On the heels of the Lightroom 5.4 Update and the new Lightroom Mobile, Adobe has also updated the Camera Raw 8.4 adding new features and bug fixes. This update is a pretty good update for Camera Raw users, they have added a bunch of new cameras, new lens support, Fuji Camera Profiles, Pet Eye fix for flash photos, and a new Before and After view of your photos. There was also some updates to the functionality of the Local Corrections and a new Lab color readout for the histogram panel.
Be sure to get yours updated and start enjoying these new features.
Today Adobe updated Lightroom to version 5.4 and released an all new Lightroom Mobile for Creative Cloud users on the iPad. Normally I get excited about the Lightroom updates for new features and expect some kind of new amazing technology Adobe usually adds in but this update is really just an update. Nothing amazingly new in the LIghtroom program except new lens & camera support but what they have done is added a terrific new tool to the mix, Lightroom Mobile.
Lightroom Mobile is a new free app available in the Apple App Store that links your computer catalog to the iPad via the Creative Cloud. This does mean you have to be a CC subscriber to use Lightroom Mobile. Along with the newly updated Lightroom 5.4 you can now process out Smart Previews from your home catalog and send them to the Creative Cloud then download them to your iPad and make the same edits you would on your desktop computer. This will be a great way to do some light work on your images while away from your desktop and you can even have them on your iPad so you can work on them offline when your away from a WiFi connection.
You will have to load the pictures you want to trasnfer in to a Collection but this is just another reason to use Collections if you aren't already. You can also use this new tool to show a client recent photos and have them mark the ones they like with a Pick Flag which will update the catalog on your main computer. There's going to be many ways yo can start using this tool and the videos Adobe has posted is just the beginning.
Watch Julianne Kost show you the basics of sharing & viewing your catalog with the new Lightroom Mobile.
Besides the great new Lightroom Mobile app there is some updates to Lightroom which they have not clearly explained. I think they we're too excited about the new Mobile app and fogot to tell us what's all new in Lighroom 5.4 in detail. I will tell you I see a lot of the same updates as the recently released Camera Raw 8.4 Release Candidate which included the new Camera Profiles for Fuji Cameras and support for new cameras.
Despite the lack of wow from the Lightroom update they did add a nice new update to the lineup at Adobe with Lightroom Mobile and I can't wait to start exploring this new tool.
Update: Adobe has now posted the new features and updates in Lightroom 5.4. You can read about them here.
Adobe has posted new Release Candidate version of Adobe Camera Raw 8.4 for both Photoshop CS6 & Photoshop CC versions.
Included in this release candidate is support for new cameras including Canon 1200D (T5), Fujifilm X-T1, Nikon D4S, and Phase One IQ250 to name a few. This is actually exciting news since they are releasing support for cameras that hasn't even hit the market yet. In the past, new camera owners were quite often out of luck for months if you wanted to use the new Raw file formats from these cameras with Camera Raw or Lightroom. If you wonder what that subscription money is doing for you, this is a good case in point. Well done Adobe.
Also new in the release candidate is a new collection of lens profiles including the iPhone 5c, FujiFilm x100s, Nikon & Canon lenses and a bunch for the Sony Alpha. Again, good news they are getting caught up quick on some of these newly released cameras.
There's a couple of new features too. A new side-by-side comparison of before and after versions of your processed photo. Pete Eye correction has also been added and new function in the Radial Filter as well as better controls for the local adjustment sliders.
One other interesting feature is the added Camera Profiles for the Fujifilm x series cameras. If you're a Fuji camera user like I am (x100), I'm sure your well aware of the great JPEG processing you have available from your Fuji camera profiles. Well now you can use those same type profiles with your Raw files too. This must mean Fuji cameras are definitely making a come back and getting more popular than ever.
They are also signalling the future with the dropping of support for Photoshop CS6 for a few operating systems such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OSX 10.6.
Release candidates are well tested beta versions that Adobe would like input from a larger community on its performance. Any feedback should be made on the Adobe feedback portal.
I'm excited to tell you about a new project I've been working on with my good friend Justin over at Hossedia.com. We have created something entirely new where you get to ride along with us as we teach you the process for creating great looking photos in Moab. Consider it a virtual workshop, call it a learning tool for photography, and you can even call it a behind the scenes look as to how we process photos in Lightroom. What I like to call it is and adventure in photography where you get to hang with us as we plan, compose, process and review our photos we take in the iconic Moab, Utah.
Be sure to head over to The Photo Frontier to learn more and sign up to be notified when it releases in a few weeks. You'll also get a discount to save money on thevideo as well as other great offers when the store launches.
This past weekend a visitor in Goblin Valley State Park near Green River, Utah decided a 170 million old rock was unsafe and had to be toppled over to protect other visitors from harm. By damaging the rocks this man was trying to protect us from the very nature of this park's main features. Was this right or was he acting in a altruistic manner?
