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Adobe Lightroom Updated With HDR and Panorama Merge, Facial Recognition and Filter Brushes

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Adobe today announced a major update to Lightroom CC (and the launch of the standalone Lightroom 6), its professional photo editing software for Mac users. The new update brings significant performance improvements and several new features like HDR merge, Panorama merge, facial recognition, improved slideshows, a filter brush, and more.

One of the most impressive new organizational features in the updated version of Lightroom is facial recognition, which lets Lightroom users organize their photos by subject for the first time, in addition to organizing with tags, flags, and star ratings. Once a face in a single photo is named, the software is able to find more images that feature that person for quick tagging by face. A new "People" view lets users sort photos by person.

adobefacialrecognition.jpg
Panorama Merge, another new feature, lets photographers stitch together multiple images, including RAW and JPG files to create ultra high-quality panoramic shots. It has built in tools for automatically cropping non-matching edges and changing perspectives. With Lightroom's graphical performance improvements, even huge panorama files can be edited in real time with little lag.

adobepanoramamerge.jpg
With HDR Merge, it's possible to combine several different photos with different exposure settings into a single HDR image. Unlike other photo editing apps, Adobe's HDR Merge works directly with both JPG and RAW images. Because it works with RAW files, a high-quality HDR image can be created from as few as two photos. Other HDR options typically require more photos at different exposure levels to create a suitable image.

adobehdr.jpg
Lightroom's new filter brush, a popular request from Adobe customers, works with graduated and radial filter affects, letting a filter mask be reshaped with a brush tool so filter effects can be added and subtracted from specific parts of images for better precision. The last major feature update, which adds advanced slideshow tools, lets users put pan and zoom effects into their slideshows to add a motion effect. There's also a tool for syncing slideshows to multiple audio clips, and it's possible to add up to 10 songs to a slideshow.

Today's update to Lightroom CC may be of particular interest to Mac users who previously used the now-defunct Aperture photo editing software, as Apple no longer offers a professional-level photo editing app since discontinuing Aperture in favor of Photos for OS X. Lightroom has many professional-level features that are missing from the Photos for OS X app, and it also offers the same cross-platform syncing of all images with a Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe has promised to continue adding new features and more advanced tools to Lightroom in the future.

Adobe is also updating its Lightroom apps for the iPad and the iPhone, which connect to Lightroom CC and allow for photos and edits to be synced between all devices using Adobe's cloud service. The apps are gaining features like improved cropping tools, with the updated versions available for download today.

Lightroom CC is available through Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography plan, which bundles Photoshop and Lightroom together for $9.99 per month, or through Adobe's complete Creative Cloud plan, featuring all Adobe software for $49.99 per month.

Adobe is also selling the new Lightroom update on a standalone basis, branded as Lightroom 6 and priced at $149 (or $79 upgrade pricing). The standalone version of Lightroom does not include cloud integration with Adobe's mobile Lightroom apps and Lightroom on the web.

Lightroom for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Lightroom for iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Adobe Lightroom Updated With HDR and Panorama Merge, Facial Recognition and Filter Brushes
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/21/adobe-lightroom-updated-with-new-features/
photographypro said:
I keep checking but don't see the update!!
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You often need to quit and restart the Creative Cloud apps if it doesn't see things right away. It's on its own little schedule. I just did that and there's a new CC app update, and I expect to see the LR update once that's done.
 
Excited for the new updates to Lightroom, but NOT a fan of Adobe's creative cloud-based pay model where these applications must be rented—especially when extra/new features are bundled into these specific releases.
 
Definitely excited for HDR and Pano, I am tired of dumping those files into CS6 just to make a few edits. Well done Adobe, now hurry up and take my money!
 
Col4bin said:
Excited for the new updates to Lightroom, but NOT a fan of Adobe's creative cloud-based pay model where these applications must be rented—especially when extra/new features are bundled into these specific releases.
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So they still only offer subscription models? That's a shame, considering I'd actually pay for a one time fee. Not a fan of renting software, then again I guess that's a business model that should work in certain circumstances/environments.

Edit: Apparently they now do!
 
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I might consider it.
I am not too fond of the Photos app. I missed the old iPhoto for casual stuff and Aperture for more in depth editing.
 
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Imory said:
So they still only offer subscription models? That's a shame, considering I'd actually pay for a one time fee. Not a fan of renting software, then again I guess that's a business model that should work in certain circumstances/environments.
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Did you not read the full MacRumors article?
Hint: subscription and standalone versions are available.
 
Did they pull the new version from CC? I tried to install and it kept failing. So I rebooted my machine and now the CC app doesn't even see v.6?

-Kevin
 
Imory said:
So they still only offer subscription models? That's a shame, considering I'd actually pay for a one time fee. Not a fan of renting software, then again I guess that's a business model that should work in certain circumstances/environments.
Click to expand...

Unless I'm misunderstanding your comment, Lightroom 6, the standalone, is also coming out today @ $149/$79 upgrade.
 
Imory said:
So they still only offer subscription models? That's a shame, considering I'd actually pay for a one time fee. Not a fan of renting software, then again I guess that's a business model that should work in certain circumstances/environments.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

Did you even read the article? LR is available as a stand alone.
 
Glad to see a standalone version as well as upgrade pricing. Nothing on that feature list is a game changer but hopefully it comes with some backend improvements. I'll wait for initial testing to see if it works with my existing peripherals before fully transitioning.
 
orbital~debris said:
Did you not read the full MacRumors article?
Hint: subscription and standalone versions are available.
Click to expand...

Nope! Just replied to a comment. Now I'll look into it. But they haven't for quite some time, right?

Pafoofnik said:
Unless I'm misunderstanding your comment, Lightroom 6, the standalone, is also coming out today @ $149/$79 upgrade.
Click to expand...

Jumped too fast!

Razeus said:
:rolleyes:

Did you even read the article? LR is available as a stand alone.
Click to expand...

Keep those eyes for yourself.
 
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Imory said:
So they still only offer subscription models? That's a shame, considering I'd actually pay for a one time fee. Not a fan of renting software, then again I guess that's a business model that should work in certain circumstances/environments.
Click to expand...

You're not a fan cause you obviously can afford to buy those software right away. But for guys like me, renting them is awesome since I can't afford to buy them like you. I never paid for those software. Always managed to find a way to get them for "free" but always wanted to get them legally. The minute I heard that they were coming with a monthly payment solution like spotify, I signed up. :)
 
dmrowley said:
I rebooted, and I only see Bridge CC and Photoshop CC updates. LR5 still says up to date....
Click to expand...

I saw it briefly, and every time I went to install it failed. Now I don't see it in the CC app on any of my machines.

-Kevin
 
RealKrS said:
You're not a fan cause you obviously can afford to buy those software right away. But for guys like me, renting them is awesome since I can't afford to buy them like you. I never paid for those software. Always managed to find a way to get them for "free" but always wanted to get them legally. The minute I heard that they were coming with a monthly payment solution like spotify, I signed up. :)
Click to expand...

That's fair enough. I think your point is fair, sometimes we value software and services differently. I see for instance no problem paying Spotify 10 dollars a month since that business model makes sense to me.

I guess if software like Lightroom get significant updates on a quarterly basis (maybe that's not enough time) then subscription makes sense.
 
Lightroom uses say Photos is limited...

Photos users say its just as good.

No one can win ....
 
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