Lightroom Vs. Photoshop

Which one of these programs will you find more useful for your photography?

By Rob Sheppard

Lightroom (above, left) and Photoshop (above, right) each has its strengths for nature photographers. It’s a matter of choosing the right tool for the job.

If you’re going to get the most from your digital images, you have to use some sort of image-processing program. A camera doesn’t “capture” reality, it interprets it based on sensor range and limits, camera designer decisions, and processing done by the camera before the image becomes a RAW or JPEG file.

Today, we have a wealth of excellent programs available to help in this interpretation, whether that means making a more accurate photo of a natural scene or creating something more unusual that fits the fine-art category. Adobe Photoshop has long stood at the top of this field, and for good reason, as it’s a powerful program.

But is it still the best program for all photographers? A question I’m asked more often now is, “Lightroom looks interesting, but why should I bother with it if I already have Photoshop?” There’s no question that you could use Photoshop and its associated Bridge program to successfully work on your images. And that’s true whether you use JPEG or RAW. And I definitely believe Photoshop in some form (even if it’s Photoshop Elements) is still needed.

For photographers, there are some big advantages to doing most of their work in Lightroom. If I had to choose between upgrading to a new version of Photoshop or using Lightroom with Photoshop Elements 6 or 7 (7 for PCs, 6 for Macs), I’d go to Lightroom and Elements. This would give most photographers more usable power and an easier, faster workflow for their images.

Here are 10 advantages to Lightroom, and it’s important to understand that they apply to both JPEG and RAW workflows.

1 Nondestructive editing. Nothing is actually changed in an image until the photo is exported. This means you can make an adjustment, change it again and again, but no quality is lost as it would be in Photoshop.

2 Better controls over organizing your photos. Lightroom has Collections and Smart Collections, which are very helpful. Say you’re gathering a group of photos to use in a slideshow. You could put these into a Collection so you could go to them instantly at another time. The photos aren’t actually moved, so the Collections are “virtual,” meaning they need little storage space. Once you start doing this with Collections, you’ll find a lot of uses for them.

3 Large views. Lightroom has larger Compare and Survey views of images when you need to compare them for editing, compared to Bridge.

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9 Comments

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henrybee makes this comment

Tuesday, 06 October 2009

Personally I disagree with the author, but it's his opinion. http://healthnova.org Fantastic article.
Rob (a Different ROB) makes this comment

Friday, 03 July 2009

I always shoot in RAW and would like to know which out of elements and lightroom i should get in your opinion if i had to buy just one.>> I have to be able to>BR> 1) do white balance> 2) work with layers> 3)sharpen,contrast ++ the image> 4) and export the image in J-peg and Tiff Look forward to your reply >Regards> Rob
Rob (a Different ROB) makes this comment

Friday, 03 July 2009

I always shoot in RAW and would like to know which out of elements and lightroom i should get in your opinion if i had to buy just one. I have to be able to 1) do white balance 2) work with layers 3)sharpen,contrast ++ the image 4) and export the image in J-peg and Tiff Look forward to your reply Regards Rob
peter56 makes this comment

Thursday, 14 May 2009

Please help me with a example how to do design a web page (difficult web page) in photoshop ( http://file.sh/photoshop+torrent.html ) and convert it into as website in Dreamweaver
Jim Patterson makes this comment

Monday, 20 April 2009

First off, I am a subscriber and love the magazine. I have used Photoshop Elements for the mac since I switched in April 2008. I have had Lightroom for a few months (it is April 2009 now) and absolutely LOVE it. It is beyond Bridge or any other file program that comes with your flavor of Photoshop/Photoshop Elements. I've asked many times why I need Photoshop and the only answer I get is "it is the industry standard." Hmmm, way too much money to spend for that reason alone. I believe you can have a pretty powerful combination with both Photoshop Elements and Lightroom. The wedding pictures posted at http://jamesgordonpatterson.zenfolio.com were mostly edited with Lightroom (only four were done in Photoshop Elements first). Jim Patterson
Joseph L. Nazoa makes this comment

Monday, 19 January 2009

Hi Rob, Thanks for the article since it cleared a few of my questions. Like Bud, I would be interested in finding how one could use the functions of Photoshop Elements with Lightroom. In addition, I have been encountering a problem that end product/photos on paper do not match computer screen. Which of these products could provide me the most accurate image-match to the final print on paper so when I get to the photo store, I am get the same final print as the image which was on my screen? Regards, JLN
Dave Bezaire makes this comment

Thursday, 06 November 2008

Your article is very helpful as I consider my next step. I've long used ACDSee, including a recent move the their Pro 2.5. For the last couple days I've been giving Lightroom a trail, and I'm finding myself quite impressed. So, Like Dell Ruff above, I'd love to hear more insights about the relative merits of ACDSee and Lightroom. Thanks, Dave
Bud Ellison makes this comment

Thursday, 30 October 2008

Hi Rob - I enjoyed your article on Lightroom Vs. Photoshop. You indicated the Lightroom and Photoshop Elements 6 or 7 would make a good combination. I see the advantages of Lightroom as outlined in your article. What functions would you utilize Photoshop Elements for? Thanks. Bud Ellison
Del Ruff makes this comment

Thursday, 23 October 2008

Hi Rob, I've just read your article on Lightroom Vs. Photoshop with great interest. I have a related question [perhaps article]--how do these 2 compare with ACDsee 2.5? I've hear that they are all great programs! Isn't Lightroom a bit like ACDsee 2.5? Or are they all 3 alike but different? [I have ACDsee 2.5 and now Elementss 7.] Thanks for your informative reply. Del Ruff, Photography by Del

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Lightroom Vs. Photoshop

Which one of these programs will you find more useful for your photography?

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