Lightroom slideshows anyone?

ecce38 · 02-15-2008, 04:20 PM

Not sure if this goes here. Mods feel free to move if necessary....

Next week I'm purchasing both photoshop CS3 and lightroom. I understand their different uses (at least in general terms), but I'm very curious about the slideshow feature in lightroom itself. I'd like some impressions/comments about it. Does it produce great/good/decent/poor slideshows? What's your take? Also if you have a link to any lightroom slideshows that I could view, that would be great too. Thanks in advance.

Last edited by ecce38; 02-15-2008 at 05:14 PM.

WMBP · 02-15-2008, 05:20 PM

Originally posted by ecce38

Next week I'm purchasing both photoshop CS3 and lightroom. I understand their different uses (at least in general terms), but I'm very curious about the slideshow feature in lightroom itself. I'd like some impressions/comments about it. Does it produce great/good/decent/poor slideshows? What's your take? Also if you have a link to any lightroom slideshows that I could view, that would be great too. Thanks in advance.

It does a very decent job, has lots of options. I don't use it in part because I don't need it. My site hosting service (SmugMug) makes slide shows and does a decent job, too, that's much easier. But there's another problem. I would be happy to learn about it if I'm missing something, but the problem with Lightroom's slide show is that it's a set of flash files that you have to upload to your own site. I could easily do this--but then I think I'd lose the advantages of having all of my photos managed by a database back end.

For putting a slide show on a CD or DVD, though, it's great.

Will

ecce38 · 02-15-2008, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by WMBP

... but the problem with Lightroom's slide show is that it's a set of flash files that you have to upload to your own site. I could easily do this--but then I think I'd lose the advantages of having all of my photos managed by a database back end.

For putting a slide show on a CD or DVD, though, it's great.

Will

Will, could you please clarify a little more on this....not sure I completely follow you here. Thanks again.

davemdsn · 02-15-2008, 07:16 PM

Lr Slideshows are really only for viewing on your computer. The only export option is PDF with no music. Basically, if you have a client or friend with you and you want to show a quick slideshow of a folder or collection it is a good option. If you want to share your slideshow via email, web, CD or otherwise, it is pretty lame. I would recommend a dedicated slideshow app for those purposes.

It sounds like Will is actually talking about the web module, where you can make a Flash slideshow. There is no control over times or transitions as I recall. Worth a try, though.

ecce38 · 02-15-2008, 08:11 PM

Okay Dave, thanks for your input. this was the type of info. i wanted. maybe the later versions/upgrades will be better for this particular feature.

George Lama · 02-15-2008, 09:49 PM

There are a few quirks with the Slideshow module and in my purely personal opinion, it's not quite ready for business use. It's basically limited in many ways the most basic slide shows are not, including the facts mentioned by davemdsn. For an option in a program geared for photography professionals, why would you not want the option of adding music to a slideshow, or exporting a self-contained slideshow in a format other than PDF?

This is the reason why I use the web module to create a flash-based proof webpage for my clients and keep it simple until I figure out which slideshow product I want to invest money in.

Here's an interesting thread in the Adobe Lightroom forums which talks about one pro-photog's experience with LR's Slideshow module: Adobe Forums - LR 1.3.1 Slideshow Playback problem - real world example of how software bugs affect your business

Robert Barnett · 02-15-2008, 10:36 PM

Adobe Lightroom has some nice things. For me it makes editing RAW much easier. However, it is lacking in a great number of basic photography related features. The print, slide show and web gallery modules are the programs weakest points. The slide show module being the weakest of all of them. I don't use it, it is far too basic and far too weak in features that allows the user to control the look, feel and function of the slide shows.

If you are very serious about doing slide shows and want something that is going to allow you to be as creative with your slide shows as you can be with your photo taking look at Photodex's ProShow Gold. Photodex - Photo Slide Show and Presentation Software - Create Photo DVD Slide Shows. Now that is slideshow.

If I was you I would strongly consider if you really need lightroom at this time. PS3 comes with ACR and Bridge which may be all you need for now. I and many others are hoping that LR 2.0 will be much better. As it is right now I don't feel it is worth the asking price.

Robert

WMBP · 02-15-2008, 10:57 PM

Originally posted by davemdsn

It sounds like Will is actually talking about the web module, where you can make a Flash slideshow. There is no control over times or transitions as I recall. Worth a try, though.

Yes, my mistake, and thanks for catching it. They're different things indeed.

