My experience with Lightroom is much the same as yours (i.e. I played around with Version 1 and that's about it).
My problem was that by the time Lightroom appeared, I'd already invested a lot of effort in image management using Studioline for cataloguing, keywording etc. I wasn't really prepared to start over with a new application, so if I bought Lightroom it would be used mainly as a raw converter, something that Studioline lacks (well...it does it but not particularly well). So, my workflow (in theory) and using Windows 7 is: 1. Download to computer and quick cull (usually with Irfanview) 2. Import images into Studioline and apply metadata. I don't bother renaming because the applied metadata identifies the images sufficiently. 3. Raw convert with ACR (previously with Raw Therapee or (shock, horror) Pentax Photo Lab) 4. Final edits in CS3 (previously in PS6) 5. If I need to upload to a website, I'll use CoreFTP lite. Sometimes I'll defer applying metadata if I need to process images quickly. To be honest, this workflow suits me and I'm unlikely to change in the short term no matter how good Lightroom is. Cheers Brian ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Brian Walters Western Sydney Australia http://members.westnet.com.au/brianwal/SL/ On Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:12 -0700, "Bruce Dayton" <[email protected]> wrote: > Ok, let me lay out where I am at. > > Here is my current workflow and tools > > I mostly work in a job oriented way - basically one job is shot, > processed and completed - at that point it is archived off the main > system. > > So here are the steps and tools: > > Capture in RAW with camera > Create folder for job (numbered and named ex: 0350-SmithWedding) > Load raw pics into directory (OS copy) > Cull technical rejects (BreezeBrowser) > Batch Rename images (BreezeBrowser) > Raw convert (Silkypix) > Generate gallery - not everytime, based on job requirement > (BreezeBrowser) > Upload to my website (Core FTP Lite) > Create/upload ordering pages - not everytime, base on job requirement > (Darkroom Core) > Process orders - edits, send to lab, etc (Darkroom Core) > Archive to DVD (whichever burning software is on my system) > > This general flow has served me pretty well for quite a few years. > The one piece of software that has changed on occasion is the Raw > converter. That change has been brought about by cost or > compatibility. I started out with Capture One LE, later tried > Lightroom and Raw Shooter, but ended up buying and using the full > blown SilkyPix. I have been using it for quite a while now. > > I have reached a point where I am going to have to spend some money > on updating SilkyPix, so I felt it prudent to look around again at > the options to see if this is the best approach for me. > > In the workflow I have outlined, remember that I tend to do event > type jobs (weddings, sporting events, portrait sessions, etc). This > means that a larger number of images are keepers (various poses, > different people in the same pose, etc) rather than a fine art style > where there may be a large number shot, but not very many keepers. > Also, once the event is completed, there is not much need to keep the > images on the immediate system. If there are any images that I think > would be worth the portfolio, I have a folder for those - but that is > not really where the issue is. > > I am sure that Lightroom would be one of the tools recommended, so I > will let you know why I didn't pick it the first time around. I had > two big issues with it - one was speed - it took a long time to get > everything loaded and catalogued before it was really ready to do the > work of conversion. Since I already have software and process that > does that portion, this ended up being duplicate work that was > wasted, as Lightroom was not the end tool - I mostly needed it to > just do the raw conversions. I guess #2 has already been stated - > Lightroom was trying to do too much for me. I already have software > to manage the rest of my workflow. Now, I should state that I > haven't really played around with it since version 1 - only a quick > look at 2, so perhaps things have changed. > > So if anyone has read all the way through, I would be grateful for > any ideas and suggestions as to where to head with my Raw conversion > needs. Right now it seems like SilkyPix, Lightroom and Bibble are > the choices that are available. My system is Windows 7 - so needs to > be compatible with that. > > > -- > Best regards, > Bruce > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Faster than the air-speed velocity of an unladen european swallow -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
