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Lightroom or photoshop which is better? How is Adobe Lightroom different from Bridge and Photoshop? Adding a Photo Folder to the Lightroom Database

One of the common questions I hear from people who are just starting out on their photography journey is “What program should I use to edit my photos?” There are many options, such as iPhoto, Picasa, GIMP, and other commercial programs like AfterShot Pro and Pixelmator, but the most popular are Photoshop and Lightroom.

This question is usually followed by another that seems quite logical, “What is the difference between Photoshop and Lightroom?” While both programs have many similarities and both are widely used in the photography community, each serves its own purpose, and in some very significant ways they are completely different. Understanding what makes them similar and what makes them different can help you make an informed choice of software for your purposes.

Similarities

At a deep level, both programs perform the same function - they edit photos. How they accomplish this task and how you use each program differs significantly. But if you're looking for software that will simply allow you to make changes and enhance your photos, then one will suffice. Both programs are capable of processing different file types, such as: JPEG, PNG, TIFF and, a perennial favorite of many photographers, RAW. Essentially, both Photoshop and Lightroom use the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) processor to process RAW files. So you can expect similar controls and processing in both programs when you're doing things like adjusting saturation, working with curves, or adjusting distortion.

Both programs also have an extensive set of editing and manipulation tools, allowing you to do everything from basic editing like cropping and adjusting exposure to advanced processing like working with brushes, curves and filters. You'll find a variety of built-in effects in both programs that let you instantly turn your photo black and white, sepia toned, or apply other artistic effects. Both programs are quite powerful graphic editors. I know some photographers who use Lightroom exclusively and don't even touch Photoshop. At the same time, there are many others who work in Photoshop all day long and never open Lightroom. However, to understand which program is best for you, you also need to consider how they differ from each other.

Difference #1: File Processing

One of the main differences between Lightroom and Photoshop is that it doesn't actually edit photos or move them to different places on your computer. All changes you make are saved in a separate file called Catalog and is a kind of collection of instructions on how each photo should be processed. When you apply some kind of processing, such as a radial filter or brush, Lightroom essentially keeps a log of all changes in the database, while leaving the original file untouched. This technique is called non-destructive editing, which is very different from how Photoshop works.

For example, a few months ago I sent my dad a photo of him that I took and then edited in Lightroom.

Since the original file has not been modified, I can return to it at any time and process it as many times as I wish. Edits in Lightroom are a set of instructions on how to edit a file, much like a recipe is a set of instructions for making a cake or casserole. Once you've finished editing your image in Lightroom, you need to export it to a location where it can be printed, distributed, or published. Because the original image remains completely untouched in your computer and you can later return to Lightroom and process it again at your discretion. Another advantage of this approach is that the catalog is quite small, typically taking up only a few hundred megabytes on your hard drive, even if you have several thousand photos in Lightroom.

Lightroom: Processing instructions are stored in the Directory file and the source files are not modified.

Photoshop works completely differently. When you edit a JPG, PNG, or RAW photo in Photoshop, you are always working ON the original file, unless you save the copy as a PSD file, which will take up several tens of megabytes. This PSD file contains all the changes made to the photo, and in order to be able to distribute it, you need to save it in the final JPG, PNG, or other format. Essentially, if you want to do non-destructive editing in Photoshop, you will end up with three separate files: the original RAW file, PSD, and the final copy saved in a format other than PSD. The process looks like this:

Basic workflow diagram inPhotoshop: If you want to edit an image, you need to save it as a separate imagePSD file.

The two processes look similar on the surface, but with one important difference. In Lightroom, all your edits for each photo are saved in a single, relatively small catalog. In Photoshop, all your changes are saved as a separate file for each photo you process. This means it will take up a lot more space on your computer's hard drive if you work with a lot of files in Photoshop, and you'll end up with multiple versions of the same image. So why would you choose to work in Photoshop instead of Lightroom? In a word, power.

Difference #2: Editing Tools

Lightroom is like the all-terrain vehicle you might see on many farms. It's fast, nimble, and can handle a variety of tasks, such as hauling small items and towing trailers. But it simply can't compete with big trucks when it comes to serious jobs like hauling large bales of hay, hauling horse trailers, or trudging through mud and snow.

