Lightroom (Page 2): Lightroom is great for simple and not very precise adjustments. Most of what I do can be done with Lightroom. The advantage of Lightroom is that it catalogs...

jcboy3

will47 wrote:

I have been using Photoshop CC for some time now b... (show quote)

Lightroom is great for simple and not very precise adjustments. Most of what I do can be done with Lightroom.

The advantage of Lightroom is that it catalogs, preserves a history of your processing (as long as you keep the catalog intact), and does not explode file sizes.

When I ship files to Photoshop, the file sizes explode, usually by a factor of 4 or more. And if you keep the Photoshop file with layers, it can be 10-20 times the size (easily). But I shoot a lot of events, and those photos are not getting fine tuned.

If I'm working a single file to "perfection", then file size is not an issue, and it will simple depend on what processing I'm going to do.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

guardineer wrote:

While in Lightroom and wanting to edit in Photoshop I now must have Photoshop open, otherwise PS menus items are unavailable. A few weeks ago it was merely Edit in PS, PS would open up ready to edit. I may have missed the announcement of the change and for me, finding the remedy was time consuming. Lesson learned...open both LR and PS to begin a session.

Fixed with the last update

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

burkphoto wrote:

There are two Lightrooms. I'm not going to discuss Lightroom CC, the web-based, multi-platform sharing system. I don't use it and don't plan to.

Lightroom CLASSIC CC's *Library module* is a photo database. (Yes, Adobe calls it a 'Catalog'.) It is a way to organize, rate, sort, and cull edit all your images.

The *Develop module* is a COMPLETELY NON-DESTRUCTIVE parametric editor. It allows you to use ACR (Adobe Camera Raw, the same raw image converter in Photoshop and Bridge) to change a TON of image characteristics. The good news is the non-destructive part! You can edit to your heart's content, and still return to the original, just as it came from your camera. You can develop raw images any number of different ways, saving virtual copies of them.

The *Map module* allows use of any GPS data embedded in image metadata. It maps all your photo locations if you allow that.

The *Book module* allows the creation of wedding albums, travelogue albums, etc.

The *Slideshow module* allows the creation of proof presentations for clients.

The *Print module* is a very powerful print layout editor and interface with your connected photo inkjet printer.

The *Web module* is a link to your own Adobe web gallery.

You can use as few or as many of the tools as make sense to you.

I use the Develop and Print modules a lot. I do use the Library, but I don't get anal retentive about metadata. I organize my files in event/date folders on my drives before I ever import them into Lightroom Classic CC.

That brings up a VERY important point. Your images are NOT IN Lightroom! The only thing Lightroom stores is a tiny proxy image, and all of the instructions used to edit it. When you Export, Print, Book, or Web host an image, THEN, Lightroom applies your instructions to the original file, and makes a COPY of that for Export, Printing, Book layout, or Web hosting use. But your original itself remains intact, regardless of what kind of file it is.

There is a single drop-down menu selection (Photo —> Edit in...) that allows you to send an exported copy of your file to Photoshop or some other external application you set up in Preferences —> External Editing. The setup itself requires a little study to get it right, but once done, the transfer of files into and out of Lightroom and Photoshop is simple and painless. Photoshop files come back to Lightroom as TIFFs.

I love Photoshop and have used it for 25 years. But since Photoshop is a black hole that sucks my time, I think Lightroom Classic CC 2019 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It keeps me away from Photoshop for 80% of my work. It's my imaging clearing house.

There are two Lightrooms. I'm not going to discuss... (show quote)

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

will47 wrote:

I have been using Photoshop CC for some time now b... (show quote)

Why? There is nothing in LR that you can not do in PS!

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

will47 wrote:

I have been using Photoshop CC for some time now b... (show quote)

When I first started imaging in RAW I used ACR. Then I got my first copy of LR, installed it and used it. I never went back to ACR, you won't either. As far as the catalog feature, I don't use it. It's probably useful if you shoot stock. I primarily do event and portrait, I've always managed my own photo organization. All my images are in folders according to date and event or the person. Otherwise for exposure, camera and lens calibration, go LR.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

scsdesphotography wrote:

When I first started imaging in RAW I used ACR. Then I got my first copy of LR, installed it and used it. I never went back to ACR, you won't either. As far as the catalog feature, I don't use it. It's probably useful if you shoot stock. I primarily do event and portrait, I've always managed my own photo organization. All my images are in folders according to date and event or the person. Otherwise for exposure, camera and lens calibration, go LR.

