Lightroom 3 | A.J. Wood

July 30, 2010 by A.J. Wood

Friday Recap – Where’s A.J.?

Happy Friday everyone!

For those that are wondering about this week’s Tip Tuesday, my apologies as I’m still having some hardware/tech issues. I’m working to resolve them as quickly as possible amongst my other daily duties. Don’t worry though, I managed to post a quick Lightroom 3 tuning guide over at TipSquirrel this morning.

Imagine my surprise when I sat down to catch up on GeekBeat.tv this morning, and I received a shout-out from Cali Lewis! I’m mentioned in the same breadth as Trey Ratcliff, which is a huge honor because HE is simply incredible. Thanks to all the folks who dropped in on the blog this week, and THANK YOU CALI! for including me in Episode #14 on Monday.

If you haven’t already registered, you need to checkout OpenCamp scheduled next month August 27-29. It will be the best open source developer/media conference of its kind anywhere, not just here in the metroplex. There’s something for everyone who creates web content. Seriously, just look at the list of speakers and you’ll agree it’s going to be the event of the summer.

April 26, 2010 by A.J. Wood

Aperture 3 vs Lightroom 3 (beta 2) – Feature Comparison Review

This is feature comparison review of Aperture 3 vs Lightroom 3 (public beta 2). While it is not my intention to be overly favorable of Lightroom, my opinions reflect those of an Adobe Community Professional & Lightroom enthusiast. There are definitely things I like in Aperture. That being said, what follows are my thoughts & observations about both products. Keep in mind, Lightroom 3 has not been officially released, and the findings here will be updated when LR3 ships.

PROGRAM INTERFACE

While suited to the same task, Aperture & Lightroom utilize different approaches to managing & adjusting images. This is apparent when viewing the layout of each program’s interface.

Aperture’s interface is divided into two primary areas–The Inspector & Viewer. The Inspector features three primary tabs for working with images–Library, Metadata & Adjustments. Images display in the Viewer in either a Grid, Filmstrip or Single Image view. The Viewer window remains constant when moving between Inspector tabs. The Inspector can be toggled on & off, and Aperture can be put into a full screen mode.

Lightroom’s interface is divided into modules coinciding with a digital workflow–Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print & Web. Within each module reside a left-side navigation panel, right-side adjustments panel, center image view area, and bottom film strip control. Images display in the center image area regardless of module, all panels can be toggled on & off individually, and Lightroom can be put into a full screen mode.

Comment – In terms of UI (user interface) I prefer Lightroom’s module approach. Having the UI align with the tasks at hand, leaves a lot of guesswork out for new users. I also prefer LR’s implementation of keyboard shortcuts. “C” for compare view makes more sense to me than OPT+O. Many of Lightroom’s keys have a root in the actual command.