About ten years ago, Adobe realized that not everyone needed the power of Photoshop, especially for photographers who returned from their travels with hundreds of photos and needed fast processing. What this new generation of digital photographers needed was the essential editing tools of Photoshop in one easy-to-use package, which is Lightroom.

Photoshop contains a dizzying array of filters, brushes, and other tools that let you make all sorts of edits and changes to your photos. But Photoshop also gives you the ability to create layers on which you actually do the editing. For example, the image on the left shows the different layers I used when processing a photo of a statue. And each layer can be edited independently of the other. This may seem excessive, but it is not at all uncommon. Photographers often create dozens of layers when processing photographs. Lightroom, on the other hand, works much more linearly without any layers, with fewer tools, but also less flexibility. Both programs have a History panel that lets you go back to any of your edits, but working with layers gives you much more control over exactly how you want to edit your image.

Photoshop uses layers that can be intimidating for beginners, but they offer incredible flexibility with whichLightroom It just doesn't compare.

Let's say you want to add vignetting to a portrait. In Lightroom, this is as simple as clicking the Vignette button and setting a few basic parameters, such as the amount, how large the untouched margin should be, and how smoothly the vignette should move away from the center. This is a fast and hassle-free solution that is very convenient to use for all types of photos. And if you need a little more control, then select the Radial Filter for several other settings.

Image after processing

Image before processing

To do this in Photoshop, you need to create a new adjustment layer on your image, such as Levels. You would then darken the high keys across the entire image and then apply a mask to leave the darkening only at the edges. You can also change the layer's opacity (lightening effect) or Blending Mode, or you could use the Dodge and Burn tools - and that's just the beginning. All these extra steps can seem hopelessly confusing. But as you learn Photoshop's tools, you'll realize that they give you a much greater level of control over the editing process.

INLightroomadd vignetting Can by pressing on one button. INPhotoshopThis much more difficult, But And gives to you more opportunities.

With all of its options and features (including support for text, 3D graphics and even video), Photoshop is ideal for almost all processing options. Lightroom essentially keeps up with Photoshop in the tools that photographers use most often, which is why it's so appealing to many behind-the-scenes hunters.

Difference #3: Workflow

Aside features and options. The trump card that Lightroom has over its older brother is the organization of workflow for photographers. Since it is designed specifically for the needs of amateur and professional photographers, it handles all the steps from importing photos from a memory card to organizing, editing, distributing and finally printing them. Lightroom has keyword and virtual folder support to help you quickly find images. You can also use this program to create slide shows and photo books. Many photographers, even professionals, go weeks and months without even opening Photoshop because Lightroom gives them everything they need.

The Lightroom Library lets you quickly sort, organize, and manage all your photos.

On the other side of the scale is Photoshop, which doesn't upload files, doesn't organize them, and definitely can't create slideshows or photo books. But again, this is a compromise you are willing to make. No program comes even close to Photoshop in terms of editing capabilities. Either way, you can use Adobe Bridge to organize some of your workflows, like importing files and organizing digital media on your computer, which, when paired with Photoshop, offers a more comprehensive workflow solution. It's not as seamless as working in Lightroom, but it provides a decent level of automation compared to manually organizing your PSD, JPG, and other files.

Sometimes the best solution is to use both programs. I usedLightroomto import the photo from the camera and made a few basic edits and then I usedPhotoshopto do more extensive processing.

Which one is right for you?

By now you may have realized that this is a question that only you can answer. And until recently, you weren't willing to spend $150 on Lightroom or much more on Photoshop. Luckily, Adobe has found a simpler solution with the release of Creative Cloud, and now you can get both programs for $10 a month. If you don't like subscribing to software, you can still buy Lightroom separately. Adobe has confirmed that they will continue to sell the standalone version with all future updates.

This article could be much longer and in many ways I've only scratched the surface, but I hope you get a general idea of ​​how the two programs are similar and different.

Modern photographers have at their disposal a considerable number of tools designed for processing photographs taken with digital cameras. Among such tools, stand out, for example, Adobe Photoshop - a multi-purpose graphic editor, as well as a fairly close relative of this program, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. If the first software, due to its versatility, is widely used, the second is not particularly popular, despite the fact that, from the point of view of application specifically in photography, it has significant advantages.

