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Author Topic: Lightroom for a Non-Pro?  (Read 3691 times)

markpsf

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« on: February 10, 2007, 11:51:39 am »

Baseline info:

I'm about to move up to a digital SLR.
I don't shoot thousands of photos a year. I shoot batches of 30-60 and then around 300-500 a few times a year when traveling.
I've been using Elements 4 on my iMac for basic retouching, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, and some occasional work with RAW (special photos).
I do a lousy job of organizing files of photos. I'd like to do better

I can get Lightroom very inexpensively (university store plus additional discount).
But what would the advantage be? Would it replace Elements 4 in my use? Would it provide a better, broader, and more integrated program? Any other thoughts re other programs I should consider?

Thanks.

Mark
« Last Edit: February 10, 2007, 03:07:01 pm by markpsf »
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seanmcfoto

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2007, 11:56:01 pm »

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But what would the advantage be? Would it replace Elements 4 in my use? Would it provide a better, broader, and more integrated program? Any other thoughts re other programs I should consider?

Thanks.

Mark
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Mark,
It would certainly help in your organisation, but you would use it in conjunction with PSE, not as a replacement. As you can get it cheap, I'd say it would be hard for you to beat the mix of LR and PSE for your work.
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Sean McCormack
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markpsf

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2007, 01:28:00 am »

Well then the other question is, if I used Aperture could I do it all with one program?

Mark
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john beardsworth

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2007, 04:13:45 am »

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Well then the other question is, if I used Aperture could I do it all with one program?

Mark
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Depends what "it all" is. Neither is a panacea - LR v1 will have a 30 day trial, as does Aperture. You may as well try them both.

Maybe the best advice is to wait until you have your DSLR and have been using it for a few weeks. Then you'll be able to assess these programs' features and how they fit your shooting style.

John
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judyn

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2007, 01:42:46 pm »

Elements 5 has an Organizer which may be satisfactory for you.  I never used 4 but doesn't it have an Organizer too?  I decided after a few weeks of Elements 5 to switch to Lightroom because although I'm an amateur, I do have lots of photos from a lifetime of travel.  I felt that Lightroom is more likely to be able to handle the volume of photos I have and it has much more flexibility for organizing because it supports many more metadata fields.  I didn't care for just using tags and captions for my organizational requirements.
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davaglo

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2007, 06:15:25 pm »

I use Elements 4 and Lightroom. I purchased Lightroom for organization, Curves, upgraded camera raw and future modules. I'm an amature and really don't need all of the stuff in in Photoshop. I received Lightroom on the 23rd and have been having a great time using the develope module.

Jerry
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jrg

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Lightroom for a Non-Pro?
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2007, 07:10:00 pm »

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Well then the other question is, if I used Aperture could I do it all with one program?

Mark
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LR and Aperture perform quite similar roles.  LR is modal -- there are certain screens and areas for doing certain things (e.g. you can only do the heavy lifting for editing in the develop pane).  Aperture is decidedly *non* modal -- you can pop up the editing HUD and edit a photo *anywhere* -- even on a screen where you're looking at the web page output.  Some people prefer one way of working, some another.

But both LR and Aperture do organization, the enable rapid editing and culling of images, along with quickly finding "selects," etc.  But neither has the editing power of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop.  But for many people, what they offer is sufficient.

Best advice I can give is to try them out and see how they work for you.  Both products have 30-day free trials.  If you're on a Mac you have the luxury of using either.  If you're stuck with a PC, well then you have but Lightroom as an option.
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