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Thread: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

  1. #1

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    Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    Why would I need Lightroom if I already have photoshop? Aren't they some what redundant? And if not what does Lightroom do best as compared to PS?

  2. #2

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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    LR is better for managing large amount of photos, and it is easier when printing or making web galleries. PS is best for working with a single image and whenever you need layers for special pixel based image manipulation.

    Cheers,
    Andreas
    To infinity - and beyond...

  3. #3
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    I use both on a daily basis-

    Lightroom is for looking at work, selection process, and quick export to a printer for proofing. I find it invaluable to synchronize , colour tints, sharpening , rotations, then export and apply profile, size and ppi settings to my printer for output .
    If you have large archives or are creating a lot of images, Lightroom is critical for archiving. One note of caution, even though it is considered a easy program to learn, there is a steep learning curve at the beginning to make sure you know how to bring in the work properly.


    PS is what I use for editing files, it has more power , but is not as easy to master as Lightroom.
    I am upgrading from CS3 and Lightroom 2 right now to CS6 and Lightroom 6. Actually taking a Bootcamp in Atlanta on CS6 to learn what I skipped over in more advance classes.
    All my final work is from Photoshop and all final adjustments, curves, Dodge and Burn and Sharpening is done here.


    IMO they are both excellent tools with very different application or uses . I know some who only use Lightroom and also some who only use PS. Kelby training is a great resource to learn more about how they can work together which is how I like to use them.

  4. #4

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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    Let's say you typically shoot weddings with a digital camera. You might make several thousand shots during a single shoot - which need to be cataloged, indexed, and color-corrected en masse. Redundant operations on a large number of small photos, inside a database engine: Lightroom The tools use readily graspable terms, like "Brighten" and "Shadows".

    At the other end of the spectrum is someone who shoots comparatively few but large files, treats each one individually, and needs the entire toolset: Photoshop. The tools use more technical terms, like "Layer Mask".

    As part of Adobe's Creative Suite, Photoshop is used by designers, not just photographers. Lightroom is for digital photographers.

  5. #5
    bdkphoto
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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    The most significant difference is that Lightroom is a parametric image editor - non-destructive changes to your files throughout LR, all you are changing is the instruction sets not the files themselves. I use LR as my primary image editor, and only when I need to do pixel based retouching do I open the files in PS. LR & PS are well integrated so you have the best of both worlds, including the image library and the other modules. Editing is much simpler in LR as well.I just downloaded LR 4.1 this morning, and the update is great- a nice improvement in the develop module for exposure/highlight/shadow along with some nice tools for fixing CA. I've become a big fan of LR.

  6. #6

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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    Lightroom is a lot more annoying than photoshop and it will take over your drive because it indexes all the images in its database, if you want to edit outside of it or do anything you have to export the file. Its also a good excuse for adobe to milk a little more out of you. No longer can you just open a file and edit it outside of lightroom, neither can you move files or delete junk or horrors, whole directories. If you have got this far without it you are unlikely to benefit by using it. (If you are not going to invest in PS or other editors then LR is a good way to get a 16 bit editor and some useful sharpening tools similar to PK sharpener, I am also probably ignorant and badly informed.)

  7. #7

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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    Quote Originally Posted by mdm View Post
    (If you are not going to invest in PS or other editors then LR is a good way to get a 16 bit editor and some useful sharpening tools similar to PK sharpener, I am also probably ignorant and badly informed.)
    Yes.
    To infinity - and beyond...

  8. #8
    bdkphoto
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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    Quote Originally Posted by mdm View Post
    Lightroom is a lot more annoying than photoshop and it will take over your drive because it indexes all the images in its database, if you want to edit outside of it or do anything you have to export the file. Its also a good excuse for adobe to milk a little more out of you. No longer can you just open a file and edit it outside of lightroom, neither can you move files or delete junk or horrors, whole directories. If you have got this far without it you are unlikely to benefit by using it. (If you are not going to invest in PS or other editors then LR is a good way to get a 16 bit editor and some useful sharpening tools similar to PK sharpener, I am also probably ignorant and badly informed.)
    Almost everything you wrote is incorrect.

  9. #9
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    It seems I can do a lot of non-destructive batch editing using Bridge and ACR and further batch editing by defining actions in CS5. It took some time to figure out how to do that, but I did it mainly to end my dependence on Canon's editor for batch operations, since I knew that Photoshop could produce a higher quality result. Maybe these things are more intuitive in Lightroom--I haven't tried--but having figured them out in Photoshop, I'm not sure I need more software.

  10. #10

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    Re: Why Lightroom if I have PS?

    I use Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6. I scan my 4x5 after I process it and save a small JPG and a full size TIFF. The JPGs are filed as an index of all the shots - my version of the old notebooks of contact sheets. I only keep the good TIFF files, which I then edit to final form in PS as I get time. I also shoot digital for stuff that moves and family photos. I have about 2200 scanned negatives on file, and a smaller number of TIFF and PS files for keepers. Current versions of Lightroom index the files where they are on your harddrive.Nothing is imported or moved. This was not true of the first version, which was a nightmare to use. I use Lightroom to view and sort files and to generate my WWW galleries:

    http://www.epr-art.com

    I do not edit LF files in Lightroom. I do use it to covert PS files to 8 bit TIFF for printing, then I delete the print files when I am done. (I feed the TIFF files to Qimage for printer control and final sharpening.) I do almost all my digital processing in Lightroom, with various plugins.

    If you are doing a hybrid workflow, and shoot much, you need some sort of image management system. Lightroom is a good one. If you also shoot some digital, it is essential to have an image manager. Aperture probably OK, if your in the Apple cult, but I am sure it does not integrate as well with PS. If I really knew how to use Lightroom, I could probably do the same processing in it as in PS - it has burn and dodge tools, and retouching tools. I do not do much manipulation beyond adjusting perspective if I did not have the camera completely level, burning and dodging with masks, sharpening, and adjusting local contrast, all in black and white. I think you could probably do all of this in Lightroom, saving the cost of PS. I have been very pleased with the program.

    If you want a WWW presence, and are not WWW whiz, Lightroom has tools for doing simple WWW sites and for uploading to commercial hosting sites. It is probably the easiest way to get LF images on the WWW.

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