Digital Focus
Develop Module in Lightroom 2.5 (First Part)–
Lightroom (LR) is divided basically into three main operations: photo management (the Library Module); the editing operation (the Develop Module); and the outputting operations (the Slideshow, the Print and the Web Modules).
The different features of the Library Module—from creating a catalog to organizing your photos—were discussed in the past several issues. Beginning with this series, I will cover the different features of the Develop Module.
The Develop Module Workspace
Like the Library Module, the Develop Module is divided into the left vertical panel group(A), the preview window (B), the right vertical panel group (C), the Module Picker (D), the Filmstrip (E), and the Toolbar (F). See Image 01.
In the left vertical panel group (Image 02), you will find several horizontal panels: the Navigator with the different magnification options; the Presets; the Snapshots and the History panels.
Navigator Panel
As in the Library Module, the Develop’s Navigator Panel shows a thumbnail version of the active image (Image 03). Unlike in the Library Module where the Navigator panel will display whatever image is under your mouse, however, the Develop’s Navigator Panel only displays the image in the document window.
The Navigator Panel is used primarily as an alternative method for zooming in and out of the current image. As you hover over the image, the cursor changes into a magnifying glass. When you click on the image, a bounding box will appear on the area of the image that is being magnified. The document window will automatically change to display only the magnified area of the photo. The level of magnification is linked to the options that you chose on the top of the panel (Image 04). When you double-click the thumbnail, the photo in the document window will zoom out to its previous magnification level. You can use the Navigator Panel also to scroll around the image by moving the cursor around its thumbnail.
The Navigator Panel is also used to preview the effects of the different presets in the Presets Panel, the saved settings of the different snapshots in the Snapshots Panel, and the history steps in the History Panel. Hover over a preset, snapshots or history steps, and the thumbnail automatically changes to show the effect or the changes.
Presets Panel
The Presets Panel contains the lists of presets that either came with LR or were created by you or a third-party (Image 05).
Presets in LR are what Actions are to Photoshop. They are a way to save a group of develop (editing) settings so you can apply them to other photos.
LR comes with a list of ready-made presets called Lightroom Presets. They are the same presets that you find in the Import Dialog box (Image 06) and in the Toolbar as an option for the Painter Tool in the Library Module.
In addition to these ready-made presets, you can also either create your own or import third-party presets. and place them in the Presets Panel as Users Presets (Image 07).
Creating Your Own Develop Presets
To save the list of settings that you have applied on a photo as a preset, click on the Create New Preset (the Plus sign) button on top of the Presets Panel or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + N (Mac OS) or Shift + Control + N (Windows). The New Develop Preset dialog box (Image 08) will appear, prompting you to name the new preset. The dialog box also allows you to save all the settings that you applied on the current photo (by accepting all the checked settings), or only certain settings (by unchecking those settings you do not want included). Click Create to close the box and create the new preset. The new preset will appear in the User Presets pane of the panel.
To delete a preset, select the preset and click the Delete Selected Preset (the Minus sign) on top of the panel. You can only delete presets that you created or imported into LR and you can only delete one preset at a time.
Right + clicking on a preset gives you hidden options (Image 09):
New Folder allows you to organize your presets in different folders within the User Presets.
Rename allows you to rename a preset.
Update with Current Settings allows you to update the preset with whatever current settings that you applied on the active photo.
Show in Finder allows you to locate the folder that contains the preset in a hard drive.
Delete deletes the preset.
Export exports the preset outside of LR. The Export Dialog box will appear prompting you to name the preset to be exported and to designate a place in the hard drive where the exported preset will be saved.
Import imports presets from a hard drive. It opens the Import Preset dialog box, prompting you to locate the folder containing the presets. You can only import the presets themselves (not the folder). Pressing down the Shift key, allows you to multiple-select the presets and import them at the same time. The presets will appear inside the User Presets or in whatever folder you Right + clicked on. See below how to create a separate folder.
Right + clicking on the User Preset folder allows you to create a new folder other than the User Preset . The keyboard shortcut is Option + Command + N (Mac OS) or Alt + Control + N (Windows). This way you can organize the presets into different folders other than the User Presets folder.
Importing Third-Party Presets
You can download third-party presets from websites that offer them. (One such website is that of Jack Nock at blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2007/03/free_lightroom.html). Once you have downloaded these presets in your hard drive or external hard drive, Right + click the User Presets folder and the Import option will appear. See above.
Previewing the Presets
To preview the individual preset, mouse over on the presets and the thumbnail display in the Navigator Panel will change to show the effects of the presets on the active photo.
Applying the Presets
To apply a preset to a photo, select the photo in the Grid in the Library Module and go to the Develop Module. Click on the preset in the Presets Panel. Automatically, the document window will apply the new settings to the active photo.