As Dave says, the slideshow creates a very simple document for viewing on your computer. It's actually a PDF; I'm not sure what's embedded inside it, but you open it up, the slideshow starts running and that's about all there is to it. You could send it in an email. The web gallery is a different thing and does (I think) use Flash. It creates html pages and references exported jpeg versions of your photos. You have a certain amount of control over the LOOK of both of these display formats.

Here are examples.

http://polytrope.com/wp/lightroom_slideshow.pdf

William Porter Photography

As the first link is to a pdf file, you may have to download it and open it in your pdf viewer. The second link should be visible in your web browser.

I don't think either of these is nearly as useful as what you can get from a web photo service like SmugMug or even Flickr or Picasa Web Albums. The web gallery is basically a static gallery. No searching. It's not tied to a photo ordering application. I haven't seen a way to make the photos resize to the browser.

When I want a simple web gallery to give to someone on disk, I create it in Picasa. Here's an example of that:

20080101_picasa

I didn't take the time to clean that up and make it look nicer, but it's not hard to do. Anyway, compare to this:

link to Picasa Web Albums gallery

What's the bottom line here? Static, self-contained web galleries and slideshows are useful mainly for putting on CDs and distributing to clients or friends. But for anybody who has access to the Web (which these days is nearly everybody, nearly all the time), a database driven site is the best option of all.

Will

ecce38 · 02-18-2008, 05:02 AM

Very good input! Thanks so much for all the advice. I've decided to wait on LR and just go with photoshop cs3 for now.

**tlfaust** · 02-23-2008, 02:19 PM

Hi
I use LR's slideshow to show my newly imported pictures. I created a slide show template that shows the lens used and the exposure info. I can hit a number key (1-5) as the slide show runs to assign a score. I then use rating this to further refine any keepers. I find this to be a really useful feature, when used in this way.

Be well

davemdsn · 02-23-2008, 04:19 PM

Originally posted by tlfaust

Hi
I use LR's slideshow to show my newly imported pictures. I created a slide show template that shows the lens used and the exposure info. I can hit a number key (1-5) as the slide show runs to assign a score. I then use rating this to further refine any keepers. I find this to be a really useful feature, when used in this way.

Be well

It is nice for that.

02-15-2008, 04:20 PM	#1
ecce38 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arkansas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 43	Lightroom slideshows anyone? Not sure if this goes here. Mods feel free to move if necessary.... Next week I'm purchasing both photoshop CS3 and lightroom. I understand their different uses (at least in general terms), but I'm very curious about the slideshow feature in lightroom itself. I'd like some impressions/comments about it. Does it produce great/good/decent/poor slideshows? What's your take? Also if you have a link to any lightroom slideshows that I could view, that would be great too. Thanks in advance. Last edited by ecce38; 02-15-2008 at 05:14 PM.

02-15-2008, 09:49 PM	#6
George Lama Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Buffalo/Rochester, NY Photos: Albums Posts: 1,133	There are a few quirks with the Slideshow module and in my purely personal opinion, it's not quite ready for business use. It's basically limited in many ways the most basic slide shows are not, including the facts mentioned by davemdsn. For an option in a program geared for photography professionals, why would you not want the option of adding music to a slideshow, or exporting a self-contained slideshow in a format other than PDF? This is the reason why I use the web module to create a flash-based proof webpage for my clients and keep it simple until I figure out which slideshow product I want to invest money in. Here's an interesting thread in the Adobe Lightroom forums which talks about one pro-photog's experience with LR's Slideshow module: Adobe Forums - LR 1.3.1 Slideshow Playback problem - real world example of how software bugs affect your business Last edited by George Lama; 02-15-2008 at 10:09 PM. Reason: Corrected link

02-15-2008, 10:36 PM	#7
Robert Barnett Inactive Account Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Santa Rosa, CA Posts: 65	Lightroom Adobe Lightroom has some nice things. For me it makes editing RAW much easier. However, it is lacking in a great number of basic photography related features. The print, slide show and web gallery modules are the programs weakest points. The slide show module being the weakest of all of them. I don't use it, it is far too basic and far too weak in features that allows the user to control the look, feel and function of the slide shows. If you are very serious about doing slide shows and want something that is going to allow you to be as creative with your slide shows as you can be with your photo taking look at Photodex's ProShow Gold. Photodex - Photo Slide Show and Presentation Software - Create Photo DVD Slide Shows. Now that is slideshow. If I was you I would strongly consider if you really need lightroom at this time. PS3 comes with ACR and Bridge which may be all you need for now. I and many others are hoping that LR 2.0 will be much better. As it is right now I don't feel it is worth the asking price. Robert

