Lightroom and photoshop together ???

dafmeister

dafmeister

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Dafydd
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Hi guys,
After seeing several post production tutorials over the net to learn how to do it all, I've been left rather confused.

A lot of the video hosts seem to use Lightroom first for basics after camera raw, then switch over to photoshop to finish things off?

What is the significance of this, or does it not really matter which of the two you have?

I'm needing to upgrade ASAP so am wondering wether to get Lightroom or elements 11 or both if it is actually beneficial???
 
dafmeister said:
Hi guys,
After seeing several post production tutorials over the net to learn how to do it all, I've been left rather confused.

A lot of the video hosts seem to use Lightroom first for basics after camera raw, then switch over to photoshop to finish things off?

What is the significance of this, or does it not really matter which of the two you have?

I'm needing to upgrade ASAP so am wondering wether to get Lightroom or elements 11 or both if it is actually beneficial???
Click to expand...

Working with layers rather than editing the whole image, can depend on what you are trying to achieve and how much work is needed on the image.
 
I do all my sorting, keywording and archiving in LR. I also do all of my major adjustments - sharpening, exposure, high recovery, that sort of thing.... pretty much the photo leaves LR looking how I want it and on most occasions, it goes out as a .PSD file for printing or further design adjustment by our designer.

PS is used if I need to do some really selective, close-quarter adjustments (dodging etc), layer work, adding text or when I need to do cloning at pixel level to get rid of dust etc. I also use PS for clipping and pathing studio shots for use in catalogues and sending out to press.

I currently use LR4, which fits my needs - I'll upgrade to LR5 at some point - but I only use CS3 at home for all the PS work. At the office I have CS6 but that's more so I'm in line with the design team so we can swap InDesign and illustrator files between us all. It just happens that CS^ PS is very good :)
 
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I'm a firm beliver that if you are going to use either one or the other of PS or LR then PS is the one to get.

You can do all the RAW adjustments in Bridge (which coms with PS) along with all the pixel level adjustments in PS with all the layers you want.

Yes there are some advantages to using LR but for me they are only really of use to busy photographers that might need the cataloguing and organisation that LR gives if you use the keywording correctly.

I have both PS & LR but I do 100% of my editing in PS and only use LR for its automated watermarking feature.
 
-Rob- said:
I'm a firm beliver that if you are going to use either one or the other of PS or LR then PS is the one to get.
Click to expand...

But not PSE. The raw engine in PSE is so cut down from the one in PS (and LR) as to be almost totally useless.

LR covers 98% of my processing needs. PSE would cover 99% of the reminder.
 
I've found LR5 to be far better for editing than LR4 so much so I think I'll rarely go to PS from now on
 
In the same boat as the OP, I bought LR5 from PCW for £65 and PSE11 for Wex Photographic for £49.99. Now comes the difficult part, but with the recommendations on here for you tube tutorials, I've made a start on LR. From what I've read PSE is a breeze by comparison.
 
Big Nick said:
I've found LR5 to be far better for editing than LR4 so much so I think I'll rarely go to PS from now on
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Is there a big difference? Have yet to upgrade to LR5 but I did notice a big jump in functionality between LR3 and LR4, especially in terms of the adjustment sliders... they're much better in LR4.
 
specialman said:
Is there a big difference? Have yet to upgrade to LR5 but I did notice a big jump in functionality between LR3 and LR4, especially in terms of the adjustment sliders... they're much better in LR4.
Click to expand...

Pat, have a look on YouTube as there are quite a few videos on there highlighting the new version which can explain the new features far better then me

My fav features are the radial tool and the new clone tool which are a breeze to use, there's now less switching from LR to PS for the editing features you require, LR4 is now binned!
 
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Thanks guys. Very interesting to see everyone's thoughts. I think it going to be a case of buying both then seeing which I prefer of the two or if I find using both work well for me too.
 
Never ever used Lightroom, I found Elements suits my needs
 
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