By Ryan Klos, Calumet Photographic

In February 2007 Adobe released its full version of Photoshop Lightroom 1.0, a photo management and RAW conversion software program for photographers. After more than a year of beta testing and photographer feedback, the final version delivers an array of tools and features that are well worth the investment.

Several articles about Lightroom are available online discussing all the tools it has to offer and its capabilities, but this review will focus on my personal experience using the full version.

First off, having used both Apple’s Aperture and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, I can say both are very good at what they do. However, Lightroom’s performance, intuitive interface and standard labeling of functions is what has me sold. Both programs feature similar capabilities and are alike in many ways, but I’m not here to compare the two. I’m here to let you know how Lightroom performs under real-world working conditions.

Importing and File Management
Lightroom handles hundreds, even thousands of images, RAW, JPG or almost any other file format, with no problems whatsoever. I imported more than two-thousand images from past and recent shoots and was able to categorize, keyword and rate them accurately and quickly. The first time around I only imported about 30 images so I could see how the function behaved. Once I understood how Lightroom’s import function worked, I selected the remaining couple thousand and imported them with ease. Lightroom was working with a database of my images—it doesn’t do anything to the image’s pixels like Photoshop—so I felt comfortable importing everything. Any changes or alterations I would be making would only affect image data (which can always be reverted back), not the actual pixels. When I imported, I pulled images from several places (not all at once) and copied them to new folders on an external USB 2.0 hard drive. It wasn’t lightning-fast, but any speed limitations likely had to do with the USB interface more than with Lightroom.

After I finished importing, I created a few Collections. This function was a great way to pick my favorites or specific images I might use for a specific purpose like a web page or presentation. I created collections of images on the fly for several different purposes—vacation, stock, portraits and family—pulling images from several different folders and locations. I was able to use the same image in a few different collections, too, without duplicating the file. The fastest way to make these collections was by searching for a specific keyword or group of keywords I’d already added, then create a new collection and drag all the images into that collection. I could even create collections based on date, lens used or any other metadata collected in-camera. A helpful browsing function was the ability to view folders. Lightroom automatically keeps track of folders you’ve imported images from, which is especially useful when you want to look at all the images from a specific shoot. After organizing my database in the Library module, I was anxious to get to the Develop module to see how Lightroom handled RAW data.

Basic Developing
Of all the RAW conversion programs I’ve used, Lightroom offers the most thorough control when it comes to tweaking my RAW data. If you’ve used Adobe’s Camera RAW (ACR), Lightroom is like ACR on steroids. Heavy steroids. As I processed my images I brought out color and detail I didn’t even know was there. I zoomed in and out of my images using the loupe view for expert detail when fine-tuning. Getting tones right required little explaining and after only a short time of testing each function within the Develop module, it all came naturally and easily.

The Develop module gives you access to the regular adjustments you’d expect like temperature, tint and exposure, but it allows for more fine-tuning when you get to tones. Here you can dial in your exposure, recovery, fill light and blacks using the sliders. In Photoshop this would have taken multiple layers or adjustment layers, but with Lightroom you can balance and tweak these sliders appropriately to give your images pop and definition to achieve the look you envisioned at the shoot, even if your capture is off a bit. While ARC has a similar feature, I felt like Lightroom’s controls were more precise.

Next in the Develop module is the Tone Curve. Similar to the curves tool in Photoshop, the Tone Curve is more intuitive by allowing you to adjust only certain regions: highlights, lights, darks and shadows. You can adjust the curve three different ways: 1. click and drag on the curve, 2. drag the sliders, or, 3. use the target point on a specific color in your image dragging up or down to increase or decrease the tones you’ve clicked on. The target point method makes it easy to adjust tones of a certain area without having to guess. This is new to Lightroom 1.0 and very friendly to use with pinpoint accuracy.