Brief Introduction to Graphics Programs
AdobePhotoshop- powerful software designed primarily for processing raster images. Plus, the program provides users with some capabilities for working with vector graphics. The program can process images with color depths of 8, 16, 32 bits. The program supports many graphic file formats. The latest versions have a plugin Adobe Camera RAW. In fact, this is a raw converter designed to process RAW files before using them in the program.
AdobePhotoshop Lightroom- graphics processing program. The main purpose is to work with “digital negatives”, that is, with data obtained directly from the camera matrix. The main formats are RAW and DNG, but the widely used jpeg and tiff formats are also supported. The Adobe Lightroom program differs primarily in that it allows you to carry out the process of editing the original image without making any destructive changes. In practice, the program implements the principle of editing only copies obtained from a “digital negative”.

Differences in processing in graphics programs
Brief characteristics already help to draw certain conclusions. Which ones exactly? Processing jpeg and tiff files in Adobe Photoshop CS4 is really convenient. The jpeg format is convenient because it allows processing with a high degree of compression, but with a loss of quality. Moreover, with each new processing, the losses will only increase, and the quality of the photo will leave much to be desired. In addition to this nuance, processing jpeg or tiff files in Adobe Photoshop CS4 does not involve saving history. The processing history is saved only in the native PSD format. The tiff format can be compressed without loss, but you can't expect to get a small file size. Editing images in tiff format in Photoshop also does not guarantee the absence of destructive changes to the image.
What remains? RAW? But in this case, you need the Adobe Camera RAW plugin or Adobe Lightroom software. The first option is directly related to Photoshop, but if you use it, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort. The second one remains. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is exactly what a professional photographer needs. This is the same Adobe Camera RAW, but much superior to its brother from Photoshop. The program is not only capable of processing RAW files and instantly saving the result in jpeg or tiff, but is capable of storing the entire processing history of any of the supported formats. The method of overwriting a file multiple times is not used here. Each new edition is carried out on a copy newly created from the original and does not contain any destructive changes. In fact, no manipulations are performed with the file at all, but only some settings and parameters are changed programmatically, which are then saved.

I already mentioned the RAW format in a previous article and I believe that it rightfully takes first place in various types of studio photography, and shooting in general. In relation to this software (speaking of Adobe Lightroom), the skeptical attitude toward software-processed photography is completely unjustified. In fact, this is the usual “digital development” of photographs, where Adobe Lightroom acts as a photo enlarger and developer. Thoughts of skeptics, this is rather closer to Adobe Photoshop.

Adobe offers 2 popular programs for photo processing: Photoshop and Lightroom. Many novice photographers do not know which one is better to use. To make your choice easy, it's important to know what the differences are between Photoshop and Lightroom. Having understood the intricacies of working in these photo editors, you can choose one of them or use them in parallel.

This is a photo editor that is considered the most powerful among its analogues. Using Photoshop, you can carry out a huge number of manipulations: from creating drawings from scratch, to processing photographs, designing collages, posters, book covers and other printed and electronic products.

In this editor you can find several hundred tools and thousands of functions. Photos after extensive processing can be changed beyond recognition. Photoshop is easy to use and allows you to install additional brushes, effects, patterns, and gradients from the Internet.

Photoshop is great for its versatility. Thanks to its wide range of tools, it is used by amateur photographers and professional designers. Installing Photoshop just to crop a photo seems frivolous. After all, it has wide capabilities in all areas of computer graphics.

This photo editor is designed for a full cycle of photo processing. It is suitable for quickly sorting and editing pictures. Lightroom is convenient because the main tools are not hidden in additional folders, but are located on the surface. Adobe Lightroom also allows you to apply processing to one photo to all others. You can create various processing options (presets), save them and later use them for selected images. This significantly saves time when working in this editor.

In general, the programs serve one purpose - image processing. If there is a desire and need to carry out post-processing, it is enough to install one of these photo editors.

Photoshop and Lightroom work with the same file types:

  • JPEG;
  • TIFF.

Both editors have the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) processor, designed for photo editing in .

Lightroom and Photoshop have similar elements for working with saturation, curves, and distortion correction.

Both Lightroom and Photoshop have great capabilities in image processing. They allow you to do everything from basic editing (for example, cropping a frame and ) to advanced processing (working with filters, curves, brushes).

Lightroom and Photoshop allow you to use built-in effects, immediately converting photos to , toning them, and adding artistic effects.

To understand which program is best for specific tasks, it is important to learn the differences between Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. There are 3 main differences:

  • image processing;
  • editing tools;
  • workflow.

