Adobe Creative suite 3 / iphoto on imac

siobhan mc

I've been hesitant to post this because I'm going to reveal pure ignorance.

Last week I got a new apple desktop and I also got adobe's Creative Suite 3 (Production Premium) which includes adobe photoshop 3, adobe Bridge and I also got Adobe's Lightroom ( I managed to get them all really, really cheap).

The apple desktop itself also comes with iphoto.

So I feel that there's loads of places to load my photo's but as is obvious I'm clueless to each application (so far).

I tried reading about bridge and I got even more confused with the text telling me it was a file browser unlike lightroom..

So basically I was just hoping someone might politely tell me with all these applications - where's best to load my photos?

thanks.

Rb

I'm also a mac user and I bought Scott Kelbys book on Photoshop, despite having Iphoto.

Iphoto is a good program with some great features (Geo-tagging/Face cognition for example), but personally I much prefer using Bridge/Photoshop even as a complete novice.

eas

Hi Siobhan,

I think it depends on how active you are as a photographer.

If you're talking about frequent use then lightroom is the program you should be using without a doubt. Downside is it may also the most complicated.

If you're only talking about a few photos here and there, I'm not sure it would matter much witch one you chose.

padocon

Before I started using Bridge I used iphoto. I would never go back to it. I really liked the way you could flag photos thats all. Its really hard to find your work in it when the photo collection builds up!
So for that reason, anything but iphoto!

siobhan mc

well I bought the apple mac as a good computer to load and play with my photos - I got the adobe appliactions through a friend who said it's amazing software for photographers.

So I'd be loading the photos with an aim to learning alot more.

Basically I want a really good digital photo album that I can also edit my photos with quite easily.

siobhan mc

padocon wrote: »

Before I started using Bridge I used iphoto. I would never go back to it. I really liked the way you could flag photos thats all. Its really hard to find your work in it when the photo collection builds up!

That's important to me too - being able to find the photo I want easily.
So you'd reccomend bridge over the photoshop 3 I've got aswell?

(which also means leaving Lightroom, iphoto and Photoshop 3 redundant?)

eas

Lightroom is made to be the cornerstone of a photographers workflow, so IMO that's the one you want to use from the start.

90% of photographers agree it does 90% of anything 90% of photographers need.

Rb

siobhan mc wrote: »

So I'd be loading the photos with an aim to learning alot more.

Basically I want a really good digital photo album that I can also edit my photos with quite easily.

If that's your aim then I'd recommend picking up a copy of the book I mentioned above. I have The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book but he also made one for CS3 ; The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book which is the same in terms of quality.

Gives a very good walk through from importing and organising your files in Bridge to PP in Photoshop. Very good.

Rb

siobhan mc wrote: »

That's important to me too - being able to find the photo I want easily.
So you'd reccomend bridge over the photoshop 3 I've got aswell?

(which also means leaving Lightroom, iphoto and Photoshop 3 redundant?)

Bridge doesn't replace Photoshop and Photoshop doesn't replace bridge

eas

stop confusing the poor gal with this Bridge nonsense. It's called Bridge for a reason. It's a go between.

Lightroom for the win.

Rb

eas wrote: »

stop confusing the poor gal with this Bridge nonsense. It's called Bridge for a reason. It's a go between.

Lightroom for the win.

Well, I was just recommending what to do with what she currently has.

If she wants to dish out $299 for a copy of Lightroom then that's certainly a good option!

eas

in the original post she said she already had lightroom..:)

Rb

eas wrote: »

she said she already had lightroom...:)

D'oh!

padocon

I have no experience with lightroom sorry, if I were you I would not chose Iphoto. Its hard to access the photos within it.
I have no problem with bridge and its easy enough to use.

Good luck with your Mac, software & photography!

siobhan mc

thanks for all your replies - they've helped clarify quite a bit. I think I'm going to put all my photos into Lightroom instead of photoshop 3 or iphoto based on your comments.
Though if anyone has had experience of both lightroom and photoshop 3 and thinks photoshop is way better - please do give a shout.

Have to say I'm kind of suprised - I thought photoshop was the photographers right hand tool - seems that Lightroom is.

siobhan mc

Rb wrote: »

I'm also a mac user and I bought Scott Kelbys book on Photoshop, despite having Iphoto.

Iphoto is a good program with some great features (Geo-tagging/Face cognition for example), but personally I much prefer using Bridge/Photoshop even as a complete novice.

Hey RB,
I looked up Scott Kelby and he clearly has Lightroom as the winner over Photoshop in below article.

So thanks again for all replies - I'm glad I posted on here and so into the Lightroom jungle I go.

Scott Kelby on Lightroom v's Photoshop

Borderfox

I use both and much prefer Bridge & Photoshop to Lightroom, I like the fact it seperates both actions of browsing and processing rather than putting them both together. This suits my workflow as mostly I use both to process Weddings.

preilly79

siobhan mc wrote: »

Have to say I'm kind of suprised - I thought photoshop was the photographers right hand tool - seems that Lightroom is.

It can be. Photoshop is more of an image editing application, with little respect paid to how photographers work. Lightroom is kind of like photoshop 'light' ... it removes a lot of the bloat from photoshop and adds in workflows designed around how a photographer captures, organises and edits their photos.

Two two are designed to go hand in hand. if there's something that lightroom doesn't do you can do 'round trip editing' to bring the image into photoshop, make your edits, and then go back to lightroom. it's pretty slick.