Photoshop CC and PSE 11 To-gether

Lawrence

Senior Member
I have PSE 11 which I have been using as my default processing software but I have just bought Photoshop CC and LightRoom

Can they all three work together?
Is it worth keeping PSE 11?
How do I link them up?

I have read people process in Adobe Camera Raw, then use photoshop and finish off in Lightroom.

Please point me to where I can learn how to seamlessly do all this stuff. In the meanwhile I ….

press on with learning the individual components. :cool:
 

Vixen

Senior Member
These days since learning how to use PS, it and Adobe Bridge (for viewing and organising) are all I use. I have the Nik package linked to PS and find it covers all I need at the moment :D
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
I also have the LR and PSCC bundle, and the Nik Collection. I process in LR first, then if it needs that little extra oomf, I'll do a little more PP in Nik. Photoshop just sits there not being used. I get a headache trying to figure it out.:(
 

Deleted

Senior Member
I find that PS works much the same way as PSE, if you can find your way around PSE, PS is not so much of a jump. I uninstalled PSE after buying PS/LR.
 

J-see

Senior Member
I can't speak about PSE but LR and PS work well together.

I basically start out on LR and do the required tweaking, then from LR export the image to PS to do my sharpening (and if required some PS magic), save it there and continue in LR to finish the image.

It works like a charm.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
If you're on Adobe CC then I suggest the following workflow...

Use Adobe Bridge to import your photos to your hard drive while simultaneously renaming them. Use Review Mode to cull your shots then do any tagging etc. you want done. Still using Bridge, open the shot you want to work on using the "Open in Photoshop" option (the file will actually open in Adobe Camera RAW by default). Do your basic edits in ACR, click "Done" and the file automatically opens in Photoshop. Do your final edits, Save As and you're done.

....
 

wornish

Senior Member
Is Adobe Bridge available free as part of the photography package on CC ?

and doesn't it duplicate the LR catalogue function eating up more disk space ?

I have never used it. Am I missing out on a simpler process?
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Is Adobe Bridge available free as part of the photography package on CC ?

and doesn't it duplicate the LR catalogue function eating up more disk space ?

I have never used it. Am I missing out on a simpler process?
Yes, Bridge is part of the CC Photography Package.

I don't know if it duplicates the LR catalog function or not, though, because I've not really ever used LR specifically because I don't want it cataloging my photos for me; I have a system in place for that and I don't really like how LR handles that aspect.

Disk space is not really a concern for me and the apps, really, aren't that large.

I don't know if you're missing anything or not but I see LR and PS as two very different things. Speaking just for myself, I wouldn't use both LR and PS, I would use LR *or* I would use Bridge, ACR, PS... I've pretty much been a Photoshop guy from the start so the Bridge to ACR to Photoshop workflow is one I learned early on. I find it very flexible, very powerful and very intuitive... At least once you sort learn how to think like Adobe.

Bride was designed to integrate with Photoshop so I'm not sure it would the best choice for a Lightroom user but then, that's my way of thinking about workflow. Some people do the LR to PS workflow and that works for them.

....
 
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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
To the original question, if you have CC 2014 there's nothing in PSE 11 (or any other version) that isn't available in the CC offering, so no, you don't need it unless you want to know what you can and cannot do with Elements when helping someone else.

As for workflow, all I can say is that I know Bridge has its proponents, particularly because it comes with Photoshop and isn't a separate piece of software, but you'll never get me to switch to it from Lightroom. I'm unaware of any significant part of a workflow that Bridge does that Lightroom cannot do, while there are many things you can do in Lightroom that you cannot do in Bridge alone, and some that you cannot do with Bridge + Photoshop. It's the one piece of software that is currently indispensable in my workflow.
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
To the original question, if you have CC 2014 there's nothing in PSE 11 (or any other version) that isn't available in the CC offering, so no, you don't need it unless you want to know what you can and cannot do with Elements when helping someone else.

As for workflow, all I can say is that I know Bridge has its proponents, particularly because it comes with Photoshop and isn't a separate piece of software, but you'll never get me to switch to it from Lightroom. I'm unaware of any significant part of a workflow that Bridge does that Lightroom cannot do, while there are many things you can do in Lightroom that you cannot do in Bridge alone, and some that you cannot do with Bridge + Photoshop. It's the one piece of software that is currently indispensable in my workflow.

Jake I am definitely leaning this way.
From what I have seen and read Lightroom's cataloguing is awesome (not to say that bridge isn't) and I think I want to use this as my default for strong, tagging etc.

And photoshop CC camera RAW is soooooo much more powerful than PSE 11 that after 1 day with it I will never be without it.

So your workflow:
1. Download photos to LR and rename, cull, tag etc.?
2. Open in PS ACR and process?
3. Then what - export to LR to finish or continue in PS CC and then to LR to finish off and catalogue?
4. And finally does either one act as a plug-in for the other?