The difference between Lightroom and Photoshop is that Lightroom does not change the original image. The applied effects and manipulations are saved in the catalog without affecting the original in any way. All processing stages are saved in the editor and, if desired, you can export the processed image to a computer, print it or post it on the Internet. In this case, the original will remain untouched. This processing method is called non-destructive.

It's very convenient. Since the original photo remains unchanged, you can go back and edit it an unlimited number of times.

Photoshop works completely differently. All changes are saved on the original photo. This is why professionals advise always creating a copy of the layer before starting editing. This way the original remains intact. You can also save the original file in PSD format. Then you can return to processing it later and make all the necessary changes. However, such files weigh no more than tens of megabytes. Whereas the directory in which the editing stages in Lightroom are saved takes up minimal space on the computer, even if it contains information about thousands of images.

To apply non-destructive editing in Photoshop you will have to save 3 different files: the original, the PSD file and the final image with all the changes. Since the PSD format does not allow you to post the photo online or print it.

Adobe Lightroom can be called the fastest, capable of quickly completing a large number of tasks. Photoshop is more powerful, designed for thorough work. But not everyone needs its enormous potential.

Lightroom was created as a lighter analogue of Photoshop. In conditions where, after one shoot, a photographer needs to process hundreds, or even thousands of digital images, a photo editor was needed that had the main functions of Photoshop that could be quickly applied. And the program meets these goals.

The Photoshop editor is endowed with an incredible supply of tools, filters, and brushes that help you comprehensively adjust the image. Different types of processing can be done on several created layers. Each layer can be edited independently of the others. Professionals often make several dozen layers. And it takes a lot of time.

The working principle of Adobe Lightroom is linear. There are no layers, fewer tools, but less editing flexibility.

Both Adobe foreditors have a special “History” menu. It makes it possible to go back the required number of steps and change something in the edit. However, layers are much more effective in controlling the processing process.

Working with the layers found in Photoshop can seem very difficult. Especially when meeting an editor for the first time. But they provide incomparable flexibility in working with photographs. Lightroom loses in this.

For example, there is a desire to add darkening around the edges - . In Lightroom, this can be done with the click of one button – “Vignette”. Then, if necessary, you can adjust some parameters by moving the necessary sliders. It's very fast and convenient. This technique can be used not only for portraits, but also for other genres of photography.

In Adobe Photoshop, you will need to follow many steps to achieve the same effect. A beginner will have to at least study a video tutorial to understand these settings. But once you master the necessary skills, you can get a more interesting result than just pressing a button in the Lightroom photo editor.

So Lightroom wins in simplicity, and Photoshop wins in more possibilities.

This applies to most editing tools. Photoshop makes it possible to carry out any processing, but in a more time-consuming way. Lightroom allows you to work with the tools most popular among photographers in a faster way.

Adobe Lightroom clearly wins when it comes to workflow management capabilities. It is intended for photographers of varying degrees of training: amateurs and professionals. The photo editor makes it possible to complete all the necessary steps: from downloading pictures from the camera to editing them, distributing them online and printing them. In Lightroom you can set keywords and create virtual folders. This way, in the future, you can quickly find the photo you need. In addition, you can create photo books and even slide shows in the Adobe Lightroom photo editor. This ease of use is very attractive even for professionals. This is why many people prefer this program without touching Photoshop.

There is also a special library in Lightroom. It is designed to sort, organize and manage photos.

Photoshop does not have such capabilities. It does not allow you to upload photos to the Internet, organize them, register keys, or work with photo books and slide shows. However, it is much stronger in its editing capabilities. Despite the abundance of graphic photo editors, Photoshop remains unrivaled in this regard. To organize workflows, you can use an additional program in conjunction with Photoshop – Adobe Bridge. It helps organize digital media on your computer and streamline many processes.

Some photographers use both Photoshop and Lightroom. Basic editing is done in Lightroom, and more thorough editing is done in Photoshop.

Photoshop and Lightroom are popular among photographers for a reason. Both programs provide ample opportunities for photo processing. The difference is that Lightroom is in many ways simpler and more convenient when organizing the workflow, while Photoshop is more powerful and flexible. Both photo editors have all the basic tools for post-processing images. In Lightroom they are easier to use, and in Photoshop there are more ways to process images in a jewelry way, bringing to life all the most unusual ideas.

