Lightroom frustration (incompetence)

[XxkmoorexX]

I feel completely incompetent right now downloaded the lightroom 4 beta and can't do much to save my life. I've been using elements for years and last year downloaded the cs5 trial and LOVED it, but couldn't afford to purchase the full subscription. I have been trying to decide whether to purchase cs5 or lightroom4 since I can finally afford it. I've watched countless videos of lightroom workflow and just drool over the speed and organization of the program....so why can't I get ANYWHERE when I try to use it myself? It runs very slow on my pc and I don't even know how to assign a profile to my raw files how steep is the learning curve? Am I better off sticking with photoshop? Does anyone here use only PS?

[EmyB]

What exactly are the problems you're struggling with?

Is it the editing tools? Or the cataloguing etc?

Have you watched any tutorials or read any books on lightroom? I got it a few months ago, watched a whole bunch of free online video tutorials and now am reading Scott Kelby's book and I feel pretty comfortable with almost everything in it.

[XxkmoorexX]

Originally Posted by EmyB

What exactly are the problems you're struggling with?

Is it the editing tools? Or the cataloguing etc?

Have you watched any tutorials or read any books on lightroom? I got it a few months ago, watched a whole bunch of free online video tutorials and now am reading Scott Kelby's book and I feel pretty comfortable with almost everything in it.

It is seriously almost everything. I love the idea of the cataloguing, but when it comes to understanding it....I can't wrap my mind around it. It's supposed to be simplified so I don't know why I'm having such a hard time. Maybe I'm resisting change? The brush tool is awkward for me and I feel like have much less *control* than I do in PS. I also can't even get basic exposure or color adjustments to a point that I feel happy with. It seems so simple in PS. I also am so used to layers that seeing every SINGLE action in the sidebar is overwhelming. I think the answer is to just stick with PSE or CS5, but I feel like I'm "behind the times" if I can't use lightroom. Does that makes sense?

[sk66]

They are different animals and the workflow/logic is different....
Any of my "good pictures" always go into PS at least for minor details (high pass sharpening etc). LR is *clunky* in comparison, but it is also "streamlined/simpler".....and it does other things like automatic cataloging and non-destructive edits.

I would be just fine without LR, not without PS.

[XxkmoorexX]

Originally Posted by sk66

They are different animals and the workflow/logic is different....
Any of my "good pictures" always go into PS at least for minor details (high pass sharpening etc). LR is *clunky* in comparison, but it is also "streamlined/simpler".....and it does other things like automatic cataloging and non-destructive edits.

I would be just fine without LR, not without PS.

I definitely can NOT live without PS. That's for sure. LR feels exactly that to me- "clunky". I know I'm fine without LR, but can't help but wishing that I loved it and it felt as natural to me as it seems watching Jared's edits (froknowsphoto) on YouTube. I find myself getting really frustrated with only what I can describe as lag.

[cyber3d]

But if you learn PSD CS5 well ... you won't even want to go back to LR or Elements. It's a differnet animal in the hands of experience.

[ErikUngerPhotography]

As far as editing goes, LR is very good at doing global adjustments. While it works great with jpeg files, you really do get the most out of it with RAW files.

When using the develop module, there is no saving or converting of color profiles. That happens later. It depends on the image, but I can do almost all I need in LR now and only need PS for those very particular needs. The brush tool can take a bit getting used to, but I still prefer to do the heavy work with the brushes in PS. That is slowly changing though.

I would suggest when starting out, do as much as you can in LR. Get the overal image looking how you want it. Then do any heavy work that might require PS. You can export the RAW image as a TIFF or PSD and then open that file in PS, or you can chose to open the RAW file in PS with settings you chose in the preferences.

LR works in the prophotoRGB workspace (technically a form of it, but essentially the same). I prefer to keep working in prophotoRGB until I export for print or web, others prefer sRGB. Just set up either in preferences or when you export the color space you want to use in PS.

If you have used Adobe Camera Raw before, then the tools for processing your image in LR are essentially the same. Just play around with it. The good thing about LR, and especially RAW files, is that you can never ruin the original file. I couldn't stand LR when I first started using it, but I had to learn it for my job. I am gladnI stuck with it, as now I could not live without it. Right now, LR still does require PS for some things. But 4 is one step closer to not requiring PS for photo editing. By that, I mean heavy editing such as layer masking and cloning amongst other things, but when it comes to well exposed and composed images, LR is just about perfect.

[XxkmoorexX]

Originally Posted by ErikUngerPhotography

As far as editing goes, LR is very good at doing global adjustments. While it works great with jpeg files, you really do get the most out of it with RAW files.

When using the develop module, there is no saving or converting of color profiles. That happens later. It depends on the image, but I can do almost all I need in LR now and only need PS for those very particular needs. The brush tool can take a bit getting used to, but I still prefer to do the heavy work with the brushes in PS. That is slowly changing though.

I would suggest when starting out, do as much as you can in LR. Get the overal image looking how you want it. Then do any heavy work that might require PS. You can export the RAW image as a TIFF or PSD and then open that file in PS, or you can chose to open the RAW file in PS with settings you chose in the preferences.

LR works in the prophotoRGB workspace (technically a form of it, but essentially the same). I prefer to keep working in prophotoRGB until I export for print or web, others prefer sRGB. Just set up either in preferences or when you export the color space you want to use in PS.

If you have used Adobe Camera Raw before, then the tools for processing your image in LR are essentially the same. Just play around with it. The good thing about LR, and especially RAW files, is that you can never ruin the original file. I couldn't stand LR when I first started using it, but I had to learn it for my job. I am gladnI stuck with it, as now I could not live without it. Right now, LR still does require PS for some things. But 4 is one step closer to not requiring PS for photo editing. By that, I mean heavy editing such as layer masking and cloning amongst other things, but when it comes to well exposed and composed images, LR is just about perfect.

I definitely always shoot RAW and edit in Adobe Camera Raw before pulling them into PS. That being said....after a few solid hours in front of the screen using only lightroom I am much more comfortable. I love that creating a mask is as easy as clicking the brush tool since PSE5 doesn't have simplified masks. It IS slower for me that PS, but the simplification makes it a little more pleasant. I think I'm going to end up purchasing both once I get the hang of LR.

[Doug Sundseth]

Originally Posted by cyber3d

But if you learn PSD CS5 well ... you won't even want to go back to LR or Elements. It's a differnet animal in the hands of experience.

Disagree completely. (Not arguing your experience, but giving mine, BTW.)

I've used PS since the '90s, and I use it hard. I regularly composite, work with many layers for some sorts of corrections, use masks all the time...I know the program pretty well.

I do virtually all of my post in Lightroom and would rather drop PS (probably for PSE) than LR if I had to drop one for anything other than product photography.

[dakwegmo]

I had trouble getting into lightroom at first too. It requires a completely different mindset than using either Photoshop or Elements. It actually went through three different trials/betas, before everything finally clicked. Once I was able to break out of the old mindset, I can't imaging going back to using Photoshop exclusively. I still use CS5 for some of my work, but everything starts and ends in Lightroom, and 90-95% of it never sees Photoshop.