I will be playing around again today with them and may find my own answers but input from you and others is always much appreciated.
 

wornish

Senior Member
I use. LR and PS.
Workflow
1. Download photos to LR , rename cull, tag etc
2. In LR select photo switch to Develop tab.
3. Process as much or little as require apply lens correction then crop switch to Edit in PS ONLY if special heavy duty editing required.
4. Export to JPEG including final sharpening using your custom saved presets.

thats it.
 

traceyjj

Senior Member
I am just in the process of moving all my photos to my new external hard drive and will be "starting over" cataloging/tagging etc (as I have never really paid much attention to this in the past :( ) This thread is of great interest to me to see how others work with the software. (been using Elements editor since an open university course in 2007, and never really looked into anything else - old dog, new tricks and all that!)
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
I use. LR and PS.
Workflow
1. Download photos to LR , rename cull, tag etc
2. In LR select photo switch to Develop tab.
3. Process as much or little as require apply lens correction then crop switch to Edit in PS ONLY if special heavy duty editing required.
4. Export to JPEG including final sharpening using your custom saved presets.

thats it.

Dave @wornish do you not use Camera Raw at all?
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
I am just in the process of moving all my photos to my new external hard drive and will be "starting over" cataloging/tagging etc (as I have never really paid much attention to this in the past :( ) This thread is of great interest to me to see how others work with the software. (been using Elements editor since an open university course in 2007, and never really looked into anything else - old dog, new tricks and all that!)

I'm in the same boat @traceyjj have taken over 8000 (mostly crap photos) in my 365 and they are not sorted other than in date format. Intend going through and expect to cull about 7995 of them. With new photos I want to tag and catalogue as they happen.

Just trying to work out what is best.
 

wornish

Senior Member
Dave @wornish do you not use Camera Raw at all?

Lightroom actually uses Camera Raw for all its editing functions it just hides it under a slightly different user interface. Its totally non destructive and you can back out to where you started from.

If I switch to PS then camera raw opens in its own interface automatically as well before you open in full PS.
 
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Lawrence

Senior Member
Lightroom actually uses Camera Raw for all its editing functions it just hides it under a slightly different user interface. Its totally non destructive and you can back out to where you started from.

If I switch to PS then camera raw opens in its own interface automatically as well before you open in full PS.

Didn't know that - I learn something new everyday.
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
I have another question to go with this thread.

At the moment I extract or download my NEF files using ViewNX2 into a folder on my desktop with the days date as it's name.

After closing ViewNX@ I right click on the image I want to process and open with "Adobe Photoshop Elements 11"
I then go through my old processing system (the one I am trying to improve on) and then save the end jpegs (always 2 - one with and one without the watermark) back in the date folder it came from on my desktop.

There seems to be at least one step too many and about 4 too few in that process. Let me explain.

1. There must be a quicker way to circumvent the desktop folder and put the files straight into LightRoom from ViewNX2 - possible saving of 1 step.

2. I am not saving the layers and any preset steps in case I ever want to come back and change something without starting all over. Definitely a few steps missing there.

Any and all advice appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
I'm not succeeding in getting the NEF files to open in ACR in Photoshop CC.
I now have them downloading straight to LR from the SD card but from there if I try to open them in Photoshop CC they go to the main editor and not ACR.
What am I doing wrong?
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I'm not succeeding in getting the NEF files to open in ACR in Photoshop CC.
I now have them downloading straight to LR from the SD card but from there if I try to open them in Photoshop CC they go to the main editor and not ACR.
What am I doing wrong?

Lightroom is doing all the ACR work, so ACR is out of the equation when you start in LR. It's only when you try to open a NEF file in PS that the file will first be editable in ACR before you get to open it in PS CC.

Most of what photoshop does can be done in Lr. Except some cloning and a few things. But for the most shots, you can do a lot of pictures without even using Ps.
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
Lightroom is doing all the ACR work, so ACR is out of the equation when you start in LR. It's only when you try to open a NEF file in PS that the file will first be editable in ACR before you get to open it in PS CC.

Most of what photoshop does can be done in Lr. Except some cloning and a few things. But for the most shots, you can do a lot of pictures without even using Ps.

Thanks for that reply Marcel.
I thought I had read somewhere that people are using LR to catalogue, then switching to LR to process with the bulk of that processing done in ACR before reverting back to LR for final touches.

If they don't work together this way I don't understand why Adobe have sold the two (PS CC and LR) as a bundle … it doesn't make sense to me.

I watched a video yesterday on how to use ACR in Photoshop and it was (to me) absolutely mind blowing and a must have. Unfortunately the video comes with a magazine and not rue if it is on you tube. Will go look.
 
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