Digital Deliverables
Photoshop
Save a Copy
First, save your original!
Note: Review the color management section of chapter 1. Later in this chapter, we will discuss creating image assets specifically for web or mobile device use.
When sending files to someone else, determine what file format(s) your recipient can open. Ask. A question that your recipient may not be able to answer is about color space. If your recipient doesn’t know, presume that they need sRGB. Choose . and choose sRGB as the destination.
Choose . and choose a file format your recipient can open (usually TIFF or JPEG). When choosing JPEG, the box labeled “As a Copy” may be checked automatically to preserve your layered original. The box labeled “Layers” will be unchecked, as JPEGs cannot have layers. When choosing a format that can have layers (e.g., TIFF), you may not wish to share them with others. Unchecking that box will also trigger a copy. If your original is already flattened (as may happen when converting to sRGB), you’ll need to choose “As a Copy” manually.
Bridge
Image Processor
If you have many images to deliver, saving them one at a time is not efficient. Luckily, there is a lovely script accessed from Bridge that can make many copies, in multiple file formats if desired, very easily.
Select in Bridge the images you need to provide. Choose . Set the options you need, especially location and file formats and (optional) resizing. Note that the JPEGs can be converted to sRGB on the fly. “Resize to Fit” will not distort an image, it merely indicates the maximum width and height your processed image will have.
Lightroom
Since what we see in Lightroom is only a visual representation of our metadata, we must use one of its many ways to create actual, sharable pixels.
Export
Exporting is one of the most important means of actualizing your images. Lightroom even allows you to create wonderfully elaborate presets to expedite future exports.
Lightroom can supervise export to several media, including DVDs, JPEGs for email, and, of course, a hard disk or solid state drive in your computer. To make it easy to replicate your settings, be sure to Add a User Preset. To use it later, select images in the Grid, then choose . There is also .
Publish Services
These are very similar to export presets but with a twist: the “service” notes if a previously published image has changed, then automatically queues it for republishing.
To use these services, you must set them up. For example, if you have a Flickr account, you would click “Set Up…” next to the Flickr button and configure your login and how you wish your images to upload. When you first log in, Flickr will attempt to verify that it is really you, and then it will allow future uploads.
To queue images for publishing, simply drag them onto the service that appears under the account type (Flickr, Facebook, etc.) When you’re ready to upload, click on your service, then use the Publish button in the main window. If an image has been edited, you will see it listed for republishing.
Print Output
Best Practices
The real challenge in printing is to accurately match your printer colors to the Photoshop image colors. A print image may more accurately match the color of the image as displayed on your monitor if you follow three key steps of Color Management:
- Calibrate and profile your monitor. You want an honest window onto your Photoshop image.
- In Photoshop, set up a “working” color space. See “Working Color Spaces” (page 286).
- Configure your printer driver software compatibly with Photoshop’s print dialog box or Lightroom’s Print Job panel. Your image must pass through both of these pieces of software before ink hits paper.
Following these steps will allow the monitor and printer images to match as closely as the laws of physics allow.
Components of a Good Print
Printer
Many people believe only expensive printers produce excellent images. But many desktop printers print very well. The biggest advantage of dedicated photo printers is prints that may last many years; some manufacturers claim over 100 years. This isn’t trivial if you want your photos to last. The best photographers look to the newer photo printers with inks designed not to clog and to print extremely rich colors and gorgeous black and whites.
But don’t run out and buy a new, expensive photo printer right away. First, learn the process for good image editing and printing on your current printer. If you’re in the market to buy one, at least buy an inexpensive, modern desktop printer. As you learn, you’ll better determine your own needs and will be able to make a more informed choice when you buy a professional-level printer.
Paper
Paper is one of the most important components of a good-looking print, yet it is often the most overlooked. Even inexpensive printers can produce excellent prints with the correct premium paper. Most printers and papers are manufactured to work specifically and especially well with each other. Check your printer manual for papers designed specifically for your printer. For basic printing, use the printer manufacturer’s premium photo papers. Advanced printing using printer profiles allows for a vast array of papers from various manufacturers. However, you should still stick to using your printer manufacturer’s inks.
Color Profiles
The main advantage of printing with profiles is a more precise match between the edited image data, the monitor, and the printer. This allows careful editing of print colors on the computer before you print, and the ability to use most or all of the color range available from your printer. In order to print with profiles, you will need to obtain the appropriate profiles for your printer/paper combination.
