MCA

15 Apr 2008

Just before I got into using Lightroom as my main raw image processing tool I watched a video tutorial on Adobe's site (it's not there for me to link to, arse!). The guy explaining things had an interesting take on the processing Lightroom facilitated, he said the tweaking you made to a shot was how you wanted the shot to appear today - which might be different from your choices tomorrow, or later on. But either way, you could see change try undo change try some more, then come back next week and undo/redo it all again - that's what Lightroom allowed you to do. I think it was one of those things that hit a chord with me, and ever since I've been a big fan of Lightroom.

The other day my friend and now work colleague J wondered why I processed Awarded in B&W, not colour (the original shot had a cool blue hue from the spotlights). She played around with the source shot and her processed version had more definition in the laser-etched 3D chair than mine, which was groovy and all. I think I answered her remixed version with something about my (colour) processing blowing out the definition in the top third of the shot blah-blah ... but you know what it really came down to? At the precise moment I was working on Awarded I liked what I saw in the B&W. Another day I might have been too in love with the cool blue to drop it out (that's what usually happens). And in a few months time I might come across the shot again in Lightroom, undo a few steps and find a completely different colour version that I'll kick myself for not posting. But you know, that's the way it goes and it's a workflow that I've come to embrace because sometimes a shot I hate today will be the shot I include in My Favourites next week.

And sometimes I even debate which way to process the shot I'm about to post. Do I go with the colour shot or the old-style B&W? Today I say colour.

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Now endorsed by my mum: "I love it!" she said.