Adobe Lightroom

maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Wow....I've never been much for these types of programs as I always thought people used them to enhance or alter images in an un-natural looking way, but......I have to admitt that it's made a huge difference in cleaning up my images and then editing them so that the colors are as close to natural as possible....Due to white balance, color and type of aquarium glass combined with camera settings, sometimes it's almost impossible to capture images and then reproduce them so that they are as close as possible at being natural looking.... I've had the program for a few days and still trying to figure out all the settings.
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Oh yeah these are the hardest zoas to photograph in my tank, ultra tiny polyps maybe 1/8" but smaller than 1/4 inch.....real pain to try and focus on
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
While these are not the most colorful zoa's they are not the easiest to photograph as they never looked natural after I opened the images. After running thru Lightroom and doing minimal alterations I now have a very realistic image.
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Here are some before and afters, the 1st image I posted a few days ago before I had the ALR program.
Before

After, I did some basic sharpening and noise reduction along with some HUE and other coloration adjustments....I had to keep running back to the tank and look at the frag, then run back to the computer....LOL took me like 10 trips..
 
H

heart & sole

Guest
Wow i thought you pics couldnt get any better then they already were...boy was i wrong...pics look amazing
 
rhagemann

rhagemann

Member
Since Max is out on a reef somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, I'll answer this one for him. Lightroom runs anywhere between $250 to $300 (depending on where you buy it)....not hard to use at all, much easier than Photoshop if you ask me....
 
05xrunner

05xrunner

Active Member
ehhh..I dont think lightroom is all that great. I dont like the layout and they just made it look pretty. You dont have precise slides when adjusting things like exposure, and stuff. I dont like when I am using it and I just have to press a button to see what it does and have no idea how far it took it. I much prefer sliders so I have total control of how much is applied. I think photoshop is MUCH easier and more powerful. Its also double the price.
I personally would look at Photoshop elements for $99 before lightroom. Download them all..they all have trials you can use. Pick the one you like the best and go from there.
 
rhagemann

rhagemann

Member
Lightroom does have sliders in the "develop" mode. MUCH more control over individual colors without effecting the other colors & tones in the picture. i.e. you can adjust just blue, aqua, orange, red, etc and when you do so, using sliders, it only increases or reduces only that color throughout the picture.
 
05xrunner

05xrunner

Active Member
hmm..guess I gotta play with it more.
Its gonna have to impress me alot more though to use it more then Photoshop though.
 
rhagemann

rhagemann

Member
Not trying to hijack Max's post here....so I'll end my posts on this thread with one last thought...
Sounds like you've worked with all the higher-end editing programs, as have I. What it really boils down to is personal preference, comfort, & familiarity IMO. If you're well versed in CS2 or CS3, you'll more than likely prefer those programs. I guess I was just trying to say, for those who have either never used Photoshop, or don't have the time to master it, Lightroom is a little less intimidating and easier to load up and get quicker results with...but again, it's all personal preference....just like Windows, Vs Mac....
 
05xrunner

05xrunner

Active Member
I have another editing program.
its called Pixmantec RawShooter 2006
I find it very very easy and user friendly to use. No complex layout tools right there for you and the layout is nice.
 
bucksducks

bucksducks

New Member
Thanks for all the info.
Let's see.... frags, lightroom,,,frags, lightroom....
For now, I guess frags win out. :) When my tank runs out of room maybe I will get back into photography.
I do like looking at all the great pictures though.
 
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