Manufacturer Printer and Paper Profiles
The easiest source of profiles is from the appropriate paper manufacturer (including the printer manufacturer for the papers that they sell for that printer). Profiles are widely available for many photo printers on the websites of a number of paper manufacturers. Many make excellent profiles for their papers on a number of printers popular with professional print makers. Epson, Ilford, Legion (Moab) Paper, Red River Paper, Pictorico, and others provide printer profiles for their papers via the Internet. Often the paper’s included instructions provide a website URL for profiles.
You need to obtain profiles for your specific printer model and paper type. Usually, profiles are only available for the printer manufacturer’s inks, but if the printer can use multiple types of ink (like my Epson 3880), be careful about which inks you use. For example, if your printer uses either matte or “photo” black ink, you need to use a profile for the black that is in use by your printer. Additionally, find specific instructions that may be included for each profile on how to configure the printer driver.
Note: If the driver settings are not configured the same on your computer as they were when the printer profile was created, the colors will be wrong.
The specific settings to look for are media type (a paper supported by the printer), resolution, and quality setting. Other items may be specified, too.
Custom Profiles
You can also have custom profiles made for you by a professional profile service. These have some advantages but cost money. A web search for “custom printer profiles” found several services for around $40. These companies provide a test target and instructions on how to best print this target. You print the target, snail mail the physical target to the profile service, and they email you the specific profile or a link to it. It is necessary to purchase a profile for each paper type you’ll be using. One service that makes this process a bit easier, including the installation of the profiles (see next page), is provided by a company called Chromix.
Some photographers choose to make their own custom profiles. However, this requires expensive hardware and software, plus a solid understanding of color management practices.
Installing Profiles
Once you download the profiles, you need to install them. Some of the manufacturer’s profiles include an installer that installs the profile for you, but most require that you install them yourself.
On Mac OSX, copy the profiles to the appropriate directory. If you have administrator privileges for your computer (most users running their own desktop computers have such privileges), use the <drive>/Library/ColorSync/Profiles folder. Just move the profile files to this location. If you don’t have administrator privileges, use the ~Library/ColorSync/Profiles folder. In Mac OS 10.7 (Lion), you need to use the Finder’s Go menu while holding down option, and choose Library. Then you can get to the ColorSync folder. Once installed, you’ll be able to use these profiles from within Photoshop, or indeed with any program.
With Windows, Right-click on the profile and choose Install. You may also use the Color Management control panel to add profiles for any number of devices.
Printer Driver Settings
The printer driver includes settings for specifically supported papers, print quality, and color correction. It is important that all are set properly. Check your printer manual for specific instructions. The number one cause of bad prints is incorrect printer driver settings. I’ll have some tips regarding things to look for later in this chapter.
Viewing Lights
Printers are generally designed to create images that look accurate when viewed under daylight. But most people view their prints indoors under tungsten lights, which are much more yellow and dimmer than sunlight. Viewing under tungsten lights results in images that appear to have little shadow detail. It’s best to get a good viewing light. Professionals use expensive D50 (5000K is another designation) or D65 viewing lamps available from quality lighting stores. Many office supply stores carry more moderately priced desktop daylight fluorescent or LED lights. Not all of us can do what a friend of mine does: He goes outside to view his prints—but he lives in Southern California where he enjoys extended periods of “daylight balanced” outdoor lighting—as well as warm breezes.
Photoshop
The Final Print Process
Up to this point, the work that you have done to your image isn’t particularly dependent on the final size or print medium. But now you will perform edits on your image that are. We often don’t know how our images will be printed when we start working on them, or we want to be able to print an image in a few different ways; so we make sure that these printer-specific steps are performed after we have completed all of our other edits, and have saved and labeled the edited image. In fact, we often create a separate, duplicate image made specifically for a given print medium and size.
Here’s a summary of what follows:
- Save the Edited Image—You have been working on your image for a couple of hours now, and before you rush into printing it, save it. The printing process involves several steps that alter your image in ways that are specific to a particular size or paper type. So first save the file to keep all of the edits and layers.
