Every now and then something out of the ordinary occurs which prompts me to do a double-take. Today, Craft & Vision is rolling out their first ever Photography Masterclass to educate photographers on using Lightroom to create moving, powerful black and white images. This isn’t your standard ebook, and here’s why: The Power of Black and White: In Adobe Lightroom and Beyond dives deeper into the intricacies of Lightroom in a clear and understandable language, arming photographers with tools far beyond the use of the camera. This eBook lives up to it’s classification as a masterclass in both Lightroom techniques and evoking the pureness of black and white photography. Here’s the real kicker… How much would you pay for a 100 spread (200 page) masterclass in black and white photography, and one on in-depth techniques for Adobe Lightroom? How about $5? Time for that double-take!

My Thoughts on the Content

Ok, let’s put the extraordinary price aside for a second, because that actually has nothing to do with the real reasons why I enjoyed and would recommend this book.

Black and White photography is one of those artforms which photographers of all genres can (and should) learn to master. In fact, it’s a more difficult skill to master because we perceive the world in colour more than we do in tone/contrast. The art of envisioning a scene for black and white comes with time and practice, but the skill of processing an image for black and white is one which anybody can learn when taught; and that’s what this book effectively does. I must confess, I hesitate calling this one an eBook; it really is a masterclass as claimed in it’s title.

The Power of Black and White starts off with some helpful “do’s and don’ts” for creating black and white photos from the camera, and quickly moves into the basics of black and white conversion before introducing Adobe Lightroom’s various tools for converting colour photography to effective black and white images. The eBook then moves on to a logical workflow method for working with black and white conversions in Lightroom, along with 3 detailed “start-to-finish” examples of this process in action on with plenty of visuals for each step.

What I found most helpful is something I believe every digital photographer from beginners to professionals should learn – dodging and burning techniques. In my opinion, the art of dodging and burning is unrivaled by any other post processing method for creating strikingly photo-realistic images.

Additionally, some of the more advanced users will appreciate the attention to the various plugins available for Lightroom, while beginners can get a good sense of what’s out there on the market and some of the amazing things that can be done with third party Lightroom plugins. Since the author spends a little time talking about the power of plug-ins like NiK Software’s Silver Efex pro, NiK has ponied up 3 full versions of Silver Efex Pro, which anyone that buys this masterclass between April 12-16, 2011, is eligible to win!

Just when I thought the eBook was coming to a nice close after the chapter on plugins for Lightroom, another pleasant surprise! Let’s say you’ve mastered the art of photographing for black and white, and the skill of converting your photos in Lightroom to beautiful black and white images… now what? The author includes 2 additional chapters on finishing touches which make real sense for black and white photographs. The author takes us through things like split-toning and hand tinting images, then onto various frames and border effects. Lastly, the book finishes with a great little chapter on using Lightroom to output your black and white’s for print which the author describes as somewhat of a lost art in the age of digital.

In the end, this eBook comes in at a whopping 100 pages, but does so in a manner which does not become overwhelming. The page layout makes for pleasurable viewing of the photography, and the plentiful screenshots of the Lightroom panels are well sized to more than adequately demonstrate the various techniques revealed in the eBook. The author’s passion for both Lightroom and black & white photography clearly translates in this eBook, which made it an enjoyable read for myself.

The Power of Black and White: In Adobe Lightroom and Beyond is available now as a downloadable PDF for just $5USD.

But Naturally, You SAVE!

Of course, there’s a launch party discount as you can imagine: For the first few days only, if you use the promotional code BWLIGHT4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of The Power of Black and White (a masterclass) for only $4 OR use the code BWLIGHT20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST April 16th, 2011.

Visit the Craft and Vision photography library here.

Welcome back to the part four in our series on watermarking your photos. By now we’ve examined the reasons why watermarks are important and what information you should be adding in your watermarks, along with some Photoshop techniques for creating watermarks. In this tutorial, we’re going to take a look at Adobe Lightroom 3 and see just how wonderfully easy Adobe has made watermarking in this latest release.

One of the most requested and most fantastic additions to Lightroom’s version 3 is the watermarking tool. Watermarking in Lightroom 3 is done when exporting your photos (either for print or for web), and therefore logically shows up in the Export panel. Once you have selected your images for export (usually to JPEG), you can scroll to the bottom of the export dialog box to find the new watermarking tools.

Check the Watermark checkbox ON, and from the dropdown menu select “Edit Watermarks…” to create a text watermark, or use a graphic (which you must have previously created).

Text Watermarks

At the top-right side of the “Edit Watermarks” dialog box, you’ll have the option to choose either a text or graphics based watermark. Here we’ll first take a look at how easy it is to add a text watermark.

