Hi, my name is Brooke and I’m a Photoshop junkie. Just sayin’.

I’m a Photoshop girl. Learned it and still learning it, love it, and use it! As I was going through my last shoot though, I realized how much time it really takes to go through each photo in Photoshop. Now two years ago when I was shooting, that was necessary. But my style has changed, my skills have changed immensely, and I always try to shoot what I want to print, in camera. This means very little editing is required, if any!

Enter, Adobe Lightroom. I’ve used Lightroom before but got so frustrated with it that I gave up and went back to my beloved Photoshop. However! I went to a Lightroom workshop last night and was truly blown away by what Lightroom can do. I was watching the demos and shaking my head, thinking to myself, “wow, doing the same thing in Photoshop would take twice as long.” Here’s the thing – Photoshop is a really complex program. Layers, masks, profiles, channels… it’s enough to make someone’s head spin. And while its functionality in editing photos is second to none, it is also used for other things. Things like design, creation, and more.

Lightroom is specifically for digital photos. There are ways to correct for specific lens, based on manufacturers and focal lengths, apertures, and more. There are SO many options to edit your photos, without changing the original!

I am by NO MEANS an expert on either program. I can make my way through both, but every time I use either program I learn something new! Which is why I was so thrilled last night to see what Lightroom can really do!

So today’s post is information from another photographer. Actually, a husband and wife team. And I’m sure that both of them are better at either program than I am, so it’s definitely appropriate that this comes from them!

Zach and Jody Gray are a husband and wife team in Nashville, TN, and really… what else can be said? They ROCK. They’re so open and sweet, and dedicated not only to their own marriage and business, but to helping others too. I don’t know them personally, but I feel like I do from their blog. They offer so many opportunities to learn new things, and their images are amazing! One of the things that they concentrate the most on is to get the image right straight out of your camera! They offer workshops to showcase lighting skills, and composition that results in photos that are awesome! I’m so sorry that I don’t know who shot the image above, but check out their website. I know that I’ve seen it there. :)

They wrote a post on their blog about Luminance in Lightroom, and I really loved the results in the before and after photo. At the time, because I wasn’t using Lightroom, the information didn’t mean much to me. I read it, and saved it for later. But now, going back – it’s really great information to have!

So for today’s tricks in Lightroom, CLICK HERE to go to Zach and Jody’s website to see their post on Luminance. Then find a photo that you want to play with, and change things up a bit in Lightroom. That’s one of the biggest takeaways from last night – Lightroom is NOT DESTRUCTIVE! Meaning you can do whatever you want to your photo, and it doesn’t overwrite the original. how awesome is that?

Happy Thursday everyone! I will be out of town, but have a fabulous weekend! :)