That's what LR is using, ACR!

dajanes4

Found a work around for greyed out menus in PS. preferences>general> check box for "Disable the Home Screen".

dajanes4

Attended a club meeting last evening with speaker, Matt kloskowski. Matt is well known and highly respected by many. He started by saying that the LR "develop panel" functions exactly the same as ACR. He then spent an hour or so editing various photos with nothing other then the radial and gradient tools and the adjustment brush (dodging and burning, for the most part). Impressive results! Did go into PS to remove a couple of objects, etc.

rcarol

rwilson1942 wrote:

If you don't plan to use the cataloging capabilities of LR then I don't see a need to use it since you have the same RAW processing in PS (Adobe Camera RAW).
To answer your other question , It is quite ease to move an image from LR into PS, just select it, right-click and select 'edit in' and then select 'edit in Adobe Photoshop'.
When you finish in PS, save the file and it will be automatically returned to LR.

The one issue with ACR is that you can't use plugins as you can with Lightroom. If you're not concerned with using plugins, then ACR is a very good substitute for Lightroom.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

will47 wrote:

I have been using Photoshop CC for some time now b... (show quote)

LR is designed to make sorting/finding your images and editing them quick and effectively easy. As someone else has said, there is no need to use LR if you are not going to use all of its many features. If you do decide to use LR by importing images (think linking) and using the editing features then you can use PS very easily by simply using two keyboard keys to open up PS, then you can edit in PS, and do a save-close and the image will pop back into LR right next to the original image. Very effective way to edit images in multiple programs as this process is the same for other image editing programs.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

will47 wrote:

I have been using Photoshop CC for some time now b... (show quote)

Lightroom has to "Import" the images into the catalog before you can do anything in LR. After they've been imported, then you can use all the sliders to "Develop" the images one at a time, or do one and then apply it to all the images you took during that shoot. If you need to further edit the image, you simply use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/E and it opens in Photoshop CC. When finished editing in PS, simply use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/S and the image you've been working on will be saved back in the same folder, next to the original raw file, but it will have either the psd or tif extension and it will retain the layers. If you like the image, and you want to use it somewhere else but don't want all the layers etc, simply use the LR "Export" feature and you can change that image to a jpg and tell LR to put it somewhere else on your computer for ease of use.

Keep in mind, if you are already good at using PS and you use PS to edit your raw images, then you are already going to be familiar with LR (in a way). Photoshop include a raw editor called ACR; short for "Adobe Camera Raw". Again, if you are familiar and pretty good at using PS, then you probably use Bridge which is the old school way of organizing your photos, opening them or sending them to either ACR or to PS. Any time you double click on a raw file from Bridge, it opens in ACR, and from there you can further edit using PS for pixel editing.

If what I've said is all Greek to you, then you really don't have a grasp on PS and might consider some tutorials by a professional. I recommend looking into CreativeLive.com That's one learning site that I've used a lot to learn Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge, ACR, and some others.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

scsdesphotography wrote:

When I first started imaging in RAW I used ACR. Then I got my first copy of LR, installed it and used it. I never went back to ACR, you won't either. As far as the catalog feature, I don't use it. It's probably useful if you shoot stock. I primarily do event and portrait, I've always managed my own photo organization. All my images are in folders according to date and event or the person. Otherwise for exposure, camera and lens calibration, go LR.

Which means that all of your images, once linked to LR, would be in exactly the same place and stored the same way but you could see all of them from inside LR. The catalog function only mirrors your own organization structure.

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

via the lens wrote:

Which means that all of your images, once linked to LR, would be in exactly the same place and stored the same way but you could see all of them from inside LR. The catalog function only mirrors your own organization structure.

Nothing wrong with having redundant organization.
Personally, I find making searches really easy using LR. Others have trouble with LR, and there is nobody else in my family that has even heard of LR. If they want to find family photos after I'm gone, I have a folder structure that will help them. It's not as good as using LR, but it's something. Better than nothing, which is what they would have if I relied solely on LR for organization.

jcboy3

speters wrote:

Why? There is nothing in LR that you can not do in PS!

Some things are easier to do in LR than in PS.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

will47 wrote:

I have been using Photoshop CC for some time now b... (show quote)

Will, the main advantage of LR's editor over PS is it's user interface which is geared towards production (or just spending less time in front of a computer).

At it's core, however, is the catalog.

What you are describing as your goal for a workflow is something I do every day. Import the images to LR, changing the filenames as they are imported. Then I view, rate, cull. I will pick the best images to do some editing in LR, then use a right click and select Edit In command to open the file in a external editor, which is usually either On1 or Photoshop. I will often use Photoshop for some stuff, and ON1 for the rest. Once the image is finished, the act of saving the image updates the exported file in the LR catalog. From there I generate export files for clients, print labs, etc.

I would give some serious thought to using the LR catalog - since it is not worth the hassle to "work around" this. It would be something like grabbing a hammer by the head and beating the nail with the handle. It can be done, but that's not the best way to use it.