Managing Fuji Files in Lightroom Desktop/Cloud/Whatever you call it (i.e. the non-classic version of Lightroom)

Managing Fuji Files in Lightroom Desktop/Cloud/Whatever you call it (i.e. the non-classic version of Lightroom)

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom, Fuji X-Series

Someone recently asked a question on my Facebook group that, I thought, was actually such a good question that I should write a whole blog post, or perhaps even a series of blog posts about. For a long time, I’ve covered just about every aspect of working with Fuji files in Lightroom Classic, but I’ve never really covered some of the techniques for the non-classic version of Lightroom. While most things are broadly similar, many operations are also slightly different or in slightly different spots, so may be confusing to beginners. So in this post, I’m going to cover some of the fundamentals: how to change the film simulation mode, how to set the film simulation mode to what you shot in-camera on import, and how to use the “enhance” function to get better quality images.

The Problem with Many Photo Editing Tutorials

The Problem with Many Photo Editing Tutorials

Thomas Fitzgerald
Technique, Editorial

Recently, I was trying to record a tutorial on editing landscape photography. In the end, I didn’t publish it because I felt that the edits I had done weren’t dramatic enough for people to watch. In fact, I even had that criticism about some of my editing tutorials before, that the edits I was making weren’t significant enough. This led me to realise the paradox of photo editing tutorials, especially on YouTube or other socially driven platforms. Unless you’re dramatically changing the image or doing extensive edits, people will find it “boring” and not watch or complain. But the reality is, in most cases, restraint will lead to better images.

Cool Feature of the Nik Software Suite – Copy and Paste Nik Settings directly in Lightroom

Cool Feature of the Nik Software Suite – Copy and Paste Nik Settings directly in Lightroom

Thomas Fitzgerald
Software, DxO

With the recent release of the Nik 5 plug-in collection], I have been using the software a bit more lately, and one of the cool things in the suite, is something that you may not be aware of. I don’t think this is actually a new feature in version 5, as I believe this was in 4 too, but there is some pretty impressive Lightroom integration with the suite. Specifically, you can copy and apply settings for the Nik plug-ins to other images directly in Lightroom.

Levels in Lightroom? How and when to use levels rather than Contrast

Levels in Lightroom? How and when to use levels rather than Contrast

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom

So, way back when Lightroom first came out, many moons ago, one of the complaints from long time Photoshop users was that you couldn’t do a basic Levels adjustment in the software. Well, you actually can, and that is with the whites and blacks sliders. Adjusting the black and white sliders can be useful for a lot of things, but there’s one particular case that I think needs special mention. When working with low contrast scenes, it can be useful to adjust the contrast with a Levels adjustment rather than the contrast slider. Let me explain why.

Nik Collection 5 released

Nik Collection 5 released

Thomas Fitzgerald
DxO, Software

DXO Labs today announced the release of Nik Collection 5. The suite of Plug-ins contains major upgrades to ColorEfex and AnalogEfex which include a new user interface as well as anew grain tool and the companies clear view technology. The suite also now comes with DXO Photolab 5 Essential, bringing Raw editing and DXO’s renowned optics correction to the suite.

Lightroom 11.4 Released - New Features: Mask Improvements, Preset Amount Slider and GPU Export Acceleration

Lightroom 11.4 Released - New Features: Mask Improvements, Preset Amount Slider and GPU Export Acceleration

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom

Adobe has just announced its June photography updates, and this includes new versions of all versions of Lightroom as well as Photoshop and Camera Raw. In this article, I’m only going to be focusing on Lightroom Classic, which is now at version 11.4. This release actually has quite a few new and improved features for a point release, and I’ll outline the key new features in the post (and video) below.

Some more observations on the Fuji X-E4 after several months with the camera

Some more observations on the Fuji X-E4 after several months with the camera

Thomas Fitzgerald
Fuji X-Series, Gear

A little while ago I wrote my first impressions of the Fuji X-E4, but having been using the camera for a little while now, I wanted to follow up with some more observations. I often find that a problem with camera review is that they are written after only a short time with a camera, and often miss out on things that come to light later. So, that’s the purpose of this review. It’s not to slam the camera or say it’s the greatest thing ever. It’s to highlight some things, both good and bad, that I’ve discovered while using it, so that if you’re considering purchasing one, you can be fully informed.

New Episode of Street Photo Diary: “Sony A6000 - Still my favourite Street Photography camera”

New Episode of Street Photo Diary: “Sony A6000 - Still my favourite Street Photography camera”

Thomas Fitzgerald
Mirrorless, Street, Sony

I have just uploaded a new episode of Street Photo Diary to my YouTube channel. In this episode of Street Photo Diary, I get back to shooting Street Photography with my trusty Sony A6000. I talk about how this 8 year old camera is still my favourite street photo camera, and my preferred lens and settings when shooting street photography. I also discuss 5 tips for beginners looking to get into street photography.

Signs of Summer on the Streets of Dublin

Signs of Summer on the Streets of Dublin

Thomas Fitzgerald
Street

As spring gives way to summer here in Ireland, and the cold dark rainy days give way to bright rainy days, I’ve been slowly getting back into street photography. I have only really dabbled since the pandemic began and for most of 2020 I didn’t really shoot much at all. I’ve been getting back into it bit by bit, and recently, I headed out with my trusty Sony A6000 to get some street shots

Thoughts on the Canon R7 and R10

Thoughts on the Canon R7 and R10

Thomas Fitzgerald
Canon, Gear

I just wanted to share a quick few thoughts on the new APSC RF mount cameras that Canon announced yesterday. It had long been rumoured that Canon would expand the RF range to include APS-C cameras and now that they have, the transition to mirrorless is nearing completion for Canon. But there are a few interesting things about these cameras specifically, and the expansion of the range, and I wanted to say a few quick words on the subject.

Photo Essay: Cambridge

Photo Essay: Cambridge

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel

I first visited Cambridge a couple of years ago and I absolutely loved it. This was my third visit since then and my first visit post lockdowns. There is something really nice about the city. It’s small, like a big town, and it has a combination of history and grandeur as well as the peaceful parks and riverside. It also has great cafes and great food.

On the Road Again ... and Air and Rail

On the Road Again ... and Air and Rail

Thomas Fitzgerald
Travel

After two and a half years, I finally got to travel overseas again last week. It was the first time travelling in the new reality of the semi-sort of but not really - post(ish) COVID-19 world. It was a part work trip, part “get away and clear your head” type of trip, and it involved two countries, and multiple forms of transport. Hey, if you’re going to do it, do it right.

Capture One Addresses Service Outage

Capture One Addresses Service Outage

Thomas Fitzgerald
Capture One

Last week Capture One suffered a service outage that affected users of the companies software. The issue was caused by Capture One’s payment provider, Fast Spring, and it caused the software to temporarily stop working for some users. Needless to say, people affected by this weren’t happy. Luckily, Capture One seems to have realised the seriousness of this, and yesterday they addressed it in a Tweet on the companies official Twitter Account.

Video: How to add White Borders to Instagram Photos in Lightroom

Video: How to add White Borders to Instagram Photos in Lightroom

Thomas Fitzgerald
Lightroom, Video

Some people prefer posting their photos to instagram using a frame, with white borders surrounding the image, n order to preserve the original aspect ratio. People are quite divided as to whether or not this is a good thing to do or not, but if you want to do it, there are lots of ways to go about it. If you use Lightroom, there’s actually a pretty easy way to get the white border effect inside of Lightroom, without having to use plug-ins or go to Photoshop.

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