21 Oct 09: Software #2: Photoshop CS4

Images can be exported from Lightroom 2 into Photoshop for further editing.  In Lightroom the options for exporting can be found in the drop down File menu on the top toolbar:

Selecting Export will bring up export options which allow you to select where the image will be exported to, the file format and the size of the exported image:

Available file types are:

JPEG - suffers "lossy" compression

PSD -  ) lossless compression

TIFF - )

DNG - a RAW format

Original

The quality bar sets the amount of compression.  The more compression there is the less good the image will look.

The image can be resized according to how it is going to be viewed.  For printing or archiving a ppi of 240 is recommended.  For viewing on screen a long edge of 900 pixels and 72 ppi is acceptable.

In Photoshop there is a huge range of tools available for manipulating the image. Unlike Lightroom, Photoshop is destructive - the original image is overwritten when edits are saved.  However, you can use layers to make any edits which preserves the original underneath.   Multiple layers can be used each with a different type of edit and different effects can be achieved by changing the order of the layers. The layers menus - drop down and panel on right - are shown on the screen shot below:

There is also a tool bar on the left, which has tools such as:

- Rotate

- Pen

- Blur

- Eraser

- Spot healing

Other options are avialable from the drop down menus such as the Image menu - shown below - and filter menu.