- Make the file a single-layer document—What follows includes cropping and sharpening your image. So it would be best if it was a single entity in the Layers panel. You have two choices for this:
Create a single Smart Object (preferred)—No need for duplicate documents. Then, the next steps will be reversible no matter how destructive they seem.
Create a flattened duplicate file—If your computer is slow, it will be faster to print from a simple background than from a multi-layered file. Save this as a copy of your master file.
- Crop the Image (if needed)—If you need to match a specific height and width or aspect ratio (e.g., 8" x 10" or 5" x 7"), then you will likely need to crop the image to fit.
- Resize/Resample the Image—Resize/resample the image to the target print size and appropriate printer resolution (e.g., 8" x 10" at 240ppi).
- Sharpen the Image—Digital images may require a modest amount of sharpening after resampling.
- Soft Proof—Use Photoshop’s Proof Setup to visualize the printed version on your monitor. One doesn’t really match a print to a monitor, but the other way around.
- Print—Make sure you have Photoshop and the printer driver set to the optimal settings for your particular paper.
Now, let’s look at each of these steps in detail.
Save the Edited Image
Likely, you will already have a saved file for your edited image. After you have completed all of your other edits and are confident that it reflects your vision, save this image so that you have a protected version that includes all your edits and layers (). In Bridge, label the image as your Master. (I use the blue label for this.)
Create a Single Smart Object or background
The most efficient method is creating a Smart Object from all of your document’s current layers. In this way, you can treat it as a single entity, but still be able to edit the pieces when necessary.
Select all layers (⌘+option+A/Ctrl+Alt+A) then Right-click near any layer’s name and choose . If you should need to edit the contents of this Smart Object, double-click its thumbnail.
Those who find it takes too long to print from a Smart Object might choose to duplicate the master image as a flattened file. The easiest method to do so is to select . In the Duplicate Dialog, change the name to “[My Image]_Print” (or an even more specific name that includes the printer and size, like “Tower of London E3880 8x10 matte”). Select Duplicate Merged Layers Only to flatten the image to a background layer. If that choice is unavailable, you will have to flatten when the duplicate is made: .
Save this duplicate in the same folder as your original. Before you forget, you should use Bridge to label it as an Alternate (purple), then “Stack” it with the original so you can always tell the master from this duplicate.
Crop Your Image
Often your image is not the right shape to fit your final print. Typically, images from digital cameras mimic the long format of 35mm film, a format that has the proportions of 4" x 6". If you want to fit this into a more traditional print proportion, like 5" x 7" or 8" x 10", you will need to crop off some of the long dimension.
- Select the Crop Tool from the Tool Panel.
- In the Options Bar for the Crop Tool, input the aspect ratio for the target print; this will ensure that you crop to these specific proportions.
- Adjust the crop area as necessary.
Once you have drawn and positioned the crop to fit your final image, hit the Enter key to accept the crop.
Resize/Resample the Image
Note: You should not have resampled your image at any point yet—there should be as many pixels in the uncropped area as there were when the image was born. Computers are very good at resampling and scaling images, but there are limits. Quadrupling the pixel-width of an image will not be as good as capturing an image with that many pixels.
The resolution of your image doesn’t really matter to Photoshop; Photoshop views the image merely as a large array of pixels without any specific “size.” As you edit, your image may have a wide range of possible resolutions—many digital camera images use a resolution of 72ppi, and sizes around 20" x 24"; scanned 35mm film usually has a resolution around 4000ppi, and a size of about 1" x 1½". You’ll set the appropriate size and resolution just before you print.
To resize and/or resample, select to open the Image Size dialog.
Make sure that the option for Constrain Proportions is set to ensure that you don’t stretch or squish your image. Also, make sure the option for Resample Image is set.
Input the target Width or Height; since these will change in proportion, changing one will also change the other.
Input the target Resolution for your printer. Almost all print devices print at a resolution of ~300ppi; if you don’t know your printer’s resolution, set it to 300ppi. For Epson printers, use a resolution of 240ppi. For images with very sharp details printed onto glossy papers or film, Epson printers can also use a resolution of 360ppi.
Some printers used by online services to print onto traditional photographic papers (like Lightjet, Chromira, or Frontier printers) have unusual resolutions like 304.6ppi. But these printers generally do a very good job of resizing your image to this exact resolution. So for these printers, set the resolution to 300ppi.
