I have Photoshop CS6 - Do I Need Lightroom?

Stitch-Up

Stitch-Up

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118
Name
John
Edit My Images
Yes
Now I'm retired I have the time to start using my equipment :)

Whenever the subject of editing the pictures one takes crops up, it's always Lightroom mentioned, rarely Photoshop! So, my question is as in the subject, should I buy Lightroom or stick with Photoshop CS6? I already have online storage in the shape of Microsoft's Onedrive.

Thanks

John
 
I think it comes down to personal preference. I find editing in lightroom very quick and easy so personally I quite enjoy it. I'd give the trial a try and if you like the program then get the adobe photography package.

The photography package is cheaper than lightroom alone & also comes with photoshop + 20gb online storage for about £10/m

Here's a link - https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/photography/compare-plans.html

To correct myself, Lightroom with 1TB storage is the same price as the photography plan w/20gb
 
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My take is that Lightroom is very useful for cataloging/tagging images and for processing (levels, crops, straightening, spot healing, white balance etc.) images. Photoshop is probably more advanced (and complex) better for more complex editing, cloning, layers, annotating, drawing and pixel level work et…

I‘d suggest downloading a trial version of Lightroom and see how you get on with it.
 
datasafe said:
Now I'm retired I have the time to start using my equipment :)

Whenever the subject of editing the pictures one takes crops up, it's always Lightroom mentioned, rarely Photoshop! So, my question is as in the subject, should I buy Lightroom or stick with Photoshop CS6? I already have online storage in the shape of Microsoft's Onedrive.

Thanks

John
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ACR in Photoshop is the same as the DEVELOP Module in Lightroom. So unless you want to take advantage of the Library Module in Lightroom you don't need Lightroom.
 
Thanks very much for the replies :)

I always thought Photoshop was the 'beefier' product but Lightroom seems to have a more useful GUI - I wonder if there's a way for Photoshop to replicate the GUI/front end of Lightroom.

Thanks again.
 
One thing to bear in mind is that CS6 is no longer getting updates ( I think) and the LR/PS package is regularly updated and some of the new selection tools are uncanny.
I would go along with Glen ,get the trial and see how you go but IMHO for £10 ( 3 cups of coffee) /month its worth it
 
Yes - you cannot buy Lightroom as a standalone application any more.

I still use the (old) stand alone lightroom for cataloging / initial development. I only go to CS6 if i need cloning / object removal etc.

I am recognising more and more the LR6 and CS6 are getting "long in the tooth"! The monthly-pay versions have a lot of new / improved things - will have to give in eventually!
Mel
 
Lightroom is designed for developing and managing images, retaining the original raw file un-touched, and all changes are reversible at any time. Photoshop is designed as a pixel-level editor to make deep and fundamental changes to images, and changes cannot be undone once the image has been edited.

My expectation is that *for most people* there will be just a few images that require more editing than is normal in Lightroom, but there will be very few images that need much of te capability of Photoshop.
 
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Two different products that do different things. Photoshop is ideal for working on small numbers of images and can do pretty much anything to them, you can batch stuff with actions or droplets but it's frankly a PITA. Lightroom is way better at dealing with large numbers of images, but cant do a LOT of the clever stuff Photoshop can do. Lightroom can also act as a catalogue.
Really it isn't one vs the other they compliment each other.
Personally I use Photoshop for the fiddly stuff, swopping a background, or sky, or changing a face, but for say a wedding, I'll run them all through Lightroom, and just tweek a few "special" in Photoshop. Doing them all is Photoshop would take ages.
 
As far as I understand it Lightroom was specifically designed with photographers in mind , as previous posters have said , Lightroom lets you make edits to batches of photos without making those edits Permanent ( Non destructive ) it stores the Original image(s) so that you can revisit to make changes to those images(s) ...

Unless you were going to make deeper changes to photos I would suggest trying Lightroom its very very user friendly ..