Just under your image thumbnail, you can add any text you would like, which will automatically appear as a preview over the thumbnail. As you scroll down the list of options in this dialog box, you’ll see that you can change the font, text style, color, and alignment. Under the type options, you can also choose to add a drop shadow with various parameters to experiment with.

Further down the dialog box reveals options to decrease the opacity of your text watermark, resize it to your liking, change the inset (margins) and lastly anchor your watermark to a particular area of your image.

Graphic/Logo Watermarks

Rather than adding a text only watermark, there are times where you may wish to include a small graphic such as your company’s logo or icon as the watermark itself. This can be done just as easily in Lightroom 3. Instead of choosing a text based watermark in the “Edit Watermarks…” dialog box, you would simply select “Graphic” from the top-right corner. Of course, you must create your graphic/logo beforehand and save it in either JPEG or PNG format (PNG is the preferred format since it supports transparent backgrounds when using image based watermarks).

Once you have your graphic selected you will see that the text watermarking options are greyed out and not usable. Scrolling further down the dialog box reveals the same options for adjusting the opacity and placement of your graphic based watermark.

Click “Save” and you will be asked to name this new watermark as a preset, which allows you to use it again on your exported images, web gallery images, and even slideshows created in Lightroom 3. Now when you export your images through any of these methods, your watermarks will automatically be added to all of your images as long as you have the watermark checkbox turned on. How’s that for easy?

Lightroom 3 is the latest release from Adobe. Upgrades from previous versions of Lightroom go for $99 and the full version for Mac/PC goes for $299 (as of the time of this posting). Better still, you can purchase directly through Adobe where they offer instant digital delivery. PhotographyBB is an affiliate for Adobe products.

Until next time, have fun creating your watermarks and please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments below. I always enjoy seeing what you all come up with, so feel free to email me one of your photos (resized for email of course!) anytime. Happy watermarking!

Oct 23rd, 2009 – VANCOUVER, CANADA – PhotographyBB announced today, the release of the 21st edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. The PhotographyBB Online Magazine is a leading resource in the future of free information distribution, offering readers: Digital Photography tips and techniques, DSLR camera function training, and image post processing tutorials in Adobe® Photoshopâ„¢, and RAW processing in Photoshop Lightroomâ„¢.

The October 2009 edition oppropriately features Halloween themed tutorials such as “How to Photograph Ghosts” and “Digital Pumpkin Carving in Photoshop.” Additionally this issue explores a sneak peak at the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta release, and some of the exciting new features that Adobe has to offer.

Editor in Chief, Dave Seeram had these comments regarding this recent release:

“I’m really proud of the work that our team has done with this issue. In addition to our regular photography and tutorial columns, this month we have a special feature – a sneak peak at the new features in the Lightroom 3 (Beta) release. Readers can check out these new features, then download their own beta copy from Adobe Labs and try it out for themselves. Additionally, since this month typically lends itself to gorgeous outdoor fall photography, we are also looking at outdoor portrait shooting techniques. For Halloween, we’ve even got some themed tutorials to really get out readers into the Halloween spirit. Couple that with the FAQ series where we answer questions from our readers, and the continuation in our popular HDR series, and I feel we have a special issue this month.

In our Photography Around the World feature, we’re whisked off the Ireland for a spectacular photographic view of the countryside, mountains, churches, and forts.”

By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB continues its trend through the future of free downloadable magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur and intermediate level photographers.

In addition to articles which aide photographers in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use post-processing tools such as Photoshop and Lightroom, to build on digital photography post-processing skills.

PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website at: http://www.photographyBB.com/magazine

PhotographyBB was founded in Oct, 2006, and is a division of PowerButton Central (2004).
For more information, visit the PhotographyBB website at: http://www.photographybb.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/photographybb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/photographybb

New Lightroom beta delivers faster performance, refined image processing and streamlined publishing

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Oct. 22, 2009 —Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 3 beta software for Macintosh and Windows®, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution, helping serious amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase all their images from one application. Available as a free download on Adobe Labs, Lightroom 3 beta delivers a preview of new tools that will be in Lightroom 3, including more intuitive importing, unparalleled noise reduction and sharpening tools, enhanced slideshow capabilities and direct publishing to online photo sharing sites like Flickr®. Adobe encourages photographers to test this early selection of new features and provide the product team with their feedback.

“We are extremely fortunate that a strong community of photographers have rallied around Lightroom, helping to evolve the application and making it a meaningful part of their photographic workflows,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for Professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. “While we’re still hard at work on Lightroom 3, we recognize the value our customers bring to the development process and want their input so we can deliver the best final product possible.”

New in Lightroom 3 Beta
Lightroom 3 beta has been completely redesigned with under-the-hood efficiencies to better handle growing image libraries and improve responsiveness with a higher-quality processing engine. In the Library module, a rebuilt import system makes bringing photos into the software more intuitive. Users can easily specify the source and destination of their images, and save common processing, metadata or destination settings as easy-to-reuse presets.

