For work I do a fair amount of simple image manipulation. Almost exclusively resizing, adjusting contrast (mostly I use "Adjust levels" function), cropping. A bit of dodge/burn but not often. I generally save images as .jpg, .tif or .pdf. Nothing else. Given this, seems that Lightroom may be appropriate for me, especially given the licensing model for PS.
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School me on Adobe Lightroom
- Thread starter Oysterboy
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Yep. Sounds about right. However, before you switch over - and personally I think it is a good move - spend some time understanding how Lightroom (as a Digital Asset Manager with editing capabilities) is different than Photoshop - which is an editor. The two programs start from different assumptions - though the final results are the same. There are some good threads in the Digital Photography forum here on MacRumours... good place to start.
Be aware that the odds are extremely high that LightRoom 6 (which people are expecting sooner then later) will most likely be using that same licensing model, i.e., subscription only.
Even now, the option to purchase Lightroom is buried in Adobe's website, not easily found. The trial is installed via the creative cloud and that only gives you the option to buy the subscription. My point is Adobe is getting is ducks in a row for a subscription only LR.
You might want to look at PhotoShop Elements. It does everything you want, and is for purchase rather than subscription. Also, it is about 25% less expensive than the education pricing on Lightroom.
How does you use plugins with PSE?. PSE is a stripped down editor derived from PS. It is not a stripped down DAM derived from LR.
LR is the only Adobe product they designed specially for photographers. PS and PSE are general purpose graphics tools that work on photos and other raster files. They, like Pixelmator, make good plugins to Aperture and LR.
LR is the only Adobe product they designed specially for photographers. PS and PSE are general purpose graphics tools that work on photos and other raster files. They, like Pixelmator, make good plugins to Aperture and LR.
You are correct, but........... Oysterboy's post says he is looking for basic editing. He does not say anything about needing asset management or plug-ins.
Anyone with more that a dozen photos needs a plan and tool set for asset management. I can be as simple a dedicated folder or two handled by Finder, to a product like Aperture and LR that provide sophisticated organizing tools and non-destructive editing tools.
Personally I think LR is very basic. The management aspects are less flexible and more straightforward compare to Aperture. And the editing tools are what I would think of as the basics for non-destructive editing. It is when you start to use plugs that do pixel edit, masking, layer handling, and kinds of effects...that things become more advanced.
That is why Aperture and LR are wonderful basic choices that let you do a world of good stuff in the apps and yet bring in worlds of new possibilities via plugs. You get as simple or as complex as you like.
Personally I think LR is very basic. The management aspects are less flexible and more straightforward compare to Aperture. And the editing tools are what I would think of as the basics for non-destructive editing. It is when you start to use plugs that do pixel edit, masking, layer handling, and kinds of effects...that things become more advanced.
That is why Aperture and LR are wonderful basic choices that let you do a world of good stuff in the apps and yet bring in worlds of new possibilities via plugs. You get as simple or as complex as you like.
In the past year I moved from Aperture to Lightroom and now use both Lightroom and Photoshop. I have also briefly used Photoshop elements.
From my experience if you just need a simplistic way of organising photos and some editing capability then Photoshop Elements will do the job. It has more editing capabilities than Lightroom, but is not as advanced at workflow type tasks.
If you need to organise and mange thousands of photos then Lightroom would be better. I typically import around 500 photos at a time and want to apply things like copyright information to them during import. I can also use it to set white balance to a range of photos at once, and use tags in meta data to create 'smart collections' of photos. Lightroom can still be bought as a stand alone application.
If you need the management functions of Lightroom, but want more editing functionality then you would be best off subscribing to the Adobe Creative Cloud photography programme. You get Lightroom and Photoshop for just under £9 per month (not sure what that is in $).
I subscribe to the Adobe CC as it gives me the most control even though I don't use photoshop that much. I agree that subscriptions aren't for everyone, but personally I think it's good value for money and is the best that's available.
While I remember there is also Corel Aftershot and Capture One. Both are similar to Lightroom and have free trials available for download.
Basically there's a few choices and if I were you I would download them all and find out which one you prefer the most.
From my experience if you just need a simplistic way of organising photos and some editing capability then Photoshop Elements will do the job. It has more editing capabilities than Lightroom, but is not as advanced at workflow type tasks.
If you need to organise and mange thousands of photos then Lightroom would be better. I typically import around 500 photos at a time and want to apply things like copyright information to them during import. I can also use it to set white balance to a range of photos at once, and use tags in meta data to create 'smart collections' of photos. Lightroom can still be bought as a stand alone application.
If you need the management functions of Lightroom, but want more editing functionality then you would be best off subscribing to the Adobe Creative Cloud photography programme. You get Lightroom and Photoshop for just under £9 per month (not sure what that is in $).
I subscribe to the Adobe CC as it gives me the most control even though I don't use photoshop that much. I agree that subscriptions aren't for everyone, but personally I think it's good value for money and is the best that's available.
While I remember there is also Corel Aftershot and Capture One. Both are similar to Lightroom and have free trials available for download.
Basically there's a few choices and if I were you I would download them all and find out which one you prefer the most.
I came from Aperture, but I LOVE Lightroom. You get a small collection of the more common adjustments from Photoshop, plus a really nice cataloging, keywording, and organization application. I'm not as sold on the Panel-based workflow, but it's not completely obtrusive. Flickr uploading works well, and it keeps comments, locations, metadata, etc. in sync between your local copies and Flickr, which is great for me.
What I really like is that, unlike Photoshop, all Lightroom edits are non-destructive. I've come back the next day and not like something I changed, and can easily tweak my prior work until satisfied. That's excellent. Or create virtual copies (without storing the image multiple times) and tweak several different ways.
I know you're looking at Lightroom from the App Store, but download the trial and give it a test run before you buy. https://creative.adobe.com/products/download/lightroom
Alternatively, watch these tutorial videos with Julieanne. They're fantastic:
http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-lightroom-5/
What I really like is that, unlike Photoshop, all Lightroom edits are non-destructive. I've come back the next day and not like something I changed, and can easily tweak my prior work until satisfied. That's excellent. Or create virtual copies (without storing the image multiple times) and tweak several different ways.
I know you're looking at Lightroom from the App Store, but download the trial and give it a test run before you buy. https://creative.adobe.com/products/download/lightroom
Alternatively, watch these tutorial videos with Julieanne. They're fantastic:
http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-lightroom-5/
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There's definitely more features in LR and I myself have gotten used to the interface, though for some reason my facebook smart album just does not want to sync with FB. I have an older version of LR, so that's probably the cause. I really need to bite the bullet and buy version 5, before 6 hits the streets and we go subscription only (imo)