Looking for a course instead of stitching together YouTube tutorialsâŠbut if anybody knows a comprehensive playlist with tutorials on YT please let me know.
Suggestions and recommendations are much appreciated - thank you.
There are a lot of differences betweenPL7 and PL9.
There are plenty of free to view videos that should do adequately. You should be able to find something without paying, even if that means asking us here.
Just start a new topic on what you want to know.
Sounds like a good idea until you realise that the course you have paid for covers a style of photography that you donât work with.
Which tool you use and how you use them depends on your type of photography and your taste.
Yeah, itâs a pain to dig through YT videos, but most people are probably looking for specifics on how to do this or that. And while Joanna is right about the differences in the versions, in many cases the basics can still be covered fairly well with the older tutorials.
Personally, I would invest in the software, but only after testing it (PL9 has different hardware requirements than older versions). But⊠the decision is yours.
I have downloaded a trial version and looked around a bit - looks like it runs ok on my computer.
But I think I need a more structured learning - or I will not get proper benefit out of it. I have no experience with editingâŠor very little.
So I need to properly understand what it can do - to know what uses are relevant for me - and thus actually use itâŠdoes that make sense?
Have previously used Affinity and never really used it beyond just croppingâŠ.I never really got into it with Affinity - and am ready to abandon it now its been bought by CanvaâŠand who knows where it is goingâŠ
Edit: So apparently forum limits how much a new member can post - so I cant answer below for next 19 hours - but am reading all replies and thank you everybody for help.
I have RAW files for many of my photos from the last couple of years - so would be fun to do something with them.
herman
(Leica M9 | iPhone 17 Pro | iMac M1 | PL9, FP8, VP5 | Photo Supreme)
7
When you have little experience Photolab may seem overwhelming.
Recently Andy Hutchinson published a video âOne Universal WorkflowâŠ.â for raw editing which may get you started. It is not specifically for Photolab but it may help you anyway, the principles apply to any raw editor. You can find it here.
This is a good overview of some of the things that you can do with an image but, as he says, not to be followed rigidly.
There are parts of PhotoLab that he doesnât cover at all, but that is to be expected with such a comprehensive tool.
You might also like to consider registering the trial versions of FilmPack and Viewpoint, which are totally integrated into PhotoLab, theyâre just not visible until you register them.
Then, when you want to order, you will find that the bundle price for the three parts can be cheaper after Black Friday than with the minimal discounts on the three individual products.
Another very important takeaway is that no one tutorial can ever cover how you want to use PhotoLab and, after watching Andyâs basic overview, nothing can beat experimenting yourself.
Then, if you get lost or stuck, do not hesitate to post a question here. You will find several lifetimeâs of experience with many different types of photography, as well as folks who have made just about every mistake in the book.
You will also find mini-tutorials embedded in threads about specific subjects. Search is your friend.
Is keen to share what theyâve discovered/learned.
Yes, sometimes things can get a little⊠heated. But thatâs generally over how things should work (according to each), rather than how they do work.
You might find it easiest to get into if you follow through a few of the YT videos on PL workflow. âFull landscape editâ, âMy workflow for wildlife shotsâ etc. Even if they donât cover your preferred type of photography.
If you watch a few, from a few different people, and try out the things they are doing as you go (keep pausing the video!) you will soon develop a feel for how the thing works.
The workflow ones help you keep the various tools in perspective, or at least they did for me.
Once you have a feel for an overall working pattern, then it is easier to dive deeper into the detail.
The best advice has already been given. By using the manual, YouTube videos, the resources here in the community + rolling up your sleeves and diving in is the best way to learn PLE. You can become proficient more quickly than you might think without spending money on formal training.
One thing that concerns folks regularly is whether the sequence of edits matters or not. Short version: it doesnât. While we can follow whatever sequence we like, PhotoLab will arrange edits behind the scenes.
Nevertheless, I usually start with tools that have the least possible number of sliders, e.g. a LUT, film emulation, DCP profile and others carrying the risk to have to change/undo edits done before a LUT etc. is applied.
Thank you so much to everybody for all the detailed, thoughtful and helpful advice.
I really appreciate it - and the warm welcome.
I will try with a more âprojectâ oriented learning process. Selecting some of my own photos and trying out different things - instead of a more a-z approach.
Besides the ones already mentioned - anybody have favorite YouTubers that are good? YouTubes search function not being what it used to be - not everybody is easily found..
I have the trial versions of PhotoLab, FilmPack & ViewPoint - and am trying them out.
What do you all recommend with regards to buying?
Black Friday is 200⏠+ 120⏠+ 55⏠- will there perhaps be better offer at end of trial period? @Joanna you mentioned this?
Do they have regular sales thought the year? So I can try out software properly before buyingâŠ
In fact, NO Local Adjustments adapt, according to what DxO told me recently.
You may find an AI selection will âupdateâ but that is just a fluke. When you get an AI mask, it sets up a bounding rectangle. That rectangle does not get adjusted for rotation or keystoning. You may be lucky that your subject does not fall outside the rectangle after rotation, for example, but no guarantees.
