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Affinity photo vs Classic Lightroom
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Sep 25, 2021 14:26:56   #
cspear42 Loc: New Mexico
 
I've searched this discussion and I could not find anything recent on a comparison of Affinity Photo vs. Classic Lightroom. I have used Classic LR in the past and I have a trial version of Affinity and was curious if there are opinions out there concerning pros and cons and which one you would recommend. I am a novice to photography and pp. Thank you.

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Sep 25, 2021 14:34:38   #
Ysarex Loc: St. Louis
 
cspear42 wrote:
I've searched this discussion and I could not find anything recent on a comparison of Affinity Photo vs. Classic Lightroom. I have used Classic LR in the past and I have a trial version of Affinity and was curious if there are opinions out there concerning pros and cons and which one you would recommend. I am a novice to photography and pp. Thank you.

It's not an apples to apples comparison -- they don't compare. The way to look at those two is that AP would be a supplement to LR. Only if you have LR then you have Photoshop in which case you don't need Affinity Photo.

Lightroom has DAM (digital asset management) functions while Affinity has none. LR includes a database to manage your photo collection.

Lightroom is a parametric editor which will work with RGB images but is more appropriately focused on RAW files.

Affinity Photo is a raster editor and is focused on RGB images.

Here's some reading that discusses the differences between pixel-level (AP) versus parametric (LR) editing: http://www.shutha.org/image-editing/image-editing-overview

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Sep 25, 2021 22:57:11   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
Ysarex wrote:
It's not an apples to apples comparison -- they don't compare. The way to look at those two is that AP would be a supplement to LR. Only if you have LR then you have Photoshop in which case you don't need Affinity Photo.

Lightroom has DAM (digital asset management) functions while Affinity has none. LR includes a database to manage your photo collection.

Lightroom is a parametric editor which will work with RGB images but is more appropriately focused on RAW files.

Affinity Photo is a raster editor and is focused on RGB images.

Here's some reading that discusses the differences between pixel-level (AP) versus parametric (LR) editing: http://www.shutha.org/image-editing/image-editing-overview
It's not an apples to apples comparison -- they do... (show quote)


I'm very surprised you didn't mention that Affinity Photo also contains the Develop persona which is Affinity's raw processing module. As you have often noted, the Develop persona is vastly underwhelming and far from being in the same league as Lightroom. As you point out, the best way to proceed would be to use Lightroom as a front end to Affinity. Process raw files in Lightroom first and then send those processed images to Affinity to complete the editing process using features not available in Lightroom.

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Sep 26, 2021 05:49:41   #
camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.
 
I am not a computer guru nor I have the abilities that others have to edit images. After saying that I would also say that my primary editor for RAW data for Nikon cameras is Studio NX and Olympus Workspace for my Olympus bodies. Once I have done the adjustments I believe I need I then save my images as a TIFF and work with them using Affinity Photo. The haze removal filter in Affinity I use regularly when I want to emphasize the skies with clouds. It tends to simulate using a polarizer for the same purpose.

I tried Lightroom several years ago and I was not happy with it. I know many photographers use it and swear by it. Affinity Photo is what I use and I also have Photoshop that finds less use.
Affinity could be comp0licated for a beginner and in that respect I believe Photoshop Elements could be a better choice.

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Sep 26, 2021 07:33:27   #
foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC
 
I'm sure a novice photographer understood everything you just said. LOL You may have convinced him to go with Affinity. LOL



Ysarex wrote:
It's not an apples to apples comparison -- they don't compare. The way to look at those two is that AP would be a supplement to LR. Only if you have LR then you have Photoshop in which case you don't need Affinity Photo.

Lightroom has DAM (digital asset management) functions while Affinity has none. LR includes a database to manage your photo collection.

Lightroom is a parametric editor which will work with RGB images but is more appropriately focused on RAW files.

Affinity Photo is a raster editor and is focused on RGB images.

Here's some reading that discusses the differences between pixel-level (AP) versus parametric (LR) editing: http://www.shutha.org/image-editing/image-editing-overview
It's not an apples to apples comparison -- they do... (show quote)

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Sep 26, 2021 08:44:33   #
whitehall Loc: Canada
 
foathog wrote:
I'm sure a novice photographer understood everything you just said. LOL You may have convinced him to go with Affinity. LOL


I find LR great for organizing and then use either PS or Affinity for further editing depending on the task at hand. I find Affinity is better at some tasks, though I am sure if I had more expertise in PS I could do all in that programme.

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Sep 26, 2021 10:40:45   #
Ysarex Loc: St. Louis
 
mwsilvers wrote:
I'm very surprised you didn't mention that Affinity Photo also contains the Develop persona which is Affinity's raw processing module. As you have often noted, the Develop persona is vastly underwhelming and far from being in the same league as Lightroom. As you point out, the best way to proceed would be to use Lightroom as a front end to Affinity. Process raw files in Lightroom first and then send those processed images to Affinity to complete the editing process using features not available in Lightroom.
I'm very surprised you didn't mention that Affinit... (show quote)

Didn't seem to me that the OP was at that point yet.

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Sep 26, 2021 10:42:31   #
Ysarex Loc: St. Louis
 
foathog wrote:
I'm sure a novice photographer understood everything you just said. LOL You may have convinced him to go with Affinity. LOL

That's why I provided the link to supplemental reading.

