Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

I know I have asked this before on another post. Why do people say I use "Lightroom" and "Photoshop"? Isn't it the same thing basically? Lightroom is a Photoshop and so is CS6 right? it's Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop Lightroom (5) correct? In other words, they both are photoshop.

pappy0352 Loc: Oregon

I use Lightroom for my PP, then use Photoshop for content aware if needed.

Pappy

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Lightroom is a catalog-based digital asset manager that has Photoshop's Adobe Camera Raw conversion engine in it. It also creates slideshows, does GPS tagging, printing, web uploading and book composition and publishing.

Photoshop is a layer-based pixel editor, that has Adobe Bridge for image review (similar in some ways to Lighroom's library, but nowhere as robust), it has the identical raw processing engine optimized for working on raw images. The raw converter workflow-based operations are limited. Lightroom create presets to make repetitive raw editing operations much faster. Once the raw conversion process is finished, you are done with Lightroom or ACR, and you can export the image (or just open it if you use ACR) in Photoshop, where you can do all sorts of image manipulation that cannot be done in raw converters.

LR and CC are meant to be complementary - and while there is some commonality in the raw conversion process, most good photographers will use either to do the first steps in editing in either, but finalize the image in Photoshop. Some consider images right out of Lightroom to be good enough to be considered a final image. Personally I have yet to see an image that could not be improved upon by some additional enhancement and finishing in Photoshop or some other pixel-based editor.

For all out speed in getting images out of the camera and ready for jpg proof review, nothing beats Lightroom. When I do an event, such as a wedding or large party, I will come home with as many as 1200-1500 images often from two or more cameras (especially if I have a second shooter), yet I will have all the images culled, color corrected, tonally balanced, etc exported as jpg for proofing and uploaded to the client section of my website in about 2-3 hours. It would take me considerably more time to get the same results with Bridge/ACR/Photoshop.

In the non-Adobe world, Capture One is a Lightroom work-alike, and I could work through a large set of images just as fast with similar results. I used Capture One for several yeas before switching to Lightroom.

Photoshop has always been my go to for final editing, and for image repair and photo restorations - a couple of things that are completely impossible to do in raw converters - due to lack of layering, masking, color replacement, a wide range of brush and layer blending modes, image modes (LAB, RGB, CMYK), and being able to use color channels. There are over 500 specific commands and controls in Photoshop, making it a very flexible and precise tool, but it does come with a considerably steep learning curve.

A few years ago, Photography Life posted an often referred to article that goes into greater detail.

http://photographylife.com/photoshop-vs-lightroom

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

Gene, this is one of the best and most complete summaries of Lightroom and Photoshop I have seen.

I am going to add a reference to your post in the Post Processing Section.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

I use PS for post processing, particularly when doing layers, but I don't like the print function in PS, I like LR5 much better for printing.

Termite53 Loc: Peterborough UK

I always use Lightroom 5 for processing, it takes a bit of getting used to but once you find your way around it's OK. I use Elements if I need to manipulate my images....but they do compliment each other.
Use what you feel most comfortable with, they are both great programs

Termite53 Loc: Peterborough UK

I used both Lightroom and Elements to create this

Colouring in

(Download)

Rtvernick Loc: Moorestown, nj

Use lightroom first. 90% of corrections plus filing and cataloging can be done in Lightroom. Use photoshop for the 10% of pics you need more control. Just right click the pic to get to photoshop with the LR corrections as a start point.

DickW Loc: Roxboro, NC

As a beginner and an amateur, I know it would help me (and I suspect others as well) if we could all try to cut back on the amount of special terminology and wherever possible use plain and simple English to answer beginner questions from people like me. I joined this group to learn from those who know and to lower my chances of making mistakes. The use of "insider terminology" and "photo jargon" without beginner definitions/explanations assumes a level of knowledge and understanding that I simply don't have. Instead of helping, these sorts of responses cause me to feel stupid and even more confused. It isn't helpful and discourages my asking. Most members do this already, but some occasionally fall into the "jargon jungle". And when that happens, the writer ends up wasting their time responding because I don't understand what they are saying/suggesting and I feel worse than before because I don't speak their language...and they don't speak mine. Thanks in advance for trying. I know it will greatly increase the value of the group to me (and I suspect to others as well).

Termite53 Loc: Peterborough UK

Good point Dick, I'm an enthusiastic amateur, I know I will never use all of Lightroom and Elements tools.. I know what I know and that's it.......practice will hopefully one day make perfect......one day........maybe.......

bob_stan

Lightroom and Photoshop are complimentary. There are some neat features in Lightroom for setting up printing templates and organizing your photos, as well as photo manipulation. You can open a photo in Lightroom and then go directly from there to Photoshop if you need advanced features. With Creative Cloud you can get both Photoshop and Lightroom for a total of $10.00 a month.

anotherview Loc: California

Ditto: "If you need to do batch processing, LR is probably the better tool."

Overall, Photoshop offers more functionality for editing photographs.

Adobe sales hype does not clearly make these distinctions. This approach induces confusion in some.

But you have both applications. You may find one suits you better than the other.

Note that Adobe Camera Raw has the capability to perform powerful edits on images. I always begin image processing with ACR. I quote Scott Kelby: Fix photos in ACR, and finish photos in Photoshop.

Note further that ACR does have a batch processing capability.

Good luck.

avman Loc: Normal IL

The closer to acceptable your image is out of the camera, the less you need Photoshop. I strive to make my images the best that I can straight out of the camera and process in LR5. For the images needing additional tweaking, then Photoshop is where I go. That being said, if you only plan on producing one or two images at a time, Photoshop would be all you need. In my world, it boils down to how much time would you like to spending creating images versus post processing those images?

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

I both sympathise and emphasize with your thoughts on this, and you are by no means the first to bring this up.

I have using cameras for almost 60 years and have been on this site for over two years and still occasionally come up against terms or acronyms that are beyond my ken. I just post the question "What is xyz, and have never failed to get a proper, polite and reasonable response.

Stupid does not come into it, no one here knew the jargon when they first started and few know it all now.

No one should feel embarrassment at asking for an interpretation of jargon, and I don't know of any Hogger who would deliberately cause distress in that way.

I suspect you feel that you OUGHT to know; so the easy way out is to PM someone with the question. There are many Hoggers willing to answer questions privately, I am one of these, and the "No Publicity" box is always checked.

PS Slap on the wrist for both of us, you for changing the topic, me for aiding and abetting.

magic823 Loc: Boise, ID

LR for cataloging photos and minor corrections, PS for everything else.