Photographer Builds Custom Lightroom Macro Pad
A photographer has built himself a DIY macro pad for Adobe Lightroom after not being able to afford a Loupedeck.
Adam Iannazzone wanted to challenge himself and learn how keyboard matrixes and PCB design works.
Control decks for Photoshop and Lightroom like the Loupedeck, Monogram, and Tourbox have grown massively in popularity, but they are anything but cheap, especially as they get more customizable and advanced.
“I started by prototyping with a breadboard and some simple push-button switches to ensure that my concept was sound,” Iannazzone tells PetaPixel.
“Once the software side of things was working, I started designing the circuit board and looking at the manufacturing aspect.
“For this part, the folks on the Byte Sized Engineering Discord were very, very helpful. They were able to look at my schematics and give me some pointers.
“Once the design was finalized, I sent the order off to JLCPCB and waited for a few weeks for it to be manufactured and shipped.”
The custom macro pad has 18 buttons that include navigation tools plus things functions like “pick”, “reject”, and “crop”.
“As for using it, I haven’t had any big photoshoots with bulk editing, but I’ve been going through some of my old photos and playing around,” explains Iannazzone.
“I can’t say if it makes the process faster or more efficient; Lightroom already has great keyboard shortcuts. But it definitely makes things more fun!”
Iannazzone says that while he’s done plenty of 3D printing in the past, it is the first time he’s played around with Arduino and designed his own PCB.
DIY Loupedecks
Last year, PetaPixel reported on YouTuber “Pedro who shared how to build a custom “InfinitedDeck” for just $50.
“I am an electronic engineer that likes multiple hobbies,” says Pedro. “Because of that, I become a DIY maker outside of my regular work. Listening to the creative community, I wanted to share the things I do with the hope of helping others do more while saving a little money. I want to make new solutions or alternatives to commercial products, with the same features, or if it is possible, to release a project with greater features than the commercial versions.”
Image credits: All photos by Adam Iannazzone.
