I'm so excited!

[JulieM]

Check out Matt's Monday Presets (http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/) for today. He designed a preset based on my suggestion for something similar to the Midnight filter from Nik Color Efex. I can't wait to try this one out! :):):) Oh my gosh, I just went back and read the rest of his post - I'm getting a free one-month subscription to Kelby's Online Training!!!!!!!

[NMarti]

Julie
Fantastic! Congratulations to you. That is so cool. I want Lightroom but the cost is kind of steep for me right now. Sure wish they would have a sale! :D

[Chuck S.]

Julie, excellent! I tried Matt's effect on a picture with a nice blue sky and it really turned it into a more interesting photo:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/119n44Ate1DzwU1wCB0ihP5H0Ux0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=119n44Ate1DzwU1wCB0ihP5H0Ux0)

Great idea and great implementation by Matt!

[lisabee]

Congratulations Julie :), that's great,
do let us know how the training works out, won't you.

Lisa

[msbrad]

Great news Julie.
I will have to check out that link.
m

[mrod]

That's awesome, Julie! Congrats! I'm on the verge of signing up for the online training myself.

And, maybe I need to think more about Lightroom. Sometimes, it just seems like one more thing to learn...

Mike

[nkeevers]

Wow, that is great Julie! I like the effect! I downloaded the preset...can't wait to try it out! You go girl!!!

[scubaman]

Gday all, hay i found on one of the post a link to download the matt k rendition of the midnight affects you are all talking about. I got it as a zip file and unzipped it but dont know if 1) it doesnt work with pse6 or i did something wrong. can some one let me know. when unzipped it shows 3 seperate files. i saved it in my photoshop downloads folder and i see them there as independant files after the unzipping as i said but i am lost there. thanks

[robpendragon]

Awesome! Nice preset, I can't wait to load it when I get home from work:D

[robpendragon]

Gday all, hay i found on one of the post a link to download the matt k rendition of the midnight affects you are all talking about. I got it as a zip file and unzipped it but dont know if 1) it doesnt work with pse6 or i did something wrong. can some one let me know. when unzipped it shows 3 seperate files. i saved it in my photoshop downloads folder and i see them there as independant files after the unzipping as i said but i am lost there. thanks

It's a preset for Lightroom. I don't think it works for PSE.

[JulieM]

Hi Scubaman,

Matt's new preset is written for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom so it won't work in PSE. The original filter I asked Matt to duplicate was written for PSE, however. You can find it at NIK Software (http://www.niksoftware.com/colorefexpro/usa/entry.php?) as a free trial or for purchase. It's part of the Color Efex Pro 3.0 Complete or Standard editions. They are wonderful filters but rather on the expensive side. Sorry for confusing you!

[scubaman]

do any of you use pse 6 and the lightroom. I have the pse6 and i have heard that they have made it similar to the light room program. I would like to hear from those of you that do have both and if their really is that much of a benefit to use the lightroom over pse6. I just hate the idea of having 2 seperate catalogs of photos for the 2 programs. who gets the import first thing ya know. Thanks

[JulieM]

I played around a bit with Matt's Midnight preset. I found the effect really varied depending on the image. On some images, the vignetting appeared as a big circle in the center of the image. I think this is one preset which requires quite a bit of tweaking after it's been applied to get the desired effect. Here is one that I took into PSE :eek: afterwards to make it more like the NIK effect. I added a gaussian blur, toned down the colors, and applied more sharpening:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/12fTmK2OkzgHVrn6KVlQekIa4Vjvo_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=12fTmK2OkzgHVrn6KVlQekIa4Vjvo)

I feel working with presets is kind of like making a cake from a cake mix. It's not exactly baking from scratch but adding the water, eggs, and oil makes me feel almost like it is. :D

[JulieM]

do any of you use pse 6 and the lightroom. I have the pse6 and i have heard that they have made it similar to the light room program. I would like to hear from those of you that do have both and if their really is that much of a benefit to use the lightroom over pse6. I just hate the idea of having 2 seperate catalogs of photos for the 2 programs. who gets the import first thing ya know. Thanks

Hi again, Scubaman. Just in case nobody jumps in here to answer your questions about PSE6/Lightroom, I'll suggest that you check out this thread (http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31750). The advantages of Lightroom and how it plays with PSE are discussed there. Hope that helps clarify, but if not, maybe posting your specific question in that thread would generate more responses.

[nkeevers]

Thanks Julie! But I still don't get what Lightroom is exactly. Is it an app to use along with PS or PE or is it a standalone? Is it just for processing RAW, cataloging, etc.?

Why would someone using PE5 need to use Lightroom? Well, if they are not processing RAW which right now I'm not.

I read the link but it didn't give me any insight to what is actually is and who would really benefit from it for $200.

[Jancy]

I just noticed this post - A big CONGRATS to you Julie!!

[GaryK]

Thats great news Julie... congrats.

Im heading up to Ottawa to help you spend your free month.:D

[JulieM]

Nice try, Gary! I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of all family members and pets for a month so I can devote myself fully to the training. You don't fit into my isolation scheme... :D:D:D

[JulieM]

Thanks Julie! But I still don't get what Lightroom is exactly. Is it an app to use along with PS or PE or is it a standalone? Is it just for processing RAW, cataloging, etc.?

Why would someone using PE5 need to use Lightroom? Well, if they are not processing RAW which right now I'm not.

I read the link but it didn't give me any insight to what is actually is and who would really benefit from it for $200.

Some of the other Lightroom users are much better at explaining the program's advantages and maybe they'll pop in later and give you their thoughts. I think the answer to your question is that Lightroom isn't necessary, but it does make processing your images far easier than PSE or CS. The workflow is really simplified, you have adjustments for exposure, white balance, contrast, tone, hue, saturation, and luminosity. All these are very intuitively laid out. You can also do some sharpening, lens corrections, and some noise reduction. For my part, I know that I haven't mastered the techniques required to get the most out of my images in PSE, but in LR I feel my images come to life.

Another appealing feature for me is that LR comes loaded with develop presets (think actions) which let you add effects to your images. These presets can be created easily by the user and people are making them available for download on the internet, so your ability to do creative things with LR is expanding all the time.

I also like LR's organizer, but I never used PSE's to compare the two. And, I can't really speak to the Web, Print, or Slideshow modules in LR because I haven't really explored them thoroughly.

What LR doesn't do is selections, layers, and other aspects of image manipulation. So, LR doesn't stand on it's own if you want to do that kind of work, like in scrapbooking or similar types of image presentations, or creative effects. You'll still need PSE or CS. I know I'm not really helping answer the question of what value it would add for you. I think you might need to try the trial and see! :)

[nkeevers]

Thanks for the info Julie! I think you explained it pretty well! I think I would have to try the "trial" to see if it would be worth my while. Sounds like there are advantages and disadvantages.

[JulieM]

Norma, you look like you do both scrap-type work and also a lot of straight photography. I bet you would like LR... :)

[GaryK]

Hi Norma

If you find that you are doing a lot of photocorrection as opposed to photo/image manipulation then LR is the way to go.:)

[GaryK]

Julie

Don't worry about the family, if they get too boisterous I can take over the training lessons for you. Just so you ucan tend to their needs.:D:D

[JulieM]

Julie

Don't worry about the family, if they get too boisterous I can take over the training lessons for you. Just so you ucan tend to their needs.:D:D

How 'bout you drive the kids to school & arenas, look after my volunteer duties, cook the meals, walk the puppy, and do the laundry while I do my lessons????? :D (I won't ask you to clean the house since I rarely do that!)