Kiritm

I have recently subscribed to Photoshop. I have limited experience with LR (on trial basis).
PS seems to have more features than LR does. What are the features am I missing out on by not subscribing to LR?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Actually the subscription gets you FULL access to both for $9.95 a month.
LR is very BASIC editing software and designed primarily for cataloging image files.
PS is VERY complete editing software, the gold standard in the editing market.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Photoshop includes a built-in plugin called ACR or Adobe Camera Raw. This is basically the same EXIF nondestructive editor that Lightroom is. Every single slider that you can adjust in ACR, is exactly the same as if you had moved the same slider in LR. They are exactly the same. The difference is how the interface looks. Which doesn't mean a hell of a lot especially to those old time Photoshop users that started using ACR a long time ago. Many of those users don't migrate over to LR. But LR does have some OTHER features that are not included in the Photoshop application. Those are mostly features that have to do with organizing your picture files. But Photoshop also includes another built-in app that's called Bridge. This is Photoshop's organizer for your photos. Old time Photoshop users that have been using Bridge for a long time also sometimes choose not to migrate over to LR. Most newer Photoshop users start with both LR and Photoshop and don't venture into Bridge or ACR. They find that LR is simpler and sometimes they don't even open the photo into Photoshop.

The biggest difference between LR and PS is that PS is a Pixel editing software that does change the physical properties of the file that can and will make the pixels change therefore creating a completely different and new file from the original file. That doesn't mean that you will destroy the original file, but that you can and will if you don't know what you are doing. Yes, PS is way more complicated than LR.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Lr is intended for basic photo processing, primarily of RAW files. Ps will do everything Lr will (except the cataloging, which many find more troublesome than beneficial) and much more.

I've read -- and I concur -- that more than 90% of photos are processed in Lr alone by people with access to both programs. The learning curve for Lr is certainly not as steep as it is for Ps.

As MT Shooter said, a subscription gets you both for ten bucks a month, and as Kiritm said, you must be careful in Ps or you can permanently alter your original file. I still edit only a copy in Ps (when I occasionally use it) for fear of inadvertently doing this.

I recommend watching a few basic or beginner Lr tutorials on YouTube or Adobe TV to get started, then you can learn more specialized features as you need them. It really is a simple yet powerful program.

canon Lee

hi Kiritm LR & PS have essentially the same "exposure controls", The difference between the 2 programs are that; PS is an editing program and LR is a filing system. PS works on a "pixel level in that it manipulates and moves around pixels, where LR is for photographers that need a fast and easy way to make selections of hundreds of photos. I am a photographer that takes hundreds of shots during one shoot and LR makes it easy to sort out the keepers, as well as do exposure adjustments.
One other thing that might seem small but so important to me is that Photoshop works on only one file at a time an exporting only one file at a time, where LR exports any amount you choose at one time. big time saver.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

LR is also good for doing batch processing to get a group of photos to a certain level prior to moving to PS for more refined adjustment.

Edit: I guess Canon Lee and I were typing at the same time.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Lightroom is a very sophisticated editing tool. Most photographers with both Lightroom and Photoshop do over 90% of their editing in Lightroom alone and rarely if ever use Photoshop.

Lightroom is much easier to learn and use than Photoshop. Exceptional Lightroom features include synching edits to many images at once, easy to save and apply presets, and the catalog library functions including keywording and filtering (some of which you might be able to do in the Photoshop associated Bridge program).

But, as noted, Photoshop has many more features: IMHO illogically arranged and inconsistently applied. The biggest advantage I see is the ability to use layers which opens a new world of editing.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

You avoid changing the original Out Of Camera file by:
1. import from camera memory card into LR and name folders etc at you wish, default is by date.
2. make selections, culls etc in LR and delete those you don't want
3. do basic editing, cropping etc in LR and the to to "Photo" > "Edit in..." and send the image to PS (have it set to edit a copy with LR edits when you send it)
4. do your advanced editing in PS and "save" back to LR - it puts a thumbnail of the PS edited image in the folder next to the OOC in LR and LR creates a catalog file of it.
5. you can export or print from PS or LR, I prefer to do both from LR just to keep things simple.

