CreativePro.Com Graphics Asset Mgmt./Workflow

The Best App for Managing Digital Assets

Editor in Chief — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:43:14 -0700

Photoshop is an excellent tool for many things, but it's no digital asset manager. The most successful workflows require Photoshop plus something else: Lightroom or Bridge. Which one is best for you depends on a lot of things.

In choosing between the two programs, you'll need to answer these questions:
• Are you new to photography?
• Are you a small studio or a large studio?
• Are you a high-volume shooter?
• Are you a designer, photographer, or both?
• Are you comfortable with computers?

Then you'll want to consider the advantages of each app.

BigPicture Lite for InDesign CS5/5.5 Is Free Download

Editor in Chief — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:41:33 -0600

When you need to wrangle a lot of images in InDesign files, Badia Software's BigPicture is your friend. Now you can snag a limited version of the plug-in, BigPicture Lite, for free from the Mac App Store. It supports CS5 and CS5.5.

Here's what you can expect once you download and install BigPicture Lite:

New Adobe App Eases Pain Points of Photo Syncing and Sharing

Editor in Chief — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:54:48 -0600

Digital photos are great for sharing, aren't they? It's so easy to email them, put them on Facebook, post them on dedicated photo websites like Flickr, and so on. The difficulty is managing all those images. What picture's where? Is the final edit on Flickr or just your hard drive? Do the photos you snap with your phone exist elsewhere? And if you want to combine photos from several people—of a class reunion, for example—things get even more complicated.

Easy, Efficient Image Effects with Lightroom Presets

Editor in Chief — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 02:12:37 -0600

Maybe you want to apply a standard fix to a batch of photos you're importing into Adobe Lightroom. Or perhaps you're looking for effects that mimic toy cameras or old film, or that add a cool color. You may just want a really quick—but good-looking—way to convert color to black and white. If any of these sound like your Lightroom work, you should try Lightroom presets. They make it easy to apply anything to your images, from a standard subtle fix to something more creative.

So You Think You Know Photoshop?

Editor in Chief — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 02:16:13 -0600

Adobe's Photoshop team spends a lot of time listening to users' wants and needs, then trying to meet as many of those as it can. It's in the company's best interests to do so: Satisfied users are more likely to keep buying.

But with all the new stuff that's in every major release of Photoshop, it's tough for us users to find out about all the changes and additions, much less put them into practice.

Extensis Portfolio Server Updates to Version 10

Editor in Chief — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:18:49 -0600

There are many paths you can take to give people in a company remote access to the company's files. You can cobble together something using, say, Dropbox, or you build your own software program to manage the assets, or you can buy an existing data asset manager. Portfolio Server falls into the third camp.

Free Printing Guidance for Adobe Apps

Editor in Chief — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:45:09 -0600

Whether you work at a press shop or are a production artist or print-oriented designer, you'll find something of value in the freshly released Adobe Creative Suite 5/5.5 Printing Guide.

For example, InDesign users can learn how to prep files for output, employ Live Preflight to spot potential troublemakers, work with book files, and a lot more.

Create Custom Photo Layouts in Lightroom 3

Editor in Chief — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 02:31:33 -0600

In Lightroom 3, Adobe has given us better options for assembling images for printing. In particular, the custom package layout style lets you organize one or more images in a layout that you can print or save to a file. You can also save your design as a template to use anytime. In this article, I’ll explain the basics of working with the custom package layout style in Lightroom, some things to watch out for, and a couple of tricks for getting the most out of it.

Plan for Success

WPPI Road Trip Like "The Hangover" for Wedding Photographers

Editor in Chief — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:12:23 -0600

OK, I lied. The WPPI Road Trip won't really be like the "The Hangover"--no tigers in the bathroom, no babies in the closet. But it will be about upcoming weddings; specifically, about how to photograph them.

This is the third annual travelling seminar held by the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). It kicks off August 8, 2011, in Long Beach, California. Here's the full location list, with dates:

Everything You Wanted to Know About Print Production But Were Afraid to Ask

Editor in Chief — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:30:58 -0600

Here's a dirty secret: If something went wrong with your print job, it was probably something you did. Or didn't do. Most graphic designers, even the ones who get a degree in it, don't receive much formal training in print production.

The Print Handbook for Designers hopes to rectify that. It's a print production reference book that eschews lengthy text explanations for short, to-the-point examples.

Manage Your Media Online with SeeFile 5.0

Editor in Chief — Mon, 30 May 2011 21:48:21 -0600

If your workgroup or company is struggling with more files than you can manage, you may need a digital asset manager. SeeFile Software has just released the fifth version of its digital asset manager, also called SeeFile. SeeFile is a Web-based application, which makes it good for distributed teams with members always on the go. Depending on how many users you'll have, SeeFile's price ranges from $699 to $6,795.

Color-Calibrate an iPad?!

Editor in Chief — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:01:05 -0600

An iPad is a great tool for showing off photographs, whether you're in an office or on the road. It's light and small, and the backlit screen means that your work practically glows. The only downside is that the colors can be off, since there's no way to calibrate the iPad's screen.

Until today.

Datacolor's new SpyderGallery iPad app is for people who use the Sypder3 colorimeter and want to carry that color-correct workflow from desktop computers to the iPad. SpyderGallery is a free download.

Histograms Are the Best Photography Tool You Already Own: Part 1

Editor in Chief — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:13:55 -0600

Digital photography has many advantages over film, but perhaps the most significant is the in-camera histogram. This simple tool lets you immediately spot potential exposure problems as you shoot. Once you're done shooting, the histogram in your image-editing software shows you what's wrong with an image and how to adjust tone and color.

The histogram scares a lot of people because it looks like it has something to do with math. While there are a lot of numbers behind it, the histogram is actually easy to understand.

Why Should I Bother?

Meta Editor 3.0 Adds New Tools for Photo Pros with iPad

Editor in Chief — Fri, 13 May 2011 08:22:59 -0600

Software developer Cyril Godefroy designed and developed Meta Editor as a tool for serious photographers who are away from their main computers but want to do some work on their images. The new version 3.0 of the app, which runs on Aple's iPad (iOS 4.2 and later), costs $14.99.

Bring Out Your Wallet: Adobe CS5.5 Is Now for Sale

Editor in Chief — Tue, 03 May 2011 08:50:27 -0600

Just three weeks ago, Adobe announced Creative Suite 5.5. Now the 5.5 applications are available for you to purchase, either in the traditional way, or by subscription.

Although Adobe has given the "5.5" designation to all of its many suite variations (Design, Web, and Production, two of which are available in standard and premium configurations), some of the apps inside the suites have not been updated. Here's how it breaks down for the most common apps: