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I recently returned from a trip to Hawaii with lots of new photos. In this article, I’ll cover how to integrate the images and Lightroom catalog information from a trip or a location shoot into your main Lightroom catalog back home. We’ll also take a look at synchronizing Develop settings, launching a panorama merge from Lightroom, and essential “round-tripping” techniques for moving files between Lightroom and Photoshop.

1 [CATALOG TRAVEL STRATEGIES, METHOD 1]
There are two ways to work with your images while you’re traveling and I’ll cover both in this article. First, if your laptop is your main computer, you can add any new images you take on your trip to your main Lightroom catalog. Then once you return home, all you need to do is transfer the image files to the primary hard drive where your image archive is stored (more on that below). To ensure that your files are protected when you’re on the road, you should have at least two copies on separate hard drives.

2 [CATALOG TRAVEL STRATEGIES, METHOD 2]
If your laptop is used only for travel and isn’t your primary imaging computer, then an easy way to keep track of your images while you’re traveling (or on a location shoot) is to create a new catalog just for that trip (File>New Catalog). Once you return home, this separate catalog can be integrated into your main Lightroom catalog, and in addition to your images, any work you’ve done in Lightroom, such as virtual copies, collections, ratings, keywords, Develop module settings, etc., will be preserved.

3 [MOVE FOLDERS USING THE LIBRARY MODULE]
If you’ve used Method 1 as described above, once you return home you need to move the images from the external hard drive to the primary drive where your image archive is stored. The easiest way to do this so that Lightroom sees the move and keeps track of where your images are is to move them within the Library module. To do this, open the Folders section in the left Panels area of the Library module and drag the folders to the correct location on the primary storage drive. You can only move one folder at a time.

4 [UPDATE FOLDER LOCATIONS]
If you choose to move the image folders outside Lightroom, or have inadvertently done so, then you’ll see a question mark next to those folders, as well as on the thumbnails of the images in that folder. This means that Lightroom can’t locate the folder. Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the folder icon and choose Find Missing Folder to re-establish the link between the catalog and the folder. In the subsequent dialog, navigate to the actual location for the folder, highlight it, and click Choose.

5 [IMPORT NEW CATALOG INTO MAIN CATALOG]
If you’ve used Method 2 as described above, and have created a separate catalog for all of the photos you created while on your trip, then you can import this catalog into your main catalog. From the File menu, choose Import from Catalog. Navigate to the location of your Lightroom catalogs, select the one from your trip or location shoot, and click Choose.

6 [CHOOSE LOCATION FOR CATALOG IMPORT]
In the File Handling section of the Import from Catalog dialog, choose Add New Photos to Catalog without Moving if you’ve already moved the image folders from the travel hard drive to the primary storage drive (as described in Step 3). If you want Lightroom to move the images for you, choose Copy New Photos to a New Location and Import. Click Choose to specify the folder where you want the photos copied (in the case of this example, this is my 2009 folder). Click Import and Lightroom will create a copy of the folder that the images are currently in.

7 [MAKE TIME ZONE ADJUSTMENT]
I rarely remember to change the date in my camera to the local time zone when I’m traveling, and if I do, then I usually forget to change it back to my home time zone when I return. Fortunately, Lightroom has a fix for this. In the Library module, open a folder of images that need a time zone adjustment. Choose Edit>Select All, and then Metadata>Edit Capture Time. Select the Shift By a Set Number of Hours (Time Zone Adjust) option, and in the New Time drop-down menu, select the correct time difference adjustment.

8 [ROUND-TRIPPING WITH PHOTOSHOP]
Although you can use Lightroom to apply a lot of adjustments to your images, for some tasks you still have to use Photoshop. To make this transition easier, Lightroom provides several menu commands that lead to specific Photoshop features. In the rest of this tutorial, I’ll cover a scenario for using Lightroom to launch a panorama process and “round-tripping” the files from Lightroom to Photoshop and back again.

9 [PANORAMA PREFLIGHT: GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS]
Several of the images from my Hawaii trip were photographed specifically to make panoramas. Before the panorama is assembled, however, global (overall) adjustments are needed. For this image of the view taken from Makapu’u Point looking up Oahu’s windward coast, the file was brightened with the Exposure slider, Clarity and Vibrance were increased, contrast was boosted with a Tone Curve, and changes were made to the Luminance section of the HSL controls to brighten the foliage colors and darken the blues. (Note: You can download the DNGs from www.layersmagazine.com to follow along. Only one of the images has been adjusted as described above.)