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02-15-2008, 05:20 PM	#2
WMBP Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,482	Originally posted by ecce38 Next week I'm purchasing both photoshop CS3 and lightroom. I understand their different uses (at least in general terms), but I'm very curious about the slideshow feature in lightroom itself. I'd like some impressions/comments about it. Does it produce great/good/decent/poor slideshows? What's your take? Also if you have a link to any lightroom slideshows that I could view, that would be great too. Thanks in advance. It does a very decent job, has lots of options. I don't use it in part because I don't need it. My site hosting service (SmugMug) makes slide shows and does a decent job, too, that's much easier. But there's another problem. I would be happy to learn about it if I'm missing something, but the problem with Lightroom's slide show is that it's a set of flash files that you have to upload to your own site. I could easily do this--but then I think I'd lose the advantages of having all of my photos managed by a database back end. For putting a slide show on a CD or DVD, though, it's great. Will

02-15-2008, 05:30 PM	#3
ecce38 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arkansas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 43 Original Poster	Originally posted by WMBP ... but the problem with Lightroom's slide show is that it's a set of flash files that you have to upload to your own site. I could easily do this--but then I think I'd lose the advantages of having all of my photos managed by a database back end. For putting a slide show on a CD or DVD, though, it's great. Will Will, could you please clarify a little more on this....not sure I completely follow you here. Thanks again.

02-15-2008, 07:16 PM	#4
davemdsn Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Boise, Idaho Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,413	Lr Slideshows are really only for viewing on your computer. The only export option is PDF with no music. Basically, if you have a client or friend with you and you want to show a quick slideshow of a folder or collection it is a good option. If you want to share your slideshow via email, web, CD or otherwise, it is pretty lame. I would recommend a dedicated slideshow app for those purposes. It sounds like Will is actually talking about the web module, where you can make a Flash slideshow. There is no control over times or transitions as I recall. Worth a try, though.

02-15-2008, 08:11 PM	#5
ecce38 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arkansas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 43 Original Poster	Okay Dave, thanks for your input. this was the type of info. i wanted. maybe the later versions/upgrades will be better for this particular feature.

02-15-2008, 10:57 PM	#8
WMBP Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,482	Originally posted by davemdsn It sounds like Will is actually talking about the web module, where you can make a Flash slideshow. There is no control over times or transitions as I recall. Worth a try, though. Yes, my mistake, and thanks for catching it. They're different things indeed. As Dave says, the slideshow creates a very simple document for viewing on your computer. It's actually a PDF; I'm not sure what's embedded inside it, but you open it up, the slideshow starts running and that's about all there is to it. You could send it in an email. The web gallery is a different thing and does (I think) use Flash. It creates html pages and references exported jpeg versions of your photos. You have a certain amount of control over the LOOK of both of these display formats. Here are examples. http://polytrope.com/wp/lightroom_slideshow.pdf William Porter Photography As the first link is to a pdf file, you may have to download it and open it in your pdf viewer. The second link should be visible in your web browser. I don't think either of these is nearly as useful as what you can get from a web photo service like SmugMug or even Flickr or Picasa Web Albums. The web gallery is basically a static gallery. No searching. It's not tied to a photo ordering application. I haven't seen a way to make the photos resize to the browser. When I want a simple web gallery to give to someone on disk, I create it in Picasa. Here's an example of that: 20080101_picasa I didn't take the time to clean that up and make it look nicer, but it's not hard to do. Anyway, compare to this: link to Picasa Web Albums gallery What's the bottom line here? Static, self-contained web galleries and slideshows are useful mainly for putting on CDs and distributing to clients or friends. But for anybody who has access to the Web (which these days is nearly everybody, nearly all the time), a database driven site is the best option of all. Will

02-18-2008, 05:02 AM	#9
ecce38 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arkansas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 43 Original Poster	Very good input! Thanks so much for all the advice. I've decided to wait on LR and just go with photoshop cs3 for now.

02-23-2008, 02:19 PM	#10
tlfaust Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Photos: Gallery Posts: 182	Hi I use LR's slideshow to show my newly imported pictures. I created a slide show template that shows the lens used and the exposure info. I can hit a number key (1-5) as the slide show runs to assign a score. I then use rating this to further refine any keepers. I find this to be a really useful feature, when used in this way. Be well

02-23-2008, 04:19 PM	#11
davemdsn Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Boise, Idaho Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,413	Originally posted by tlfaust Hi I use LR's slideshow to show my newly imported pictures. I created a slide show template that shows the lens used and the exposure info. I can hit a number key (1-5) as the slide show runs to assign a score. I then use rating this to further refine any keepers. I find this to be a really useful feature, when used in this way. Be well It is nice for that.

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