I've noticed that a lot of photographers on this site use Photoshop. I'm just wondering, is it because you have been doing photography for a long time and Photoshop was the only viable choice for processing images back in the day and you have stuck with it over the years; or is it because Photoshop is an essential tool for taking your images to the next level and well worth the investment.
I have been considering buying it but I'm not sure whether it is worth the money or the time it would take to learn what I have heard is a somewhat challenging program. Currently I am using Lightroom 5, with the Nik suite and Capture NX 2 and I'm happy with the results I am getting from those programs. However, I would eventually like to get to a level where I can derive some income from photography, at least enough to help with travel and gear costs and don't mind spending the money if there are essential features in Photoshop that just don't exist or are vastly inferior in the programs mentioned above.
In your opinion, what Is Photoshop's prime advantages over other software?
Looking at your gallery of work here, I don't think that PS will gain you any distinct advantage over LR in getting to a new level.
I use PS because ACR in PS and LR use the exact same engine for rendering RAW captures, and I've used PS long before LR came onto the scene, so it made no sense to me to purchase it. If you're happy with your results, best to stick with using them.
Photographer/PS & LR guru Tim Grey addressed the comparison issue just this morning, so I'll quote from him:
" I don’t consider Lightroom to be superior to Photoshop when it comes to enhancing images. I would give Photoshop the advantage when it comes to targeted adjustments and image cleanup. There are features in Lightroom that allow you to apply targeted adjustments and to clean blemishes, but Photoshop offers much more powerful tools for these features.
Photoshop gets a slight edge over Lightroom when it comes to the Curves control, although the Tone Curve control in Lightroom comes pretty close, and the availability of sliders for Whites, Blacks, Shadows, and Highlights in Lightroom often (though certainly not always) means you don’t need to apply a Curves adjustment. As for Levels, Lightroom provides a match for this adjustment, and actually goes beyond it with the option to control shadows and highlights independently.
Photoshop also provides tools for sharpening that are a little better than Lightroom, especially when it comes to preparing images to be printed. And, of course, there are many other capabilities in Photoshop that Lightroom doesn’t offer, including creative filters, the ability to create composite images, and more.
There’s no question that for many photographers Lightroom provides all that is needed for optimizing photos. For me, Lightroom provides most (and sometimes all) of the adjustments I need to optimize a photo. But for many situations I still consider Photoshop to be an invaluable addition to my photography workflow."
The 'more' that Grey refers to includes the ability to run programmed actions like Tony Kuyper's Luminosity Mask actions and Steven Christensen's Advanced Stacker actions for 'starscapes' and the ability to use multiple layers in conjunction with targeted adjustments using layer masking techniques. Those actions and features are baked into my workflow and are the two distinct features that come to mind right now.
When I started scanning film back in 2000, I used Microsoft Photo Draw 2000. It wasn't bad, but certainly not close to being in the same league as PS, which I couldn't afford. A friend gave me a licensed copy of PS6, and that was the start of the Photoshop Upgrade Mill: PS7, CS2, CS5, and now CS6. I suppose that when support ends for CS6, I'll have to move to PS-CC (Not something I'm looking forward to). So, over the years I've gotten very used to Photo Shop and appreciate it's capabilities.
I am still a 4x5 freak, but I also shoot digital and find ACR in CS6 to be just fine. I use adjustment layers and TK's masks on a daily basis for both my film and digital images.
As Jon said, if you're happy with your workflow and the programs you use give the results you want, then PS may not be an advantage for you. However (there's always a 'however' isn't there) if you want more flexibility and the more advanced features that PS offers, along with such things as TK's actions, you can always download a trial and see if it works for you.
One item not mentioned about LR is it's cataloging capabilities. While Bridge is pretty decent, this feature in LR is superior. I use a different program for digital asset management called PhotoSupreme, so I don't use Bridge (I don't have LR)
Photo Shop has been my 'go to' for image editing for a long time. Aside from the Neat Image plug-in and TK's actions for CS6 , Nikon View NX, and PhotoSupreme, I have all I need.
Carey, you can try PS-CC and make a lot of use of the f1 key (Help) while you're at it. Using that key won't break anything. It's worth a shot since you're pretty curious about it.
LR5 can do most of your significant post processing, but there are "things" that only PS can do, which you might find useful.
Layers and Masks are essential for the serious photographer, and can only be found in PS.
Personally, I utilize the Guide Lines, drop shadow effects, beveled edges, and creating pinstripes around images - all these things are decorative to the final image, but can only be done in PS.