Finally, you need to set the appropriate resample algorithm. Up at the top of the dialog are the new (and old) pixel dimensions for this image; if the new dimension is larger than the old one (you are adding pixels to your image), then set the resample algorithm to Preserve Details; if the new dimension is smaller than the older one, set the resample algorithm to Bicubic Sharper. Automatic chooses one of the above based on whether you are up- or downsampling.
There are lots of add-on tools for Photoshop that perform sophisticated resampling algorithms; these tools often provide some benefit for resizing images to large sizes while maintaining sharp detail. This was a major issue for earlier versions of Photoshop, but the options available beginning with Photoshop CS2 are quite good for most images, making those other products unecessary.
Output Sharpening
Output sharpening is a step often overlooked in printing. After resampling an image, it is important to reclaim some of the image’s original sharpness.
- Ensure that the Smart Object or background is highlighted in the Layers panel.
- Select .
- If you are using a Smart Object as recommended, you will note that the Smart Sharpen Filter has a mask. If you wish to hide the sharpening in places, select the Brush Tool, set the default colors, and switch these so that the foreground color is black. Paint over the image where you want to hide the sharpening.
On-Screen Proof
One advantage of printing with profiles is the ability to soft proof the image before printing. Soft proofing allows Photoshop to mimic the look of the final print on the monitor.
- To set up a soft proof, select .
- For Device to Simulate, select the printer profile for the printer/paper combination you’ll use to print. You may also choose a printing press condition if you intend to print a simulation of that press on your own printer.
- Set Rendering Intent to Relative Colorimetric and turn on Black Point Compensation. This matches the black point in your image to the darkest black of the chosen printer profile. Compare with Perceptual rendering while studying saturated (intensely colored) areas in your image. Perceptual better preserves details in saturated areas but Relative tends to be more accurate. Compare, then decide which should be used for the image you’re about to print.
- Save a proof setup you use often by clicking the “Save…” button. Give it a useful name incorporating the printer and paper names, like “Ultra Smooth Fine Art” This name then appears at the bottom of the menu for easy access in the future.
- Photoshop now displays a soft proof of how your image will print using this profile. You may note some minor color shifts as you use ⌘+Y/Ctrl+Y to disable/enable soft proofing.
Add an Annotation
With annotations, you can add notes to the print file. Select the Note Tool from the Tool panel (behind the Eyedropper) and click on the image. Type in details like the printer, paper, printer settings, profiles, etc. Months from now, you’ll thank yourself, especially if the printer settings were unusual.
Print Dialog
- Select .
- In the Print dialog, choose the printer, number of prints, and orientation.
The print preview on the left will show your image centered on the paper size you selected. If your image appears too large or small, you probably didn’t resize your image properly. Cancel out of the Print dialog, then resize the image as described earlier.
- Set Color Handling to . Notice the little note that appears immediately under the choice that says: “Remember to disable the printer’s color management in the print settings dialog box.” You will shortly! Choose the Printer Profile for your printer/paper/ink combination (likely the one you soft proofed). This section is also where you set the Rendering Intent (method used by Photoshop to convert to your printer’s color profile). Some downloadable (and custom) profiles indicate an Intent. I suggest experimenting with two.
Choose either Perceptual or Relative Colorimetric. The difference is this: Relative Colorimetric will give a better match to your edited images’ colors, but may lose gradations in very saturated areas (e.g., intense blue skies). Perceptual won’t clip your saturated colors, but it tends to make colors throughout the image more bland and shadows less deep.
According to the documentation:
Perceptual aims to preserve the visual relationship between colors so it’s perceived as natural to the human eye, even though the color values themselves may change. This intent is suitable for photographic images with lots of out-of-gamut colors. This is the standard rendering intent for the Japanese printing industry.
Relative Colorimetric compares the extreme highlight of the source color space to that of the destination color space and shifts all colors accordingly.
Out-of-gamut colors are shifted to the closest reproducible color in the destination color space. Relative Colorimetric preserves more of the original colors in an image than Perceptual. This is the standard rendering intent for printing in North America and Europe. - Click Print Settings. This is where you synchronize the printer software with your Photoshop settings. Set paper size and type (very important), as well as other options:
Note: In the Mac OS Print Settings dialog, choose the Printer Settings option from the menu to access the settings for your printer driver.