Up next, HSL/Color/Luminance adjustments. Again, Lightroom makes it easier than ever to fine-tune your image, this time with regard to color. One of the most common places I find I need to make adjustments is in skin tones and using Lightroom made this a snap. For example, one of my models had slight reds in his face. Under color I clicked on “Reds” and was able to adjust hue, saturation and luminance that affected reds only. I could have stayed under the HSL heading, clicked on Luminance and adjusted red there, but because I wanted to focus on reds only I chose to work in the Color heading. One thing you’ll notice about Lightroom, there are several ways to do the same thing, and several more to achieve similar results. It will depend on what look and feel you’re trying to accomplish that will determine how you use the tools.

Another way to tweak the color in your images is by using the Split Toning section in the Develop module. Here you can selectively add color to the highlights and shadows of your images (much like simulating gels). This is a powerful tool once you fully understand its depth but requires lots of playing.

Lastly, in the Develop module are detail settings like sharpening and noise reduction. I have to say, I’m impressed with Lightroom’s ability to handle noise reduction as compared with ARC in CS2. Not sure what Adobe did here but it seems to be their best noise reduction effort yet. Without knowing exactly what they did, all I can say is it works extremely well. Even after adjusting the luminance and color of the noise reduction, Lightroom seemed to pinpoint the most troubled areas without “smearing” edges and colors of other, more detailed areas. As for sharpening, I don’t tend to use sharpening too often, but for the sake of this review I did. I was equally impressed with this tool’s functionality. It seems that all the controls in Lightroom 1.0 are more accurate and do the job they are intended to do while leaving everything else alone. Of course, as with any sharpening tool, you can over-do it if you’re not careful. Subtlety is best when working with this tool, but the results give enough punch to provide some added definition to your edges.

After all the photo “developing” in Lightroom, I had a few images to which I wanted to apply masks and Photoshop filters. When I went to edit in Photoshop, Lightroom opened the image as a PSD of the RAW file in Photoshop (you never make permanent changes to the RAW files, even when transferring between programs). When I finished my changes, I saved and went back to Lightroom. The new image was stacked with the original, and if necessary, I could re-open that saved Photoshop file and make more changes. Lightroom continues managing this file and any other versions of it I create. As such, it has become a sort of home-base for my entire workflow.

Print and Web
After working with the images, I moved over to the Print module. While printing from Lightroom was very good, you may need to spend some time getting settings right for your printer, but that’s to be expected with any program. After several tests, I finally dialed in my settings with a Canon inkjet and achieved expected results. The photos I printed are ready for my print book. Overall, the print module allows several options for contact sheets and print packages and, depending on your printer, several more options for adjusting output.

Finally, the Web module. Many software packages feature quick web gallery capabilities, but Lightroom excels in this area both in layout and ease-of-use. The preset templates are elegant, simple and customizable with your own nameplate (set up in preferences). If you already have web space, creating a web gallery takes only a few minutes to publish. I selected 30 images from a portrait shoot, chose my template (Flash or HTML) and hit export. From there I took the exported folder, uploaded it to my site, and like that it was done. Gotta love simple. For some, the templates may be too simple or basic, but given what they are, they serve their purpose well without sacrificing a professional feel.

Summing it Up
Contrary to the many rumors out there, Lightroom is NOT a replacement for Photoshop. It was never intended to be. What Lightroom is, is a digital darkroom for processing, managing and “developing” your photos. Adobe employs its refined RAW conversion engine and makes importing and managing images a snap (I even converted my RAW files to DNG during import). Developing your images with its tools is almost overwhelming—in a good way—because you can finally control everything. It’s easy to get carried away if you’re not careful. While there’s a bit of a learning curve, it’s slight, and Adobe has done an excellent job of getting the word out about how to use Lightroom and even offers several free tutorial videos at their site. This review couldn’t touch on nearly every exciting feature in Lightroom, but there are many great websites out there with more information, tutorials, videos, tips and tricks. Check them out at the left of this page.