Proud CS4 Owner – Breakin’ It In

I ain’t no April Fool…

But, I have just spent the last several hours installing Adobe Photoshop CS4. The update is on a DVD; 20 minutes to upgrade. CS4 comes with Adobe Camera Raw 5 …to update from DVD to present configuration, you will need another 123 Mb including ACR 5.3. Fortunately, it can be an automatic download of ~ 6 minutes (industrial Comcast). Simply ask CS4 to update software and sit back til it’s done…

CS4 Setup

Then there’s setup for your prior choices of workflow. For example, bringing in old actions and preferences. I’ve learned to set aside these special features in subfolders for each Photoshop version. Then, its simply a matter of renaming those folders and adding them in the proper place for CS4.

Learning the Ropes...

CS4 has a What’s New in CS4 dropdown menu. It turns new menu features blue so you can quickly go thru to get acclimated. Then, you find Photoshop Online in the Help menu; it provides you some 45 minutes of Julianne Kost _Adobe Evangelist_ showing Intelligent Scaling, Alignment, Lightroom 2, Adjustments and Masks panels, ACR 5, GPU Acceleration, and finally, Bridge in 6 remarkable videos.

Slaver - Saliva running from the mouth: drivel, drool, salivation, slaver.

View of Adobe’s Available Time-Saver (Not Slaver) Videos

Now, why would I use that particular term…

Because, a quick review of these Flash Videos quickly leads you to the meat of new CS4 workflow! Beyond that, their intro statement said you could get the same workflow done in HALF the normal time. AND, sharply reduce your mouse travel… WOW!!!

Then I saw Julianne take 3 high dynamic range exposures and auto-blend them in CS4 – producing a balanced HDR image. Unfortunately, she did not take them to the level of additional Tone Mapping, but such workflow is way simple compared to the old Photomatix approach.

… simply didn’t take long before I was slavering!

Julianne’s other cogent tips (see list above) are quickly presented, well ordered, and highly provocative. It would make a very length blog post to enumerate each one in serious detail so you could even begin to get them at your digital finger tips…

I would recommend viewing each of these videos several times, taking extensive notes, then inculcating these exciting concepts in your own substantially improved workflow.

So, What’s Your Digital Future?

I’ve talked to several members of ELCC who are considering migration to CS4. My advice – if you can workflow in half the time, with much less mouse movement, and have better image control - then what are you waiting for? Take a look at these videos, get your copy onboard and running, and begin some marvelous adventures in your own photography.

Enjoy…