Newbie question. Ps or Lr for beginners?

MattClark · May 9, 2017

Hello guys, I am going to be honest with you. I am new at photography and I am trying to learn everything from videos and forums. But I noticed that I am pretty bad with photo editing softwares. So my question is which one is better for newbies to start with and invest in. Or i should start with a free software and learn the basics? And here is my second question. Do you have any suggestions for a free software I should start with?

fmw · May 9, 2017

Free software is worth exactly what you pay for it. Get a copy of Photoshop Elements. That is a great value.

astroNikon · May 9, 2017

Depends how you plan your photography.
LightRoom is great at managing your images and basic to intermediate editing.
Photoshop is used for more extensive editing.

I use Lightroom and Photoshop Elements as my combo. I'm rarely in PSE though as LR does most of what I want it to do. LR also is a lot faster at editing many images (you can see all of them that you load up) whereas PS/PSE seems good at one at a time.

zombiesniper · May 9, 2017

I also edit like astroNikon. 95% LR with only a bit of PS when needed.

pixmedic · May 9, 2017

i mostly use lightroom...
but with adobe CC i get both LR and PS for $10 a month and always have the latest updates.
probably the best deal in photography right now.

smoke665 · May 9, 2017

Echo Pixmedic's comment, on CC $10/month, is hard to beat.

ClickAddict · May 9, 2017

Prior to the monthly charging, I was using LR, once I started using PS, I never looked back. LR is still used but for the library features, uploading to web... Great cataloging tool. But with some of the automation within PS and it's more advance tools, it clearly can be felt that this is version 3000 or so (slight exaggeration). Practically every time I find myself doing something and say.. wouldn't it be nice if it had this feature.... low and behold... it does..

And the great thing about it, is you can learn in pieces. Set yourself some goals... today... white balancing..... next lesson.... exposure.... Phlearn.com has all the tutorials you would need. Great resource.

KmH · May 9, 2017

+1 for Adobe's $9.99 a month Photography subscription that includes both Photoshop CC 2017 and Lightroom CC 2015.

I too use Photoshop more than I use Lightroom.
Photoshop has way more features and functions, better & more precise tools that also offer more tool options than Lightroom offers.
Lightroom's primary design function is managing an image file catalog/database.

photo1x1.com · May 9, 2017

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I´d go for lightroom. It has a big lot of possibilities. If you learn them all, you are quite busy for some time. Especially the local adjustments are extremely powerful tools.
I do use Lightroom 6 which is not the monthly subscription type, but you pay for it once and then own it. If you are not going to use photoshop for more than a year, I´d recommend this. The price is around US$ 143.00
There are some settings that are only included in the lightroom CC version, but I can usually live without them easily. Two of them are the dehaze filter and whites and blacks among the settings in local adjustments.

Pedro_lopez · May 9, 2017

I use both. For beginners I found Lightroom to be a lot easier to use and generally when I need something done fast that's where I edit. I'm still learning much of photoshop as it takes knowledge and lots of practice to get used to, but when I need to edit something with more detail I find it easier in photoshop. Like for example working on the eyes is much more productive in photoshop. And like clickaddict said I usually go watch something on phlearn YouTube channel.

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MattClark · May 9, 2017

Thank you for your responses guys! The information you gave me is very helpful. It seems like I will try them both, but I am going to learn Lr first, then Ps. I guess it will take some time

.

Thank you very much!

mhardy · May 12, 2017

I would also go for the Lr/Ps CC for $10.00 a month, but I would also say I would look at some online courses for Lr, I have taken a few through Creative live with great results, plus once you buy them they are yours and you can log in a watch them anytime from any computer.

PhotosInParadise · May 28, 2017

I HIGHLY recommend Affinity Photo for your editing needs. I started out as a total newbie with both photographing and editing the photos. Also had a difficult subject, a little solid black dog that I was capturing as a black blob. Affinity Photo has been easy to learn, is available for botha Mac and Windows with no monthly subscription.