These settings differ for each type of printer, but almost all printer drivers have options for Paper (or Media) Type and Quality. Set Paper Type to match the paper you’re using. (You’ll have choices only of the manufacturer’s papers; for example, Epson’s “Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster,” the name of which always amuses me.) Choose a color mode and set Resolution, if available, to the highest setting that will not upsample the image data (here, 1440dpi). Check your printer’s manual for details on these printer settings.
Most critical is to be sure that only one piece of software does the color handling. We chose Photoshop, so if it hasn’t been done automatically (as illustrated), change the Color Mode or Correction option to Off (or None or No Color Adjustment, depending on the printer). Sometimes this is difficult to find. For example, the Windows driver for my printer requires that you click a button labeled “Custom” before you see this choice.
When finished, click OK or Save. Now we can finish configuring the Print dialog.
- You may also add Printing Marks (like crop marks) and other options such as bleed.
Save the Print File
Optionally, if you suspect you may print the image again in the same way, save a copy under a name that will help you to identify the image and printing process later. Include the print size and print technique in the file name, perhaps: “My Image Print 3880_8x10” for an Epson 3880 print at 8" x 10". Save the Print file as a TIFF or PSD file.
Lightroom
For all of Lightroom’s output modules, it’s extremely useful to have collections in place to segregate the images you’re sharing. Not only does this make it easier to know just which images you’re printing, but also the collection will remember each output module’s settings. So the next time you print from the same collection, all your configurations will be in place.
Printing Directly
There are several things you should do consistently to print successfully from Lightroom.
- Collect Your Images to Print—Create collections for the purpose.
- Choose a Template in the Print Module—This may be only a starting point that will be refined. Essentially, the big decision is whether this is a Single Image, Contact Sheet, Picture Package, or Custom Package.
- Fine-tune Layout settings—These include everything from spacing between multiples to overlays, watermarking, and more.
- Set up Print Job Panel—This is where our color management, output sharpening, and resolution choices are.
- Configure and Save Printer Driver Settings.
- Print—Use the Print One button to use all the settings as they are, or the Print button to have one last chance to change the driver options, including the number of copies.
1. Collect Your Images
Create an ordinary collection in the Library module, or create a Saved Print collection in the Print module. Either will remember the settings you last used for any output.
To add images to the collection, first Right-click on the collection and set it as the target. Then go through your library selecting images and tapping the B key, or clicking on the circle in a thumbnail’s upper right when you hover over the thumbnail. You can even designate the Painter to add images to a target collection. When you’re ready, select the collection.
When you return to the Print module, select All Filmstrip Photos from the Use menu in the toolbar to ensure that all the images you just gathered will be printed.
2. Choose a Template
As you hover your cursor over the templates in the Template Browser panel, the Preview panel will give you an idea of the layout. By name and preview, you should choose a template as a starting point. Then the fun begins.
Keep in mind that each template uses one of three Layout Styles: Single Image/Contact Sheet, Picture Package, or Custom Package. We’ll adjust these next. In the following example, we’ll start out with the “2x2 Cells” template. Of course, you may experiment with any layout.
3. Layout Settings
There are three layout engines that you can use: Single Image/Contact Sheet for one or more uniformly sized prints, Picture Package for printing a variety of sizes of each image (like portrait studios often produce), or Custom Package for more elaborate and unique layouts.
For all, identity plates and watermarks can be used to mark your prints and discourage unwelcome reproduction.
Single Image/Contact Sheet
Single Image/Contact Sheet uses a grid, which you define in the panels below Layout Style. Customizing a few templates will quickly reveal the kinds of options here. The most crucial, however, are in the Image Settings panel. Zoom to Fill has caused many photographers to wonder why Lightroom was cropping their pictures.
Picture Package
Picture Package allows different sizes for each image. There are many choices for how many images and what sizes. Auto Layout is handy for lending ideas. As you add more images, Lightroom may add more pages, or you may do so yourself with the New Page button.
Custom Package
Custom Package allows for sophisticated and elegant (or riotous and cluttered) layout. You may freely add cells of whatever size, then drag images from the filmstrip into the cells, which may then be resized and repositioned. With multiple pages, you can create your own sequencing and patterns.
Image Settings, Layout, & Guides Panels
You may have chosen a template to start with, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make modifications. In the illustration below, you’ll note that I checked the box Rotate to Fit in the Image Settings panel. That way, both portrait and landscape format images will make the best use of the space in their cells.