With the release of the latest versions of Lightroom, a fair amount of confusion arose on the Internet (and at the same time in our heads). Fifth, sixth, subscription - phew! Which one to choose? What's the difference? Do I need to move from fifth to sixth? Let's figure out together what Adobe offers us today.

A little history

Both versions of LR (both 6.0 and SS) were released on April 21, 2015. Two versions of the product were presented to the public at once:

- boxed 6.0(bought one time)
- subscription SS(a monthly or annual subscription is issued, which can be renewed / suspended)

As before, you can officially download the trial version from the Adobe website or sign up for a trial subscription without further obligations. You can use it for 30 days, the functionality is not limited. To do this, you need to register on the Adobe website and get an Adobe ID.

The first thing worth mentioning is that the system requirements have changed. Now to work you will need 64 bit system(Win 7, 8, 8.1 or later), Mac OS 10.8+ (Mountain Lion, Maverick, Yosemite). In addition, when migrating from version 5.x, an upgrade of the working directory is required. The update takes seconds, the directory size practically does not change.

It is important to understand that with the release of the sixth (6.x) and subscription (SS) versions of LR, the processing version has not changed. Everything is still based on the 2012 logic first implemented in LR 5.0.

LR: Boxed (6.x) vs Subscription (SS) version

The situation changed on June 15, 2015 with the release of the updated CC and LR 6.1, when it became clear that Adobe was promoting the CC product as the main product, limiting the functionality of the boxed version. Important innovations in CC that are not in 6.1: the addition of black and white points in gradients (which developers have been asking for for a couple of years) and the Dehaze function (a very strange implementation of decontrast / working with midtones and highlights in one global engine). And if the presence of the latter function is quite controversial, then the black and white dots in the gradient are simply a gift from heaven.

A scandal erupted on the forums, to which Adobe reasonably noted that no one promised complete identity between the versions. As a result, the products each went their own way (Adobe tried this mechanism back in Photoshop), when products received critical updates together, but the subscription model received functional updates first. There is an opinion that the sixth version of LR will be the last “individual desktop”. There will still be bug fixes, support for new cameras, lens profiling, but not new functionality. Everything will go into subscription.

LR CC. Cloud in my pants

Question: What does working in the cloud mean in LR CC?
Answer: I want to reassure those who have developed an idiosyncrasy for the words “cloud” and “cloudy”. The current implementation of LR CC can hardly be called truly cloud-based. In the subscription model you get the following:

Automatic (or optional) receipt of updates and downloads through a single center
- the ability to synchronize with LR Mob on a phone or tablet (the cloud is used here as an intermediate link)
- you have 2 GB of space on the Adobe website, but this space is not intended for storing your LR files
- once again: in this cloud it is forbidden store your working LR files: directory, settings, sources!

Question: How does the system track subscriptions?
Answer: You receive confirmation every time you access the Internet.

Question: If I stop subscribing, will I lose my work?
Answer: No. When you terminate your subscription, you don't lose any of your files or your working directory. Everything remains as is and LR will still run. You will be able to import files, work with the catalog and even export files. It will only be impossible to work in Develop mode when processing files.

So is it necessary to upgrade to the new version?

The release of 6.x/SS is not a revolution, but rather an evolution. As I already said, the processing process has not changed, but the new version has added a lot of new and nice functionality. Despite the advantages of the boxed version “bought and forgotten, no one will take it away,” I would rather stick with a subscription. It costs a penny, but it doesn’t give you a headache.

P.S. Yes, I also don’t like being forced to do something. But in this case, ease of use and excellent tools outweigh the irritation caused by Adobe's damn "professional" management.

Of the many photo editors, these two can be said with confidence to be the most popular - just look at the number of their fans, sites with plugins, actions and presets, books by Photoshop gurus and Lightroom masters, and you will get proof of this seemingly unfounded statement. Meanwhile, the packages are different - moreover, even their purpose says that they should be used by different people. However, this, as always, is only the initial segmentation of the developer itself - Adobe, a company that has been on the outskirts for many decades, which is why neither Windows likes it, nor do photographic equipment manufacturers strive for maximum integration. We will not analyze the reasons for such dislike, but will deal with our issue.

