After the installation, you can choose a folder to import to get a good taste of what is in the planned release of the software. Some features may not be visible and may emerge in the final version and others may actually disappear. I did a quick review to see what the changes are, I am happy to say that some features remained stable, some have been improved, and a few new features are added. Those of you who have read my two-part post on my site on Lightroom exposure and Brightness sliders might remember how confusing these sliders were. In a very good move, Adobe software engineers restructured the adjustment tools that appear to be more intuitive and easier to understand. A snapshot of the Basic panel is on the left.

Although it may take some getting used to the new paradigm my initial reaction is positive, they make sense and work as I expect. There are other changes here and there, some new features in the Adjustment Brush panel which may come in handy once we fully understand what they actually do.

There are a couple of new modules, Map, and Book are the new additions. Map will help in geotagging photographs on a world map and the Book module allows creating books on Blurb. Additionally, the book module can export the created collection as a PDF file. The Print, Web, and Slideshow modules seem to be about the same, although I have not fully explored every nook and cranny.

If you import a bunch of photographs that have some adjustments applied in an earlier version of Lightroom the applied adjustments may appear in LR4 as if you are working in the old version. The adjustment sliders will look like that of LR3. If this happens, look for an exclamation mark on the lower right corner of the image display portion of the interface and click on it. That will update the adjustments to the new standards and you will see the new adjustment sliders.

Download your copy from Adobe Labs.

After loading  the software you can plug in your camera to view your images or view the files already on our computer, or on any drive accessible via Windows Explorer.  You must restart your computer after downloading and installing the codec.

Microsoft also offers other photo tools associated with Windows Live including Photo Gallery, you can create a JPEG copy of the RAW image to touch up with Photo Fuse and Panoramic Stitch!  I haven’t downloaded the other features since I Adobe images editing products.Â

DOWNLOAD Microsoft Camera Codec Pack

I installed the filter as a plugin to Photoshop CS5 although it will also work with Lightroom (via Fusion Express freely available from Topaz Labs), Photoshop Elements 6-9, PaintShop Pro, Photo Impact and Serif Photo Plus. To test the filter, I chose a photograph of an owl in which the background could have been a bit more out of focus. After making a new layer to retain the original image, I invoked Topaz Lens Effects. The interface is quite similar to other topaz filters. On the left is a panel of presets, the middle is used for the image preview, and on the right are the adjustment panels.

The process is based on a depth map where black is near and white is far. A graduated map from black to white will create a graduated focus field. Creating a depth map is quite straight forward and simple. Topaz incorporated their selection technology to Lens Effects and choosing the right area is a simple matter of “painting” on the image with the right shade of gray from black to white. They call this “Topaz Smart Brush” and it is indeed quite smart. There is also a gradient brush for quickly creating a more nuanced selection. For the initial run, I wanted the bird to be as sharp as it is and the background to be as blurry as possible. So, I painted on the bird with black and on the background with white and the filter quickly created a very nice selection.

The next step is to work the Focal Plane Adjustment. The first thing to do here is to pick the “focal plane”, essentially which shade should be in focus. I clicked on the button with that name and clicked on the eye of the bird, any point would have done the same since the area covered with the bird is black. This makes the black area in sharp focus and makes it the “foreground” in this example. By moving the “Background Blur Amount” slider all the way to the right, I was able to quickly achieve the effect I wanted.

There are further adjustments that will finesse the effect even more by changing the blade curvature, rotation and others. It is even possible to apply some sharpening to the focus area and adjust the brightness, contrast and saturation. Since there is already a selection in place, it may be smart to make some subtle adjustments here.

A nice feature is to apply some effects cumulatively. When one set of adjustments are done to your satisfaction, clicking on the “Apply” button will make them stick while allowing you to move to a different effect and cumulatively adjust the image. Instead of experimenting with those, I chose to create a more complex depth map which would put the wing in the foreground slightly out of focus. That was quite easy and the mask you see was created with minimum effort.

Like all filters, it is easy to get carried away and one has to be careful not to make the image scream “I AM PHOTOSHOPED!”

It may be an interesting tool in your toolbox. Although much of the results can be obtained in Photoshop, Lens Effect makes the process quite simple. To get a first hand experience, download their free trial version and see for yourself.

Here are the test images I used, the last one shows the first two side-by-side for a good comparison. Note that in addition to blurring the background, I sharpened the foreground, darkened the background and reduced its saturation a little, all in Topaz Lens Effects. As you can see the masking is quite effective and clean.

Topaz Lens Effects is available from Topaz Labs, $79.99. They run occasional sales if you are not in a hurry and remember, PSRI members get 15% off. If you are a member, login and check for the codes under Members Only.

Adobe Store – Lightroom

This presentation was originally scheduled for April 12, 2011 but postmponed to the new date shown due to a guest speaker arriving on April 12, 2011.

Lightroom 3 Overview (Reschedule of cancelled presentation)
May 10, 2011 7:30PM
Approximately 75 minutes

Presenter: A. Cemal Ekin

Lightroom and similar products introduced a new way of working on photographs several years ago. With each new release Lightroom brought new tools and better ways of handling photographers’ needs. In its latest version Lightroom 3 raises the bar even higher. It is internally new as well as having new, and improved old tools.

This session will mainly review the features of Lightroom 3 in a nutshell. It is not meant to be a training session on Lightroom, it will introduce the new tools and explain their benefits to the photographers. Sponsored by Adobe, the session will also have a drawing for various Adobe provided items including a full license of Lightroom 3. The drawing will be held among those who are present and who have completed a short entry form. You have to be present to win any of the prizes.