Willy Loc: Alaska

I've been using Photoshop for awhile and using Bridge to browse & navigate my way through my photos. I recently started using Lightroom.
Now I seldom use Photoshop but I still do occasionally. My question is this:
When & why should I use bridge? Does it do something I'm not aware of?
Does Lightroom render it obsolete?
Thanks for your input.

MtnMan Loc: ID

No need to use Bridge. The transition from Lightroom to and from Photoshop is seamless.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

I originally had the same question about Lightroom vs Bridge....

Bridge is a file browser where Lightroom is a digital asset management system that relies on a catalog as its database.

Bridge is handy until you start importing and managing your images with Lightroom.

Does Lightroom render Bridge obsolete? Yes & No. Some people prefer to use Bridge to manage their files and folders, working in a file browser may be more comfortable for some, I prefer the database concept of Lightroom myself. Can't beat it for keyword and metadata searches, collections and managing all the digital files.

MtnMan Loc: ID

You'll mess up the Lightroom catalog if you move photos or folders around with Bridge.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Yes you will - which is why I said "Bridge is handy until you start importing and managing your images with Lightroom."

Some people prefer to use Bridge to manage their photo library INSTEAD of Lightroom - one is a file browser, one is a database. Best to use one or the other, but not both.

Sorry for not being more clear ;)

GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

Not entirely correct, all you have to do is "synchronize folder" in Lightroom.

Which you'll have to do if you want any of your downloads to appear in LR anyway.

I run the synch on my machine at least once a week, just to make sure everything I did elsewhere shows up in LR.

Organizing is MUCH easier and cleaner through LR.

GT

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

By not using Bridge, and managing ALL of my content within Lightroom, I have NEVER needed to sync a folder in over a year of using Lightroom.

I import directly into Lightroom from my SD cards, convert from NEF (raw) to DNG then edit.

My imports go into my "LIGHTROOM/PICTURES" folder, and Lightroom creates monthly/daily folders automatically.

Exports are done from Lightroom of course, and any moving/deleting is also done from within Lightroom. For my image library, I never bother going into it in finder (explorer).

If I need to "round trip" an image to Photoshop it is done from within Lightroom, same for any plugins, that way Lightroom knows all about what was done.

GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

I do more than just photos, so I like having LR synched up to show me everything.

Good idea of making the download folder a hot folder... I'm going to do that right now!
Thank you!!! :-D

GT

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I only use LR and PS not bridge. I found bridge clumsy for organizing and finding photos

ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

I use just Lightroom and Photoshop CC, Since I moved to Lightroom I never open Bridge, never.

twillsol Loc: St. Louis, MO

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Agree totally, do not use Bridge any longer.

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

Here is the Adobe answer to the question and some local color from me.

Well, I'm pretty new to photography and the digital darkroom (PP) so until a week ago I had been struggling with this question, with many folders scrambled on my OS-X and Win 7 computers. Last week I saw this video, in which Adobe evangelist Terry White explains the (official?) Adobe view of the posted question, which I see as non-commital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd8XLYG8A0s

I stopped using Bridge in favor of LR; soooo much easier! I have found that Bridge is not specific to photos, unlike LR. Bridge adeptly coordinates PS, Illustrator, and other CC applications.

To use PS from LR (CC, Win 7) right click on the photo > Edit In > Edit In Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 ... which gets you to PS for layers and so forth. Save your PS work in PSD format so that LR can recognize the new picture that gets added to the LR catalog and so you can retain any layers in case you return to PS with the PSD image.

Here is some detail that may interest only new flitter-ers between LR and P. PS brought up the wrong photo for me when I chose Original after Edit In. You don't want to edit the Original in PS because any LR edits will be discarded. I changed my choice to Smart Object (See below.), which works and is more often suitable. Probably the preferred sequence from LR is Edit In > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop...

Be aware there is a Mini Bridge available from within PS. This sounds delightful, but it may not be present, so you may have to deal with your configuration. I think this was the point at which I exhaled and redefined my immature PP workflow to be headquartered in LR, LOL. Got everything unscrambled and into LR, using Adobe Help.

I just recently noticed that ACR is in LR. It may be that Camera Raw is updated earlier in LR than in PS -- I am seeing some version messages which I ignore.

mtbear

whoops, don't know how to delete my own post.