Whats the difference between Lightroom and Photoshop CS3?

mumof2

In plain English please as I'm still learning:rolleyes:

Ballyman

Lightroom is specifically for photographers only whereas CS3 is for photographers, graphic designers etc.

Everything you can do process wise in LR can be done in CS3 but not vice versa.

LR allows you to create folders, sets, albums, tags etc for easy management of photos.

When processing an image, LR creates a copy of the image in it's memory and this is what you make adjustments to. It's a non destructible piece of software in that you never actually alter the original file so no matter what you do to a photo in LR, the original is always available.

On the processing side of things, you can do all the normal alterations, cropping, exposure, saturation etc. It also has some local adjustments like dodging and burning as well as red eye removal, ND filters and spot removal.

Have a look at these videos as well to see what it can do.

If you are strapped for cash then LR would be the way to go. I use it 99.9% of the time exclusively as it does all I need. The very odd time I might need CS3 if I needed to remove a background or something like that.

I hope this helps a little. If you have any more questions then please ask!

nilhg

There is quite a big difference, Lightroom is designed specifically for photographers while photoshop has a much wider application with graphics designers and web developers and many others as well as photographers.

Lightroom is a DAM (Digital Asset Manager) as well as an image editor whereas PS is a pixel editor.

Essentially LR is built to take care of the full workfow of a photographer, you import your pictures from the camera, organise and keyword them, do all but the most complex editig on them in there, then export them for printing or the web without needing any other software.

With PS you open a file on your harddrive, edit it and resave it back to your disk, usually as a copy.

CabanSail

Moved to Digital Darkroom.

Lightroom is a single layer editor whereas Photoshop is a Multi Layer editor.

5uspect

Lightroom is to a ford focus to what Photoshop is to a ford focus rally car.

Lightroom will get you down to the shop as will the the WRC car. The WRC car will cost you more and you can bring it off road for some fun etc. But if you're only interesting in going to the shop in your car you won't want the WRC Focus.

coylemj

5uspect wrote: »

Lightroom is to a ford focus to what Photoshop is to a ford focus rally car.

Lightroom will get you down to the shop as will the the WRC car. The WRC car will cost you more and you can bring it off road for some fun etc. But if you're only interesting in going to the shop in your car you won't want the WRC Focus.

I believe the OP asked for an answer in 'plain English'.

Isn't LR also capable of doing some batch processing i.e. you can define a process (like resize, sharpen, rotate, etc.) and apply it to a bunch of photos??

5uspect

coylemj wrote: »

I believe the OP asked for an answer in 'plain English'.

Sometimes an illustrative analogy is a good way of getting a point across.

mumof2

CabanSail wrote: »

Moved to Digital Darkroom.

Lightroom is a single layer editor whereas Photoshop is a Multi Layer editor.

So sorry - thank you for movig it. (I'm just having one of those days - the one where I should have stayed in bed I think:mad:).

mumof2

5uspect wrote: »

Lightroom is to a ford focus to what Photoshop is to a ford focus rally car.

Lightroom will get you down to the shop as will the the WRC car. The WRC car will cost you more and you can bring it off road for some fun etc. But if you're only interesting in going to the shop in your car you won't want the WRC Focus.

Ha ha, :pac:Thats plain English to me!!:D

Thank you all for your replies. I'm going to give Lightroom a try and see what happens.

5uspect

Don't forget there are free alternatives.
Google's Picassa and The GIMP are fine programs that come somewhat close to matching Lightroom and Photoshop.