10 [PANORAMA PREFLIGHT: SYNC SETTINGS]
Once the adjustments have been applied to one of the panorama source images, they can be applied to others in the series if the exposure of the different shots is similar, as was the case for the two files in this Hawaii panorama. With the corrected image thumbnail selected in the Develop module, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the second image of the panorama series to add it to the selection, then click the Sync button on the lower right. In the Synchronize Settings dialog, check all the settings that apply (Local Adjustments settings such as the Brush should probably be unchecked), and click Synchronize.

11 [LIGHTROOM TO PHOTOSHOP: MERGE TO PANO]
With the source thumbnails for the panorama selected, choose Photo>Edit In>Merge to Panorama in Photoshop. When the Photomerge dialog appears you can choose the type of layout for the merge. If you’re unsure, leave it set to Auto. For scenes with obvious near-to-far relationships, Perspective works best, and for landscape panoramas such as this example, I usually choose Cylindrical. Make sure that Blend Images Together is selected. Click OK to create the panorama. (Note: Panoramas can also be launched from Bridge by selecting the thumbnails and choosing Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge.)

12 [STRAIGHTEN HORIZON WITH RULER TOOL]
Once Photomerge has created the panorama, you can decide if you want to keep it or return to Lightroom for further fine-tuning of the RAW files. In this image, the horizon isn’t straight. To fix it, use the Ruler tool in Photoshop (grouped with the Eyedropper) and draw a line along the tilted horizon. Then choose Image>Image Rotation>Arbitrary. The angle measured by the Ruler tool is already entered in the Rotate Canvas dialog, along with the correct direction needed to create a level horizon. Click OK to apply the correction.

13 [APPLY NONDESTRUCTIVE CROPPING]
If you want the image shape to be more of a standard rectangle, the next step is to crop the panorama. Use the Crop tool (C) to define a rectangular crop box around the image, then click the Cropped Area: Hide radio button in the Options Bar, and press Return (PC: Enter). This will allow you to undo the crop at a later time if you decide to go with the original “organic” Photomerge edges. (This only works if your image has layers with no Background and isn’t re-sized.) To restore the hidden cropped areas, choose Image>Reveal All.

14 [APPLY ADJUSTMENT LAYERS]
Overall, I was pleased with the way the image looked, but it still needs some tonal fine-tuning in Photoshop. Select Curves in the Adjustments panel and set the layer blend mode in the Layers panel to Screen without making any changes to the curve. In the Masks panel, click the Invert button to change the Curves layer mask from white to black. Then use the Brush tool (B) and paint with white at 30% Opacity over the lighter areas of the mountain. At this point, Save and Close the file and return to Lightroom.

15 [ADD PANORAMA KEYWORDS]
Since this image, as well as the two original files that created it, is either a panorama or panorama components, let’s add the keyword “panorama” to these files, as well as any other files in this folder that qualify as pano source images. This makes it much easier to find potential panorama images in your catalog in the future. To do this, find the Keywording panel in the right Panels area of the Library module and enter the keyword “panorama.”

16 [BRING THE PSD FILE BACK TO PHOTOSHOP]
The layered PSD file is now a part of your Lightroom catalog. At this point you can apply further edits in Lightroom, or reopen the current file into Photoshop and work on it there. To do this, select the thumbnail of the PSD file and choose Photo>Edit In>Edit in Photoshop CS4 (you can also get this option by Control-clicking [PC: Right-clicking] on the image or thumbnail). A dialog will appear giving you three options of what data will be brought into Photoshop. Let’s take a closer look at these choices.

17 [EDIT IN PHOTOSHOP OPTIONS]
Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments: Lightroom edits you have made to the PSD file will be applied to a flattened copy (i.e., no Photoshop layers) and opened into Photoshop. Edit a Copy: Does what it promises—opens a copy of the file into Photoshop with all layers preserved (but no Lightroom adjustments are visible). This is useful if you want to take the file in a different direction than the original PSD file. Edit Original: Preserves all the layers but no Lightroom adjustments are visible. This last option is what I use most of the time.

