day 2 with the x100

No unsharp mask but the sliders work well.
If your doing the trial version, try the Nik plugins.
Silver Effex2 & Color Effex will turn you on.
Free trials from them also....

Victoria, The Lightroom Queen has a great guide you can download also...
The best out there.
Don
 
Joe,

Here is my introduction to Lightroom and how it differs from many other post-processing programs.



Lightroom, LR, is essentially a database. The database contains every parameter change you ever applied to an image. LR's database is called the Catalog. When you open the image, LR goes searches the Catalog for the history of parameter changes you applied to the RAW data, and then it applies those changes and renders an image. The RAW data itself is never changed. Virtual copies let you compare and virtually save images with different processing parameters. Snapshots let you temporarily save your processing parameters. Neither Virtual Copies nor Snapshot duplicate the image on your hard drive. They only contain the processing parameters you applied to each virtual version.

Unless you produce an extremely large number of images per year, it is best to use a single Catalog. Catalogs are not meant for organizing your work (See below). Do not use Catalogs as an organizational tool. I use two Catalogs: one for my commercial work and another for my personal projects. If you do decide to use more than one Catalog, the need to transfer images between the two Catalogs should be a rare event.

So, you must back up your Catalog. The location of the Catalog in your file system is found using the top left LR menu: Catalog Settings. The Catalog location can be changed and Catalog back up automation options can be set in LR's preferences menus. Another way to protect your work is to automatically convert the RAW files into Adobe's DNG upon import. This conversion does two things: it applies lossless compression to save space, and it creates XMP sidecars files. The XMP files also contain all parameter changes applied to the RAW data. Now your changes are saved in two different places and when you back up the DMG files, you also create another back up of your processing work. DNG conversion can also be done after import.

The original RAW file is never modified. When you open a RAW file an image is rendered based on:

o whatever parameters were applied to the RAW data in the past

or

o for the initial import LR uses the color temperature data from the RAW file, it applies a standard medium contrast curve, and conservative noise filtering and sharpening parameters.

LR lets you create Presets. Your Presets (and other useful operations such as back up to an external hard drive) can automatically be applied upon import. If you make, and save, a Preset to apply a linear contrast function and set noise filtering/sharpening to zero, you can apply this Preset during import and start with an unmodified image.


Organization with LR

Only use LR's Collection Sets, Collections and Smart Collections to organize your work (not your data) within a Catalog. Collections offer you complete organizational flexibility. And you can easily execute major reorganizations when necessary.

Always let LR organize your data. Your data are the Folders with the original image files. When you make a change in your LR Folders, LR executes scripts to actually move and rename files and directories around on your hard drive. Never move or rename images or folders) outside (independently) of LR. LR will loose track of the folders and images. There are methods to make LR find files moved outside of LR, but this is tedious and a waste of time.


Summary


Catalog: a database of all parameter changes made during processing and records organizational hierarchy (Collections) of your work.

Folders: How and where LR stores and organizes the original image files on your hard drive.

Collections: An internal organization system for you design and build for your own needs.
 
willie_901 said:
Joe,

Here is my introduction to Lightroom and how it differs from many other post-processing programs.



Lightroom, LR, is essentially a database. The database contains every parameter change you ever applied to an image. LR's database is called the Catalog. When you open the image, LR goes searches the Catalog for the history of parameter changes you applied to the RAW data, and then it applies those changes and renders an image. The RAW data itself is never changed. Virtual copies let you compare and virtually save images with different processing parameters. Snapshots let you temporarily save your processing parameters. Neither Virtual Copies nor Snapshot duplicate the image on your hard drive. They only contain the processing parameters you applied to each virtual version.

Unless you produce an extremely large number of images per year, it is best to use a single Catalog. Catalogs are not meant for organizing your work (See below). Do not use Catalogs as an organizational tool. I use two Catalogs: one for my commercial work and another for my personal projects. If you do decide to use more than one Catalog, the need to transfer images between the two Catalogs should be a rare event.

So, you must back up your Catalog. The location of the Catalog in your file system is found using the top left LR menu: Catalog Settings. The Catalog location can be changed and Catalog back up automation options can be set in LR's preferences menus. Another way to protect your work is to automatically convert the RAW files into Adobe's DNG upon import. This conversion does two things: it applies lossless compression to save space, and it creates XMP sidecars files. The XMP files also contain all parameter changes applied to the RAW data. Now your changes are saved in two different places and when you back up the DMG files, you also create another back up of your processing work. DNG conversion can also be done after import.

The original RAW file is never modified. When you open a RAW file an image is rendered based on:

o whatever parameters were applied to the RAW data in the past

or

o for the initial import LR uses the color temperature data from the RAW file, it applies a standard medium contrast curve, and conservative noise filtering and sharpening parameters.

LR lets you create Presets. Your Presets (and other useful operations such as back up to an external hard drive) can automatically be applied upon import. If you make, and save, a Preset to apply a linear contrast function and set noise filtering/sharpening to zero, you can apply this Preset during import and start with an unmodified image.


Organization with LR

Only use LR's Collection Sets, Collections and Smart Collections to organize your work (not your data) within a Catalog. Collections offer you complete organizational flexibility. And you can easily execute major reorganizations when necessary.

Always let LR organize your data. Your data are the Folders with the original image files. When you make a change in your LR Folders, LR executes scripts to actually move and rename files and directories around on your hard drive. Never move or rename images or folders) outside (independently) of LR. LR will loose track of the folders and images. There are methods to make LR find files moved outside of LR, but this is tedious and a waste of time.


Summary


Catalog: a database of all parameter changes made during processing and records organizational hierarchy (Collections) of your work.

Folders: How and where LR stores and organizes the original image files on your hard drive.

Collections: An internal organization system for you design and build for your own needs.
Click to expand...


wow, thanks willie...that was a mouthful!

pse seems so simple in comparison...i really need to loosen up a bit and be more flexible...
 
It seems like LR is complicated, but really once you set up your import procedures you never have to worry about where your files are ever again. One fantastic thing you can do is to set up to make automatic backup copies of your files to multiple locations as you read them off the card.
 
The shots look great, Joe. I still find that I get the occasional blown out (exposure) shots, too.



/
 
Thanks M4streetshooter and Joe.

PSE actually seems much more complicated to my me. I guess it just comes down to what you are used to using.
 
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