bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I've been working with Lightroom for a few years and may not be great at it, but am comfortable. Now that I'm on the CC plan, I have Photoshop. Learning Photoshop is not easy, but it has been fun. Among the challenges is figuring out when to use Photoshop.

I'm trying to develop a better understanding of when there are advantages in Photoshop instead of Lightroom. For example, cropping is cropping. But tools to remove unwanted things in Photoshop are much better.

Is there a book, online class or YouTube tutorials that are good on this subject?

Thanks!

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

As you mentioned ... unless you need layers or compositing, most things can be done in LR.

LR is probably the quickest way to get a bunch of images ready for web or printing.

I made the switch from LR to PS after upgrading LR 5.7 to standalone LR 6.
LR 5.7 ran fast on my old computer. LR 6 is slow on my newer computer.

I've come to prefer PS because everything is there in front of you.
No switching modules, tabs, or sections.

Work space(s) and keyboard shortcuts customized to your workflow.
Have my F1 to F12 keys set to common task and actions from cropping to preset ACR settings.
Adding "shift" or "ctrl" key and you get lots more.
If a setting from ACR a little too strong, just adjust the layer's opacity.

Quick and easy.


Sorry, no help.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Thanks for the reply and insight.

I suspect I need more time, effort and focus on learning what Photoshop can do that Lightroom can't.

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

It's the layers. In most cases, if you don't need layers, you don't need Photoshop. But when you are ready to move on up to some advanced techniques, it's good to know it's there and included in the same low price. Just my own humble opinion.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Thanks! I think you're right.

Recently I was playing with a bird shot. I got a little better sharpening results using and adjustment layer. In theory, it should not have been better than Lightroom, but my eyeball said it was. I'm also enjoying being able to remove distracting objects better in Photoshop and by using layers, do overs are easy.

Another thing I think I will use as I understand it is fixing backgrounds. I shoot with cameras that have smaller sensors and blurring backgrounds in camera does not always work well. Lightroom has become pretty good with that, but Photoshop seems more capable.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

when I started learning someone told me just about what ever you can do in Light room you can do in PS BUT a lot of things you can do in PS you can't do in LR
so I never bothered to learn LR.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

When Lightroom first started it was a pretty basic editor. The program edited the whole image at once: all the adjustments were global. In recent years LR has started to include some pixel level editing: Graduated filter, radial filter, spot remover, red-eye, adjustment brush, etc. They're still pretty basic since you're limited to adjustments in regions that are fairly simply defined, but the current capability is moving toward photoshop-like actions. You can do more than you used to be able to, but you still need Photoshop for many things with more irregular areas.

The one thing that LR does that you can't do in PS is keep track of all your photos at once. You can filter your catalog using tags, flags, ratings, and color labels. You can arrange your photos in collections, smart collections, and collection sets. You can filter them by text, metadata (like shutter speed, lens, camera model or serial number, gps coordinates, aspect ratio, etc). In short, much of the value of LR is not the editing, but the database. If you have 1000 pictures, you can probably get along without it. Once you reach 10,000 pictures you will start losing things (unless your memory is much better than mine [which really isn't saying much]).

Lightroom and Photoshop hold hands. I think they belong together, so keep using LR, but learn all you can about PS.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

That is exactly what I'm doing. Even though there is always something new to learn in Lightroom, I'm comfortable with it. Learning Photoshop is a bigger challenge. Part of getting effective use from it is knowing when to use it, hence the title of this topic.

I get a lot out of online tutorials. I'm hoping for help finding some that work on the relationship of the two programs.

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

Go to Youtube and punch in Phlearn. He has a lot of stuff on Photoshop. Good source of information.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I've been using Ps forever and Lr for 18 months. I do 90% Lr and 10% Ps, using Ps when needed for things that require layers or removing objects from my images. I've taken to Lr well and fully believe that I will never live long enough to fully understand all of Ps. Best of luck.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

If the image I'm working on in LR has some things in it that need cloning out, then I do the best I can with the image in LR, then transfer to PS to do the cloning. If the image has a lot of spots to remove I use PS. If the image is cropped a lot, but I want to make a large print, I transfer to PS so that I can enlarge the image and do the final sharpening before printing.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Yes, tons of information can be found thru the Creative Cloud infrastructure. When you download and set it up you're asked some questions about your experience level. If you choose options indicating that you're new to PS you'll be provided with links to a series of videos explaining various "tricks of the trade" you can use to use PS to your best advantage. Or you can go to YouTube and search for Photoshop + whatever effect you want to achieve.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

On the final issue, Lr does the enlarging automatically, and does as good a job, or close to, as any program I've tested. Sharpening is also efortless in Lr. Best of luck.

10MPlayer Loc: California

I really like the sharpen/camera shake filter. It does a great job of cleaning up slight camera shake. It can make a decent picture out of an otherwise blurry mess, providing there's not too much shake.