DirtFarmer wrote:
I also found LR to be pretty much intuitional. HOWEVER:
PLEASE distinguish between LR and LrC. When I learned it, I learned LR. There was only one. Now there are two and they are DIFFERENT. The one you want is LrC (sometimes called Lightroom Classic). The other one is sometimes called 'Lightroom Mobile'. Maybe we should start calling it LrM? If both versions are three letters it is clearer which one you are referring to.
Adobe's intention (that they seemingly won't admit) was to replace what is now Lightroom CLASSIC with a cloud-connected version better suited to the habits of millennials who use smartphones and digital cameras and computers. The point of the new Lightroom is to share your files among all your devices. However, most of us who used versions of Lightroom 1.0 through 6.14 didn't buy that idea.
The ORIGINAL Lightroom, and now Lightroom CLASSIC, were created primarily for working professionals. The point is to have an "image database" that serves as the HUB of your entire digital workflow. As a catalog/database-driven app, it does NOT contain your images, but DOES serve as a giant METADATA repository. Metadata is "data about your data." When you "Import" files into LrC, they are stored outside of Lightroom Classic, either where you originally put them, or where you told LrC to put them.
The database (catalog) just stores a path to the image, a path to a proxy of the image (reduced file size temp file for display), and a lot of instructions about the changes you want to apply to the original when you Export, Send to Photoshop (or another app), Print, Book, or Post to a website. It also includes additional user-generated metadata, and any ratings or descriptions you apply during initial cull editing of a session of photography.
Lightroom Mobile is still a thing, but it is less powerful than the new Lightroom. My take is that Mac users should just use Apple Photos, instead of Lightroom Mobile, since Photos is free. Mac users probably pay for some iCloud storage anyway, and Macs, iPhones, and iPads are all connected via their iCloud accounts. There's really no need for a separate Adobe Cloud account for your mobile phone photos. However, if you're a serious photographer, you may want BOTH LrC on your desktop or laptop, plus the new Lightroom (NOT mobile, but cloud connected), working in tandem through the Adobe Cloud. You can sync selected images from Lightroom Classic through the Adobe Cloud to Lightroom on your mobile device, and vice versa.
Are you confused yet? If so, start with Lightroom Classic.