CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Do you buy a sports car to drive to church on Sundays?
Do you buy a treadmill to extend your closet space for hanging cloths?
Do you buy a 1000 watt microwave to pop popcorn?

If you don't understand how to use Lightroom, watch some videos, don't ignore it. This industry-defining software isn't hype, it's the real deal, integral to the success of successful working professionals.

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

I agree totally with abc1234 ...
If you spend the time with Adobe Lr - it will address 95% of your needs - #1 value to me is DAM (no one tops it)
Adobe subscription offers a lot besides PP - My Portfolio, Spark, Mobile and more - great basic websites, sharing tools etc.

I have tried Skylum Luminar since its inception and used for erase, Looks, Sky Replace ... then when I peel back the onion - Lr and PS do it all and better. I just trialed Affinity Photo "Lightroom/PS replacement for $25" ... No DAM - damn. If you pushed me to select 3 apps to take with me on a deserted island with my camera - Lr, PS and Nik Collection.

I am now expanding into PS and with this tutorial from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi6CwaFMODs and WOW ... I may become a PS advocate as well and it may not be overwhelming as I once thought

HallwoedHill Loc: Chattanooga,TN

[quote=CHG_CANON]Do you buy a sports car to drive to church on Sundays?
Do you buy a treadmill to extend your closet space for hanging cloths?
Do you buy a 1000 watt microwave to pop popcorn?

At my house the answers are:
Yes.
Yes.
and
Yes!

But then my wife makes those decisions!

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

Yes, I agree that is what you do. But if you use LR as the hub for your other software plug-ins, it seems as it is becoming more important rather than less.

Bill_de Loc: US

I was an early adopter of PhotoShop, but never warmed up to Lightroom. I still use PS CS5 on occasion, mostly for printing. I mess with On1 and Print Shop Pro. I had the original Nik filter set and have the free Nik collection.

More than 90% of my processing is done with Adobe PS Elements. It is not that I get it perfect right out of the camera. The truth is I'd rather be 'making sawdust', or fishing, than sitting at a computer. The key on my keyboard that wears out first is the delete key. I'm very happy with that, and as a 'hobbyist' that is my priority.

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Nddave01 Loc: Bismarck, ND

I just rejoined the Adobe family. For nearly 2 years I tried to work entirely with Luminar products (L3 then L4 then L-AI) The lack of good data management program brought me back to Lightroom Classic. I started down the Luminar road to get around the monthly fees. The frequent upgrades to Luminar offset the "one-time" purhcase. I was looking for a good data management program when I decided there wasn't anything that would do what LR does so well. I still use L4 and L-AI as plug-ins for LR and do some development in LRC and then usually go the L4 for finishing touches. I have spent many hours carefully re-adding images to LRC and did an on-line course in how to set-up the library in LRC before I started. It will take significant time to complete the transfer but for me it will be worth it. I think a lot of people don't like the Data Access Manager because they haven't mapped out what they want before they start. I was definitely of that school and the best answer was to remove all old catalogs and start over with an understanding of what I want and how to structure that.
YMMV

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

I use LR for import and Database catologuing. I use LR for initial rating and selections, white balance, lighting, a little NR as initial editing, before sending images to PS. I also use a few other PS plugins as needed for a case by case basis depending on what I am trying to do.

I feel that the intent of this topic is to minimalize LR's effectiveness and value and I am not sure I understand why. I am sure that there are other PP solutions that work, so pick the one that works for you. LR works really well for me thus far. I started using it when it was Rawshooter, before Adobe bought it and integrated into it's suite.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

What is missing from this discussion is an actually side-by-side comparison of Adobe versus any other product. Until we do so, we are kind of whistling in the wind.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

No. I use LR for a lot of different things, not just sharpening and cropping.

Bill_de Loc: US

Not sure a side by side would prove anything. The PhotoShop bundle most likely has the most features. However, if 90% of the subscribers use only 10% of its abilities, it just points out that the lemming population is healthy and growing. For those who learn to use and actually use many of the features of PS, nothing compares.

IMHO

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AntonioReyna Loc: Los Angeles, California

I only use Photoshop although I had Lightroom for awhile but decided to just use Photoshop which serves all my needs, for now.

saminpa2001

Check out Affinity Photo. One time cost, download a 30 day free trial. It does a lot, no cost to play. I left LR-5 because it didn't read my Sony raw file. I'm a want a be photographer and Affinity works for me.
Happy shooting..

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

tenny52 it is painfully obvious from your Jun 25, 2018 post that you lack even a rudimentary knowledge of the industry standard photo editing software application Adobe Photoshop.
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-538562-1.html

I have to assume you have since turned to Adobe Lightroom as a less challenging alternative... albeit please understand that may be driving your compelling need to pursue other plug-ins such as Topaz (Adjust AI, Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, Clean, ReMask) and Lumina AI in a vain attempt to duplicate what is readily available in Photoshop.

Your focus to "process the image much easier and faster..." says it all tenny52. The brutal reality you can have it easier... you can have it faster... Or you can have it at the highest creative potentials possible...

The very sad truth you many not have the necessary aptitude to master a complex software application... Like so many other hobbyist and enthusiast here on UHH you have found a "solution" to match your abilities in achieving what you perceive as perfectly "acceptable" which btw is also perfectly fine and valid for you.

That said please refrain from espousing you undocumented "beliefs" on others in order to gain peer acceptance that being semi computer literate is an acceptable trait in our current digital paradigm. It decidedly is not. Back in the day using your same logic you in effect would have encouraged others not to setup a darkroom in their studio or home but instead send their film to Kodak to have them process and ship the negatives back to you... Or even worse let them print the negatives. Sorry tenny52 I do not agree with your inferences.

There are viable alternatives to Adobe Photoshop... Gene mentioned Capture One which actually may have better support for certain high end cameras when shooting tethered. Gene's workflow is Lightroom centric which seems to be the norm for high volume commercial shooters. So yes Capture One is indeed a PS alternative however when it comes to imagine manipulation overall, most high end shooter believe Photoshop definitely provides the better product. The Key Word here is Better. Capture One has an excellent user interface for tethered work in a studio which PS lacks.

Bottom Line? If you are competing in a commercial arena then you will likely ultimately end up mastering the arcane Photoshop interface and workflow. You will know when to make that decision when the time comes... Relax and enjoy whatever works for you now tenny52 and others...

Life is too short to stress over this... maybe invest more time on master the craft of capturing compelling breathtaking images... Post processing is best viewed as an adjunct to your workflow and certainly not a means to an end.

Wishes all the best on your photographic journeys...

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

Do you care more about the brush a painter used than about the work they created? Must all artists use the same brush and painting process.

I don't care what you use for image processing. I've tried many image processing tools. Through experimentation I found what works best for me. Unless your are exactly like me, you won't use my processing workflow and I won't use yours.

Why do you need other's support of and/or approval of your process? Why are you taking pictures?

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

No, LR does everything I need it to do except for layering which I do in PS