PS has the steepest learning curve of any application I've ever used. After 15 years, I'm still learning new techniques and tools.
As mentioned, you can "rent" PSCC per month, so the cost is minimal.
As for tutorials, YouTube is the best place on the web, IMO. In YouTube, type in key words (be sure to include "Photoshop" or "Lightroom 5"), and you will be amazed at all the free tutorials available for both LR5 & PS. I spend time almost everyday watching, taking notes, and practicing new things from YouTube tutorials. I literally owe my knowledge bank predominantly to YT.
Michael, I think that "steep learning curve" has me more concerned than the price but as you've mentioned, with the availability of free info on You tube perhaps learning Photoshop won't be as daunting a task as I have imagined it will be. Maybe I will start with watching some of those before diving in and making a purchase. Thanks for the help.
Posted by Lorna Taylor on June 16, 2014 at 9:37 AM
Hey Carey,
I own both yet do most of my edits in LR it just works for me . I like the spot tool in PS and resizing tool as well. I use Nik silver efex B&W, perfect photo suite 8 for textures and layering and masking. they are all plug ins to LR so easy transporting back and forth but I am married to a software developer so I have even more crap that these but feel LR works most of the time for me. If you are wanting to replace skies and add textures ,or composites perfect photo suite 8, by onone software is a easy to use program for these. Otherwise you will need PS for these applications. Cheers
Posted by Keith Bauer on June 16, 2014 at 11:03 AM
Hi Carey:
This is one of those questions where I think the final answer is "it depends". As an instructor and mentor for both LightRoom and Photoshop, I believe they both fill different niches in the Digital Photographers World. LightRoom has several different modules, but I believe the two most important are LIBRARY for digital asset management and DEVELOP for Raw image processing. The Develop module in Lightroom 5.x provides exactly the same functionality as Adobe Camera Raw that is shipped with Photoshop CC. I believe the interface to use the Raw processing functions is more intuitive in LightRoom than Photoshop, but they are identical in function.
Where LightRoom ends is at the Raw processing step. If you need to do any Layer based work with targeted adjustments via Layer Masks, then Photoshop takes over. That topic is enormous and certainly more than I'll even attempt to describe here. The tools provided in Photoshop for Cloning, Healing, Patching, Content Aware Patching, Content Aware Filling, Masking, Selecting, Vibrance, Saturation, Curves, Levels, etc. are all far superior to what you can do in LightRoom. That said, as noted above, there is a learning curve to Photoshop that is much longer than LightRoom. In the end, it really depends on how much control you want to take of the post processing work you do on your images. You can obviously do just about anything imaginable in Photoshop if desired, or you can learn how to effectively use non-destructive post processing with targeted adjustments to make a good image into a better image. I can't imagine working without Photoshop, but that is for my work. It may be for yours, or it may not be needed.
Carey, I think you'll have an easier time grasping how Photoshop works if you download the trial and work along with the video tutorials on You Tube, or other sites.
When I was teaching fire behavior, I used videos in some of my lesson plans. I discovered that when I stopped the video and had the students do a short verbal or written activity, their retention was much higher. We'd then go back to the video, view another section and then another activity.
Thanks again everyone for the feedback. Maybe I will give the trial version a try along with some tutorials as suggested and see how it goes.
Lorna, I will look into perfect photo suite 8. It sounds like there are some additional tools there that I can play around with before jumping into Photoshop.
Discussion
8 repliesI have been considering buying it but I'm not sure whether it is worth the money or the time it would take to learn what I have heard is a somewhat challenging program. Currently I am using Lightroom 5, with the Nik suite and Capture NX 2 and I'm happy with the results I am getting from those programs. However, I would eventually like to get to a level where I can derive some income from photography, at least enough to help with travel and gear costs and don't mind spending the money if there are essential features in Photoshop that just don't exist or are vastly inferior in the programs mentioned above.
In your opinion, what Is Photoshop's prime advantages over other software?
Thanks
Carey
I use PS because ACR in PS and LR use the exact same engine for rendering RAW captures, and I've used PS long before LR came onto the scene, so it made no sense to me to purchase it. If you're happy with your results, best to stick with using them.
Photographer/PS & LR guru Tim Grey addressed the comparison issue just this morning, so I'll quote from him:
The 'more' that Grey refers to includes the ability to run programmed actions like Tony Kuyper's Luminosity Mask actions and Steven Christensen's Advanced Stacker actions for 'starscapes' and the ability to use multiple layers in conjunction with targeted adjustments using layer masking techniques. Those actions and features are baked into my workflow and are the two distinct features that come to mind right now.
