Work Smarter Not Harder: Brian Matiash’s Two Most Important Hardware Devices for Lightroom

See how Wacom and Palette Gear make him a better and faster editor

There’s a common phrase “work smarter, not harder,” and that also applies to the way you edit your photos. In this video, Brian Matiash shows you his two most important pieces of hardware that he has been using for years to edit his photos in Lightroom Classic.

The first is a Wacom Intuos Pro, used in place of a mouse, and the other is Palette Gear, which can replace keyboard shortcuts that were not designed for the complexity of creative work.

Wacom Intuos Pro tablet with a Palette Gear tactile, modular controller beside it

One of the biggest benefits of editing with this hardware duo is that it reduces strain on your wrist and offers the ultimate precision, for instance when masking. The combination of these two products work really well together because, unlike the keyboard and mouse, they were designed specifically for creative workflows. Most professional photographers have a set workflow that they stick to and a handful of functions and adjustments that they use the most often. 

Wacom and Palette give you immediate access and more control over the functions you use most often. The result is a fast, precise, intuitive, and strain-free workflow that will have you flying through edits.

Palette Gear, tactile, precision controller for photo and video editing

How to Setup Palette Gear for Lightroom Classic

Palette Gear can be customized to do almost anything you want in Lightroom Classic. You can also change the layout of the modules by magnetically snapping them together to rearrange them on your desk or wrap them around your Wacom tablet.

Each dial, button, and slider, can be assigned more than one function when you create multiple profiles. Brian created 4 profiles for each stage of his workflow in Lightroom: develop, local adjustments, split tone, and finishing. Here is what he has assigned to each:

Lightroom Develop Profile

These are Brian's most commonly used adjustments. By assigning his most used functions to Palette dials and sliders, Brian not only gets refined control, but faster access to the functions he uses most often.

  • Exposure
  • Contrast
  • Highlights
  • Shadows
  • Clarity

Lightroom Local Profile

Brian uses this profile the most in combination with his Wacom Intuos Pro tablet. The ability to quickly adjust brush flow and feather on the fly increases the speed and flow of his editing process. It’s seamless.

  • Local exposure
  • Local saturation
  • Brush size
  • Brush feather
  • Local clarity

    Lightroom Split Tone Profile

    The third step in Brian’s editing workflow is color — and specifically split toning. Here Brian has the following mapped to his Palette dials and sliders:

    • Highlights hue
    • Shadow hue
    • Highlight saturation
    • Shadow saturation
    • Balance

      Lightroom Finishing Profile

      Putting the final touches is the last step. Here are the functions Brian uses most for finishing an edit to give it that final touch:

      • Vignetting amount
      • Vignette midpoint
      • Vignette feather
      • Sharpening amount
      • Sharpening mask

      Preview allows you to quickly see all the functions you have assigned to your Palette modules. It's a completely disruptive-free way to digitally label your kit so you never forget the functions within a given profile, and you also never have to take your eyes away from your work. Learn more here >>

       

       

      Watch the full video to see Brian’s final result.

       

       

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      Try Palette Gear risk free for 30-days in your editing workflow. Or sign up here to win a Wacom Intuos Pro M and Palette Gear Expert Kit.

      1 comment

      • Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?

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