Holy cow wow - did not expect all the emails- but I loved hearing your thoughts and questions on scrapbooking in Lightroom. You all are so helpful to me as I work on the content for this class. Thank you!
Since I only shared a sneak peek - I thought it would be appropriate to clarify a few things and provide a few more answers to those of you patiently waiting for details on a few important issues:
Lightroom is not a replacement for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements - it is another tool in your digital scrapbooking toolbox. Just like graphic designers use several different programs from Adobe - i.e. Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop - the same can be said about Lightroom and Photoshop Elements or Photoshop - you can do a lot in Lightroom, but I still believe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements play an important part in a digital scrapbooker's workflow.
In my workflow I continue to convert my PNG files to import them into Lightroom - even though I can't use the transparent files when I scrapbook in Lightroom. The main reason I have my PNG files converted and in Lightroom is because I can then tag them and organize them and the metadata will stick. Metadata doesn't stick to PNG files. As far as what I am converting them into - right now I am refining the process - doing lots and lots of reasearch and experimenting to see if I like the PSD or TIF format better - the journey has been very enlightening to say the least and I am excited to share what I have learned with you all in class!
I can't get Lightroom to recognize a 12x12 page size because I don't have a wide format printer - what do I do? So grateful you wrote and helped me know this was an issue! If you scroll down on the right hand module to Print Job and change things to Print to: JPEG File and then check the box next to Custom File Dimensions and double click on the numbers and then edit the page dimensions - you can create any size you wish!
Can you use transparent files while scrapbooking in Lightroom? Not at this time. You can open them from Lightroom into Photoshop by right clicking on the item and then choosing Edit In> Edit in Adobe Photoshop CS5/ Photoshop Elements > Edit Original. However, working with transparent files in Lightroom in the Print Module or opening a group of files from Lightroom as Layers in Photoshop does not currently work with transparent files. If you would like this to change, please join me in seconding my feature request here to show there is a demand for these features! You will need an Adobe ID to do so, but the more we ASK, the more we MAY get what we ask for!
On the templates, is there a way to eliminate the page border so that in essence you have a borderless file? Yes there is! If you set your print dimension as outlined two paragraphs above, you can click on the large photo cell for your background paper and enlarge it off the page just a tad (just to clarify in this screenshot it is still on the page) - that will eliminate your border! :)
Lastly, a few things to remember and realize about scrapbooking in Lightroom:
1) You don't have layers - not so bad unless you want to save your files in layers and move them around later - you can only save a FLAT document of whatever you create. That said, your file sizes will be smaller if you use Lightroom to create the base of your layouts. :)
2) All of your elements - bows, ribbons, flowers, overlays, cannot be used in the print module without that unsitely white background where the transparency should be. A little frustrating - but again - this is why Lightroom is only a piece of the workflow puzzle. We still need Photoshop/Photoshop Elements.
So many more questions - I am afraid I can't share all the answers today but I tried to hit on the most urgent. Hopefully this helps tide you over for a few weeks. I am running off to my daughter's basketball games and a weekend of baking & fun with my kids and husband - can't wait!
Hope you all enjoy your weekend!
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