Features Premedia Software
Lightroom 4 Launches, Includes Photo Book Feature

Adobe has launched the latest version of its Lightroom software, which is aimed at professional and enthusiast photographers. In a surprise move, the software is being offered at half the cost of the previous version. Lightroom 4 is US$149 for the full version, with the upgrade version being only US$79.

 

“Feedback from our customers is invaluable in developing Lightroom and the real trick to a great release is to combine these insights with Adobe’s unrivalled image processing innovation,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “Lightroom 4 is a stunning new release that will enhance photography workflows and help photographs stand out from the crowd.” 

 

The new version contains the ability for photographers to lay out photo books, which can either be exported as PDFs or be sent to San Francisco-based photo book printer Blurb. According to Blurb, during the Lightroom 4 beta, which commenced at the start of the year, more than 1,000 people created photo books using the built-in tool.

“We’re thrilled to see the response from customers, on both the Blurb and the Adobe side,” said Eileen Gittins, Founder and CEO, Blurb. “The Lightroom 4 integration has enabled us to reach a whole new set of professional and enthusiast photographers who are just now discovering Blurb for the first time. The feedback from this discriminating group has been consistent: they are blown away by the quality we offer.”

Lightroom 4 also introduces a new soft proofing feature which allows photographer to anticipate how their images will appear printed on different stocks and different colour gamuts. Different printer profiles can be created and loaded into the system.