18 [EDIT AS SMART OBJECT]
A fourth option appears in the Photo>Edit In menu: Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. This works well for RAW files where you want to embed the original RAW file within a layered PSD file. Once the file is open in Photoshop, you can double-click on the Smart Object layer thumbnail to open up the Camera Raw dialog. But for a file that already has layers, it doesn’t open up an embedded file with all of the layers preserved, which is how this would function if you made a group of layers into a smart object in Photoshop.

ALL IMAGES BY SEÁN DUGGAN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

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1 [START IN THE LIBRARY MODULE]
The first step is to pick out your favorite photos. As any pro photographer will tell you, it’s always better to show a few amazing photos than many average photos. Click on the Library module picker at the top of the interface, and press the E key to navigate to Loupe view. Now, give each image a star rating by pressing 1–5. For example, press 1 to add a 1-star rating, 2 for a 2-star rating, and so on. Only give your absolute favorite images a 4- or 5-star rating. The star rating will appear in the Toolbar below the image.

2 [FILTER BASED ON STAR RATING]
After adding the star rating, press the G key to navigate to the Library module Grid view. In this view you’ll be able to see all of your images as thumbnails. If the Library Filter options aren’t visible at the top, press the Backslash key (\) to toggle them open. Click Attribute and then click on the particular star rating to sort or filter your images based on that criterion. For example, click on 4 stars to only show the images with a 4-star rating or higher. This way you can clear away all the clutter and focus in on the keepers.

3 [ADD RELEVANT METADATA IN LIBRARY MODULE]
While you’re still in the Library module, take a few moments to add titles, captions, and copyright information to your photographs. Open the Metadata panel located in the right-side panels at the bottom. Next, choose a metadata view option to add the information. Choose the Large Caption view to have more space to type out longer captions, or choose Quick Describe to quickly add the Title, Caption, and Copyright information. The advantage of adding these now is that you can show this information with the photos later in the Web gallery.

4 [REORDER AND RENAME IN LIBRARY MODULE]
Reordering the photos in the Library module can improve the flow and order of the Web gallery. In addition, renaming the photos is important because you may want the names to be visible in the Web gallery. While still in Grid view, go to the Toolbar located beneath the Grid thumbnails and click on the words to the right of Sort and choose User Order. Then, simply click-and-drag the thumbnails to reorder the images. Finally, select all of the photos by pressing Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A), then press F2 to open the Rename dialog and choose a new naming convention.

5 [WEB MODULE—COLLECTION]
In the Web module you can create a Web collection to save a specific group of images that aren’t dependent on any folder structure (i.e., it doesn’t matter where the images are located), which allows you to quickly locate the files. To create the Web collection, click on the New Collection icon (+) in the Collections panel bar and choose Create Web Gallery. Next, type a name for the collection and choose Include All Filmstrip Photos to select all the photos (or leave this unchecked to choose only the selected photos). Choose Make New Virtual Copies to create a collection with more flexibility.

6 [CHOOSE A TEMPLATE]
The Web module comes loaded with a variety of HTML and Flash layouts. First, hover your cursor over the various templates in the Template Browser panel on the left until you see something you like in the Preview panel above. Then, click the name of the template you want to use. Lightroom will render the gallery design with your selected images. If you choose an HTML gallery and you have too many images to display on one page, Lightroom even generates the correct number of webpages with the appropriate hyperlinks to present all your photos.

7 [CUSTOMIZE YOUR GALLERY]
You can customize your Web galleries in many ways using the panels on the right side of the Web module. While the customization controls are self-explanatory, let’s take a quick tour of some of the most important options.

1. Engine panel: Choose one of five different gallery styles.
2. Color Palette panel: Choose color variations.
3. Appearance panel: Define the layout attributes such as the number of rows and columns in your layout, as well as image attributes including borders, drop shadows, etc.

8 [IMAGE CAPTIONS AND TITLES]
In certain situations, adding image titles and captions can make your Web gallery more functional. For example, it can help a client identify a particular photo. On the other hand, it can simply provide valuable information about the image that will add to the overall impact of the gallery. To include this information that we added in Step 3, open the Image Info panel and click on the checkboxes. Depending upon the template you’ve chosen, this information can be displayed along with the image. (Note: You can also click to the far right to select other information to show besides Title and Caption.)