As a photographer who visits State and National Parks all the time I am very aware of what damage can be done in these fragile areas. I was discussing this story with a good friend of mine, Matt Buker, who spends a lot of time in this very park camping, hiking , and photographing and had some very good thoughts about the situation. The following is his response:
“My son and I present The Desert to the second graders at his school every year. One thing we do is try to let them know that our wild places, our mountains, our canyons, our oceans, lakes, rivers and our sky are all precious. Some perhaps more then others, but all worth the fight.
Most important are the ones we all agree to call our Parks, Seashores or Monuments are especially important. They mark something greater, something bigger, something deeper or higher, but something we all as Americans and the world agree is worth protecting.
Taking, destroying, undermining or just not standing up for any of these places is a shot to the heart of each and every one of us and our future wanderers. Whether you go to these places or just know they are there, these are OUR walking museums, which we hold dear and have made the commitment to protect.
After seeing this CNN video, I believe we all could use a simple reminder. We could all agree, the men in this video obviously made a mistake. All we can do now is hope they find some time and a place to consider what they have done beyond being defensive about why. I myself hope they find it within themselves to change. And then, I also hope they can help spread the word to others.
It's important, maybe one of the most important things of all to me, is for everyone to understand the little things we do to these unique places add up. Maybe not within days, or years or centuries, but once destroyed will be forever destroyed. You can't tape together 10 million years natures artistry.
I know we are all better then our worst days and we all can become better people; however, our wild places don't have that ability. Their best days are behind them, so it is up to us to work together to help protect them.
Goblin Valley holds a very dear place in the hearts of my son and I. Over the years, we have been lucky to have shared this magical place many of our family and the friends. And while this event is upsetting, we'll go back, and we won't hold any grudges.
Let's work together to keep these kinds of things from happening to the places you love. Wherever in the world they may be.
I'd be happy if you shared this to help us spread the word.”
Maybe we can learn from both of these men and remember these areas of preserved nature are a privilege to visit and should be treated as such. Remember when you are out taking photos or just visiting to “Leave no Trace”.
Today at midnight, Adobe informed its users their sensitive information may have been hacked from its website. Hackers may have accessed your Adobe ID, password, and credit card information. (See Adobe's website fro more information) Some of it was encrypted. Adobe recommends you change your password and ID if you used the same one on any other website. Adobe also deeply regrets any inconvenience this may cause you.
This is an unfortunate incident that may affect us all and it may not be the last.
Included in this release candidates are new camera support including the Phase One IQ260 and Canon EOS 70D, new lens profiles including those for the GoPro 3 camera. New features include a Smoothness adjustment slider to the Detail Panel to reduce low-frequency color mottling artifacts. Refinements to the Spot Healing tool and Local Adjustment Brush. Camer RAw get a couple of more additions including interactive Hisotgram like Lightroom, separate Auto Temperature and Auto Tint controls, and workflow presets are now available and can be selected on context-clicking the workflow link. You can read more about the big fixes and features for Lightroom or Camera Raw.
Release candidates are well tested beta versions that Adobe would like input from a larger community on its performance. Any feedback should be made on the Adobe feedback portal.
Did anyone notice the Output module missing in the new Bridge CC? If you have been a long time user of Adobe Bridge you probably have found one of the most useful tools there, the Adobe Output Module (AOM). With AOM you could create web galleries and one of my favorite functions, the PDF contact sheet. Using AOM to create PDF contact sheets was so helpful that when Adobe dropped it from the new Creative Cloud version of Bridge many were up in arms. Productivity went down as we all tried to figure out a new workflow to recreate the contact sheet and some long time users were sad to see us going back to the old script version of creating PDF contact sheets in Photoshop.
Well, the Arab Spring has arrived at Adobe and they have heard the users cry for bringing back the AOM. Adobe has kindly created a new module that can be installed to the new Bridge CC. Yes, they had to re-write the module again for the new version of Bridge which is why it was not there to begin with. So thank you Adobe for listening to some of us long time users and spending the time to give us back the freedom to create PDFs in Bridge.
Adobe has finally realeased the much anticipated new suite of CC apps in the Creative Cloud. Included is the all new Photoshop CC which has some new improvements under the hood and some new filters and features peppered throughout the program.
All are available for immediate download including Lightroom 5. If you are a Camera Raw user you will have all the same new features found in Lightroom 5 including the Radial adjustment and new Spot Healing brush.
Today Adobe released the Creative Cloud version of its new Lightroom 5. The boxed or download version will be available supposedly on June 13.
Some of the new features in Lightroom 5 are sure to impress. The new Upright will automatically adjust perspective for your photos and a new Aspect slider allows you to adjust the stretching of teh corrected photo for a more natural look. A new Advanced Healing Brush is also new which takes the healing brush to a new level in Lightroom allowing you to correct more than just a spot compared to previous versions. The Radial Gradient is anew addition to the local adjustments and is a fantastic way to add subtle changes to a general area or to create customized vignettes to your photos. With the addition of Smart Previews, which allows you to adjust photos not connected to your computer and the changes to the Book & Slide modules, this upgrade is adding up to a nice upgrade for Lightroom users.
Look for more updates and in-depth looks in to the new features of Lightroom 5 here on the PixelTraining blog.
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