Lightroom v Pshop..?

[jp01]

A general query - I have read a number of threads where processing has been done in Lightroom and others in Photoshop. Being curious I looked up Lightroom on the Adobe site and for the life of me can't understand what the difference is (without seeing it...)

Can someone enlighten me please..?

Jon

[Dave Humphries]

A general query - I have read a number of threads where processing has been done in Lightroom and others in Photoshop. Being curious I looked up Lightroom on the Adobe site and for the life of me can't understand what the difference is (without seeing it...)

Can someone enlighten me please..?

Jon

Hi Jon,

Yeah, you do need to see it
You can use either to develop and print, or display on web, RAW shots.
One is better suited to high volume work (LR3), it also has a more 'obvious'/intuitive layout for the basics, but there are somethings (actually quite a lot) you can't do with it and to do those things, you'll need PS Elements, or better (read more expensive) still, Photoshop CS5.

A lot of people find CS5 quite daunting at first, but think of it as a well stocked tool shop, just because they are there doesn't mean you have to use them, but one day you'll need the "left hand thread widget extractor" and it'll be in CS5. There are LOTS of books and online resources to help with CS5, in fact all products, so have a look at those to see how things work; some are free, but many are subscription paid for (but worth it I'm told).

You could also download any of those for a 30 day trial to see what they're like.

There are also loads of threads here at CiC with people asking the same question

Cheers,

[Macmahon]

A general query - I have read a number of threads where processing has been done in Lightroom and others in Photoshop. Being curious I looked up Lightroom on the Adobe site and for the life of me can't understand what the difference is (without seeing it...)

Can someone enlighten me please..?


Jon

Jon

This is how I think about it

Lightroom is a tool to manage photo files from the camera to display to print. It does essentially three things that photographers need to do:

1 It enables you to catalog picture files, and provides powerful search and organisation of catalogs, so you can organise and quickly retrieve photos. This part of Lightroom is the concern of the 'Library' module.

2 It converts raw camera images into a viewable form, and provides tools for editing or adjustment of those images:

• global and selective tone, hue, WB, contrast adjustments etc
• highlight retrieval
• sharpening and noise reduction, among other things

This part of the program is the concern of the 'Develop' module.

3 It enables various ways to output/display images: print, computer slideshow, or web. It has the most powerful and easy to use printing options and functionality I've experienced.


Lightroom does NOT enable you to manipulate images as a designer might: you cannot splice two images together to put Angelina's legs on Brad's torso, or work your company's logo into a picnic scene. If you need to do that, you need a tool like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
I think of Photoshop as a designer's tool, while ...
… Lightroom is (just about) the complete photographer's tool.

FWIW I have LR and PSE. I seldom have any need to use PSE unless I'm making Xmas cards and want to overlay text on a photo. (You can even do that in LR using the watermark facility)

Just my 2¢

Tim

[Clactonian]

Well put Tim

[n0ct]

One of the biggest differences is that Lightroom is completely non-destructive to the original image. You can bend and break pixels in Photoshop, although there are many ways to work non-destructively in Photoshop.

[Colin Southern]

One of the biggest differences is that Lightroom is completely non-destructive to the original image.

Hi Sean,

Assuming that you're working from a RAW capture (and don't we all?) then Photoshop is also non-destructive.

[KTHXBAI]

Well put Tim

+2

I have them both for the exact reasons Tim outlines.