Comparing Lightroom and Photoshop Elements

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Nice write-up by the folks at PhotographyLife.com. A lot of people ask about which software they should buy and this write-up does a great job pointing at the strengths and uses of each. There's also a comparison of PS and PSE on the site which drills down nicely into whether or not you need to go with full-blown Photoshop. So before you go posting another thread about "Which one should I use?", read these blogs, because I'm just going to point you to them. LOL

Lightroom vs Photoshop Elements
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Nice write-up by the folks at PhotographyLife.com. A lot of people ask about which software they should buy and this write-up does a great job pointing at the strengths and uses of each. There's also a comparison of PS and PSE on the site which drills down nicely into whether or not you need to go with full-blown Photoshop. So before you go posting another thread about "Which one should I use?", read these blogs, because I'm just going to point you to them. LOL

Lightroom vs Photoshop Elements

That is a very good article Jake, Thanks for sharing!

Pat in NH
 

N_Addy

Senior Member
Good article. Maybe someone should sticky this. It is a very common question on every photography forum.

And I'm glad they included the link to the LR vs PS article. That's another common question. For your average photographer (like myself) buying Photoshop is really overkill. It's kinda like driving a Ferrari through the drive-in window at McDonalds.
 

geralph

Senior Member
Very timely! I've been struggling through our vacation pictures, and was wondering if there were any options for editing groups of RAW files. Thanks for sharing.
 

Jeff_J

Senior Member
This was some good reading. It really helped. I was so convinced that I should jump on the LR & PS offer at $9.99, but this really help. I had already downloaded the Elements trial and it seems to do what I need and this article helped with my decision. Thanks for the post.
 

TonyD315

Senior Member
Nice write-up by the folks at PhotographyLife.com. A lot of people ask about which software they should buy and this write-up does a great job pointing at the strengths and uses of each. There's also a comparison of PS and PSE on the site which drills down nicely into whether or not you need to go with full-blown Photoshop. So before you go posting another thread about "Which one should I use?", read these blogs, because I'm just going to point you to them. LOL

Lightroom vs Photoshop Elements

I read this article a few months ago and it helped me to make the decision to move to Lightroom. I've read a lot of the articles on that site, there is a ton of good information there.
 

Janey

Senior Member
Brilliant my Birthday is coming and I was wondering whether to ask hubby to get me updated elements. (I'm currently using version 6 which doesn't recognise the RAW files generated by my d300) or to go for lightroom. To be honest I was going to ask for advice! No need I think I'll just get him to get me Lightroom :) Thank you that was realy helpfull!
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Article is not dated, but one serious thing wrong with the articles comparison is that it keeps talking about Photoshop 5.5 back in 1999, and dwelling on about how it works on one file at at time, and keeps mentioning multiple times how Lightroom works on many Raw files at one time. Apparently they have never seen a newer version of Photoshop.

It is the same Raw module in both (in all three actually), and does the same things (Elements does omit most of the Raw tool tabs except Basics). But specifically, from PS Bridge (and I think from Elements Organizer), you can open hundreds of Raw files at once. Same advantage that way as Lightroom catalog. It is the SAME Raw module.

Probably a moot point since the $640 vs $150 price will decide for most, but...

Strongly questionable statements like these quotes from the article:

Before I started using Lightroom, Photoshop CS5 was my main program for editing numerous RAW images and I must say, it took me ages to finish a wedding. With Lightroom, I can do it in a few hours and with fewer mistakes because of the non-destructive processing and Catalog system. (PS ACR is every bit as non-destructive, and every bit as fast on multiple files. It is the same Raw module.)

On the other hand, PSE offers some basic Catalog and Organizer functions, and in that way it is again similar to Lightroom. (And Photoshop does not? They never heard of Bridge? :) )

Photoshop Elements is much less complicated than Photoshop and thus quicker to use with fewer tools and fast operation. However, it’s still just as inconvenient when working with a large number of images, especially RAW, simultaneously. (absolute nonsense, they ought to try PS ACR once - it is the same module.)

Photoshop is still better for extensive professional retouching, excellent plugin system for third party applications, manipulation and graphical work, while Lightroom is much better for RAW files and processing large number of images quickly. (absolute nonsense)

The main purpose of Lightroom is to help you manage, sort and post-process huge numbers of photographs as quickly as possible. (PS ACR is the same thing, and does the same thing.)

Adobe Photoshop – complex image and graphics editing software package designed for editing one file at a time. Mainly targeted at graphic artists. (one file is simply not true of PS ACR... it is the same as in Lightroom)


I really don't think they have a clue how Photoshop ACR works (I am referring to at least PS CS4, CS5, and CS6)


 

WayneF

Senior Member
If anyone has never seen ACR (Adobe Camera Raw), there is (IMO) a good look at it in the video at Why shoot Raw?

That is Photoshop CS6, but it is the same ACR module in Lightroom and Elements (Elements does omit most of the tool tabs except basics, but it does the basics.)
 
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Welshy74

Senior Member
They have a student/teacher version of Lightroom over here in the UK does anyone know if its different from the normal one as it doesnt say on the site???
 

J-see

Senior Member
As far as I know there is no difference between the normal and student/teacher version. You normally have to "prove" you're in that category to get the discount. It's "hook them when they're young" marketing.
 

brads

Senior Member
I can't see that anyone has brought up the question of "what you're used to". It's taken me a long time to learn Photoshop and Photoshop Elements/Layers/Shortcuts/Brushes etc and I wonder if people, like myself, took a look at the other choices and decided that it was just too much work to change. PSE does virtually everything I need and for the price, is difficult to beat. IMHO.
 
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LouCioccio

Senior Member
I have been using alternatives to Photoshop and Elements this past year. Here is scanned 120 neg from about 1972 and the screen shot. I can use most NOT ALL plugins Topaz and NIK work well with Affinity by Serif. Price wise compared to Elements is competitive.
You can see the layers and mask is similar to Photoshop and here is the drop down menu. The Macphun (if you are a mac user) hangs. They have a Windows version of Affinity.
Lou Cioccio
Screen Shot 2016-12-22 at 11.41.08 AM.jpg
 
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