However, we will still talk about the consequences: native Adobe color profiles usually do not match well with native monitor profiles in Windows, and “some” manufacturers strive to encode some data fields in their own image files (of course, these are RAW formats), on that the company doesn’t care, and only the users suffer from it. True, if you do not strive for maximum integration and be more modest, everything is much simpler.

Photoshop

According to the developer, Photoshop is a comprehensive image editing program that allows you to do everything. Yes, yes, that’s it, without any restrictions - you just need to find suitable tools in the standard set or from third-party developers. The limitations lie only in the limitations of the image itself: you cannot turn a flat image into a three-dimensional one (although you can simulate it), from an 8-bit image into a 16-bit one (the gaps will simply be written as empty data), from a black and white image into a color one (you will have to color it manually), although even they are conditional.

Photoshop has a bunch of tools for working with images, and due to its cumbersomeness, it is sometimes incomprehensible to beginners - which is true, because the program is written for professionals. For all its popularity (including the introduction into the world’s languages ​​of the phrase “right now we’re going to atfatashop you”), although the program defeated its competitors, it did not do so due to its simplicity.

However, Photoshop can be simplified - a lot of plugins that automate different stages of working with an image, allowing you to achieve a certain result faster than using the program itself, as well as actions that make it possible to robotize a number of algorithms for working with standard tools, allow beginners without knowing the basics of working with channels , layers and curves, achieve amazing results from the first days of using the program (the phrase turned out like in an advertisement that even affects our subconscious). Actions originally made for professionals help everyone - it’s just that beginners may not understand anything about their work. We need to enhance the color, work on the contrast, bring out the green (red), reduce the digital noise - just push play, why bother with unnecessary technical thoughts when there is a set of actions for all occasions?!

Sooner or later, however, the thought comes about the need to learn the basics of working with images, because no matter what the automation is, it cannot replace good human hands. The fact is that often action games, which themselves imply a certain set of settings and for which you have to pay sane money, bring completely insane results on your correctly exposed frames - blaming the developer here is the last thing, because in nature even waves do not repeat, not not to mention the difference between millions of pixels in images, so there simply cannot be standard solutions. As a result, everything has to be completed with your own hands.

Lightroom

It’s much more difficult with Lightroom (by the way, the full name of the Photoshop Lightroom program - which reflects its secondary importance) - it was originally conceived as a streaming tool for a professional photographer and was brought to mind by the same professionals. As a result, what we got was a version that was not at all stripped down to basic functions (there is one, too, called Photoshop Elements), but a completely separate package, essentially a converter of RAW files, corresponding in functionality to the Camera RAW module, just the tools are arranged in a different order, which, once you get used to it, you begin to treat it like your own. Lightroom, for all the supposed ease of the entire package and its understanding, is nevertheless quite a powerful program - to the functions of the aforementioned Camera RAW are added: a gradient filter, a “plaster” and a spot filter, which can be drawn on the image as a template and applied locally any of the standard LR settings.

In fact, this is where the standard editing functions in the program end - you understand, you can hardly talk about serious editing if all changes are recorded not in pixels, but simply as numerical data in an external file (Picasa developed by Google has reached the same limitations). And if a stamp with a patch is enough to remove acne from the face, this function is clearly not suitable for correcting the shape of the ears or the oval of the face, while in Photoshop this is done in about two minutes, and only by trial and error.

Lightroom, however, also has the ability to install plugins - the most famous are onOne Genuine Fractals, the entire set of Nik Software filters and the famous portrait artist Imagenomic Portraiture. All plug-in filters work in Lightroom with a copy of the file, which can be modified directly. The most powerful standard Lightroom plugin is, funny as it may seem, the “big” Adobe Photoshop. The developer has long promised to bring integration with it to perfection, and still cannot go beyond crutches - to edit in it, Lightroom creates a new tiff file and edits it, which, after editing, is updated in LR.

It must be remembered that everything related to basic color correction is implemented well in LR, but in fact, this is its only function, apart from minor edits. True, this is enough for most photographers: the presence of a huge mass of presets (including non-free ones) makes it possible to almost instantly stylize a photo and the same instant color correction - all presets include setting all or several parameters that can be corrected in Camera RAW , and in LR.

Photoshop or Lightroom?

Frankly speaking, the question is posed incorrectly: as you have already understood from what was written above, the goals of both programs are different. Photoshop is aimed at leisurely, in-depth work with a single image, while Lightroom, on the contrary, is aimed at quickly processing and styling large blocks of photographs and photo sessions, when most of the work has already been done during shooting: with light or an event - and only basic color correction is required.