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Sep 26, 2021 11:50:48   #
tcthome Loc: NJ
 
AP compares more to Photoshop than LR Classic. I use LR 6.14. The last available as a non subscription & AP. I use LR for most of my editing & AP for removing , cloning &, some light layers work. LR Classic has a lot more features than the version I use. Anyway, I just started trying AP for full start to finish edits. It can be done pretty well once you can get use to it & the time it takes you to edit a photo should improve over time also. But LR is quicker & easier IMHO. But you can do more in AP if needed. Considering if you get LRC, you will also get PS with the subscription, so there would be no need for AP. AP is a one time purchase & maybe the best bang for the dollar as far as Photo editing software goes. Have fun.

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Sep 26, 2021 12:02:47   #
Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara
 
Absolutely agree with this. Affinity is more of a PhotoShop rather than Lightroom competitor. If you are a mac user you can use Apple Photo as your Data Asset Management (manage your images) then you can push images to Affinity Photo then back to Photos but as you’ve said you are a novice and I assume amateur so I will say both Affinity Photo and PhotoShop are complex apps with steep learning curves. I would say if I were you I’d look at Photo alone or PhotoShop Elements if you aren’t a mac user.

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Sep 26, 2021 12:13:39   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
cspear42 wrote:
I've searched this discussion and I could not find anything recent on a comparison of Affinity Photo vs. Classic Lightroom. I have used Classic LR in the past and I have a trial version of Affinity and was curious if there are opinions out there concerning pros and cons and which one you would recommend. I am a novice to photography and pp. Thank you.


As others indicate here, they are completely different concepts. One major consideration is that Affinity is a cheap, one time purchase of a powerful RGB bitmap editing program. Adobe Lightroom CLASSIC is available ONLY as a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud or the Adobe Photography Plan.

The Photography Plan is, IMHO, a bargain at $9.99/month. You get both Lightroom CLASSIC and Lightroom (the newer, different, cloud-sharing version that allows you to work on your files on any computer or smartphone). BUT, the best part is that you get the full version of Adobe Photoshop 2021, which is also available ONLY as part of Creative Cloud or the Photography Plan. Besides those, you also get Adobe Bridge and a bunch of other tools and goodies.

I use Lightroom Classic as the HUB of my workflow, which is:

Raw file capture at the camera when appropriate*
JPEG file capture at the camera when appropriate*

*Yes, these are COMPLETELY different workflows with ENTIRELY different purposes and circumstances.

Import into Lightroom Classic for:

Initial conversion from raw files (when using raw)
Cull editing
File "star" rating (* to *****)
Developing adjustments (The Develop Module in Lightroom Classic is really just the same ACR/Adobe Camera Raw code used by Lightroom, Photoshop, and Bridge, with different interfaces for each.)

From there, I can:

> Edit in Photoshop or Graphic Converter or another application such as Affinity Photo*
> Create print layouts and print to a local (attached) printer
> Export files for screens or print-ready files for labs
> Add metadata (data about data, or information about the subject of the photo)
> Create a photo book for a client and upload it to a printer
> Do a quick-and-dirty slide show
> Send files to a website

* When editing files in other applications, I set LrC to send them as 16-bit TIFF files in ProPhoto RGB color space. They come back to Lightroom in that same format. This preserves MAXIMUM potential of files until the final conversion for use. The exception to this is Graphic Converter, which I use to do file format conversions that Adobe products don't do.

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Sep 26, 2021 12:18:50   #
bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada
 
cspear42 wrote:
I've searched this discussion and I could not find anything recent on a comparison of Affinity Photo vs. Classic Lightroom. I have used Classic LR in the past and I have a trial version of Affinity and was curious if there are opinions out there concerning pros and cons and which one you would recommend. I am a novice to photography and pp. Thank you.

I've never considered Affinity Photo an alternative to Lightroom BUT it is quite comparable to Photoshop.

I use Lightroom/Photoshop about 95% of the time with Affinity Photo filling in the remaining 4% for the things it is particularly good at. Luminar 4 makes up the last 1%.

bwa

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Sep 26, 2021 12:48:20   #
JD750 Loc: SoCal
 
cspear42 wrote:
I've searched this discussion and I could not find anything recent on a comparison of Affinity Photo vs. Classic Lightroom. I have used Classic LR in the past and I have a trial version of Affinity and was curious if there are opinions out there concerning pros and cons and which one you would recommend. I am a novice to photography and pp. Thank you.


LR has a trial version as well. I recommend you try them both and use the one you like better.

It doesn’t matter so much which program you use, what is more important is you understand it and you can get done what you want to do quickly. So you will have more time to spend shooting. :)

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Sep 26, 2021 13:38:24   #
Guzser02
 
cspear42 wrote:
I've searched this discussion and I could not find anything recent on a comparison of Affinity Photo vs. Classic Lightroom. I have used Classic LR in the past and I have a trial version of Affinity and was curious if there are opinions out there concerning pros and cons and which one you would recommend. I am a novice to photography and pp. Thank you.


The two editors are fundamentally different.
LR is a Parametric editor only. AP is a raster AND a parametric editor (develop persona).
A much closer comparison would be between Photoshop and AP.
I would suggest you set a editing goal, and see which of these three editors meet or surpass your expectations.
Two common denominators are PC computational power and storage space.
Good luck with your advanced research.

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Sep 26, 2021 15:03:27   #
Vlemasters
 
I can’t say for what others have said. I didn’t want to be tied to a monthly fee so I use only affinity. I am far from a professional but affinity on an iPad Pro does everything I need it to do. I can’t imagine something that would be needed that affinity can’t do. I think a lot of it is what you are used to.

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