Photoshop/Lightroom question

[nickstanley]

Basic (possibly stupid) question. I am new to photography and the world of post-preduction. I guess my concern is, once I get a picture off my camera to the computer, say a portrait, I have no idea what do do with it in photoshop/lightroom. Is there a sort of "check list" that says, "ok. your picture is loaded. first do this, then do this?"

I mean I understand that being creative is part of the process, but not being familiar with the program, I guess I'm not sure what I need to be doing to photos. Make sense?

 

[Derrel]

Lightroom is layed out in a TOP-down sort of manner, with the "primary" adjustments in the Develop module being located at the top of the panel, and the more-advanced and more-esoteric ones being located farther down.

White balance is a MAJOR, early-on adjustment, as is exposure adjustment.

 

[JacaRanda]

The cool part is that you the photographer get to decide if and what your photo needs. There is no real checklist.

However, some amount of sharpening is nearly always needed. Your software versions probably have a default amount of it set upon import. White balance correction if needed and perhaps cropping or straightening are often the norm.

 

[JacaRanda]

And another.

 

[lennon33x]

Take a program (like Lightroom for example) and look at the adjustment settings. Then take some time to search the internet and YouTube to see what each level does to an image. If you start adjusting sliders and you find something that's cool and works, you won't likely know what you did and won't be able to repeat it. Post production takes time. I spent a year on Lightroom before I figured out what the main sliders do. And it's a huge program, let alone working in Photoshop. Also, once you figure out how to do something, ask for tips from people that know and get their input