Beginner OK, so I've just been Furloughed...........

sparker

sparker

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Name
Simon
Edit My Images
Yes
Is now the time to learn how to use Lightroom as I'm going to be off work for the foreseeable future? I have only ever used Faststone and more recently Canon's DPP4.
Is there a "beginners" version and do I have to have Photoshop as well as Lightroom? I assume there are many "How to........" Youtube videos, can anyone recommend a good one?

Many thanks
Simon
 
Do you already have lightroom? If not then consider another option that does not involve a subscription: On1 PhotoRaw, DXO PhotoLab, Luminar, Affinity, Capture One all offer stand-alone packages that can be as good or better than LR.

I'd probably guide you towards On1 because their software is very lightroom-like, but more because it's more powerful and they have a HUGE range of training and example videos available free on their site (though in fairness many of the software makers offer a lot of excellent training too).
 
lightroom is a good partner to photoshop, it depends what you want to use it for, I guarantee you wont use all of it, the easiest way to learn it is set a task and try to complete it.
 
Affinity has a 90 day free trial and is half price at the moment - that's an awful lot of photo editor for £24! That said I use Lightroom although I keep thinking of ditching it because it is expensive, Affinity and the others do much of what LR/PS does.

No you don't have to use PS as well as LR but you have to pay for both. The big advantage of LR is that an awful lot of people use it so there is a lot of help and support and it is a good piece of software.
 
If you want DAM as well as image processing then get LR. I find LR much more intuitive than PS and LR gets better all the time. Depends how you best learn. Some are better with videos, others with a books, others with face to face teaching. Try PLearn.
 
Thanks for all the replies & suggestions. Unfortunately, I will now have the time to sit down and look around.
Stay safe everyone.
 
I switched from Affinity to Photoshop and lightroom because I preferred using lightroom. I only really use lightroom though, it works better for me I guess. Having to pay a subscription sucks and I guess if I found a good replacement I'd switch from lightroom, might have to have a look
 
I've been trough most of them, Affinty, C1 etc. Nothing gives me the versatility and the workflow of the Adobe solution, it really is the best out there, but it is a subscription model, so just be aware of the costs over a period of time.

As for getting to grips with it, there are loads of tutorials on YouTube. I need to find out how to do more with it, but I've been using it for years and although I've tried others, I keep coming back to LightRoom & PS.
 
I use On1 because the results are better than Lightroom - and you don't have to load all your images into a "catalog" either.
 
It really depends what you are going to do with the software. I use to use photoshop as I never really got on with lightroom but now I have jumped ship to affinity, as it is a lot cheaper and is more than suitable for my needs.
 
Brentor said:
The last time I tried On1 there was an issue with not being able to backup the database so if it was corrupted you could lose all your edits. Has this been fixed?
Click to expand...
The On1 edits are stored in the On1 sidecar file which is attached to your image.
When you backup your images you automatically backup the edits.
 
sirch said:
Affinity has a 90 day free trial and is half price at the moment - that's an awful lot of photo editor for £24!
Click to expand...
I was playing with that (free trial) alongside CS5 and I gotta say at the £49 price I was impressed.
At half that price it would would be rude not to TBH!
 
I've downloaded the trial for Luminar 4 and I really like the results it produces. Going through the same steps I do in lightroom I find Luminar 4 produces a better final image for me. It sucks that my subscription for Adobe has just renewed or I'd switch, the £54 cancellation fee is just annoying lol. Saying that the cancellation fee plus the price of Luminar 4 would only be £5 more than sticking out our for another year with my subscription to Adobe. I'll have to process a few more images in the next week using Luminar 4 and see if I like it enough to switch
 
Just to chuck another name in the hat and its Silkypix
Started using it when my LR 6.14 no longer opened raw files from my newest camera
Takes a bit of getting used to same as all new programs, but very happy with the results

The latest version is 10 although i'm still using 9, the manufacturer specific versions are very keenly priced
 
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Brentor said:
The last time I tried On1 there was an issue with not being able to backup the database so if it was corrupted you could lose all your edits. Has this been fixed?
Click to expand...

Database? I assume you mean the catalog.

Brian G said:
The On1 edits are stored in the On1 sidecar file which is attached to your image.
When you backup your images you automatically backup the edits.
Click to expand...

This makes me think that it might be safe to delete the corrupt catalog and allow Photo Raw to rebuild it next time you run it. I know from experience that if it detects a new subfolder containing photos with .ON1 files inside a catalogued folder, it includes them in the catalog.

I have one small set of folders included in my catalog that only includes new photos, photos I'm working on currently, and photos awaiting upload. All of my other photos are on an external drive (backed up onto another external drive) and currently aren't catalogued as I very rarely need to refer to them. In any case, Photo Raw's search is a lot faster in the current version than it ever used to be, so I just use Browse to find what I want.
 
Another vote for ON1, I really like it and the amount of training they offer under the Plus membership is really good. The ability to work off external NAS drives was why I moved from lightroom around 2-3 yrs ago and I don't miss it at all now...
 
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