9 [ENTER OUTPUT SETTINGS]
Open the Output Settings panel to define the image quality, select the metadata to include, and the amount of sharpening. Typically, when optimizing images for the Web you want a lower quality JPEG compression, but since the Lightroom Web galleries are well optimized, you can choose a higher quality option. In this case, I’ve chosen 70. Next, you can select what Metadata to include: All or Copyright Only. If desired, click on Add Copyright Watermark. Finally, choose between a Low, Standard, or High Sharpening amount. Typically, Standard works best.

10 [ENTER UPLOAD SETTINGS]
Before you can upload your work to the Web, you need to enter your domain and hosting information. Open the Upload Settings panel, click the FTP Server option, and choose Edit. This will open the Configure FTP File Transfer dialog. Enter your Server name, FTP Username, and Password. Back in the Upload Settings panel, define the Subfolder by typing in a folder name. For example, these images could be viewed at www.chrisorwig.com/joe. (As a side note, if you don’t have a domain name and hosting, there’s no better time than the present to get one. Visit www.chrisorwig.com/hosting for a few recommendations.)

11 [GETTING YOUR WORK ONLINE]
Before you get your work online, it’s a good idea to preview the Web gallery. Click on the Preview in Browser button on the left to view a local (i.e., not live on the Web) version of your Web gallery. This way, you can review the gallery before it goes live. If there’s anything that doesn’t look perfect in the local preview, go back to the above steps to make changes. Once you’re satisfied with the gallery, click the Upload button located below the right-side panels.

12 [VIEW AND SHARE YOUR PHOTOS]
After uploading, you can view the images online in your Web browser by typing out the full URL string. For example, this gallery was uploaded to a folder called joe_color, so I typed “http://chrisorwig.com/joe_color.” (In fact, I’ve uploaded images for a client to review at this link so go there to see a sample gallery.) To share the photos with someone, highlight the full URL string and choose Edit>Copy. Open your email program, create a new email, and choose Edit>Paste.

13 [TIMESAVING SHORTCUTS]
Use the following shortcuts to speed up your workflows: To access the different right-side panels, press Command-1 through 7 (PC: Ctrl-1 through 7). For example, to toggle open/close the Color Palette panel, press Command-3 (PC: Ctrl-3). To quickly preview the gallery locally in your browser, press Command-Option-P (PC: Ctrl-Alt-P). On the other hand, if you’d like to export the gallery to upload it with another application, press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J).

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

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1 CREATING PRINT COLLECTIONS
Photos that you select to print are typically the best of the best and a print collection lets you create a group of photos based on your print needs. To create a print collection, navigate to the Print module then select from the Filmstrip the photos you want to add to the collection. Next, click on the plus icon (+) in the Collections panel header and choose Create Print. In the dialog that appears, name your collection, check the Include Selected Photos box, click Create, and a distinct icon appears next to your collection in the panel.

2 USING PRINT TEMPLATES
Creating prints and print layouts in Lightroom requires making prints over and over again at specific sizes or configurations. Therefore, using a predetermined template (or creating your own template) can drastically increase workflow productivity.

To use a Print Template, select one or more photos in the Filmstrip. Then, in the Print module, open the Preview and Template Browser panels. Hover your cursor over one of the Lightroom templates and you’ll see the layout appear in the Preview panel above. When you’ve found the template that will work best, click on the template name to select it.

3 CREATE A CONTACT SHEET
A contact sheet is a printed “grid” of many small thumbnails on one page. Photographers frequently use these to review or create a visual catalog of images on a CD, DVD, or drive. This visual catalog lets you see the images without having to browse the media storage device. Creating contact sheets is an integral step in most workflows and it’s simple to do in Lightroom. Just select multiple images in the Library module or Filmstrip, choose one of the two Contact Sheet templates in the Template Browser panel, and you’ll see the layout ready for printing in the main window.

4 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 1
To create or customize a grid layout, click on the Contact Sheet/Grid option in the Layout Engine panel. In the Image Settings panel, choose Zoom to Fill to fill the entire cell—click-and-drag the cursor over the image to position the image. Select Rotate to Fit to view the largest image that fits in the image cell. Check Repeat One Photo Per Page to create a contact sheet with one image per page. Next, choose Stroke Border to add a border, click on the color swatch to choose a new color for the border and drag the Width slider to change its size.

