put the photo into.

The video says I need to take the photos out of iPhoto (take them out different depending on if they are jpeg, RAW or already touched up in iPhoto) and then save them to an intermediary folder, THEN load them into Lightroom.

I am lost as to where I put them in this "intermediary place."

Dawn

OK... that video sounds like they don't know what they're talking about.


First... PC or Mac, Lightroom is the same. I've got both here. It's basically the same experience, it just runs a tad slower on the Mac. So PC users should share their experiences in this thread as well.

Now.. Lightroom is non destructive. When you make adjustments to a file it's not really editing the file, it is showing you a preview of the settings you're applying. THen when you export the file out it applies those settings and saves a "finished" file. So when you make all those adjustments to a RAW file and export it as a jpeg it is not doing a single thing to your RAW file. No matter where you save that jpeg. If you don't export the file as a jpeg (or other format) it will keep the adjustments you've made to the RAW file in your Lightroom Library. But again, it hasn't actually made any changes to the file and you can reset to the original state at any time.

I export my "finished" images to a separate folder, but that's totally a personal preference thing. Put them where you want them. As long as you know where they are you're good.

Take the photos out of iPhoto.... OK, you don't have to take anything out of anywhere to use Lightroom. You simply tell Lightroom to import the files from their original location. Go to the library pane and click the plus sign to add folders and then find what you need in the Finder window. It's very simple. It will come up with a window that shows what you're about to import. Add any tags you want and import. The main drawback from doing this if you've been using iPhoto is that you will end up with a thumbnail of each image as well because of how iPhoto works (or at least that's how it used to work, they may have changed it since i quit using it)

 

[jimim]

I personally only use lightroom on a retina MacBook Pro and have used lightroom in the past on various macs since it came out. It is a very user friendly program once u understand how to use it. If u really want to use it I suggest one of the many great books out there from kelby.

Or why not learn in iPhoto? I think it's a good place to start to understand how edit and export to various location and organize ur hard drive and library. I think iPhoto is an easier thing to learn from and grow to Lightroom.

You just need a personal gameplan. Everyone's is different. Everyone will give I a diff answer re storage and workflow. You need to come up with what works for you. Mine has changed over the years and is still evolving but I think reading a kelby book with Lightroom is a good place to start. Or iPhoto like I said.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DawnM]

I have gone as far as I can with iphoto. It doesn't do all I need it to do.

However, I cannot get Lightroom to import directly from iphoto. I may be missing something but it won't open up iphoto and let me import.

Dawn

I personally only use lightroom on a retina MacBook Pro and have used lightroom in the past on various macs since it came out. It is a very user friendly program once u understand how to use it. If u really want to use it I suggest one of the many great books out there from kelby.

Or why not learn in iPhoto? I think it's a good place to start to understand how edit and export to various location and organize ur hard drive and library. I think iPhoto is an easier thing to learn from and grow to Lightroom.

You just need a personal gameplan. Everyone's is different. Everyone will give I a diff answer re storage and workflow. You need to come up with what works for you. Mine has changed over the years and is still evolving but I think reading a kelby book with Lightroom is a good place to start. Or iPhoto like I said.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DawnM]

I couldn't get Lightroom to open any files in iphoto. That is why I went o YouTube to see what I might be doing wrong.

Now, it was quite late last night and I was tired. I will play with it again today and see what I can figure out.

Dawn

OK... that video sounds like they don't know what they're talking about.


First... PC or Mac, Lightroom is the same. I've got both here. It's basically the same experience, it just runs a tad slower on the Mac. So PC users should share their experiences in this thread as well.

Now.. Lightroom is non destructive. When you make adjustments to a file it's not really editing the file, it is showing you a preview of the settings you're applying. THen when you export the file out it applies those settings and saves a "finished" file. So when you make all those adjustments to a RAW file and export it as a jpeg it is not doing a single thing to your RAW file. No matter where you save that jpeg. If you don't export the file as a jpeg (or other format) it will keep the adjustments you've made to the RAW file in your Lightroom Library. But again, it hasn't actually made any changes to the file and you can reset to the original state at any time.

I export my "finished" images to a separate folder, but that's totally a personal preference thing. Put them where you want them. As long as you know where they are you're good.

Take the photos out of iPhoto.... OK, you don't have to take anything out of anywhere to use Lightroom. You simply tell Lightroom to import the files from their original location. Go to the library pane and click the plus sign to add folders and then find what you need in the Finder window. It's very simple. It will come up with a window that shows what you're about to import. Add any tags you want and import. The main drawback from doing this if you've been using iPhoto is that you will end up with a thumbnail of each image as well because of how iPhoto works (or at least that's how it used to work, they may have changed it since i quit using it)

 

[DawnM]

Thank you! B&H also has the Teacher and Student discount for the same thing for $79.

