Automating Lightroom: Part Two – Develop

Develop Presets DevelopPresetscanbeusedtofast-trackeditingworkflows.LightroomDevelopPresetsare‘One-ClickWonders’andenableaseriesofcomplexeditstobeappliedtoanimagewithaclickofthemouse.ItisoftenpossibletoapplymorethanonePresettobuildupadesiredeffectasonlysettingsthataresharedbybothpresetsarechangedwhenapplyingthesecondpreset.Presetsarereadilyavailableonline,eitherFreeorforPurchase.MyFreeDevelopPresetsareavailablefrommywebsite:http://www.markgaler.com/product-category/lightroom-presetsIfyouarebuildingyourownPresetitisrecommendedthatyouavoidusingsettingsfromtheBasicpanelifpossible.ItisarulethatIoftenbreak,butapresetwithfewerBasicsettingscanusuallybeappliedtoabroaderrangeofimageswithmorepredictableresults.Clickonthe‘+’iconatthetopofthePresetspaneltocreateanewPreset.Whenthe‘NewDevelopPreset’dialogopensclickonthe‘CheckNone’buttonatthebottomofthepanelandthenproceedtoselectonlythoseoptionswhichcontributetotheeffectthatyouwanttore-createinotherimages.The‘ProcessVersion’and‘Treatment’(black&WhiteorColor)optionsthatshouldusuallybechecked.Note>ItisunlikelythataDevelopPresetwillproduceexactlywhatyouarelookingforwithjustoneclick,especiallyifyoudidnotoptimisetheExposure,ShadowsandHighlightsoftheimagebeforeapplyingthePreset.ItalsorecommendedthatafterapplyingaPresetyouthenproceedtooptimiseboththeWhites(whiteclipping)andBlacks(blackclipping)intheBasicPanel.

IfyouareinstallingPresetsyouhavedownloadedfromthewebyouwillneedtofindtheappropriateLightroomPresetsfolder.InthePresetsTabofLightroom’sPreferencesyouwillfinda‘ShowLightroomPresetsfolderbutton’whichquicklyopensthefolderinaFinder/ExplorerWindow.ItispossibletocopyfoldersofPresetsyouhavedownloadedfromthewebtoLightroom’sPresetsFolder.YouwillfindmanyPresetsfolders,somakesurethenewfolderisplacedwithinthe‘DevelopPresets’folder.YouwillneedtorestartLightroombeforeyournewPresetsappearinthePresetspanelintheDevelopmodule.IhavepreparedatutorialmoviethatguidesyouintheprocessofusingandinstallingDevelopPresets:https://youtu.be/6lhTW7ywXj0

DevelopPresetscanalsobeappliedfromtheLibraryModuleandfromtheImportdialog.Theycanalsobeappliedtomultipleimagesatthesametime.

ForColourGradingpurposes,whereweinjectsome‘cinematic’colouring,theHSL,SplitToneandToneCurvepanelsareusefultoolsstylizeourimages.IfyouhavedownloadedaPresetthatyoulikeitisworthspendingalittletimetoseewhichLightroomdevelopcontrolsarebeingusedtocreatetheeffect.ThiswillprovideyouwithinvaluableinsightsastohowtobuildyouownsophisticatedPresetsinthefuture.

Export Actions TherearelimitationsastothevisualeffectsLightroomcanachieve.PhotoshopCC,however,cancompletethepicture.JustasLightroomusesPresetsPhotoshopCCcanrecordworkflowsas‘Actions’.Lightroomcanplaytheseactionstoimagesonexport.

PhotoshopActionscanalsobedownloadedfromtheWeb.IfyouaregoingtoaddthisfunctionalitytoLightroomyouwillfirstneedtocreatea‘Droplet’fromtheAction(gotoFile>Automate>CreateDropletinPhotoshopCC.ItisthesedropletsthatareaddedtotheExportActionsfolderinLightroom’sPresetsfolder.TheactionsthatwillworkbestwithLightroomaretheonesthatincorporateboth‘flatten’and‘save’stepsaspartoftheaction.TheillustrationaboveshowswhatsettingsIusedinthe‘CreateDroplet’screenwhencreatingaDropletthatisappropriateforLightroomuse.Note>Everytimeyoucreateanewdroplet,clickontheChoosebuttoninthetopleft-handcornerofthedialogtogivetheDropletauniquename.Ihavecheckedthe‘SuppressColorProfileWarnings’sotheexportedsRGBimagefromLightroomdoesnotconflictwiththeAdobeRGBworkingspaceIhavesetupforPhotoshop.Ihavealsochosena‘Destination’folderthatisdifferenttothedestinationofthefileexportedfromLightroom.ThisensuresIdonotgetanotherdialogopeningthatasksmeifIwantto‘replace’thefileoriginallyexportedfromLightroom.___________________________________________________________________________________________________MarkGalerisanAdobeImagingAmbassadorfortheAsiaPacificregion(APAC)andhehasawealthofknowledgeandskillstoshare.AfullrangeofMark’sLightroomTutorialmoviescanbeviewedhere:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWC-IgKORdDEeu0ywKmpomkf86UtOzeeDMark’sblogcanbeviewedhere:http://www.markgaler.com/blogMarkgivesfreeliveeSeminarsforAdobe(APAC)thatcanbeaccessedhere:https://apacevents.adobe.com/photography