While I haven’t started on the job yet, I’m certain the next few months will be extremely busy as I ramp up on new technologies (Adobe is more than just the Creative Suite). It is my intention to continue producing regular content, and I hope you’ll continue to help me grow our community of creatives. Remember, videos are derived from your questions, so keep them coming and please share the content with your friends.

I am extremely thankful for everyone who has supported me through the years. Whether it’s online via social media, in person at events, or simply as a fan, all of you have been the well I’ve turned to time & time again, through good times and bad.

2012 is shaping up to be one helluva year. Who’s ready for some more adventures?

One of the leading topics leading up to this announcement has been the addition of subscription model pricing to Adobe products. CNET has a review on why you might like subscription pricing. Here are some clarifications on what the subscription model means to consumers:

1. Adobe’s subscription pricing does not mean you cannot purchase a box copy of the full Creative Suite 6 or individual software such as Photoshop. You can choose a Creative Cloud subscription OR buy the box product as before.

2. Using the Creative Cloud service does not mean you have to be connected to the Internet 24×7. Adobe software is still loaded & run locally on your computer. Subscriptions are simply verified online at the end of each billing cycle (every 30 days).

3. If you purchase Photoshop or other Creative Suite software you must buy it for the OS platform of your choice, either Mac or PC. A single purchase allows for a two computer install. Creative Cloud subscribers will be allowed to install on one Mac & one PC simultaneously.

4. Creative Cloud subscribers get access to the ENTIRE suite of Adobe software including iPad & Android apps.

5. Subscription pricing is available on a month-to-month basis, one year option (still paid monthly), student & teacher option AND current CS3-CS5 owners can subscribe at an intro discount.

In the upcoming weeks I’ll be detailing features in the Creative Suite 6. So are you going to purchase CS6 or give the subscription service a try?

It appears that if you update a Lightroom 3 catalog to Lightroom 4 it will overwrite point curves created in the Tone Curve panel within the Develop module for every image. This is regardless of the Process Version used, and it cannot be undone via History (at least reports at this point are inconsistent). Adobe is aware of this issue and working to resolve it.

My recommendation is that you make a copy of your old LR3 catalog prior to updating to LR4. For those that want to see examples of the issue you can read this blog post by Chris Marquardt. If you follow the links he provides you’ll see even more examples provided by other LR4 users.

I will be posting info on my blog, and updating folks as I obtain more information.

UPDATE 03/08/2012 – I received word from Chris Tarantino that this particular issue is not widespread (meaning not everyone has seen it) it also appears to be specific to the use of point curves.

If you caught my demo last month for the DFWAUG then you were able to see Adobe’s latest app for tablets–Photoshop Touch. A version created specifically for tablet computing, Photoshop Touch allows creatives to capture their inspiration anywhere on the go. Photoshop Touch has the features you appreciate in the desktop version of the program, including selections, layers, blend modes, opacity, even image adjustments such as levels & curves.

Last month, DFWAUG members were excited to see the potential of Photoshop on a tablet, but the largest looming question was “When do we see it on the iPad?”

That day is today.

Photoshop Touch is now available for $9.99 on the iPad2 running iOS5.

Be sure to watch for upcoming demos live & online as we head into next month.

Just wanted to let you know about some great Adobe webinars coming up in the spring. Imagine having not one but FIVE Adobe professionals on hand to answer your questions. Learn some cool tips & tricks you can use right away in Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign. I’ve been invited by Pariah Burke to join him and some of the best in the industry to give you a webinar unlike anything out there. Here’s a breakdown of the events:

The Photoshop 3×5 panel consists of Pariah Burke, April Clark, Shellie Hall & yours truly.

The InDesign 3×5 panel consists of Pariah Burke, April Clark, Bob Levine, Claudia McCue & myself.

The Illustrator 3×5 panel consists of Pariah Burke, Sandee Cohen, Von Glitschka, Sharon Steuer & Jean-Claude Tremblay

Early bird pricing is just $49 until March 15th. Regular ticket price is $99, and groups of five or more can receive a $20 discount on the regular ticket price. It’s easily the best deal for online training happening right now so go sign up for your favorites–Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign–before the webinars sell out.

