With a digital camera and Lightroom, everyone can be a pro.
Ever wanted to take those fantastic photos you see in magazines or on professional photographers’ websites? Well now you can. All you need is a good digital camera, a big memory card and suitable software like Adobe Lightroom.
Lightroom what??
Adobe Lightroom is especially produced for edit and organize digital images. Once you get familiar with it you just can’t live without it. Trust me. I will try to give you the reasons to why I think you’ll feel the same. Hopefully you will see what I mean when I say that “with a digital camera and Lightroom, everyone can be a pro”.
I’ve been working in Adobe Photoshop for years as a professional graphics designer and photography has always been a great side interest of mine. It wasn’t until last year I decided to upgrade my digital pocket camera to a more expensive one (Nikon D80). I must say that this investment made me see things with another eye. Photos I earlier took with my pocket camera – that I thought was good looking – suddenly became pretty boring (from my point of view). This was a big breakpoint for me and my hobby photography. The quality of the photos from my new camera is fantastic. Earlier in my life I have always thought that the camera just was a tool and that the really nice photos came out because of the man behind it. I’ve changed my mind on that now. Today cameras make it easy for everyone to take good photos.
I had just heard of Lightroom a couple of years ago. At that point I didn’t see the need of it since I was so pleased with Photoshop and my skills in it was good enough to practically achieve anything I wanted… Boy was I wrong!
Earlier this year I let my ego walk away and started Lightroom for the first time. Why didn’t I open this box of chocolate before!? I truly should have, because it has improved the look of my photos a lot since then. How can that be? Well that’s what I’m going to tell you tomorrow…
Lightroom might light the way, but to become a ‘pro’ you will need a bit more than that.
Technology is only there to help you achieving that special look on things.
And do not forget, too much effect kills the effect.
Although I consider Lightroom to be a good product as well as I am happy that the new ‘digital age’ brought so many people to pick up a camera and shoot, I can still see a huge difference between a good ‘eye’ and the ‘pro amateur’.
Keep on practicing, keep on shooting, keep learning, but most of all, always focus on the image, the message, the framing, the crop, then decide if you need the lab to do more.
And yes, cameras and softwares or the good old lab are only tools behind the man.
Congrats for this site and keep it up, you might just want to re-title this piece here.
Hi Fred,
Thank you for your comment. This is exactly the response I was looking for. The title is meant to provoke and inspire, as well as the article itself. People will learn by practice as you say. I just want people to fulfill their dreams of being a great photographer instead of thinking “I wish I could…â€
“-Too much effect kills the effectâ€;
you’re right about that but all photos are subjective in my point of view. I’m stunned to see some winning photos in a photo challenge (subjective eyes of the jury) that to my eyes look crap compared to many other photos. I don’t want to go deeper into the subjective-discussion cause it will never end I’m afraid.
I agree a lot with Fred and you too Pierre.
Yes software are pretty cool to achieve some special effect or give to a shot the few stuff that missed. But the real software is the photograph himself. Whatever the camera, whatever the software, he is the only one who drives. He needs to be subjective through the objective. Software is like a frame or light on a painting, it makes it better but the heart of the Art is already in the picture.
However I love to play with all your so good presets. Does it mean that if a day I don’t play with it anymore I’ll become a photographer ? …
Hi Pierre,
then I think you have a good point and inspiring people to grab a camera instead of wishing they did can only be a good thing.
As for challenges and competitions I stopped looking at those a long time ago, art is subjective by nature and as I appreciate people showing their work (it always is a big step to open to to the critic), I do not like to set winners or price tags, and nowadays there are enough ways to share your work without (too much) compromises.
I’ll drop an inspiring quotes as well:
“A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion ….
All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.”
Richard Avedon, In the American West: Photographs, 1979-1984 by Richard Avedon, Laura Wilson
ISBN: 0810911051
And allow me to offer one advice that I received at the begining of my career and has always pushed me to get the right image: go grab the subject, do not be affraid of it, if you want to shoot it, shoot it properly, do not hide from it.
Cheers.
shmileblik, I think you become a photogrpaher when grabbing a camera gives you a thrill and a story to tell.
But that is my personal view.
I discovered lightroom only recently with a background of analog lab.
Lightroom – and presets – are a revelation to me, I was unhappy with the digital experience, could not get the feel of film, labs, even the camera is weird (non full frames) when you are used to good old 35 mil.
Lightromm enables to have a lab in your computer and presets like the film emulations from Mickey G a blessing.
I just think that before all artifact, composing is usually the poor parent of learning photography.
Thank you Shmileblik,
Don’t stop using Lightroom…
By playing with presets you will automatically play with your photos, see them from another point of view, instead of just being pleased with them from the first view. While you do this, you might start thinking of what else you can do to improve them (what photographers do before they push the trigger).
When you’ve been working some time in Lightroom you learn what to consider about the next time, when you stand behind the camera and are about to push the trigger. Many of my older photos have been greatly improved because of this reason. And now, I think “the right way†before I push the trigger.
Thank you very much for the comment. I love comments!
Best regards, Pierre
Pierre, I’d completely agree with your statement about considering what you’d do next time after using Lightroom. As a complete amateur I often find it difficult to think what it is I want to get out of a photograph. After using Lightroom for a while and being able to see the possibilities with old photos of mine, I can then go out with my camera the next time and try things I’d never considered before. I can start to think about what I’m aiming to capture with the photograph, start thinking about the composition etc. It’s really been a great learning tool for me.
Thank you Adam.
I’m glad to hear you share the same experience as I do with Lightroom and photography.
Cheers!
Lightroom has taking my photography to Places I Never Could Imagine. It can’t make a bad photo good but it can make a good photo, stunning. My favorite part of shooting really is in the editing and when you get THE photo and find THE preset, it is a match made in heaven. I am smitten with LR and don’t see it changing any time soon. Thank you for a great site…
I totally agree with you, i bought my D80 last year also, and i really noticed that my photos got better “lets say on other people’s opinion”, also after i tried the lightroom, i can’t live without it :) all of my captures are being processed with lightroom nowdays.
You’re a santa’s grat helper man, thx for the contribution to the digital photography world, cheers
I found it interesting to read your comment about what it takes to be a pro.
It is much simpler than that in actuality. All you need to become a pro is to get paid. When you are paid for your photography you are a professional.
Now can you make images like some of the very good professionals out there is another question entirely.
Refer to Alfred Stieglitz’s take on professional and amateur photographers. I think you may be surprised at what he has to say on the matter.
When I first started to get my feet wet in the so called “professional” world of photography it astonished me at how little so many of the “professionals” actually knew about photography in general. Yes there were those that were technically proficient but knew nothing about where photography came from or to put it another way who there photographic grand parents were.
This to me was astonishing early on. When I asked one “professional” what type of personal work he did he said “what do you mean”. Yes you can press the button and make a buck but photography is so much more than what so many perceive. Anyone that claims to know all there is about photography is stuck with never being able to learn anything about photography.
It is impossible to know all there is about photography.
Am I rambling sorry… LOL
Just my two cents. Wasn’t it Burt Reynolds who said “Opinions are like assholes – everyone has one.
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