Typically, the job of a wedding designer, for example, is to select and process about 100-200 frames within a week (out of 400-1000 taken), and from the selected ones to make a photo book, so LR is perfect for them. Portfolios of models shot in the studio are prepared in much the same way. At the same time, if a photographer shoots an idea in the studio, out of hundreds of frames taken, he can choose only one and spend a lot of time in Photoshop - it doesn’t matter whether it’s complex retouching with overlaying frames on top of each other or working with textures, as well as retro stylization. Perhaps this is why the developer himself does not push the programs too far apart - as a standard item in Lightroom there is always the “Edit in Photoshop” option.

Usually, confusion in the selection problem is caused by trying to compare actions in Photoshop and presets in Lightroom. This comparison is incorrect, because a preset is only a set of about 20 (maximum) standard Lightroom settings for image color correction, and an action is a set of almost any Photoshop commands, including even plug-ins. At the same time, standardization allows Lightroom to work very quickly - tools are at hand, presets are easily accessible, and all commands are just a scroll and a mouse click away. But in Photoshop, each RAW frame must be opened through an external module (Camera RAW or the same Lightroom), which does not make it very useful when editing large volumes of images. In other words, Photoshop is more of a creative tool, and Lightroom is a craft tool, without which you won’t make much money.

If you shoot everything in RAW, and print or publish photos with virtually no editing, and the only method of editing the image is to cover up skin imperfections or objects accidentally caught in the frame (dust on the matrix, as an option), cropping or drawing blue eyes on the photographed person, it’s unlikely you need something other than Lightroom.

If you are engaged in deep editing and retouching of photographs, but shoot little and process 1-2 frames per day at a leisurely pace (and even less than 7-10 frames per week), one Photoshop will be enough for you.

But if you shoot a lot and deeply process some frames, there is a high probability that you will need both tools: Lightroom for selection, organization and basic color correction, and Photoshop for editing and retouching. Of course, this is a lot of money, but if you don’t earn a lot of money from this, you can find analogues: the same Gimp will successfully replace Photoshop, however, free converters for RAW files will be a rather weak crutch for LR.

  • Graphic design: If the photo is only part of the final image, or requires some kind of design (exotic frames, inscriptions, etc.)
  • Differences in Tool Behavior: Lightroom can do many things that Photoshop cannot, such as copying spot removal results from one image to another (for example, in a series of images). But spot removal in Lightroom works well only for small spots. The Healing brush in Photoshop is a much more powerful tool when significant correction is required - large objects, scratches on scans, the need to remove wires from the frame, etc.
  • Changing the color profile: In general, printers cannot reproduce the full range of colors that may be present in an image. In Photoshop, you can apply a printer color profile to a photo to see what the print will look like. In Lightroom this feature is not available as a class.
  • Printing in CMYK: Lightroom does not have the ability to convert an image to CMYK, which is required for some types of printing.
  • Correction of perspective and distortion: By default, Lightroom does not have such a useful tool that may be required when shooting architecture and some other subjects. In Photoshop, you can use both the built-in Lens Correct filter and additional plugins for these purposes.
  • Stitching panoramas and HDR: Despite the fact that special software is usually used to stitch together panoramas and HDR, in Photoshop you can do it with built-in tools, but Lightroom cannot. There is, of course, integration into Photoshop for panoramas and HDR, but it doesn’t work very well.
  • DOF emulation: Photoshop has built-in tools that allow you to stitch together several images with the same scene to simulate a large depth of field. There is nothing like this in Lightroom.
  • Automation tools: Lightroom and Photoshop allow you to automate some tasks, but Photoshop provides much more opportunities for automation, take at least actions.
  • Using Plug In. Of course, you can also use plugins in Lightroom, but their number is much smaller, as is their ease of use.

Of course, these are not all the reasons why Photoshop may be needed. Many will never need this and Lightroom is quite self-sufficient for their purposes. Others, on the contrary, use mainly those features that Lightroom does not have as a class (working with layers, in other color spaces, etc.). For third tasks, third-party software such as PTLens, Panorama Factory and Photomatix are generally better suited. But nevertheless, we can draw the following conclusion - the more complex image processing you have to do, the greater the need for Photoshop.