Early this morning Adobe posted the Lightroom 4 public beta on Adobe Labs. If you’ve caught the buzz, this is a significant update not only adding new features, but once again improving a tremendous product. The HOT TOPIC is soft proofing, and there’s plenty to see with Maps, Books, base level video editing, and improvements to Develop module processing. I will be posting videos on Lightroom 4 starting tomorrow, in the meantime here are some resources to get you up to speed:

Download Lightroom 4 Beta:

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4/

A breakdown of features by community experts:

http://lightroomsecrets.com/2012/01/lightroom-4-public-beta-is-here/

http://www.lightroomqueen.com/2012/01/09/whats-new-in-lightroom-4-0-beta/

http://www.pixiq.com/article/lightroom-4-beta

NAPP has some quick video overviews of what’s new:
http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom4 – remember loyal readers get a signup discount for NAPP using “ajwood” for new membership or renewals.

Today kicks off the pre-con workshops for D2WC, and I joined Kevin Stohlmeyer for a quick interview with the local Kansas City NBC affiliate. Dallas/Fort Worth are you listening? Let’s get our creative community fired up!!!

As much as I enjoy being on the road, it will be great to get home to the family this weekend. Hope your day is rockin’!

The conference season is upon us. Less than ten days away is the D2W Conference in Kansas City, MO scheduled July 14-16. This annual event has quickly become a sought after source of designer & developer workflow goodness. That being said, here are the Top Five Reasons to attend D2W:

1. InDesign to iPad, Portfolios in WordPress, Get to Know JQuery – we’re only in the PreCon people and there’s still more kickass sessions coming.
2. Photoshop workflow, Android apps in under 10 minutes, and I’m even giving a session on InDesign techniques.
3. Networking as a social experiment. See what happens when people actually interact in real time with beer.
4. Speakers. No, not the ones made by Marshall, the people who will be speaking at D2W. Some of the most entertaining creatives in our industry, e.g., Pariah Burke, Justin Seeley, Kevin Stohlmeyer, Rob Huddleston… and the infamous Tom Green.
5. You’ll learn something. Aside, from meeting great people, watching some AWESOME presentations, the purpose is to leave a little bit smarter than when you arrived. That will happen at D2W.

Dee Sadler was kind enough to extend a discount code for loyal Adobe enthusiasts. Use adobeComm when registering to get a discount off the conference passes.

Many initial reviews have compared PhotoDirector to Lightroom, and you cannot deny the striking similarities bordering on an exact clone of Adobe’s software. The product is Windows only, so Mac enthusiasts can keeping using iPhoto, Aperture or Lightroom. Also, I cannot speak for the final release, but the beta version I tested was 32 bit only. This may be fine for consumers, but professionals using Windows 7 will want full 64 bit capabilities.

PhotoDirector imports image information into “projects” which are similar to catalogs in Lightroom. The database design is the same; edits & changes to images are written to PhotoDirector’s project file, not directly to the images stored on your computer hard drive. Photos are managed in the Library section which offers the same utilities as Lightroom’s Library module. You can view images as thumbnails, singles or do comparisons of two or more images. Marking photos is done with Pick & Reject Flags, Colors or Stars.

Start to edit photos in the Adjustments section and the similarities to Lightroom continue right down to the Spot Removal Tool & Adjustment Brush. Anyone familiar with Lightroom will be able to dive into PhotoDirector as the tools work almost identically to how Adobe wrote them. Panel options in the Adjustment section include White Balance, Tone & Sharpening. You won’t see any Lens Corrections or Camera Calibration, but Cyberlink has made it clear they are targeting the consumer market.

The Slideshow section came as a surprise because while sparse in features, I have to say I like it better than Lightroom. Simply adding a Ken Burn’s style motion makes this section 10x more useful than Lightroom’s Slideshow module. Exported images are copies of the originals with the adjustment settings provided in the software.

Summary
Cyberlink will be releasing PhotoDirector 2011 soon for a retail price of $99. Essentially a competitor’s version of “Lightroom Elements”, consumers could easily grow into Lightroom later. That being said, the only thing innovative about PhotoDirector is its price point. I’m not versed in “intellectual property” but given how closely this product resembles and more importantly functions like Lightroom, I would expect to see some action from Adobe. I’m sure there are some who will take my tone as overly harsh, I’m not saying there isn’t a market for this product. Imitation is a form a flattery after all. Look at the iPad.