In that same panel, you can apply a border to the images or have the images fill their cells completely. The remaining option, Repeat One Photo per Page, fills each template page with one of your selected images, so if you needed four each of 12 images, this would be a quick way of getting there.
The Margins can also be adjusted a bit to make room for the Crop Marks. Under Guides, it may be tempting to turn off a few things, but only one is redundant: Image Cells. Page Bleed grays out the outer parts of the page on which the printer can’t reliably print.
Page Panel
You may want a little bit of text to help you or your clients identify which images are which.
Watermarking allows you to add opaque or translucent text in almost any position, font, and color. In the Page panel, check the box for Watermark, then use the menu to create one or more watermarks. After they have been created, you may choose them at any time.
Aside from the Identity Plate, there doesn’t appear to be much other information you can attach to the image. We can add Crop Marks, as promised, and we can turn on Photo Info, too, for Contact Sheets. Try it.
- Enable Photo Info.
- Click on the menu to its right and choose .
- In the field at the top, insert your cursor where you’d like some data to be inserted.
- Find the data in the list below, then click Insert.
- Add text to the field where and how you’d like, perhaps adding punctuation or other arbitrary text.
- Save your customization as a preset so you can use it again later.
4. Print Job Panel
This panel is more approachable if you’ve been printing from Photoshop. What’s different? You may do resampling right from here, if desired. Since resampling may result in diminished sharpness, you may also apply some sharpening. You can choose “Glossy” for paper surfaces other than matte.
Importantly, Color Management is governed here. I recommend printing with profiles from Lightroom. However, the first time you look at the Profile menu, you won’t see a list of profiles at all. You’ll see and.Choose to see the list you’re looking for. What’s nice about this interface is that you can choose which profiles you will see in the Profile menu later. Click the checkboxes of the profiles for the papers/printers you use and click OK.
From then on, you can choose your profiles from a mercifully short list.
5. Printer Driver Settings
The settings here are identical to those you would have selected had you been printing from Photoshop. For those options, see the Mac and Windows examples earlier in this chapter.
Note the button that commits your choices: it says Save. Once you’ve saved your settings, they’re set until you change them.
6. Print
All that remains is clicking the Print button or Printer… button at the bottom right. Since you’ve chosen to let Lightroom manage color, remember to disable color management/correction in your printer’s driver should you want to change anything there.
Book
You may generate a book layout that can be made as a PDF or printed by Blurb. There are a few things you should do consistently to print successfully from Lightroom.
- Collect Your Images to Print—Create collections for this purpose.
- Choose a Layout and Output—Decide whether you’re producing a PDF or a physical book via Blurb. Choose the format and cover, and you will see the Blurb price right here.
- Fine-tune Layout settings—These include text, caption generation from metadata, background images, and more.
- Drag images from Film Strip—populate the layout yourself or choose Auto Layout. You may continue to refine your layout choices page by page, zoom images to better fit the cell in which they are placed, and add text.
- Create Book—If you’re using Blurb, you will be prompted to log in.
Web
Photographic images made for the web are almost always JPEGs and will almost certainly use the sRGB color space profile. Luckily, the products we’re using have this consideration baked into their code.
Photoshop
Save for Web
Save for Web is a fabulous choice for saving one image at a time as a JPEG, as it allows resampling, color management, and previewing of the final result in one dialog box.
Note the “fly-out” menu in the upper-right corner of the dialog box where you can save your settings. Use it. Configure once, use it again and again.
In the dialog, choose JPEG as the format for photos. There are others, but their quality is poorer and/or resulting file size is much larger. Choose a Quality setting from 0 to 100. The “correct” setting will vary, but values from the 40s to 70s are common. Resample to the desired pixel dimensions in the lower right with Bicubic Sharper. Use the Convert to sRGB setting. If you choose Internet Standard (No Color Management) as a Preview, the preview will accurately predict what a typical browser will show.
Generator
Primarily a feature for designers, Generator is a method for converting layers and layer groups into one or many graphics. Simply naming a layer “33% Image.jpg 55%” will create a JPEG with a quality setting of 55% at 1/3 the size of that layer’s contents. Those interested in learning more should visit http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/generate-assets-layers.html.