Coho - Blue
 
I use the old stand alone version of Lightroom V6.4 for all my initial editing, once I have finished editing/culling I expoprt them to a new folder and "tidy" them up using PS Elements 15 for things like clone tool and resizing. There is ACR in Elements but it isn't as full a package as the develop module in LR but since 90% of my processing is done in LR I have no need of a more powerful package than the PS Elements I have. The thing is though if you are happy with your workflow using CS6 I'd say there's no need to change it.
 
There are three versions of Lightroom.

Lightroom Classic is the original version that runs on your desktop. It is very much geared toward allowing users to organise their photo collections and do things like keywording (tagging) to let users do a sophisticated search of their catalogues. It provides pretty much all the editing capabilities an average photographer needs. It has a very easy-to-learn user interface. It allows you to store your files locally and in the cloud.

Then there is Lightroom which is cloud-based and does almost the same as Classic except it runs and stores everything in the cloud.

And finally, there is Lightroom Mobile which as the name suggests runs on mobile phones. Not quite the same capabilities as the other two but still pretty good.

Photoshop is the leading general-purpose editor which brings lots of sophisticated editing capabilities including layers and lots of AI functions like sky replacement and neural filters.


The Adobe photography package gives you all of these and includes a lot of cloud storage. Personally, I think it's the best choice.
 
Topsy said:
I use the old stand alone version of Lightroom V6.4 for all my initial editing, once I have finished editing/culling I expoprt them to a new folder and "tidy" them up using PS Elements 15 for things like clone tool and resizing. There is ACR in Elements but it isn't as full a package as the develop module in LR but since 90% of my processing is done in LR I have no need of a more powerful package than the PS Elements I have. The thing is though if you are happy with your workflow using CS6 I'd say there's no need to change it.
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I use LR 6.4 too with Adobe Raw Converter to make my A7III images compatible. Eventually I shall fully migrate to On1 because I reject the subscription model.
 
I have always used both - but I am getting on in years and started using PS way back

For photography LR is a LOT easier to use
 
ancient_mariner said:
I use LR 6.4 too with Adobe Raw Converter to make my A7III images compatible. Eventually I shall fully migrate to On1 because I reject the subscription model.
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TBH I know that when I need to change my computer I will have to move on from LR 6.4 because it isn't supported anymore and it can't be loaded without the support. Not sure what I'll do then but for now I'm sticking my head in the sand and carrying on as I am.
 
Topsy said:
TBH I know that when I need to change my computer I will have to move on from LR 6.4 because it isn't supported anymore and it can't be loaded without the support. Not sure what I'll do then but for now I'm sticking my head in the sand and carrying on as I am.
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That's what's going to be the eventual issue. I was using 5.7 since I bought my A7 in 2014/15 & although I managed to put a copy on my sons W10 laptop a few years ago and it worked fine, I don't think that will be the case for newer versions of Windows - I'm not sure what W11 is like with it.

The newer Lightroom Classic with the masking features for sky/subject/etc though is amazing to use.
 
LeeRatters said:
That's what's going to be the eventual issue. I was using 5.7 since I bought my A7 in 2014/15 & although I managed to put a copy on my sons W10 laptop a few years ago and it worked fine, I don't think that will be the case for newer versions of Windows - I'm not sure what W11 is like with it.

The newer Lightroom Classic with the masking features for sky/subject/etc though is amazing to use.
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I’m still using Lr 5.7 and Elements 15 on a late 2012 iMac 27 running Mojave. Have looked into getting a current version of Elements, but need a newer computer.
 
I have a copy of LR 5.7 that was sold with a Canon which doesn't phone home on install. I may have to move it on at some stage, but I'm sure it will run on W11. Microsoft look after legacy software really well, with various compatibility modes available.
 
Lots of posts from those using very old versions of stand-alone Lightroom.
If it does what you want then great.

But, the world moves on and new cameras get released and tech moves forever on.
If you are happy with your existing camera setup then again fine, be happy, enjoy and remember to post your pics :)

If you have a new camera then perhaps you should check if the old versions of Lightroom still support it.

