Lightroom Killer Tips

Dynamic Watermarks

Aaron Westgate — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:16:17 +0000

Recently, some one asked if they could add a watermark to their photos with the current year on them. So basically, Lightroom would have to figure out the year from the metadata (probably not hard) and dynamically add it to the photos when you export them into JPEGS (not so easy). So, there's really no way to do this, but there is an pretty decent workaround using the Filter Bar which is an area I think a lot of people miss out on. Enjoy!

Using External Drives

Aaron Westgate — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:41:49 +0000

I saw a great question on my Facebook page the other day (btw... here's my Google+ and Twitter pages too) and it's one that I get asked quite a bit whenever I'm out teaching Lightroom. The question was basically this: let's say you store all of your photos on an external drive (like I do). Eventually that drive gets full and you buy a larger drive. How do you get your photos to that new drive and make it so Lightroom can see them? Luckily it's really simple and it works the same with just about any version of Lightroom. Check out the video to see how.

Creating Calendars in the Print Module

Aaron Westgate — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:43:26 +0000

Hey everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the Lightroom Holiday template ideas that I've shared this week so far (and if you did, please share via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc...). Sadly, today's the last day, but I'm sure I'll be covering other ideas next year as I come up with them. I did save one of my favorites for last though - creating calendars in the Print module. It's really simple to do and looks great for the new year. You can create one calendar each month or you can create a whole year's worth so it's pretty flexible too. Here's the link to the iStockphoto image(s) that I used, but as I showed you in the video, there's a ton of other ideas out there as well.

More Holiday Graphics

Aaron Westgate — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:10:26 +0000

Continuing on with the Lightroom template/tip-a-day theme this week, today's video builds on what we did on Monday. We used the Watermark window to give our photo a frame. In that example, though, the holiday graphic was pretty much the dominant graphic in the image. This time, I've got a few ideas for you to keep the photo as the center of attention and just use smaller graphics around it. Also, in case you're looking, here's the link to the red bow image that I used as well as the one with the holiday bell ornaments and swirlys in it. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Holiday Slideshow Ideas

Aaron Westgate — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:32:36 +0000

In keeping with my Lightroom template/tip a day for the holidays this week, I've got a video for you on how you can incorporate some holiday graphics into your slideshows. If you haven't been following this week, I figured I'd do a video each day this week showcasing a way to use holiday graphics and templates inside Lightroom. Think of it as the 5 Days of Lightroom Christmas. Today's tip involves using the Slideshow module and one of the things you can do to customize it so you're backgrounds fit the occasion better. Also, in case you're wondering, here's the link to the iStockphoto.com image that I used in the tutorial. Hope you have fun with it!

Holiday Print Templates

Aaron Westgate — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:55:31 +0000

Today I've got a really cool print template idea and it works perfect for holiday (or any theme really) photos. There's a little bit of Photoshop work involved too, but if you watch the video through, you'll see that you don't really have to go through all that work.

Holiday Templates

Aaron Westgate — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:36:48 +0000

I'm in the holiday spirit so I thought I'd do a video each day this week showcasing a way to use holiday graphics and templates inside Lightroom. Think of it as the 5 Days of Lightroom Christmas. Today I'm kicking things off with a way to trick the Watermarking feature in Lightroom 3 to put graphics on top of your photos instead of just a watermark. Also, in case you're wondering, here's the link to the Fotolia.com image that I used in the tutorial. But seriously... the sky is the limit here. There's literally hundreds if not thousands of images out there that you can use for this so explore a little on your own. Enjoy!

Skin Softening in Lightroom

Aaron Westgate — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:12:29 +0000

Over the last couple of months I've taught a few Lightroom seminars around the country. One of the tips I show is using the Adjustment Brush for softening skin. It goes over amazing! People absolutely lose their minds over this one. Mainly because unless you know Lightroom really well, you'd never know there was a skin softening brush in it. Plus, people who like using Lightroom like staying in Lightroom and not going over to Photoshop. This is just one more way that helps you do that. Enjoy!

Installing and Organizing Presets

Aaron Westgate — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:53:29 +0000

I realized that I have various videos and tips on installing and organizing presets. Since I refer back to this video constantly whenever I release new presets, I thought it'd be a good time for an update. And since I was updating the "installing" video, I figured I could include the "organizing" part too since it goes hand-in-hand with presets. So here's the latest on installing and organizing presets. No need to bookmark it because I'll make sure I always mention it whenever a new preset comes out. Thanks!

Colorizing Presets

Aaron Westgate — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:47:14 +0000

First off, I wanted to let you know I've been posting over at Google+ as well. If you haven't started an account yet, give it a try. It seems to be a great place for photographers. And Circle me while you're at it :) A while back I created some presets that colorize specific colors in a photo. I wanted to do a quick video today, though, to show you why I create several versions of each one. As you'll see in the video, presets in Lightroom offer a great added benefit of live previews without even applying the preset itself. It's something we don't get if we were to create presets, say, in Adobe Camera Raw or even any of the presets that come with Photoshop.
Also, here's the link to the Colorizing presets that I mention in the video. Hope you enjoy!