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Jan 10
in Cities, Nature, Photography 2 comments tags: arches, Lake Phalen, Lightroom

The Magic of Lightroom

I can’t believe that only 6 short months ago I was using iPhoto to manage and edit all of my photos. Since then, I’ve switched to Lightroom and don’t think I can ever go back. Lightroom makes it so easy to get incredible results in a very short period of time. I’m amazed at how a seemingly boring photo can be salvaged and become a work of art. Take this photo I took while walking around north of Lake Phalen in Saint Paul. It was a dreary, cold day and I was walking back to my car and liked how the Gateway Trail bridge was framing the one behind it (Frost Ave.). I thought it might make a good grayscale photo when I got it back on my computer.

The before is pretty drab, eh? I think if I had opened this photo in iPhoto, I would have passed it up. But in Lightroom you can quickly hover over certain presets and immediately see a preview of what the image would look like with that preset applied. I did just that with some of the black and white presets I had installed and really liked this one. A little bump in the contrast, and bringing down the highlights, shadows and blacks, then boosting the clarity turned this into one of my favorite shots!

arches-LR-settingsHere are the preset settings from the Basic Module. I’m absolutely amazed at the power and simplicity at your fingertips once you spend a little time in Lightroom. It takes a little getting used to but is so worth it. The hardest thing is to just let go and let Lightroom manage your photos. You do have to follow a workflow process and always stick to it. If you can do that with Lightroom, you’ll be fine.

The moral of the story: don’t give up on your photos! If you see something that grabs your attention, try some Lightroom presets to reveal hidden potential in the shot.

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About the Author: Scott Glime

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2 Comments:

  1. Tarra
    February 15, 2015
    Reply

    scot,
    You are able to capture the pure beauty in nature. I love each and everyone of your photos! Thank you for capturing and creating such peaceful photos for us to enjoy…

    I will continue to stalk your site! So proud of your new found passion…
    Tarra

    • Scott
      February 16, 2015
      Reply

      Thanks Tarra! I wish I’d discovered this 20 years ago, but what can you do? It’s so exciting and relaxing at the same time.

      Now that I now that people are actually looking at this site I’ll be motivated to keep getting out there and shooting. Thanks too for posting the first comment to the site! I feel like I should offer you a prize. Heck, I think I’ll do that! Pick your favorite photo and I’ll send you an 8×12″ print of it!


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