Free Photoshop Lightroom Getting Started Guide For Beginners

Adobe has posted an excellent 41 page PDF booklet that is a super helpful quick reference guide to have around while learning the program.

It's filled with some appealing photography and there's an index at the end that makes it very easy to find specific Lightroom help. Here are the main section headings of the guide, and the small intros to each one:

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Overview
Lightroom offers a complete environment for digital photography, from raw capture to creative output. Start with the Library module, where you import your images, move seamlessly to the Develop module to perform advanced image adjustments (or export them to Photoshop), and share your photos as slideshows, prints, or web pages.

Getting Images Into Your Library
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom takes a unique approach to importing and managing your files. The Import dialog box offers valuable tools, including file handling options, metadata templates, keywording, and exposure presets.

Viewing And Using Your Library
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom provides a simplified inter face design that lets you focus on editing your photographs. At the heart of Lightroom is the Library module. It enables you to easily store, locate, sort, and adjust individual images as well as entire groups.

Image Adjustments

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Develop module offers sophisticated image adjustment tools in a convenient set of panels.

Exporting Images

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom gives you the ability to export your images in different formats while renaming and resizing them into your preferred color space — either one at a time or as a group.

Slideshow

Slideshows are a great way to share your images. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom provides you with easy-to-use tools that will give you impressive results.

Print

The Print module lets you print directly from Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, without the additional step of exporting the photos into an external editor, such as Adobe Photoshop.

Web

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom gives you a comprehensive and streamlined system for creating your own web photo gallery. Professional, intuitive presets are provided to get you started, but Lightroom also allows for basic customization of your web pages.

The Lightroom Getting Started Guide comes in two versions — high and low res. Get the high res if you can, as the photos really look much nicer in this one.

Lightroom Getting Started guide – high resolution (PDF, 64 MB)

Lightroom Getting Started guide – low resolution (PDF, 5.4 MB)

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Version 1.1 Released

Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom version 1.1, which you can download immediately as a free upgrade from the Adobe site. Photoshop Lightroom 1.1 for Mac is a 22.5 MB download, and Photoshop Lightroom 1.1 for Windows is a 30.7 MB download. New features include flexible image management for multi-computer workflows, an improved noise reduction and sharpening technology, compatibility with Windows Vista, and new camera support.

Adobe Lightroom is available in the US and Canada through the Adobe Store.

Looking for the scoop on all the new features of Lightroom 1.1? Here are some great resources for you:

Scott Gilbertson at Wired has written a Lightroom 1,1 article. Scott says "You probably won’t notice any great changes in the interface when you install the update, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t significant improvements. Most of the changes are on the fine grained controls and image editing options.

"An extensive list of changes (PDF - 65 KB) can be found on the Adobe site and there really is far more than I can cover in a single post, but here’s some of the highlights I’ve noticed in the last hour or so of testing:

• The application feels faster, switching between modules is quicker and when scrolling through the library thumbnails snap into focus much quicker (note I’m using a Macbook with one gig of RAM, YMMV).
• Vastly improved sharpening tools. In the Develop module the sharpening slider has been replaced with four individual controls (Amount, Radius, Detail, and Masking). This could be a mixed bag, on one hand you have more fine-grained control on the other hand it takes longer — it would nice if this were a “advanced” option.
• “Clarity” controls. A new Develop module feature which Adobe says “adds depth to an image by increasing local contrast.” I haven’t had time to really get the hang of it, but in certain situations it can give images that extra “pop” that editors are always asking for.
• The cataloging system has been revamped and you can now import images from one catalog for use in another (see the new menu item File >> Import For Catalog)
• New metadata browsing option. Images can be sorted by things like camera, lens, aperture, ISO etc.

Over at Lightroom-News you'll find some extensive coverage. Here's one valuable resource they are offering: "To coincide with the announcement of the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.1 update, Lightroom-News, in conjunction with The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book, will be bringing you a complete guide to the new version of Lightroom as a series of eight feature stories. These will be published over the next two to three weeks starting with a guide to the general menu items in Lightroom 1.1."

The first post, The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book 1.1 update: General menu items common to all modules, includes info on the following:

• Exporting catalogs
• Importing catalogs
• Catalog export and import in action
• Export/Import summary
• Managing multiple catalogs
• Catalog settings preferences
• Catalog info
• Relaunch and optimize
• File handling settings
• Metadata settings
• Auto completion options
• Viewing Lightroom edits in Camera Raw
• Viewing Camera Raw edits in Lightroom
• Keeping the Lightroom edits in sync
• Synchronizing Lightroom and Camera Raw
• Importing from disk/device
• Exporting keyword hierarchy
• Filtering images
• Select by rating/flag/color label
• Help menu
• Accessing the presets folder

At the O'Reilly site I found 3 interesting posts. First there's a short piece by James Duncan Davidson that details changes in Photoshop Lightroom version 1.1, a post by Mikkel Aaland called What I Like about LR 1.1, and a story by Colleen Wheeler that brings some news about a much anticipated Lightroom book.

Colleen says, "My favorite thing about the release of Lightroom 1.1? We’re going to press this week with Mikkel’s (Aaland) beautiful book, Photoshop Lightroom Adventure. And we’re doing so knowing that it will be the most up-to-date Lightroom book out there. Over the past few months, Mikkel has been painstakingly updating the manuscript for the changes anticipated in version 1.1, a monumental task.

"Not only did he have to diligently monitor and document all the great new features that were being added for LR 1.1, but he had to reshoot most of the nearly one thousand images in the book to reflect the new interface."

To make sure you're really on top of the latest Lightroom news, also have a look at the Adobe Lightroom Team blog, where you'll find links to other interesting resources as well.

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