I have Lightroom!
I am immersed in learning enough features on this software to make the cost effective! And relieve my mind if disaster strikes one of my devices.
My iPad screen is smashed. I am completely reliant on my iPad with its photo sorting capabilities. If my iPad stops working, will I have everything backed up? I lie awake at night...
I have notes dedicated to my photo process. My process has changed a lot as my photo stories demand more features...comic bubbles, transfers between devices, moving photos to create stories from my photo shoots, flagging favorites....
The process is pretty labor intensive. Daily photos means daily attention, so I have to choose sometimes-sweep or photo sort, clean the attic or create a photo story.
Several months ago I asked my photographer daughter how she organizes her photos. Photoshop, mom, she said-with "of course" in her voice. Not me, I thought. It is too challenging for me right now.
So I used the album sorting feature on my iPad and downloaded CopyTrans to get my sorted albums over to my laptop, where I could then watermark them and add story bubbles in Comic Life.
But I had to go back to my iPad to move my photos around for a story, then hunt each photo down in its laptop file to upload them to my Hiya Dolly, or to Comic Life, then Hiya Dolly. To be sure the photos were in order. But it was working! Well enough.... And then the screen smashed. Thank goodness the screen protector has kept the glass from falling away, and the iPad itself still works, for now...
After a couple of weeks of photo-process-uncertainty, I explored Photoshop, and researched Lightroom capabilities, felt stirrings of excitement at the possibilities, and took the plunge. And now I have a year to make it all worthwhile.
As I spent my weekend listening to and reading Lightroom tutorials, and tried out some of the features, I began to understand how it could be of use to me.
And just like the people who buy a laptop just so they can email their family and friends, I have found the one feature that will make the whole purchase and hours of learning time worthwhile. And that was just in one weekend. What can I do in a whole year? I am trying not to get dizzy.
As I write this I am double tasking by setting up Lightroom on my iPhone, where I take all my photos. And I am "importing" my most recent photos into Lightroom where I can set them up in Collections, manipulate them, flag them, and export them to my hard drive ready to watermark and add talk bubbles, and upload for you, dear reader.
This possibly magnificent photo tool acquisition will probably not even be noticed by you...
But, maybe, just maybe, it will change my life. Or, at least shorten my photo process by a step or two so I can get the attic cleaned before the snow flies.
And if my smashed iPad screen causes that device to stop working one day, my work might not be sent into a confused upheaval accompanied by deep emotional upset.
I might be all right. I have Lightroom...
PLEASE! If you use it I would love to know the feature you can't live without! :)
