If you've never used droplets before, then this tutorial will rock your world. What is a droplet? A droplet is, in essence, a command that runs actions while you export from Lightroom. Pretty much any action, although I use it exclusively for sharpening. This will save you a ton of time. For example, on Taylor's session, I have a mixture of natural light shots and shots with studio lighting. The studio lighting shorts require just a kiss of sharpening, since those shots are already very sharp, while the natural light shots require more sharpening. In LR, I just quickly selected all the studio images then exported using a very light sharpening droplet. Then I inversed the selection to select the natural light shots, then exported using a heavier sharpening action (Kubota magic sharp). So let's create a very simple sharpening droplet, using smartsharpen with amount 100, radius 1: (1) First, we're going to create a new folder of actions, called a set. Start by going to your actions palette, then hitting the tiny button that's shaped like a downwards pointing triangle. Then, from the menu, highlight "New Set". Name this new set "droplets", then hit OK.
(2) Open any image in Photoshop (3) Duplicate the layer by hitting "layer / duplicate layer" or by right-clicking on your background layer. We're doing this to make sure the image you're working on has at least 2 layers. The reason we're doing this will become apparent in a moment. (4) Hit the "create new action" button on your actions palette.
(5) Call this action "smart sharpen 100/1" or other such name that describes exactly what it does, then hit "record".
(6) Remember in step 2 we made sure the image we were working on had at least two layers? Now we're going to flatten the image by going to "layer/flatten image". The reason we're doing this is so that this sharpening droplet will work on any future image you're exporting, even PSD or TIFF images that have multiple layers.
(7) Go to filter / sharpen / smartsharpen and then set it to amount: 100, radius 1.0, then hit "OK"
(8) Here's where a droplet differs from a normal PS action: we're going to add a step that saves. Hit file / save (it doesn't matter where you save it to, this location will be overridden when you actually use the droplet). For the sake of this tutorial, I am saving it to my desktop as a level 10 jpeg. Then hit "OK". (9) Now hit the "stop recording" button.
(10) Okay, so we've created our sharpen/save action. Now it's time to create the actual droplet. Go to "file / automate / create droplet". This dialog box will open. Under "Save Droplet in", hit the "choose" button.
(11) Save the droplet as the same name as your action. This in this case I'm saving it as "smart sharpen 100/1". This is where I save it: Library / Application Support / Adobe / Lightroom / Export Actions
(12) Check the box that says "suppress color profile warnings". Make sure the set "droplets" is chosen and that you've selected the action you want. Under "destination" choose "save and close". Then check the box that says "override action save as commands", then hit "OK".
(13) Your droplet is now ready to run! Go to Lightroom, then select an image. While in the "Library" module, hit the "export" button that's on the lower left hand corner of your screen. Select your export location, file name, color space, resolution, etc. like you normally do. Under the "post processing" section, click on the "after export" drop down menu until you find the droplet we just created. Then hit the export button.
The image will first export, then automatically run the droplet. You're done! Now imagine adding droplets to your workflow. You can create droplets for nearly any action, but I just use it for sharpening. I've created at least a half dozen sharpening droplets that I can use depending on the situation. For example, I can create a droplet that adds a watermark then sharpens and saves as a level 8 jpeg. I can use this just for proofing. Then when I want to create my actual print files I can save as a level 11-12 jpeg. Basically, by using droplets you've eliminated sharpening from your workflow. You don't have to open up an image then sharpen it differently depending on your needs. In fact, you'll never need to open up an image in Photoshop for the purposes of sharpening ever again! Just forget sharpening until you're ready to export, then voila, set it to sharpen automatically. Try it and let me know how it works for you. "A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed, and is, thereby, a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety..." - Ansel Adams |