5 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 2
To customize the Grid, use the Guides and Layout panels. In the Guides panel, click Show Guides on/off to see how each guide affects the display. Then in the Layout panel, make specific adjustments. If you’ve chosen to show the Rulers in the Guides panel, select a Ruler Unit, then drag the various controls to make any layout modifications.

Or you can position the cursor over the Margins, Cell Spacing, or the Cell Size in the layout and when the cursor changes into a line with two arrows, click-and-drag to resize that aspect of the layout.

6 PICTURE PACKAGE CELLS
The Picture Package allows you to create a layout that prints one photo on one or more pages—this is especially helpful when you need to print one image in multiple sizes for a client. First, in the Library module or Filmstrip, select the image that you’d like to use. Next, in the Print module, select a Picture Package template in the Template Browser or click on the Picture Package option in the Layout Engine panel. Then use the Image Settings and Rulers, Grid & Guides panels to customize the layout.

7 ADDING OVERLAYS
The Overlays panel can be used to add creative or technical information to your print layout. In both the Contact Sheet/Grid or Picture Package layouts, you can add your Identity Plate, which can be customized with regard to position, rotation, color, and opacity.

In the Contact Sheet/Grid layout, you can also add Page Options—Page Numbers, Page Info, and Crop Marks—and Photo Info, including any of the following: Caption, Custom Text, Date, Equipment, Exposure, Filename, Sequence, or Title.

8 ADD A CREATIVE BORDER
As mentioned above, the Overlays panel can be used to add creative information to your images. Here’s an idea, thanks to Sean McCormack. First, create a border file in Photoshop with semi-transparent edges and nothing inside the border. Save the file as a PNG file, then click in the Identity Plate preview, and choose the border.png file. Next, click on the triangle in the lower-right corner of the Identity Plate preview and select Custom (your border identity plate), then modify the positioning and scale of the border to fit over the photo.

9 PRINTING TO JPEG
When sending images to a lab, you’ll need to convert the files to JPEG. So, in the Print Job panel, choose Print to: JPEG File, then make your print selections: File Resolution; Print Sharpening—Standard typically works best; Media Type (Matte or Glossy) for the type of paper; and JPEG Quality. Turn on the Custom File Dimensions box, hover your cursor over the file dimension numbers, then click-and-drag left or right to decrease or increase them. Finally, choose a color Profile and Rendering Intent by clicking on the menu options.

10 DESKTOP PRINTING: PAGE SETUP
Before you send a photo to your desktop printer you’ll want to set up the page dimensions and orientation. Press Command-Shift-P (PC: Ctrl-Shift-P) or click the Page Setup button located at the bottom of the left-side panels area. This will open the Page Setup dialog where you need to first select your printer (Format for), the Paper Size, and the Orientation (vertical or horizontal). As a side note, it’s typically best to leave the Scale set to 100%.

11 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 1
In the Print Job panel, select Print to: Printer, then choose the Print Resolution. Add Print Sharpening based on the file’s output resolution and media type. Keep in mind that this Print Sharpening is added to any sharpening that you may have already done in the Develop module. In most cases, you’ll find that Standard Sharpening will work best.

Note: If your printer is capable of printing in 16-Bit Output, then select that option; however, if you’re printer doesn’t print in 16-bit output, selecting this option will slow the creation of the print.

12 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 2
In the Color Management section, first select the Profile for the printer. Next, choose either Perceptual or Relative Rendering Intent. Select Relative when you have fewer colors that are out of gamut, as Relative rendering preserves all of the in-gamut color, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to what it determines as the closest reproducible color. Choose Perceptual if you have many out-of-gamut colors, as it tries to preserve the visual relationship between colors, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to colors that can be printed.

13 PRINT TO PRINTER , PART 3
Finally, we’ll open the printer’s dialog to finalize the print settings. Press Command-P (PC: Ctrl-P) or click on the Print button (at the bottom of the right-side panels area). Note: Your printer’s Print dialog may be different.

In the Print dialog, you’ll want to select the media (paper) type and turn off color management. Both of these steps are equally important, but it’s especially critical that the printer color management is turned off because we’re printing with a custom profile. Now click OK and, if you’re like me, wait with excitement as you printer creates the final print.

ALL IMAGES BY CHRIS ORWIG

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