Lightroom
Building a Web Gallery
- Collect Your Images—Use a methodology similar to that outlined for printing: use collections to organize and recall settings.
- Choose a Template in the Web Module—This may be only a starting point that will be refined. Essentially, the big decision is whether this is an HTML, Flash, standard, or well-made third-party template.
- Fine-Tune Layout and Output Settings—What text should accompany your images? What colors should decorate the gallery’s pages? How big should your thumbnail and large images be? These are the questions you get to answer in these panels.
- Configure Upload Settings—Use this if you’re building a site (or part of one) that is to be uploaded. When you’re done, you might also choose to Export the web gallery so it can be viewed on a CD, for example. Your Upload Settings include FTP (or, better, SFTP) username and passwords, the URL to which you’re uploading, and the exact directory/folder to which your web gallery files should go.
- Preview in Browser—Although the Preview area acts like a browser and does a good job, there is no better test than a real web browser.
- Upload or Export—Uploading will prompt you for your FTP password (as supplied by your web hosting service provider). Export will prompt you for a location for your exported files.
1. Collect the Images
Create or choose a collection, or create a Web Gallery collection. Target a collection, then select images and tap the B key, or click on the circle in a thumbnail’s upper right corner when you hover over it.
When you’re ready, select the collection—it will “remember” the settings you choose in this and the other output modules.
2. Choose a Template and/or Engine
Flash or HTML?
The left side of the Lightroom window is dedicated to the Template Browser and its Preview. I’ve picked Earthy. It happens to be a more traditional HTML-based gallery. The other choice is Flash, which has nicer transitions but, since it will not be functional on iOS devices like Apple’s iPad, I do not recommend it. However, the HTML templates are pleasant, and I’m comfortable editing Lightroom’s HTML code if I wish to customize it later.
Click the button that invites you to “Find More Galleries Online.” For as little as $25, you can find very functional galleries that could include e-commerce functions and deep customizability.
Note: The central work area responds to the choices you make as you choose them, and it does so as a browser would. If you make your window larger, the work area re-centers your content like a web browser does. Better still, it navigates like one. If you click on a thumbnail, it brings you to the larger version; click on the larger image, and you’re back to the thumbnails.
3. Fine-Tune Layout & Output Settings
There are many choices you can make to have a lovely web gallery.
Site Info Customize your site’s text. You may even use a little light HTML if you know it. If you enable your Identity Plate, you can also designate that it become a link when the site is generated. Usually, this links to the main page of the site, so the default is “index.html,” which is the name of the main page on many sites. Determine whether the thumbnails should have numbers or not.
Note: The link you specify under Web or Mail Link is the web address to which a person is whisked if they click on the text you entered under Contact Info.
Color Palette I started with the Earthy template, but thought I’d lighten a few things. This panel is where you do that. However, to see all the elements that are affected, use the main window as you would the web browser: click on a thumbnail to see the larger image. Note the text on that page is also available for colorization.
Appearance Just click in the grid to create a thumbnail array with as few as nine to as many as 40 images. You will need to go from the Grid pages to the Image pages to evaluate your decisions.
Image Info You may have text above and below the large versions of your images, whether the File name or any of the other choices we saw in the Print Module’s image info. You can also include Custom Text.
Output Settings This allows you to set the size of the large JPEG versions of the images. You can choose widths of 300 to over 2000 pixels. Of course, such size differences greatly affect the look and feel of the page and may restrict who can use the site (bigger images favor owners of bigger monitors). You also must choose the JPEGs’ Quality. Here, I’ve used 70. Since the image will be resampled, apply some sharpening, too. The Standard amount works well. Finally, choose which metadata get included in the image and whether a copyright watermark will appear on it.
4. Configure Upload Settings
This last, small panel is where you configure upload (FTP) settings. If you already have a website, you may simply add another directory/folder containing the site you just built here in Lightroom.
5. Preview in Browser
To see your work in a real web browser before you’re ready to commit to uploading it where the world can see, use the Preview in Browser button below the work area window.
6. Upload or Export
To upload to a site, use the Upload button at the lower right. It will use the settings from the Upload Settings panel.
Sometimes you might want to make a functioning website to burn onto a CD-ROM to permit a client a private look with a pleasant interface. In this case, you would use the Export… button. Give the containing folder a name, then the site gets saved to your specified location.