The Library module also includes new capabilities to publish collections on popular photo-sharing sites. Flickr users now have direct access to their accounts from within Lightroom and can drag and drop images directly into their Photostreams. Flickr Pro account users can automatically synch their images and even view comments made on Flickr directly within the Library. This functionality can be extended to additional sites by adding them as new plug-ins once they become available.

In the Develop module, an overhauled processing engine allows users to create the highest quality images. Improved Capture Sharpening and Color Noise Reduction tools provide superior results while still preserving an image’s edge detail and contrast. A new Grain tool adds a film-style grain to images, and two new Vignette modes help photographers get a more natural look.

Lightroom 3 beta also offers advanced output options, including the ability to export slideshows as videos with audio and title screens that can be posted to video-sharing sites or optimized for mobile media. New watermarking capabilities enable photographers to embed text or graphic information directly on an image and then adjust the size, position and opacity. In addition, photographers can customize print layouts and save settings for future use, giving them refined control over their images.

Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended software are at the heart of the Photoshop family, joined by solutions for users at every level who want to bring out the best in their digital images. Photoshop Lightroom addresses the workflow needs of serious amateur and professional photographers, helping them manage, find, enhance and showcase images in impactful ways. Adobe Photoshop Elements software provides exciting tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts. Lastly, snap shooters can access Photoshop.com for free to simply fix and enhance photos, and quickly share those images on Photoshop.com or on social-networking sites.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta is available as a free download to anyone on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Visit to learn more and download the beta. Feedback can be submitted on the Lightroom forums: http://forums.adobe.com/community/lightroom. Users also can connect with Adobe at www.facebook.com/lightroom or www.twitter.com/AdobeLR, and can add the tag #AdobeLR3beta to tweets about the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Is there really any difference between Lightroom 2 and Bridge CS4?
Being a user of both Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 with Adobe Bridge, I often get asked what the differences are, if any, between the two programs and why one may be better than the other. If you are trying to make the decision between Lightroom 2 or Photoshop CS4, there are few differences between the actual capabilities of these suites, however, those differences may be a big factor in the decision on which software to go with.

Are You Editing RAW Files?
As far as RAW photo editing capabilities, both Bridge and Lightroom 2 offer the same controls in the “Develop” module when it comes to the various sliders for controlling exposure, hue, saturation, curves, etc… But the similarities for the most part, end here.

Lightroom 2 is really meant as a standalone application for the “busy” digital photographer. The organizational capabilities of Lightroom through the use of catalog databases and collections makes Lightroom much easier to work with and organize large volumes of photos QUICKLY. If you are the type of photographer who does not spend a whole lot of time post processing or doing digital artwork conversions, then Lightroom is the tool that will get the job done. Lightroom works best for photographers who shot several hundred (or even thousand) photos per shoot, and need to get the editing done quickly. As a standalone application, it is much more affordable than Photoshop CS4 and Bridge (which are bundled together), but of course, the editing and digital filtering capabilities that Photoshop offers are not present in Lightroom. You won’t be able to clone people out of an image with Lightroom or turn photos into painted works of art, but you will be able to do any adjustments to exposure, colour, saturation, contrast, sharpening, blemish removal, vignetting, and more (yes, you can still do these same things in Bridge, but at a much higher cost for the software).

Lightroom 2 also gives you the print, web, and slideshow modules making these tasks quite pain-free for the photographer who does not like to spend a whole lot of time on the post processing end of things. The slideshow module is excellent for giving presentations of your work to a prospective client, or even to show proofs to a client whom you’ve already shot for.

Photoshop Magic?
Photoshop on the other hand, has it’s place too. If you are the type of photographer or digital artist who needs full control and ability to make drastic and lengthy edits to an image, then there are few applications that can rival the editing capabilities of Photoshop. Photoshop does have a much steeper learning curve than Lightroom, and the ability to work on images with layers can be invaluable for certain types of editing and special effects work.

It’s a tough decision to make, but I would say that if you are a busy photographer who needs to quickly retouch and finalize large volumes of images, then Lightroom is a better choice. If you enjoy creating something in your images that was not there when the camera snapped the photo (and that includes things such as “smoother skin”), then Photoshop would be the way to go.

But hey, if you can affford it, then why debate the choice? Get the best of both worlds and you’ll sure to be happy!

VANCOUVER, CANADA  - PhotographyBB announced today, the release of the twelfth edition of the PhotographyBB Magazine Online. The PhotographyBB  Magazine Online is quickly becoming a leading resource in the future of free information distribution, offering our readers: Digital Photography tips and techniques, DSLR camera function training, and image post processing tutorials in Adobe® Photoshop™, and RAW processing in Photoshop Lightroom™.

