Tutor: Kat Gollock
Adobe Lightroom Classic helps solve two of the main problems that afflict digital photographers: how to organise all your files, and how to edit them without spending all of your spare time at a computer screen. Lightroom Classic is a convenient and flexible desktop programme that helps you to organise and sift your photographs into collections, and also gives access to a powerful set of tools that edit, enhance and export your pictures. You can use intuitive pre-set tools, you can create your own favourite adjustments, you can edit large numbers of images with one click of a mouse, and you can fine-tune your image-editing by selectively working on parts of a picture. And you can experiment, secure in the knowledge that you are working in a non-destructive environment and that your pictures are safe.
This practical short course will introduce you to the principles of file organisation and image-editing, giving you the knowledge and confidence to choose when to work with this convenient and flexible programme, and whether or not you need the full power of Photoshop Creative Suite. Sample picture files will be provided for you to work with, or you can bring a selection of your own. If you work in RAW, please also bring JPEGs on a memory stick, external hard drive or cloud storage such as Dropbox.
Please note this course does not cover the new version of LightRoom CC (which is specifically designed for mobile devices) and only uses the most recent version of LightRoom Classic.
Morning
You will get to know the Lightroom layout and workspace, importing a set of files into the catalogue and starting to organise the files into collections and adding useful file information. You will explore the opportunities for viewing and aids for analysing the pictures. You will start to use the convenient ‘quick develop’ editing tools.
We will then explore the digital image-editing workflow. The usual flow is to correct and optimise before we enhance, interpret or exaggerate. The basic areas to consider are cropping, cloning, colour and tone. Taking each in turn, we will correct and clean up the pictures in a measurable and controllable way. We will investigate techniques to control digital noise, colour distortions and lens corrections. We will work on individual files and also start applying corrections to batches. We will create and apply pre-set corrections.
Afternoon
Having corrected and optimised the picture files, we can start interpreting, enhancing and exaggerating – the fun part of image-editing! We can try colour to black-and-white conversions, using the many pre-sets to guide; we can selectively boost or restrain colours; we can add grain and textures, vignettes and split tones; we can mix and match these effects and create and save our own favourite effects. We can apply adjustment effects to selected picture areas. Image editing is all good fun, but how do we know where to start? Or when to stop? We‚’ll have a look at some photographic styles and techniques from photography’s rich history to give us some ideas and then try to replicate them. We will discuss ways of using the programme and the technology to develop photographic projects. And we will look at how Lightroom can help us to export those projects as books, prints and slideshows.
Designed for those who are already familiar with some digital photography processes but who want to pursue a particular aspect and develop skills in a specific genre. This course is the perfect follow-on from our Digital SLR training courses and will support you in building upon your existing knowledge of camera skills and allow you to work confidently on your own projects. Some prior digital SLR photography experience is therefore recommended.
Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation.
Please read our cancellation policy before booking.
Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.
