SmugMug and Lightroom 3

One of the best photographic tips I ever received was also one of the most simple. It was from an article on workflow, and discussed a method for naming files. It may not seem like a big deal, but that one thing that took me about 30 seconds to implement has saved me hours and hours.

One of the simple features that I love in Lightroom 3 that I think has the potential to create MUCH more time for professional and amateur photographers is the built in Publish Services. While there are several third-party plug ins, the standard plug ins for Facebook, Flickr, and SmugMug are amazing.

So here's how I do it...

1. Create a Smart Gallery: If you don't already have a category for your gallery, right click on the the SmugMug Publish Service button to create one. Then, right-click on the category and select "Create New Smart Gallery."

2. Define which photos will be included. There are several ways to do this using Color Labels, Pick Flags, Keywords, and Star Ratings. Right now I use a combination of Pick Flags and Keywords. So if I want to publish photos in a folder to the Alaska gallery on SmugMug, I make sure the photos have a Pick Flag, and contain both Alaska and SmugMug in the keywords. When I set up the Smart Gallery, I make sure these are the criteria for included photos.

3, Select all the appropriate settings for your new SmugMug gallery and click ok.

3. The photos will magically appear in the SmugMug Smart Gallery. Now just right click the folder and select "Publish Now." The pictures are automatically uploaded to the SmugMug gallery.

The great thing about this process for me is that I use my SmugMug account to link to forums and blogs, and because Lightroom 3 keeps track of any changes I make to my photos, it will tell me if one of the photos in the Smart Galleries has been edited and needs to be re-published. All I do is click Publish again, and it not only updates on SmugMug, but everywhere else that links to SmugMug, including my blog and forums in which I participate.

I also love the way I can see my SmugMug folder hierarchy in Lightroom and make changes to SmugMug galleries directly from the software.

The same type of process is available for Flickr and SmugMug, although I haven't found a way to make the default "Photostream" folder "Smart" in the Flickr service.

The process isn't perfect, but maybe you will find a portion of it helpful.

Sunday Drive

Sunday we took an afternoon drive up to Squaw Peak, which is an overlook that can be accessed by going up Provo Canyon about 1 mile, and then following the signs on the right side of the Road.







We spent a couple minutes there, and were going to head up to Sundance, but discovered a road that runs the entire length of Timpanogas, from Provo to Hobble Creek Canyon. It's about 15 miles long and suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles only. Given the rough condition of the road, it took us about three hours. However, it was extraordinarily beautiful!

Maintenance

So, given the advent of the new Publish Services in Lightroom 3, I decided to clean out my SmugMug account and begin managing it with Lightroom. The two days have been spent keywording my catalog and exporting new albums to SmugMug. I love the new features, but the downside is that I have to go through and re-link every post I've ever made to the new photo locations in the SmugMug Albums.

If you don't see any pictures, that's why! Hope to be back up and running soon!

Portrait Project #15

#15: Seek an Alternative View

Panel

This truck is visible from the I-15 freeway near Willard, UT. I've seen it there for the last two years and always wanted to stop, but never took the time to find the way to the frontage road where it's located.

I finally decided to scout it out on the way back from doing some business, and it's a pretty cool looking little rig!

Josh

My cousin Josh who's leaving to Bolivia to serve an LDS mission.

Skyscape

Took this from the Bonanza on the way back from Phoenix with David Mumford, our pilot:

Portraits....finally!

It's been four months since my last post! Crazy! I've been busy working and studying, but we made it a point to get out and shoot yesterday. It's always a little difficult with the boys, but we managed to eek out a few.

Jury's Out...

Will he survive?

We couldn't make it through the first fiscal quarter of 2010 without some medical bills on the books. Liam smashed his head into the corner of the nightstand while roughhousing with London (the culprit involved in Liam's broken leg), so we reward his vicious furniture headbutt with five stitches from the pediatrician.

The good news is that he's in the running for the lead in Harry Potter 82 with his natural forehead scar. We're counting on the royalties to pay the medical bills.

Model for Hire

Cost: 1 (large) box of Reese's Pieces candy/hr.

Crystal Cove

I pulled this from the California batch of photos. I like his little gangsta pant leg!



ISO 100, F/4.0, 1/2000 SEC

Portrait Project #16

#16: Divide the Picture Space

Valentines

We celebrated Valentines Day at the cabin. BreAna made little treats for me and the boys, and we lounged around with friends.

Portrait Project #14

#14: Use Unusual Crops and Exclude the Face

Avatar Bre

I created this using a process I found in Photoshop User Magazine. I didn't execute it as well as they did, but it was a good way to burn an hour.

The Candid Frame

For those looking for inspiration and education from other photographers, I highly recommend The Candid Frame.

It is a blog/podcast presented by Ibarionex R. Perello, in which he interviews photographers from all disciplines. The list of names is impressive, and includes photographers such as Chase Jarvis, Douglas Kirkland, Dan Winters, and Greg Gorman, to name just a few.

The interviews are posted every two weeks and average about 45 minutes each.

Enjoy!

Portrait Project #13

#13: Shoot at a Slant

Disneyland: Day 10

It all started here, where I pulled over to take this picture on our detour to Zion's National Park...
(It's worth clicking the pics to enlarge them.)



You'd be amazed at how slippery that red mud is. My truck literally slid sideways all the way down the shoulder. After a nice man stopped to pull me out, it looked like this...



After realizing that I missed a turn and our 45 minute drive turned into 2.5 hours, we ended up at Zion's, here...



Only to be informed that there had been an avalanche and we couldn't get through. We'd have to wait an hour...



So, we pulled over to change the baby here, where we found out that a 20 month old child can indeed pull a vehicle out of park. I was forced to dive in the passenger side door and hand operate the foot brake, which was still muddy from the aforementioned truck-stuck event.



After eating a bad buffalo burger meal (never feel comfortable if the person at a restaurant says they are operating on limited supplies and a tight budget) we finally got through...



And it was worth the wait!


Finally home after a LONG day...

Disneyland: Day 9

Disneyland: Day 8

Rain at Disneyland. NOT the happiest place on on earth.

Disneyland: Day 7

Sea World yielded some decent photos, but this was my favorite of the day.

Disneyland: Day 6

Disneyland: Day 5

I couldn't resist.

Disneyland: Day 4

San Diego Zoo rocks! This place was huge, and had a lot of really cool places for good pictures that were unobstructed by glass or cages. i did have to shoot the little guy below from behind the ugly green zoo glass, but the family of gorillas was by far my favorite part of the zoo, so I thought I'd include him anyway.

Disneyland: Day 3

We made it to the Magic Kingdom. Overall the kids did really well and enjoyed most of the attractions. London was very apprehensive (loud screaming) about the Haunted Mansion, and Logan refused to crawl through a couple dark tunnels in the faux rock inside the Indian Jones ride, despite my best persuasive logic. "Dad, stop trying to get me to break the rules!" I explained there were no signs prohibiting the activity, but the caves were dark and ominous, so I had that working against me. Liam slept for a couple of the hours, but enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear rides. He screamed when the line proceed past the animatronic buzz inside the ride. Mom was an unstoppable force of Disney Delight.

Disneyland: Day 2

Day two consisted of making our way from St. George to Newport Beach. This is right after a Super 8 continental breakfast. We tried letting the kids burn off as much of the Fruit Loops sugar as we could before we loaded up for the haul.

Disneyland: Day 1

We made it through the first day. Salt Lake to St. George. The kids unwound in the hotel by exploring the branded pens and pads, the TV Guide, and jumping all over Grampy.

From a family trip to the lake.

Portrait Project #12

#12: Use the Rule of Thirds