The January 2009 release features digital photography articles with tutorials to help digital photographers to learn new techniques for achieving both better photographs as well as leaning post processing skills in Adobe’s Photoshop® and Lightroom®.

Editor in Chief, Dave Seeram had these comments regarding this recent release:

“This release marks our twelfth issue for our magazine. We’ve come a long way over the past year, and the magazine has grown considerably in popularity and readership. We are happy to say that we will be continuing our tradition of free monthly releases of the magazine for the coming year, with some pleasant surprises in store for our readers. Our January release features articles lending tips on taking better architecture photography, small set photography, a trip to Las Vegas, the Top Ten Lightroom Library Module tips, and much more. We’ve also got a fascinating look at how photographers are making use of social networking sites to promote themselves and their photography businesses.”

By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB continues its trend through the future of free downloadable magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur and intermediate level photographers.

In addition to articles which aide photographers in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use post-processing tools such as Photoshop and Lightroom, to build on digital photography post-processing skills.

PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website at: http://www.photographyBB.com/magazine

PhotographyBB was founded in Oct, 2006, and is a division of PowerButton Central (2004). For more information, visit the PhotographyBB website at: http://www.photographybb.com or by email at: magazine@photographybb.com

Thanks to our good friend Jon (aka Bossman) who’s provided us with a link to a Lightroom Presets pack containing over 600 free Lightroom Presets. These presets can be easily loaded into Lightroom all at once and will provide some useful photo effects and time savers. Download the preset pack through this link here: Lightroom Presets

HOT OFF THE PRESS – A COOL WINTER ISSUE!

The PhotographyBB Online Magazine Issue #11 for December is now available for download!

The holiday season is upon us and what better way to celebrate than to grab a cup of hot chocolate, kick back, and enjoy the December Issue of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. This month, we head back to Moscow where Jon Ayres gives us a look at how the holidays are celebrated in Russia. We’ve also made some slight changes to the magazine to include more “how-to” style articles. Check out this month’s issue for:

• Night photography techniques – Part II – Painting with Light and Holiday Lights
• Best Shooting Gear for the Holidays
• Better Portrait Posing Techniques
• Mastering Photoshop Brushes
• Pro Retouching Techniques
• and more!

Head on over to the PhotographyBB Online Magazine page and download your copy today!

With the busy holiday season upon us, we are just about ready to release the highly anticipated 11th issue! Issue 11 for December 2008 will be available for download on Monday, Dec 15th. This month’s issue is perfect for the holidays, where you will find:

• Better Portrait Posing and Lightroom 2
• Skin Retouching Techniques with Photoshop
• Night Photography for the Holidays
• The Best Gear for Shooting During the Holidays
• And More!

Be sure to come back Monday and download your copy, there’s some great stuff you won’t want to miss!

Welcome back! Today we are going to look at some of our favourite digital photography and Photoshop books. Whether you are a complete beginner, or a seasoned professional, there is something for everyone in our favourite’s collection. Let’s have a quick look at our top picks for 2008.

	The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
By far this is one of the best photography books in existence. Both a coffee table photography book, as well as a guide on shooting better photos, Joe McNally takes you through several photoshoots explaining each image as he goes along. Stunning imagery, combined with excellent narrative makes this one a winner!
	The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2
If you are just getting into digital SLR photography, then this is the perfect book for you. Scott Kelby walks you through short, simple steps for shooting in a variety of situations. Imagine having a seasoned pro with you on a photoshoot, and rather than explaining the theory, he just tells you what settings to use in the given situation. Great book!
	The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers
Another winner by Scott Kelby! In this book, Scott takes you through the Photoshop CS4 steps and techniques that are mainly applicable to digital photographers. You’ll learn retouching and processing techniques with ease. Excellent step by step examples with lots of images make this one our top Photoshop pick! There are also similar titles from Scott for previous versions of Photoshop (CS3, CS2…)
	Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies
If you are interested in fashion photography and want to learn more about lighting techniques along with processing techniques for retouching skin, eyes, glamour, and model photography then this book is for you. Excellent photographic examples with clear step by step instructions for achieving different looks. This one should be the first book in your collection if you are a portrait or model photographer (aspiring or otherwise).
	The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers
One of the best Lightroom 2 books available! Scott Kelby shows you step by step processing techniques using Lightroom 2, using real world photographic examples. Excellent explanations of library management, collections, metadata, and of course beautiful photographic examples of processing images in the new Lightroom 2.
	The HDRI Handbook: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists +DVD
Here’s a great handbook if you are just getting into the world of HDR photography and processing techniques. Here you’ll learn not only the basics, but also some advanced HDR processing techniques too. A must for HDR enthusiasts!

That concludes today’s choices for Christmas gear. Come back tomorrow for some more interesting Christmas gift ideas for this holiday season.