Hi,
LR will not work if you need pixel level edits. The way LR works you just save processing instructions. So what you do is, you have an original file and an XMP file describing what you do that files. There are a couple of benefits. Here are some:
- The instructions are sort of a stack, you can change any at any time without redoing the rest
- The instructions are executed in an optimal order (according to Adobe's views)
- The files are kept as raw or DNG, keeping them small
- If a new raw conversion is developed, you can reuse it your images without much effort
No, I don't say that everyone should use Lightroom, but it is a very different philosophy than Photoshop.
Best regards
Erik
the consensus from a variety of sources was summed up by Rob C rather well...if you can't work in layers, what's the point? I appreciate everyone's input and while I realize many use LR, like Russ, fo rme it is simply a storage system for my files...an even in that, I find Bridge to be its equal.