Lightroom???

[rickp1]

Hey guys and gals,
I use CS4 to work on my images but I keep seeing a lot of people talking about Lightroom. Can someone tell me what Lightroom does that CS4 does not. I'm not a pro by any means so I would like to know if I'm missing something by not using Lightroom.

Thanks
R.

[zona5101]

lightroom will help manage your images...like a photo database. It will also allow you to do a lot of basic editing. For my workflow I find i do the majority of my work in lightroom then when i need to do more advanced post work i open the image in photoshop. With LR and PhotoshopCS, you can open direcectly into PS from LR and on save it the modified image will be back in your LR catalog. There are probably dozens of posts on LR/CS here in DPS that you can search and read.

[JotaSolano]

Hi!... I was like you until like a week ago... i didn't have Lr. just Ps. and now that i've finally tried Lr. I can't believe i din't try it before.

First of all, it organizes all your pictures so you can find them quickly using tags for example. Also, all of the edition is non destructive, so nothing gets erased.

It's great for minor edition, (but it covers all the usual needed things), like expusure, curves, cropping, red eye, color correction, gamma correction, lens calibration, etc...

If you wan't to go further... you can open any picture in Ps. from withing Lr.

The previewing of the pictures is great, and if the picture "allows" it, there's a series of pre-set filters that you can use to get a wide range of effects... i'd say give it a try!

[rickp1]

Thank you for the info much appreciated.

R.

[inkista]

Easiest way to see what LR does is just to try it yourself. Adobe always has a free trial version to download so you can see what it's like before deciding if you want to purchase it or not. Additionally, right now, LR3 has its second public Beta up for free on the Adobe Labs site. The Beta will work until the actual release.

Essentially, LightRoom is a photographer-geared workflow tool. It works directly with RAW files, and it carries you through from downloading, to basic processing through to delivery as web/print/slideshow. Along the way, it helps you catalog and organize the material both physically on the hard drive, and through metadata tagging and control.

When it comes to post processing, think of LR as having the 5% of Photoshop you use 95% of the time. If you want to do masks/layers or area-specific types of edits, you mostly still need Photoshop. But for a quick Curves adjustment, white balance, and sharpening--LR can handle that just fine.

[kirbinster]

Actually lightroom does masks. You have a paint brush tool and a graduated filter tool that lets you apply effects to specific portions of a picture.