It's back to the adoption curve and where you are on it.

Crossing-the-Chasm.jpg
 
wornish said:
Lots of posts from those using very old versions of stand-alone Lightroom.
If it does what you want then great.

But, the world moves on and new cameras get released and tech moves forever on.
If you are happy with your existing camera setup then again fine, be happy, enjoy and remember to post your pics :)

If you have a new camera then perhaps you should check if the old versions of Lightroom still support it.

It's back to the adoption curve and where you are on it.

View attachment 370429
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My version of LR won't support my camera, but I won't do subscription - that is what prevents me from using a current version.
 
ancient_mariner said:
My version of LR won't support my camera, but I won't do subscription - that is what prevents me from using a current version.
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Mine doesn't support anything beyond my current cameras but I'm happy with them anyway. I know at some time I will need to make a decision on change whether that be for new computer or new camera but I'll cross that bridge when I have to.
 
ancient_mariner said:
My version of LR won't support my camera, but I won't do subscription - that is what prevents me from using a current version.
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I have same issue - BUT I convert my olympus ".ORF" files (which PS6 and LR6 cannot read) to .dng files using the adobe converter - these .dng files can be read in ALL versions of Photoshop and Lightroom without loss of quality.
 
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Mel_P said:
I have same issue - BUT I convert my olympus ".ORF" files (which PS6 and LR6 cannot read) to .dng files using the adobe converter - these .dng files can be read in ALL versions of Photoshop and Lightroom without loss of quality.
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I do that too, mentioned in post #15, but it's a PITA because it creates duplicate files, and I'm reluctant to delete the originals in case we later discover something didn't go right with the conversion.
 
BillN_33 said:
I have always used both - but I am getting on in years and started using PS way back

For photography LR is a LOT easier to use
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Same here Bill, just retired and 70 years approaching Christmas Day! :)
 
So if I go the Lightroom route all my photos end up on the cloud - what happens if I die, not I nice thought but ....... will my photos still be available?

Is there anyway Lightroom can be purchased as a Christmas gift - my wife would like to do that! :)
 
Stitch-Up said:
So if I go the Lightroom route all my photos end up on the cloud - what happens if I die, not I nice thought but ....... will my photos still be available?

Is there anyway Lightroom can be purchased as a Christmas gift - my wife would like to do that! :)
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1. With one version of the new Lightroom (Classic for desktop)- your files / photos are on the PC
2. Even if you bought an old LR6 DVD I don't expect it would update when you installed it - probably 2012 vintage!
 
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Stitch-Up said:
So if I go the Lightroom route all my photos end up on the cloud - what happens if I die, not I nice thought but ....... will my photos still be available?

Is there anyway Lightroom can be purchased as a Christmas gift - my wife would like to do that! :)
Click to expand...
You can purchase a 1 year subscription bundle to one of the LR Photography plans from Amazon - which then gives you a code which you enter into the Adobe website to add 1 years worth of credit.
The 'standard' price is the same as paying a years worth of monthly payments to Adobe, but Amazon also discount this at various points during the year - so the LR Classic + PS + 20Gb plan (which is probably the most common one used by folks here), was £73 instead of £120 for Amazon Prime day(s) - expect it to appear during Black Friday as well, but the level of discount does vary.
If you've already got a LR subscription running, then adding credit pauses the direct debits until it's used up - and credit can be stacked, so I was in credit until next March, and now am in credit until March 2024 after adding another year.
 
I hated lightroom when i tried it... I edit hundreds of pictures a week with photoshop cs6 . does a great job...
 
Strange I just don't get along with Lightroom either. I use Canon Dpp then Cs6.

That said i'm no pro. You could never use Dpp as it's very slow since I had to upgrade to the latest version.

Gaz
 
Adobe just released Photoshop 2023 V24 and Lightroom Classic 2023 V12 today. Lots of new goodies!
 
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