Photoshop vs. Lightroom (kinda)

jjd228

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I shoot in RAW mode and my workflow usually goes something like this:

* Open file in Camera Raw.
* Change to 16bit.
* Maybe do some minor corrections, but maybe not.
* Open in Photoshop.

What I want to know is, if I use Lightroom to open the RAW file, can I change to 16bit there, then do some minor corrections in Lightroom, then open in PS? From what I have seen you have to first export to jpg from Lightroom so I'm wondering if I'm losing any quality (even slightly) by going from LR to PS as opposed to from Camera Raw to PS. And can I even convert to 16bit in LR? Or does that not matter and I should just convert to 16bit in PS? But then what happens if I make correction in LR on an 8bit image and THEN convert to 16bit in PS?

Very confused.

I like LR for the organization etc. but I don't want to user LR *and* Camera Raw. Can someone clear this up for me and tell me the best way to go about this? I need to do some minor corrections and then have a perfect 16bit image to work on in PS.

Thanks!
 
Through lightroom you just right click an image and press edit in photoshop.

This should then create a 16bit tiff file which you work on in photoshop.
 
Not only does LR export to PS but when the files is saved and closed in PS, LR absorbs it back.


And if for any reason your changes are not showing on the file in Lightroom 4. Just right click the image and press "Read metadata from file"

For some reason my Lightroom 4 doesnt update the image. BUt this fixes it.
 
As others said, you can be working in LR, right-click on the image and choose Edit in PS, then click the Render with Lightroom button, and it will open in PS as a 16 bit tif file. After editing, save and close the image in PS and return to LR, where the edited version is now open and available, all without going to 8 bit.

As you mentioned exporting from LR, you can also do that in 16 bit as a TIF or a PSD file, and then open them manually in PS, so you really never have to go to 8 bit unless you choose to do so in PS itself to access particular filters or tools only available in 8 bit mode. If you want to work with more than one image at a time or in a session, this can be a more efficient way to work.
 
There are many good tutorials about LR and you would really benefit from understanding the depth and the power of that program.
 

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