#Adobe photoshop cc vs lightroom how to
#Adobe photoshop cc vs lightroom software
#Adobe photoshop cc vs lightroom professional

Lightroom vs Photoshop: workflow and image organization Lightroom essentially distills Photoshop down to the tools that photographers use most, which is one of the reasons it is so appealing to shutterbugs. Thanks to its huge number of options and features (including support for text, 3D graphics, and even video), Photoshop is ideal for almost any image-editing situation, but it takes longer to learn and each process requires more effort. In Photoshop, it’s much more complicated, but you also get more control. In Lightroom adding a vignette is as simple as moving a slider.

#Adobe photoshop cc vs lightroom how to

That’s just the beginning, and while all these additional steps might seem hopelessly convoluted, the more you learn how to use the tools Photoshop has to offer, the greater degree of control you’ll have over the editing process. You’d then need to apply a mask to the layer so you only affect the outer edges, and you’d also have the option to modify the layer’s opacity or blend mode. In Photoshop, however, you would need to add an adjustment layer to your photo – probably Levels or Curves – and use it to darken the image. It’s a quick, no-fuss solution that is incredibly useful for all sorts of photography situations, and if you want a bit more control you can always create a Radial Gradient. In Lightroom, this is as simple as adjusting the Amount slider of the Post-Crop Vignetting tool, and while you can change a few basic parameters, there’s not an overwhelming number of options. Let’s say you want to add a vignette to a portrait. Photoshop uses layers, which can be intimidating for beginners but offer a versatility that Lightroom simply can’t match. What this new generation of digital photographers demanded was the core editing tools of Photoshop – without all of the fancy extras – packed into one easy-to-use program (Lightroom). Years back, Adobe realized that not everyone needed the capability of Photoshop, particularly photographers who needed to edit hundreds of images at high speeds. But it simply cannot match the sheer power of a massive farm truck when it comes to getting big, serious jobs done like transporting bales of hay, pulling a horse trailer, or ploughing in mud and snow. Lightroom is kind of like an all-terrain farm vehicle: It’s fast, nimble, and can be used for a variety of tasks like hauling small objects and towing little trailers. Photoshop vs Lightroom: Editing capabilities So why would you want to choose Photoshop instead of Lightroom? In a word, power. To sum up, Lightroom and Photoshop’s editing processes look similar on the surface, but they come with one major difference: in Lightroom, all your edits are saved in a relatively small catalog file, while in Photoshop, all your changes are saved in unique files for every single picture you edit.Ī Photoshop workflow will therefore require far more space, and you’ll end up with multiple versions of each image, too. If you want to preserve an image, you must start by saving a separate PSD file. In fact, both Photoshop and Lightroom use the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) processing engine to handle RAW image files, so you can expect similar editing capabilities when adjusting saturation, working with curves, correcting for lens distortion, and so on.Ī basic diagram of the Photoshop workflow.

Technically, Photoshop can’t edit RAW files directly, but it includes a RAW processor that’s highly sophisticated. The two programs are capable of handling multiple file types such as JPEGs, PNGs, and TIFFs.

How the programs go about handling that task, as well as how they’re designed to be used, is quite different – but if you are simply looking for software that will allow you to alter, tweak, and enhance your photographs, either one will suffice. Ready to pick a post-processing program? Then let’s dive right in! Lightroom vs Photoshop: Overviewīoth Lightroom and Photoshop are designed to do the same thing: edit images.

#Adobe photoshop cc vs lightroom software

I discuss key similarities and fundamental differences, and I conclude with a discussion of the best editing software for you. In this article, I explain everything you need to know about these two programs. In other words, it’s important that you choose between Lightroom vs Photoshop carefully.

#Adobe photoshop cc vs lightroom professional

Adobe Lightroom Classic and Adobe Photoshop are both powerful editing programs, but determining which to use – whether you’re a beginner, an enthusiast, or even a professional – can be tough.Īnd while the two programs are widely used by the photographic community, they each serve a unique purpose and feature essential differences.