TWiP 827 - All-IN with Lightroom, feat. Brian Matiash

This week, I'm joined by Brian Matiash, a photo educator and marketing expert who has fully embraced Adobe Lightroom for his photographic endeavors. Brian discusses his transition, experiences, and the advanced techniques he utilizes in Lightroom. Don't miss his valuable insights into photo editing and marketing strategies.
Connect with Brian at: matiash.com.
Here is a bit about Brian from his LinkedIn profile:
I’m an adaptive product marketer passionate about driving growth through tailored and multi-faceted marketing programs. With over 12 years of marketing experience (and over 20 years of professional experience), I thoroughly enjoy all aspects of marketing, from managing robust go-to-market campaigns to developing organic and paid content strategies to conducting comprehensive market research via user interviews and customer avatar creation.
I’ve been very fortunate to build and lead several multinational marketing teams, and I am also as comfortable getting into the weeds with tactical tasks whenever needed. On a more personal note, I am an avid photo educator in my pastime, having spent over 15 years creating an extensive library of written and video content to help photo enthusiasts. My work has been published in numerous publications, and I've built several courses where students can improve their photography knowledge in a gamified environment.

[@brianmatiash]

Thanks so much for having me on the show again, Frederick! I had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

[@DavidSchamis]

After hearing Brian on Matt K's podcast a few weeks ago I also went all-in on Lr. Now I have removed LrC from all my computers and I haven't looked back - its all just so much better!

[@brianmatiash]

You know I love hearing this, David!

[@RandyPollock]

I took Brian's class as well and like others, I ditched LrC after 10 years in LrC (did sway over to Catpure one for 3 years as well) Adding the local viewer in LR really makes it easy to not look back to LrC.

[@EspenSolli]

Thank you for a really interesting episode! After starting to use Lr with sidecar files (.XML) everything got much simpler. I can move files and folders to other discs if I need without making a mess in the Lr library, which will eventually become a mess when as a professional photographer taking maybe 150.000 images per year. If I need images taken three years ago, I will find the disc and import the folders needed to Lr, adjustments and metadata will be imported from the sidecar files(next to the raw files) Having all the raw files backed up to the cloud is not possible, to slow and to expensive for professionals with maybe 1-3 TBs of images per year. Sidecar files really saved my workflow🎉

[@andre_micallef]

this should have been accompanied by a screen session of LR... it's too complicateed to try to follow the suggested workflow

[@matthewd7719]

Great video. I am trying to switch to Lr and leave LrC but it seems that without the ability to use smart previews, the images are largely pixelated briefly on Lr when I use arrow keys to go between photos

[@richball3260]

It was great to see you again on TWIP. So when Lightroom matured a little I started using it then for reasons I can't explain I went back to Classic. I do use the print module and occasional round trips into Photoshop and Topaz Photo AI. There are ways around the print module. The cloud aspect doesn't bother me. This leads me to the following questions as I consider an upgrade to my computer. How much local storage does your workflow require? And. Do you rely on the 3-2-1 backup scheme? Finally. How much local storage does your iPad have? BTW I really enjoyed your video of the round trip from Lightroom to Photoshop and back to Lightroom on the iPad.

[@brianmatiash]

Thank you, Rich! Printing never factors into my equation because, well, I hardly ever print. When I do, it's typically for family, and they'd rather me just have it printed at their local Walgreens so they can pick it up near where they live. If I'm printing something for my house, it's generally on canvas, so I'll have that sent to a lab. Until LR gets 3rd party app support, your two options for getting a photo to a plugin like, say, Topaz Photo AI would be to send it to Photoshop (which is supported) or export the photo and open it in the standalone app. Neither is as ideal as just sending it from LR, but it's hardly an issue. My workflow is pretty straightforward. I sometimes think that many educators, myself included, have overcomplicated things for our audiences. I used to have two x 24 TB RAID drives, one production and one as an on-site backup, that I'd manage. Now? I have an 8TB Samsung SSD drive sitting in a 2.5" USB-C enclosure that stores the backups of my original photos (managed 100% by LR). Because all of my photos are in the cloud, that is my primary and true backup solutions wrapped up in one. I never worry about it. Of course, it is all dependent on ensuring that you have enough cloud storage space and that your library isn't bloated with terabytes of photos that, if we're being honest, don't need to exist. That's actually my next focus going into 2024. I'm going to remind photographers that not only is it okay to delete unnecessary photos, but it'll actually make you a better photographer. I wholeheartedly believe that. As for my iPad, it's a 12.9" iPad Pro M1 with 512 GB of storage that I bought second-hand from some local guy via the FB Marketplace. It was in excellent condition, and I paid far less than what a new one would cost.

[@cameraman655]

As I trying to add more Cloud storage,I learned on their site that Adobe is dumping their Cloud service as of Feb, 2024 for non-business users. Gotta say that I am very concerned and more that a bit angry at this move. I have been an Adobe user since the mid-90s, I feel so damned betrayed. I have to say that I am a bit confused as to why this was not mentioned in this interview. The main reason that I stayed with Adobe (especially in recent years) was the Cloud synchronization… Thoughts…?

[@DavidSchamis]

I actually think the "where the puck is going" saying is not relevant here. It may have been 3 months ago but today the puck is already on the shooter's sticker - meaning an all Lr workflow is better TODAY.

[@brianmatiash]

I like the way you think. And it's only going to get better!

[@billpelzmann1030]

Can we expect to see stacking included in a future release of Lightroom? I find stacking invaluable for organizing pano, focus stacked, and exposure blend images.

[@brianmatiash]

Stacking is already available in Lightroom Desktop, but it isn't available in LR Mobile.

[@billpelzmann1030]

Thanks. There is just so much outdated (or misinformation) about what features are or are not available! It's a full time job trying to keep up with the changes. I plan to sit on the sidelines until the software stabilizes with all the essential features, including printing.@@brianmatiash

[@VivekM1]

Interesting talk and very nice attempt to sell the Lightroom only ecosystem but it doesn't take much for someone to realize that it's a mess that Adobe has created. This idea of dumping everything on cloud just doesn't cut it. Even as a semi-pro, I create more images in a year than what their cloud storage offers. And not to mention that it is ridiculously expensive. It is much more reasonable to have local storage backups than dumping 45-50 MB RAW files on cloud. And recently, adobe decided to discontinue Creative cloud sync, what if they just go on a trip and decide to discontinue Lightroom cloud? Then people are supposed to buy new hardware to store their stuff again? Still a fan of LrC and will stick to it untill Adobe sort their minds out !

[@rdbimages]

Adobe needs to clean up this mess they have created and soon! I know Adobe is a multi-billion dollar corporation, but most of us have seen bigger fail. After hearing that embarrassingly convoluted explanation on this episode of what syncs to the cloud vs. local and how each is or isn't updated to parity when edits are made clearly showed how event the 'experts' are having trouble understanding and educating people on this current sh*tstorm of Adobe photography software. I will continue to keep my distance from the Lightroom ecosystem and continue using my Bridge/Camera RAW/PS workflow. No drama.