[Steve]

I have installed Lightroom and on the face of it I like what I see. I have also watched a few of the tutorials that Micheal Stipes has on his website (link posted already on Pixalo) but I am still lost as to the best way to ‘begin’

Unlike my previous editor (RawShooter premium) its apparent that Lightroom is also a cataloguing application as well as an image processing package. I also vaguely understand that it can automatically tag images as it imports them. Now since I have a massive library of images on my computer I would like to get this process right from the start (to save me going back over it later) and totally welcome any advice you can give me to enable me to avoid the newbie mistakes that are so common with new software.

Also I believe that there is a converter due to be released that will take all my settings from the carriage files created by Rawshooter and apply them to Lightroom. My question is that Rawshooter does not alter the RAW files at all and instead keeps all adjustments in a separate file, what's the story with lightroom? is that also no destructive and does it also store adjustments separately or duplicate the images with the adjustments ?

That’s the first questions…once I have that bit sorted I will post my next lot of issues

[Dabhand16]

This is the very reason that I have entered the world of LR very cautiously. Getting it right first time will save so much work later.

Charlotte recommended the Martin Evening book that I have found really helpful. I'm lucky as I don't have that many images to import/catalogue, but for someone like yourself, I think it will be worth just tinkering for a while so you can get the feel of the package.

When you make changes to an image, the new file is saved alongside the original. You can specify where the new image is stored - after the original or before in the library. When you have made ajustments, the original will show '1 of 2/3/4' etc when the cursor is hovered on the image, and the original image will also display icons in the bottom RH corner to indicate what you have done to it.

I think the real power of LR is this indexing facility. The other controls are similar to CS3.

[j sotelo]

This link might be of some help Art of RAW Conversion
This also is a GREAT website I learned tons from this one Free Lightroom Tutorials - Adobe Lightroom Tips & Tricks
And who wont look at Lightroom Killer Tips Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips
hope this sites help you.

[stepheno]

Originally Posted by Steve

I also vaguely understand that it can automatically tag images as it imports them.

I'm not sure what you mean by this? As far as I'm aware you can set metadata and keywords as you import but only for the batch. I prefer to just do a clean import and then apply key words individually afterwards.

LR is definitely a learning curve and needs some perseverance. After a while things start to fall into place. To me the good thing is that the library will import my current folder set-up so I think getting that right first is important. Effectively LR reflects the folders I have on my HDD. LR can then check for missing/added images on request.

To me the neat thing is the use of Collections. I use Folders as a permanent catalogue but use Collections for all sorts of temporary uses eg half a dozen shots for Pixalo. A Collection can then be removed.

I was a bit like yourself at first - how can anything replace Rawshooter? Well for me LR has...took some time but I think the perseverance was worth it.

[Dabhand16]

I'm still at the bottom of the learning curve, but I think you can save metadata in various templates so that you can select appropriate metadata from your 'stock' to apply to an import. I think you can also edit this data before applying it if you need to add/subtract stuff.

[stepheno]

That is true Graham but only worthwhile if you want to apply the same template to a large batch.

[Dabhand16]

Beg to differ. If you regularly shoot (say) a local football team, without necessarily taking huge numbers of shots, it could be quite useful to be able to recall a metadata template pertaining to the team or the venue. Then You only need to recall the template and apply it to the current images.

In a season it could have considerable savings rather than re-typing the metadata every time you shoot the team.

[Dave Canon]

It is true that Rawshooter saves adjustments in a separate files so that the original RAW file is unaltered. As I understand, it Adobe Raw 4.1 (which is used by LightRoom and CS3) stores your changes to RAW files in the metadata. The changes are thus parametric and can thus be altered again or removed. Thus the original Raw data is still there.

Another option is to convert your Raw files to DNG and you can store the original camera Raw file within the DNG but is makes it rather large. I have decided to just go ahead and trust Adobe's parametric adjustments as I hardly ever go back and alter a RAW file having once made a conversion.

[Charlotte]

Re: adjustments to RAW files, Dave is correct, there is no separate file containing the adjustments, like other RAW editors do. However, any changes you do CAN be undone. You can revert an image back to its original state (reset all changes) or you can reset individual adjustments ... hold ALT + click the relevant button, e.g. alt+saturation button resets the saturation level to the "as shot" level.

Re: attaching keywords at import, I agree with Stepheno ... I tried it once, but forgot to reset the keywords at the import stage for the next group of images ... result was that all the photo's in that import had the wrong keywords Therefore, I recommend Stepheno's method of attaching keywords later.

I've used LR quite a bit now, + previously made some comments on my findings, which I hoped would be of use to other members ... they are mainly in an earlier thread called [something-something] Lightroom