The world of photography is changing, and while freelancers have always had an opportunity to participate in this lucrative realm, it is becoming more and more accessible to the masses as the price for equipment and software falls. The difference between a good and great photography business isn’t simply based on the camera you choose. More important is the way you cut through the waves of images, carefully selecting, editing, and printing the best of breed.

If you want to be competitive, you need to learn to hone your workflow. There are many ways to accomplish the task, and in this review we are taking a closer look at Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. Is it mature enough to provide the necessary tools for the trade? Can it give one an edge in their own market? Read on to find out.

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It’s hard to believe that in 1993, Adobe first released Adobe Acrobat for the Mac. Within a few short years, this new “.pdf” format became the standard. Although there were many who provided free and always interesting ways to create Portable Document Format files, Adobe continued to improve the technology, adding capabilities along the way that still had businesses and freelancers alike purchasing the original application. And now, in 2008, Adobe has released Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. Quite different than it’s humble origin, we’ve taken a close look at the new features and present our thoughts and findings for you.

Flash of Brilliance
While the feature list is extensive (check here for the full matrix), the one feature that really catches the eye is the new native Flash support. Now you can insert .flv or H.264 video for playback. Not just as attached files either. Part of the new portfolio feature includes the ability to use Flash as the welcome header. Personally, I can’t wait to see how this changes .pdf documents in the future (in both good and bad ways).

Thankfully, all the new functionality hasn’t caused a speed degradation. In fact, Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 is faster than ever. Continue Reading