I have done a search here and also looked on the Adobe site about Lightroom, but I can't figure out exactly what it is compared to Photoshop. Is it an organizer and light editor? Where in the work flow do you use it (anyone)? Thank you.
Posted by Bill Chambers on August 16, 2011 at 2:14 PM
Barbara - many, many people absolutely swear by Lightroom, but personally I've never seen the need. I understand the asset management end of it is supposed to be very nice, but I just don't shoot the thousands of images that some (avian) do. The processing end of it is just ACR, the same as CS5 uses. I see it as a duplication of service already offered by PS, although I'm sure others would disagree. Personally, I don't use ACR as my RAW processor anyway, choosing to use Capture One 6 instead. Just another viewpoint.
The processes of ACR and Lightroom are pretty much identical. However, Lightroom is intuitive, at least for me. ACR most definitely is not. That, plus an excellent cataloging function makes it a no-brainer for me.
Posted by Brian Reilly on August 16, 2011 at 4:53 PM
If you want to spend 95 % of your time behind the lens and 5 % of your time at the computer, use Lightroom. It will do all of the basics very well and is a great program for photo organization. My understanding is that Photoshop was designed for graphic artists long before digital photography. Lightroom was designed for photographers.
Posted by John Mumaw on August 16, 2011 at 6:20 PM
Lightroom may have been designed for photographers, but only Photoshop gives you the abilities to use layers and layer masks for targeted adjustments, along with many, many different ways to optimize your images., incl. using Tony Kuyper's invaluable Luminosity actions.
As ACR in PS is exactly the same as LR's editing functions, the only reason I can see to own LR is if one shoots dozens or hundreds of images at a time and needs the cataloging capabilities.
In a nutshell, PS (incl. ACR & Bridge) can do everything that LR can, while the opposite is most certainly not true.
Posted by Eva McDermott on August 16, 2011 at 7:49 PM
I use both LR3 and CS5 in my work flow but that is me. I use it for cataloging and basic editing then export the image to CS5 for layers work (TK luminosity layers) and sharpening,
So, what about the problems people have had with Lightroom...still a great product??? Search for Lightroom problems. Same for Aperture. I'll stick with my archaic Photoshop and folder distribution methods! (Of course, I'm an old fart!).
Try searching for Lightroom ease of use. I'm in there somewhere. I've never had a problem with Lightroom, or Photoshop for that matter, that wasn't of my own making. And I'm an older fart than you, Troup, by 20 years. Take your time—you have to work up to being an old fart.
Discussion
9 repliesAdobe Lightroom 3
As ACR in PS is exactly the same as LR's editing functions, the only reason I can see to own LR is if one shoots dozens or hundreds of images at a time and needs the cataloging capabilities.
In a nutshell, PS (incl. ACR & Bridge) can do everything that LR can, while the opposite is most certainly not true.