And remember, LR does not have a copy of the image, that is still in the "Pictures Library" of Windows on your hard drive - LR has a thumbnail and files of changes made - when you select an image in LR it pulls up a copy from the Pictures Library, applies past edits and shows it in your work area. It then records any new edits into the catalog and keeps only the thumbnail (in the develop mode of LR you can see a history of each thumbnail and look at any stage by clicking on it in the history) The original OOC image is still in the Pictures Library. That is why it is referred to as "non-destructive" editing.
And that is why you should only move files/folders etc around through LR. If you move anything directly through your windows "File Explorer" or some other program then LR loses track of it and only has the thumbnails until you help it find the OOC file again. As long as LR knows where the file is you can return to the OOC and try different edits etc. You can also make a "virtual copy" in LR and try your different editing ideas on the copy. An example - you import, cull and then pick an image to work on and crop, basic editing etc. Then you think "Do I want to process it in color, partial color or go to monochrome?" I just make a virtual copy for each idea I want to try, follow through on the idea and then I have the thumbnails of the results all together in LR, plus the OOC thumbnail. I just find this way easier than hunting through the history files each time I get an idea for a different edit treatment - just make another virtual copy of the OOC.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

As pointed out you get both Photoshop and Lightroom for the $10 plan. Traditionally, we photographers tend to think of it as one or the other. Adobe has consistently been putting all the separate programs into a connected "ecosystem".

So, actually you get Photoshop, TWO Lightrooms, a website style"Portfolio", "Web Galleries", browser based editing, etc. There are also enhancements that come from having a CC account to phone "free" apps named "Lightroom", "Photoshop Express" and "Adobe Clip. All of it can work together through a little provided cloud storage that comes with the subscription.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

^^^ Well said.

Kiritm

Robert,
Thanks for your well articulated response!
I use a laptop and a PC to store my photos. If I modify a photo in laptop LR and later open my PC, will LR on PC see the modified photo? In other words, does LR sync the photos between multiple devices? I am not sure if Bridge does that. Thanks!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Not that I know of, 9but check with someone who understands LR/PS-I just follow the directions and use them) some solve it by storing photos and LR/PS files on an external drive and plug it into whichever machine they are using. You can also use a cloning program to duplicate your files on the two machines from time to time. This is what my daughter's computer geek friends told me. They said if I ever decide to do either they would help me set it up. I can pay them in food and pool privileges. Seems she has given them my home made Chocolate Chip cookies and Chili when they are visiting. Now when she is home from school I have to keep making batches of cookies so she can take them with her on visits and excursions. When she was at UCLA for pre-med it was frequent but now she is at the University of Virginia for med-school so it is only 2 or 3 times a year.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Lightroom Classic is not intended to work that way. However, Lightroom CC (the cloud version) is intended to work exactly that way. Bridge does not do that.

That said, some will put both their Lightroom Classic catalog file and their photo files on the same external HDD and switch it from one computer to the other. It is likely that this method will slow Lightroom Classic down.

Volumes have been written and hours of video recorded on how to travel with a laptop running Lightroom Classic and then return home to move those files to the "master" computer. The technique is to export and import special purpose catalogs.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Do you mean Lightroom Classic or Lightroom Classic CC? I haven't tried this, but I would imagine Classic CC would work this way.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I should have written "Lightroom Classic CC" is not intended to work primarily as a cross platform or multi-computer program.

Adobe doesn't have a "Lightroom Classic" and their naming system is a mess.

There are:
Lightroom 6.14 that is now out of date by nearly 2 years but you can still buy it.
"Lightroom CC" that is cloud/server based for file storage and cross platform editing.
"Lightroom Classic CC" that is related to Lightroom 4, 5, 6.14 and used to be called Lightroom CC
"Lightroom on the Web" that connects with any browser at https://lightroom.adobe.com using your account number.
"Lightroom CC" for iOS" that works on iPads and iPhones
"Lightroom CC for Android" that works on Android phones, tablets and (I think) Chromebook computers.

And maybe more!!