It’s rarely so easy.
Slideshows
Lightroom
Building a Slideshow
- Create or Choose a Collection—Sound familiar? It can include video.
- Choose a Template in the Slideshow Module—This may be only a starting point that will be refined. Essentially, the big decisions are what, if any, metadata is shown with the images and what music will go with the images.
- Fine-Tune Layout and Appearance Settings—What text should accompany your images? What colors should decorate each slide? How large should the images be and what margins should accompany them? These are some of the questions you get to answer in these panels.
- Edit Titles (Intro and Ending Screens)—You get to create and/or edit identity plates to use on otherwise blank slides that begin and end your slideshow.
- Configure Playback Options—You must determine how long each slide remains on screen, how long the transition is between them, and what music is to be playing, if any. You can choose any MP3 file for the music and automatically fit playback to the music’s duration.
- Preview and Play—Always preview your show before presenting.
- Export Slideshow as PDF or Video—Sometimes you need to make a presentation on a computer that doesn’t have Lightroom installed. In that case, you might use the free Adobe Reader to show a PDF (without music), or create a video (complete with music) that can be viewed with the Adobe Media Player, Apple Quicktime, or Windows Media Player.
1. Create a Collection
Use either a Standard collection or create a Slideshow collection when you choose this module.
In the Filmstrip, you can rearrange the images and videos, changing the order of the slideshow. All that remains for you to do is to choose the appearance and behavior of your Slideshow.
2–4. Slide Layout
Start with a Template. It’s much easier to adjust something already made.
You will likely not work your way down the list of panels. Rather, you’ll move from one to another, balancing, for example, the margins in the Layout panel with room needed for your identity plate, or judging the effectiveness of a background image (in Backdrop) with your particular images. You’ll experiment with the slide duration, trying to let each image have a chance to be appreciated but not bore your viewers. That is, you’ll try some settings, then either use the Preview button or the Play button on the lower right. Either way, you’ll notice a delay before the music begins the first time.
To edit your Identity Plate, open the Overlays panel, then click on the small version (with a dark checkerboard). A menu appears where you can choose . The dialog box that appears is where you can edit the text of your Identity Plate, including font and size, or you can insert a small graphic you’ve built.
If you want a generic text overlay, perhaps a title for the slideshow or explanatory text, click on the ABC below the main Image window. A field appears for you to enter your custom text, or you may choose metadata. Once you’ve committed your text overlay (for custom text, by pressing Enter), a scalable box appears anchored to the lower left corner of the slide area. You can drag the box and/or its anchor, resize it, anchor it to the frame or part of the image, or use the Custom Text field to change it. Use the Text Overlays section of the Overlays panel to edit the opacity, color, and font for the selected text overlay.
5–6. Playback
If you choose an MP3 file, you can then have Lightroom figure out the duration of each slide so the show ends gracefully with the music.
7. Exporting Slideshows
When you’ve dialed in your slideshow, you’ll want to show it, of course. You may either show it directly from Lightroom, in which you get all the bells and whistles, or you can export it as an Acrobat PDF. PDFs don’t support music, and the transitions won’t be so elegant, but neither you nor anyone else will need Lightroom to play the PDF version of your slideshow. All that is needed is the free Adobe Reader software.
You may also create a video with music that can be viewed using Adobe Media Player, Apple Quicktime, or Windows Media Player.
Bridge
In a hurry? Has your client, boss, or instructor just walked into the room expecting not a messy Bridge window but a presentation of your work? Just select the first image of those you want to present, then tap the spacebar. Suddenly, you’re in Full Screen Preview. Tap the arrow keys to advance and the esc key to exit Full Screen.
If you have just a little more time, configure a proper slideshow with . You may specify any of several transitions and their duration, as well as the scaling of the images to the screen, and whether and how the file name and ratings appear. A Full Caption displays the file data in the lower central portion of the image in large type, whereas Compact discretely places a smaller version in the lower left corner. You might also choose just page numbers or no data at all. Trigger the show with ⌘+L/Ctrl+L.
Have Fun
No matter what you photograph, or to what medium you output, make the process an enjoyable one. Experiment, allow happy accidents, and if they’re unhappy, call them learning opportunities.
Thanks for reading. Now go outside (or to the studio) and get shooting.