I could really use the Training DVDs!

Dawn

Lightroom doesn't actually modify the original file you import, RAW or JPG. It just saves the changes you make, as smaller instruction coding, into the catalog file. That means you can always go back into Lightroom later and undo or modify those changes. Only when you 'export' will those changes be applied to a new photo, but the original still exists un-modified. This is known as non-destructive editing.

You always want to use the RAW file to edit with. You will need to then 'export' that edited RAW file to JPG so you can display/share it online.

Lightroom 4 is available on sale at B&H photo for $99 and includes a free training DVD for Lightroom.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/845955-REG/Adobe_65165061_Photoshop_Lightroom_4_Software.html

 

[jimim]

I couldn't get Lightroom to open any files in iphoto. That is why I went o YouTube to see what I might be doing wrong.

Now, it was quite late last night and I was tired. I will play with it again today and see what I can figure out.

Dawn

So do u want to add more editing to what u already did in iPhoto? But I'm Lightroom? Or do u want to just reedit from scratch in Lightroom? I would assume the later.

So to get the original files from iPhoto select a photo and go to export. Export it as original file and select a new folder say lightroom. So now u have a new copy of the original photo in a new folder. Then open lightroom and go import find that file and import it. It's now I'm Lightroom. From that point it's up to u for organization. Bit that's how u get original files out of iPhoto and to see here else for use.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Shutterbug]

I couldn't get Lightroom to open any files in iphoto.
Dawn

I dont quite understand what you are meaning here. Are you saying you have Lightroom running and are to open a file that is in a Iphoto folder and its not working?

 

[DawnM]

I downloaded the 30 day trial.

I need to get the laptop out to see exactly what I mean, but when I go to "import" it gives me various files to choose from on the hard-drive.

Even with I click on "pictures" iPhoto is not one of the choices. I can choose photos the kids have taken with the computer itself, but I can't import directly from iPhoto.

Dawn

I dont quite understand what you are meaning here. Are you saying you have Lightroom running and are to open a file that is in a Iphoto folder and its not working?

 

[DawnM]

Huh, I will have to play with it more because I couldn't get them directly from iPhoto.

Yes, I do mean that I will import originals from iPhoto to edit in LR.

iPhoto just doesn't do all I need it to do. Aperture did more, but I hated the program as it is not very user friendly.

Dawn

So do u want to add more editing to what u already did in iPhoto? But I'm Lightroom? Or do u want to just reedit from scratch in Lightroom? I would assume the later.

So to get the original files from iPhoto select a photo and go to export. Export it as original file and select a new folder say lightroom. So now u have a new copy of the original photo in a new folder. Then open lightroom and go import find that file and import it. It's now I'm Lightroom. From that point it's up to u for organization. Bit that's how u get original files out of iPhoto and to see here else for use.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jimim]

Huh, I will have to play with it more because I couldn't get them directly from iPhoto.

Yes, I do mean that I will import originals from iPhoto to edit in LR.

iPhoto just doesn't do all I need it to do. Aperture did more, but I hated the program as it is not very user friendly.

Dawn

Ok so I have to do what I said. Open iPhoto and export all the pics u want to reedit in lightro. When u export choose original for the export option and it will export the original file. Then u can import into Lightroom this new original file.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jimim]

I downloaded the 30 day trial.

I need to get the laptop out to see exactly what I mean, but when I go to "import" it gives me various files to choose from on the hard-drive.

Even with I click on "pictures" iPhoto is not one of the choices. I can choose photos the kids have taken with the computer itself, but I can't import directly from iPhoto.

Dawn

I'm pretty sure when u select the pic folder the iPhoto folder won't show up cause u can import files directly from it. U have to export from iPhoto first to a new location like I said on my above post. With Lightroom I really need to understand how a hard drive sets folders and understand how they flow and how u make them flow.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DawnM]

Now I am confused.

It CAN import directly from iPhoto or it CANNOT? Your post indicated that you can but then you said it needs to go to a new location (what I called an intermediary folder.)

Dawn

I'm pretty sure when u select the pic folder the iPhoto folder won't show up cause u can import files directly from it. U have to export from iPhoto first to a new location like I said on my above post. With Lightroom I really need to understand how a hard drive sets folders and understand how they flow and how u make them flow.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jimim]

Now I am confused.

It CAN import directly from iPhoto or it CANNOT? Your post indicated that you can but then you said it needs to go to a new location (what I called an intermediary folder.)

Dawn

Sorry that was a mistype cause of my iPhone. Like I said above u need to export fist from iPhoto and them import into lightroom.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards