Lightroom 4 In-Depth – Importing, Organizing and Exporting Your Photos

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is the key to what industry experts are calling the new digital workflow. Now you can learn exactly how to get started, and see how it can help you achieve the quickest, easiest workflow imaginable! Matt Kloskowski, NAPP Education and Curriculum Developer and host of the popular Lightroom Killer Tips podcast, walks you through the entire process and shows you how to get the best possible images in record time. In this course, Matt concentrates specifically on the importing and organizing process in Lightroom. You’ll start from scratch with the goal of always knowing exactly where your photos are and keeping your favorite ones so they’re just one click away.

Introduction (01:33) Join Matt as he goes over what will be covered in this class so you can get started on the right foot.
Upgrading from a previous version of Lightroom (02:54) If you're upgrading from a previous version of Lightroom this lesson is for you. Matt will show you how to upgrade a copy of your existing catalog so that you can bring your work into Lightroom 4.
Import - Where to store your photos? (04:50) If you are brand new to Lightroom you'll want to start here. If you've upgraded an existing Lightroom catalog you should already have a system for storing your photos and you can skip to the next lesson.
Import - Overview of the Import Dialog (09:37) In this lesson we'll take a look at all of the features of the Import dialog box, from where your photos originate to where they'll be stored and everything that happens in between.
Import - From Existing Folders on Your Computer (03:45) If you've already got photos on your drive (and we're sure you do) you don't have to change where they are stored if you are happy with their current location. Lightroom can simply add them to the catalog.
Import - From a Memory Card (05:14) This lesson will show you how to copy your photos from a memory card to a destination folder on your computer as they are imported into the Lightroom catalog.
Import - Working with External Hard Drive (03:32) Since Lightroom stores information about your photos in the catalog file (as well as previews in a special cache), you can still see your photos in Lightroom when a drive is offline.
Managing Folders in the Folders Panel (06:50) To keep Lightroom's database up to date with where your photos are stored, it is critical that you use Lightroom to move your photos and folders when you need to move them to a new location.
Import - Preferences (02:04) We'll take a look at some of the preferences to make importing easier and faster.
Import - About DNG (09:01) In this lesson we'll cover what DNG is, how to use it and all of the features in Lightroom that let you work with your DNG photos.
Import - Video (04:18) Lightroom also supports video. We'll see just how to take advantage of the controls in Lightroom and all of the things you can do with your videos.
Import - Raw + JPEG (02:08) If you shoot in Raw+JPEG mode, Lightroom has a little feature that helps you out with this.
Exporting - Saving your photos as JPEGs (07:08) Once you've got your photos in Lightroom, you'll probably want to know how to get them out so that you can email them or put them on the web.
Exporting - Watermarking your photos (05:39) Lightroom has a feature that let's you watermark your photos all at once when you export them into JPEGs
Exporting - Working with Flickr and Publishing Services (04:03) If you use Flickr, Facebook or some other popular photo sharing services, you can actually upload your photos directly to the site from Lightroom.
Emailing Directly From Lightroom (01:47) A new feature in Lightroom 4 let's you email your photos directly from within Lightroom.
3 Things To Know About Getting Around in Lightroom (04:41) There's a lot of little tips and tricks in Lightroom. But in this video, Matt shows you 3 of his favorites for moving around Lightroom quickly.
Viewing your photos (07:38) The Library module has four ways to view your photos. Learn how to switch between Grid, Loupe, Compare, and Survey views.
Organizing - Rating, Flagging and Labeling (08:48) Lightroom's primary purpose is to help you organize and manage your photos. Applying rating stars, flags, and color labels are tools to help you stay organized.
Organizing - Using the Painter Tool (03:14) The Painter Tool's icon looks like a spray paint can because it can be used to "spray" various types of information and settings on to your photos while in Grid view.
Organizing - Find your Keepers (04:42) The key to organizing your photo library is in finding and marking your keepers. Matt shows you his favorite method for quickly going through your photo library and flagging your best work (and rejecting your worst).
Organizing - Saving your favorites into a Collection (05:45) Collections are like albums and can be a very helpful tool for organizing and accessing your photos based on certain themes or topics.
Organizing - Using Collection Sets (07:14) Collection Sets are containers for collections and provide you with another level of organization for grouping related collections together into a set.
Organizing - Using Smart Collections (04:45) Smart collections are, well, collections that are smart! Actually, they're collections that automatically populate with photos based on the rules you define.
Organizing - Stacking similar photos (03:56) If you've got several photos of the same thing, then stacks are a great way to help stay organized and reduce the clutter.
Organizing - Keywords (08:10) Keywords are useful for helping you find your photos no matter where they are stored on your system (and can be used in smart collections).
Organizing - Metadata (04:58) Metadata is information about your photos. The Metadata panel in the Library module can be used to view, input, and modify (some) types of metadata such as titles, captions, and contact information.
Organizing - Maps and GPS Info for Your Photos (06:40) The new Maps module in Lightroom 4 let's you see any GPS enabled photos on a map, but more importantly, it also lets you add GPS coordinates and location information to your photos manually.
Searching for photos (05:59) The Library Filter Bar taps into the power of the Lightroom database to help you find your photos in a wide variety of ways.
Renaming Photos (01:06) Just like with moving photos, it is important to do all your photo renaming from within Lightroom to keep the catalog up to date.
Backing up your catalog (06:08) All of the work you do in Lightroom is stored in the catalog file. It is critical to ensure the catalog file is backed up on a regular basis. Lightroom has a feature to automate the catalog backup process.
Syncing Between Laptop and Desktop (05:43) If you use a Laptop and a desktop, you'll probably want to synchronize your work between the two computers. In this lesson, Matt shows you how to keep that work organized on both machines.
Quick Develop (and the only time it's useful) (02:36) The Quick Develop panel is a stripped down version of the Develop module located in the Library module.
Library Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know (08:06) A quick overview of some key Library module shortcuts that you'll want to make sure you always have handy.

Course Time: 02 Hours 54 Minutes

B. Turner

Mar 9 2013

As a new Lightroom user , I viewed this course first before I installed Lightroom. What a great course!! I am not intimidated at all and can't wait to use Lightroom. Thanks Matt!! Great course!
J. Chidlow

Feb 8 2013

Great course, and love the humour too!
H. Payombarnia

Feb 3 2013

Great!
L. Chamberland

Jan 30 2013

Wonderful!!! Matt is a great teacher.
H. (Glenn)

Jan 23 2013

Matt, just wanted to let you know that I have learned a great deal from your beginner Lightroom 4 and CS6 classes....you have a gift in teaching a ton of information in an easy to understand way. Thank you. I look forward to watching your other other classes as I cntinue to progress.
J. Westlund

Jan 2 2013

My wife surprised me with a year subscription to KelbyTraining for Christmas. Every course that I've watched so far has been extremely helpful. I just finished watching Lightroom 4 In-Depth Importing, Organizing and Exporting Your Photos with Matt Kloskowski and this changed my whole workflow. I've always done things very manually and organized my folders in a way that I thought was most efficient for my workflow. Having watched this course, I am changing my workflow entirely and relying more on Lightroom so I can take advantage of the amazing features Lightroom provides. KelbyTraining really is the best gift an aspiring photographer could receive and I cannot wait to continue learning more with the help of KelbyTraining. Keep up the good work!
I. Furnish

Nov 18 2012

I was pulling out my hair trying to import photos from my card! Thanks so much for such an informative and easy to follow presentation for us newbies! Matt's the guy!
B. DeMitte

Oct 7 2012

This was really great. I thought the order of presentation was perfect rather than following the order of the book. It logically made sense and I feel I learned a lot of useful info.
D. Odgers

Sep 19 2012

I'm a newbie to Lightroom and have been having problems with my collections. Now I can face them with confidence. I'm a big fan of Matt's and find it easy to follow what he's saying. I've got a choice between getting some sleep before work or watching his 'Developing and Editing Your Photos' class....... Guess it's going to be the class.
H. Damsma

Sep 19 2012

Excellent! Henry Damsma
E. Anderson

Sep 1 2012

Thank you for the tip on 1:1 loading in LR4! I was so frustrated I wanted to go back to LR2, so THANK YOU!
R. Chabot

Aug 22 2012

Thak you...I am new to the photography and Lightroom world and this video has helped me greatly. It has shown me a much better way of organizing all my photos, as well as other tips and tricks.
K. Hermans

Jul 12 2012

I've been muddling along in previous versions of LR for a while but this course was really useful to pick up some tips, faster ways to do things and, some of those things you might have been doing not quite right all this time. Clearly explained and humorous.
F.

May 14 2012

I had been using Aperture for years and found it to do much, but opted to go back to PS before CS6 came out and I picked up LR4. I was comfortably confused with LR4. I knew I could do everything I had done in Aperture and a little more but it was a foreign to me as a monkey learning Physics (monkeys have problems counting) Matt, your presentation was more than excellent. Your style and patience made LR4 simple to understand and use, and I will watch the other classes just because I know I will learn from you. Thanks for one fine course!!! Now I need to go back to relearn PS(CS6) because I have been on vacation from PS since CS4 came out.
R. GILLAN

Apr 16 2012

Excellent course - thanks Matt! Took me through everything I needed to know (and refreshed the bits I already knew) to make a seamless upgrade from LR3 to 4.
J. Mitchell

Mar 31 2012

Outstanding job man thanks a lot once again. I thought breaking it up into small videos like it was very effective, and it was phrased in such a way that anybody could understand it Jim Mitchell
B. Teddy

Mar 26 2012

Absolutely the best Lightroom instruction on the Web! For anyone new to Lightroom, this is a must see.
T. Helinski

Mar 14 2012

Matts tutorials on the Lightroom 4 features are outstanding for a "newbie" like me. First, everything stated in plain english; second, you can see the "clicks" and menus he uses to access the appropriate features; third, the moving/import/export lessons are just what I needed as I was lost (not shamed to admit it!) and the organizing into collections has really helped me started to GET ORGANIZED for the first time. Thanks, Matt - lessons really easy to follow and the duration of 2-7 minutes per lesson covers my attention span and ability to absorb perfectly. /Tom
C. Gilleland

Mar 13 2012

As someone who does not own Lightroom (but some of my students do), I was pleasantly surprised to find that I found the videos very enjoyable! The presentation was clear and concise, with just the right amount of humor. Matt always does a good job of teaching, but to hold the interest of someone who doesn't even use the software is quite an accomplishment! Great job!
J. Barata

Mar 12 2012

I am learning more than by reading books tutorials!
D. Topham

Mar 8 2012

Of all my problems creating an organized photo Library, I am glad to say Matt has solved most of them in these video lessons. These are truly a very in depth view of Lightroom and well presented. Thanks for your efforts.

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Matt Kloskowski

Author and Photography & Photoshop Expert

Matt Kloskowski is the Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. He has authored and co-authored five books on Photoshop and Illustrator and teaches...VIEW FULL BIO»

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