Digital BW, The Print

My opinion of Lightroom:

I have totally changed my workflow with Lightroom at the center.

Importing:
	I use it to import my images from my DF cards.
	In one step:
		Copy as DNG to a main folder defined for the current year
			Lightroom automatically creates a folder here named however you  
want, but I have it make a folder named YYYY-MM-DD
				(Lightroom automatically determines the correct entries for these  
date values.)
		Renames in coming files using capture date and unique ID
			(you can define this a million different ways to suit your  
purposes as user-defined presets)
		Make a backup copy to a server directory (or another drive etc.)
		Apply a basic set of values as a good baseline
			I include copyright, date, my name, address, phone, web address, etc.
		Batch apply and embed meta-data and keywords
			I quick-tag using the subject of the shoot or anything that  
applies to the whole shoot
	At this point they are represented in the Lightroom database as a  
Folder

Reviewing:
	I move through the shoot either promoting or demoting individual  
images. (Flags)
		(Keyboard command to batch-delete demoted images)
	Multiple, powerful compare modes help select the best images

Rough edit, visualization
	At this point, I use one of the most powerful tools of the system, I  
create VIrtual Copies of the images I want to convert to black and  
white.
		A virtual copy is a set of meta-data that points to the original  
image source data, but filters it through a separate set of values.
		This Virtual Copy I open in the Develop module where I convert it  
to Black and White, apply sharpening, cropping, rotation, and a  
million other options. - This Virtual copy is not a duplicate of the  
source image, it is just a set of XML data that specifies how to  
process the file. each virtual copy takes up about 32k of space and  
there is no limit to how many you have.

	I put the Virtual Copies for the project into a Lightroom Collection.
		This is just a shopping basket of sorts that allows you to group a  
set of images (or Virtual Copies) into a manageable and meaningful set.

Batch export for review
	Export rough edited images as jpegs (or any other format) if I need  
to show them to clients or to post on the web. Lightroom has some  
absolutely amazing Web export modules.

Production
	I use the tools in the Lightroom Develop module to do all of my  
global color and tone control.
		High light and shadow point setting (Levels)
		Basic tone curves
		B&W conversion
		Capture sharpening
	This is done with a very critical eye. The tools in this module are  
basically identical to those in Adobe Camera Raw, but I think work  
better and are far more easily accomplished in the context of the  
Lightroom interface.
		
Export to Photoshop
	Every tool has its purpose and its limits.
	Even though you can do cloning in Lightroom, it is only useful for  
very basic edits.
	I do all local, regional or pixel based editing in Photoshop.

	I control-click on the image in LR and choose "Edit with Photoshop"
	This presents me with a dialog box where I choose "Edit a Copy with  
Lightroom adjustments", "16 bit TIFF" and "Stack with Original"
		You end up with a TIFF image in the same folder as the source  
image. You can specify how you want LR to name files that it creates.  
I append "_v01" to the end of the name.
	The file opens as an RGB TIFF file in PS. (If your image was  
converted to pure black and white in LR then Red, Green, and Blue  
values are all identical. conversion to Greyscale will not change the  
tone of the images) Discussion of LR split toning is another discussion)
	All of your LR adjustments have been applied to this image, so it  
will look just like it did in LR.
	I created a Photoshop action that:
		Converts to Greyscale
		Creates some basic curve layers that I always use with the names I  
want them to have
	Now I am off to the races!

	In PS I have way more control of the image, I can softproof (not  
available in LR), etc.

When you save the file and go back to LR you will find a new image in  
the folder, and collection you were in before. This is the TIFF file  
you created.

You can re-open it from LR with  "Edit with Photoshop" and choose  
instead "Edit Original." This will launch the TIFF version.

Interestingly, you can make additional edits using Lightroom Develop  
tools on the B&W TIF file. This gets a little strange and complicated  
to understand but basically, it just works!

In previous version of Lightroom I could not get QuadTone RIP to  
print properly. However, suddenly, with version 1.3, I use the QTR- 
RGB profile and I can use the truly outstanding Print module of  
Lightroom to print individual files, groups of images, crop on the  
fly without changing the image in Photoshop, without even opening the  
file in Photoshop.

If I sound like a true believer, I am.

I spend so much more of my time editing and producing images and far,  
far less time managing files, creating scripts, investigating various  
tools and re-inventing my process every 2 months to incorporate an  
change in technology.

In my portrait work, I used to spend 2 hours getting a batch of  
images imported, renamed, in iView, tagged with meta-data, roughly  
edited to make them presentable and exported to the software I use  
for client presentation and editing. I used three Applescripts, a  
shareware program and iView Media Pro. Now this is all done in about  
15 minutes, with one program.

I have used all of the RGB-B&W conversion utilities out there and  
there is nothing that is any better than the tools in LR in my  
opinion. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Besides purchasing Photoshop, Lightroom is the best money I have ever  
spent on software.

my 40¢

James Haney