Questions to Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 users

Vinny

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My son will be taking a photography class next semester and will be using Photoshop (PS); I plan on getting him the student version to use on his computer. I'm also thinking to get him Lightroom 3 (LR).

I know that LR is a little different from PS and I've read here that LR is faster at doing certain things than PS. It also seems that LR organizes photos and can make slideshows.

My questions: Does PS CS5 extended do what LR does? Other than organize photos and slideshows does LR do anything that PS can't do?

Thanks for your help!
 
LR was designed with the photographer in mind. They got a lot of feed back from actual photographers on what they would like to see in a program.

That being said, Photoshop can do everything that LR can do in terms of editing of photos and more, but some stuff LR can do with one step that PS would take several steps to get to. Basically LR is better for basic photo processing whereas PS would come in handy for photo manipulation.
 
Lightroom can do most of the editing, easier to do it too. Photoshop is for heavy editing.
 
Photoshop can do every single thing LR can do (in terms of photo manipulation) and much more. If your son knows how to keep pictures in directories then he should be fine with just PS.

That said, LR has advantages...it's much easier to use, much easier to do complex things, and leaves the original files intact without taking up extra space for copies. In PS if you want to keep the original files you need to either make 2 copies or save as a copy (both of which take up much more space -- A 15Mb jpg could turn into a 25Mb jpg after editing)...in LR the original file is still intact and it only adds a very small additional file that includes the edits.

I use both very frequently. On average I use LR more than PS, but really it's just because I also use it for catalog-storage now. I do most of my edits in LR, but when I want to edit something special or something that is for use other than my own (if the pictures are for someone else) then I always use PS to do the edits. Better results overall.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I guess it is an easy decision that I should buy both. It'll make it easy for him for the simple adjustments and if he really needs to manipulate a photo he can go into PS.

Thanks again!!
 
I disagree with derek a little. I find LR is a much better program for processing raw files and post processing your exposures, white balance etc. Photoshop is then good for the next phase of the work. I use both and love both.
 
I disagree with derek a little. I find LR is a much better program for processing raw files and post processing your exposures, white balance etc. Photoshop is then good for the next phase of the work. I use both and love both.



I have to agree. I find that lightroom is awesome for editing my raw files, where as ps is a little less intuitive. For example, when editing the white balance in lr3, i can slide my mouse over to the right of the screen, and change it right there, with it giving me a preview and all. One the "Developing" side bar, you can change wb, brightness, contrast, clarity, your tone curve, your histogram, edit each individual colors brightness, and so much more, without having to go through any menu's. I find that, to do the same thing in ps, itll take me two or three times as long, because you have to go through multiple menus.
 
Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 use the same parametric (non-destructive) edit rendering engine,
Adobe Camera RAW 6.x (6.2 is the current level)

As you figured out Vinny, a photographer really needs both Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 even though the editing engine is duplicated. The Extended version of CS5 has some really nice 3-D and scientific image tools.

It's becoming obvious that many out there that have a version of Photoshop CS, don't really seem to understand how to use Bridge or ACR.
 
I would consider getting him both programs... I use both CS5 and LR3 in my workflow. I find myself moving photos back and forth between the two programs to do certain things. They are both great tools, although I will admit, Lightroom is WAY more user friendly and easier to learn. If your son is looking for something to do photo editing only though, Lightroom will be more than enough. Also, LR is much more affordable than photoshop, even in the student form... I don't know about where you are, but through my college bookstore, I got LR for around $90.
 
I would go with CS5. Bridge and ACR are very useful and to me are more on par with Lightroom in terms of photography minded, and quick adjustments. As far as I know ( aside from the organizing aspect ) you can do anything you can do in lightroom in CS5 and probably with much more precision in most cases. Sure there are different features and presets etc, but you can arrive at all of the same effects using CS5. Also, photoshop is an industry standard in things other than photography as well. If he became proficient in it, he could easily switch his focus from say photography to graphic arts. I think it opens many more doors for him if he learns it ( although learning it is harder than learning Lightroom ).
 
I plan on getting him both. He is just taking a photography course and at this point not looking to be a photographer. He had to get the professor's permission to get in the class and I will be losing my D90 next semester since the professor doesn't want P&S and wants DSLRs. He was told they would be using Photoshop so I got him that and plan on getting him Lightroom for easier manipulation.

Thanks for all your input!
 
I plan on getting him both. He is just taking a photography course and at this point not looking to be a photographer. He had to get the professor's permission to get in the class and I will be losing my D90 next semester since the professor doesn't want P&S and wants DSLRs. He was told they would be using Photoshop so I got him that and plan on getting him Lightroom for easier manipulation.

Thanks for all your input!



kinda sounds like you just got an excuse to upgrade to a new camera yourself lol.
 
Although he is living on campus I told him he may need to come home and bring it back on the weekends! Nobody in my family except me can take photos (and I guess people can question my ability as well!) and I'm hoping this sparks something in him. I guess I'm looking at it as when he's done with the course I'll inherit the programs! :lol:

Of course I keep looking at the Nikon D3x and wishing to get it ... of course he'll have my lenses too, so ...

I plan on getting him both. He is just taking a photography course and at this point not looking to be a photographer. He had to get the professor's permission to get in the class and I will be losing my D90 next semester since the professor doesn't want P&S and wants DSLRs. He was told they would be using Photoshop so I got him that and plan on getting him Lightroom for easier manipulation.

Thanks for all your input!



kinda sounds like you just got an excuse to upgrade to a new camera yourself lol.
 
He was told they would be using Photoshop so I got him that and plan on getting him Lightroom for easier manipulation.

Thanks for all your input!
That's fine. It's only money after all.

However, I think you've missed the key points.
  • Lightroom doesn't provide easier manipulation of digital photos than CS5 does. Again, because both use the same editing application ACR 6.2.
  • ACR is a separate part of Photoshop, why buy the same thing twice, which is what you'll be doing by getting Lightroom too.
In fact, Lightroom is more difficult to use for image management, because it is database management software, not a browser. Bridge, which is included with CS5 is a browser.
 
I disagree with derek a little. I find LR is a much better program for processing raw files and post processing your exposures, white balance etc. Photoshop is then good for the next phase of the work. I use both and love both.



I have to agree. I find that lightroom is awesome for editing my raw files, where as ps is a little less intuitive. For example, when editing the white balance in lr3, i can slide my mouse over to the right of the screen, and change it right there, with it giving me a preview and all. One the "Developing" side bar, you can change wb, brightness, contrast, clarity, your tone curve, your histogram, edit each individual colors brightness, and so much more, without having to go through any menu's. I find that, to do the same thing in ps, itll take me two or three times as long, because you have to go through multiple menus.

Apparently neither of you actually read my entire post...since you're both agreeing directly with what I wrote.

If you would have continued on, I said PS is a much more powerful program and can do everything LR can do, but LR can do most of it quicker and in an easier way. It's much easier to do many simple modifications in LR...but PS can do them with much more direct control and usually better results.

And KmH, I know with Bridge you can use non-destructive techniques in PS, but it's a monstrous pain in the neck. If you use both LR and PS you're most likely using LR as a catalog program as well...which means the entire catalog is stored within LR. When you select to edit in PS (from within LR) it creates a modified copy of the original (basically exporting it) for use in PS. This makes it unable to remain non-destructive. Using Bridge as your entire catalog service is a *huge* pain (at least to me). I've tried it and only ended up with headache when it wouldn't control the way I wanted it to.
 

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