Updated to add the link to the site hosting free Lightroom Presets.  See paragraph 2.

One of my readers, Barb, sent me an invitation to try Lightroom 2.0 Beta (after considerable effort on her part, I might add.)  And I got it loaded and registered yesterday and tried to play around with a photo a friend had sent that needed some exposure and color correction.  My first whack at it wasn’t all that impressive and I reluctantly closed it and walked away from my computer.  I figured I needed more practice, more skills and maybe a better picture.

This morning, after some strange and vivid dreams about creating a layout featuring the photos I took of my kids last Easter, I visited a Lightroom site to load up on free presets and gave it another try.  After a few stops and starts, I figured out how to save my work, locate the photos I wanted to work with, revert to original and even combine more than one preset. 

Honestly, Lightroom is easier to get the hang of than any Adobe product I’ve ever worked with even though scrolling through some of the areas is a little awkward.  It’s definitely going to be on my “must-have” list after my beta version expires. 

I took a bunch of decent, but ordinary pictures of my kids and made something so different - it was so cool!  I probably went a little over the top, but I just couldn’t resist and, since it’s for another page in my teen’s book, I figured it wouldn’t go unappreciated.

Want a peek?  Here’s the layout I made…

family_small

Because I wanted the emphasis on the photos, I left the layout virtually bare of embellishment. 

I also want to send a huge “THANK YOU!” to reader, Becky, for sending me a coupon for a free 8×8 Shutterfly album - including shipping!   I have the best readers here!

Tschüss!

Layout Credits: Michelle Coleman - background paper, Birgit - cut-out frame, GinaMaria - template.