I am still a 4x5 freak, but I also shoot digital and find ACR in CS6 to be just fine. I use adjustment layers and TK's masks on a daily basis for both my film and digital images.
As Jon said, if you're happy with your workflow and the programs you use give the results you want, then PS may not be an advantage for you. However (there's always a 'however' isn't there) if you want more flexibility and the more advanced features that PS offers, along with such things as TK's actions, you can always download a trial and see if it works for you.
One item not mentioned about LR is it's cataloging capabilities. While Bridge is pretty decent, this feature in LR is superior. I use a different program for digital asset management called PhotoSupreme, so I don't use Bridge (I don't have LR)
Photo Shop has been my 'go to' for image editing for a long time. Aside from the Neat Image plug-in and TK's actions for CS6 , Nikon View NX, and PhotoSupreme, I have all I need.
Carey, you can try PS-CC and make a lot of use of the f1 key (Help) while you're at it. Using that key won't break anything. It's worth a shot since you're pretty curious about it.
--P
Layers and Masks are essential for the serious photographer, and can only be found in PS.
Personally, I utilize the Guide Lines, drop shadow effects, beveled edges, and creating pinstripes around images - all these things are decorative to the final image, but can only be done in PS.
PS has the steepest learning curve of any application I've ever used. After 15 years, I'm still learning new techniques and tools.
As mentioned, you can "rent" PSCC per month, so the cost is minimal.
As for tutorials, YouTube is the best place on the web, IMO. In YouTube, type in key words (be sure to include "Photoshop" or "Lightroom 5"), and you will be amazed at all the free tutorials available for both LR5 & PS. I spend time almost everyday watching, taking notes, and practicing new things from YouTube tutorials. I literally owe my knowledge bank predominantly to YT.
Michael, I think that "steep learning curve" has me more concerned than the price but as you've mentioned, with the availability of free info on You tube perhaps learning Photoshop won't be as daunting a task as I have imagined it will be. Maybe I will start with watching some of those before diving in and making a purchase. Thanks for the help.
I own both yet do most of my edits in LR it just works for me . I like the spot tool in PS and resizing tool as well. I use Nik silver efex B&W, perfect photo suite 8 for textures and layering and masking. they are all plug ins to LR so easy transporting back and forth but I am married to a software developer so I have even more crap that these but feel LR works most of the time for me. If you are wanting to replace skies and add textures ,or composites perfect photo suite 8, by onone software is a easy to use program for these. Otherwise you will need PS for these applications. Cheers
This is one of those questions where I think the final answer is "it depends". As an instructor and mentor for both LightRoom and Photoshop, I believe they both fill different niches in the Digital Photographers World. LightRoom has several different modules, but I believe the two most important are LIBRARY for digital asset management and DEVELOP for Raw image processing. The Develop module in Lightroom 5.x provides exactly the same functionality as Adobe Camera Raw that is shipped with Photoshop CC. I believe the interface to use the Raw processing functions is more intuitive in LightRoom than Photoshop, but they are identical in function.
Where LightRoom ends is at the Raw processing step. If you need to do any Layer based work with targeted adjustments via Layer Masks, then Photoshop takes over. That topic is enormous and certainly more than I'll even attempt to describe here. The tools provided in Photoshop for Cloning, Healing, Patching, Content Aware Patching, Content Aware Filling, Masking, Selecting, Vibrance, Saturation, Curves, Levels, etc. are all far superior to what you can do in LightRoom. That said, as noted above, there is a learning curve to Photoshop that is much longer than LightRoom. In the end, it really depends on how much control you want to take of the post processing work you do on your images. You can obviously do just about anything imaginable in Photoshop if desired, or you can learn how to effectively use non-destructive post processing with targeted adjustments to make a good image into a better image. I can't imagine working without Photoshop, but that is for my work. It may be for yours, or it may not be needed.
Carey, I think you'll have an easier time grasping how Photoshop works if you download the trial and work along with the video tutorials on You Tube, or other sites.
When I was teaching fire behavior, I used videos in some of my lesson plans. I discovered that when I stopped the video and had the students do a short verbal or written activity, their retention was much higher. We'd then go back to the video, view another section and then another activity.
Just my 0.02.
--P
Lorna, I will look into perfect photo suite 8. It sounds like there are some additional tools there that I can play around with before jumping into Photoshop.