Review: Adobe Lightroom 2.3
I have liked Adobe’s Lightroom since it first came out. The new folder and keyword features are great, but I am most pleased with the addition of the Development module tools. With the excellent tools that were already there plus the added features, I can correct probably 90% of my photos without need for Photoshop’s advanced tools. I will improve upon Lightroom adjustments in PS if the photo is selected for print, but the advantage is that the photo’s true potential can be revealed and displayed in the database and collects of Lightroom. I still edit in PS before I print because these are serious art prints and need to be matched to different media.
The new adjustment tools are:
Crop
Clone
Red eye
Retouch
Retouch allows you to paint in localized changes to your image. You can make changes in Exposure, Brightness, Clarity, and Saturation. You can even mask those changes to an area of specific color within the image.
The clone tool takes some practice to get used to after the total freedom of the PS version, but I can get rid of the worst underwater scatter offenders or a spot on the sensor. The retouch tool offers many options to give just the little localized adjustment needed to complete the image. A photo with more than mild issues will still need PS, but you can get an idea what can be done by working with it in Lightroom a little first.
Lightroom 2.3 suits my needs as a professional photographer. I also recommend Lightroom 2.3 to my serious amateur and semi professional friends because their creativity and photo adjustment technical skills can quickly improve once photo organization is taken care of with Lightroom’s help. Later they can rediscover PS for its advanced tools and capabilities. The new features in Development panel alone are more than enough reason to upgrade it makes the other new features like a bonus. Lightroom has proved with this second version that it is a leading product for the photographer’s workflow and this specificity has advantages over the broader tools of Creative Suite.
Find out more about Lightroom from Adobe:
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