I’m scheduled to take the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom ACE exam in just a few days. I’ve taken and passed the ACE exam for Adobe InDesign (Adobe’s page layout program), but I’m still nervous about this one.

If you aren’t sure what Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is, you can check it out here. It is a program that allows you to more easily manage, print, share and do basic editing on massive amounts of photos.

If you aren’t sure what an ACE is… well, that is what this post is all about.

What Is It?

To start, ACE stands for Adobe Certifed Expert – you can become an ACE in various Adobe products (Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Lightroom, etc.) by taking an exam.

Some additional exam details:

• Most cost $150
• Taken in a testing center on a computer – all are multiple choice.
• 40-100 questions/test, depending on the program.

For more information on the ACE, visit Adobe’s ACE page here.

Why Take It?

The reasons I’ve chosen to take the exam are:

• Professional recognition: After passing the exam, you receive a logo you can display and certificates, etc. Some argue that it doesn’t always mean much. While various companies/clients would view it differently, I’m of the opinion that the more little things I can do, the more employable (either by a company or a client) that I am.
• Product expertise: While I typically only take exams on products I already know pretty well, preparation for the exam often teaches me small, yet useful things I didn’t previously know.

To be fair, some have been a little critical of the exams, feeling that they could be better written. Adobe has responded well to the feedback, posting new exams, but some still feel they aren’t worth it. Generally, I guess it’s up to each person as to their value.

What’s the Best Way to Prepare?

I suppose this varies by person. If I pass on Thursday, though, I’ll share a few of my practices in my Friday post (if I don’t pass, I wouldn’t suppose that the study practices I used would be very useful).