Lightroom as a replacement of iPhoto?

[MarkoMijailovic]

I've been, stupidly, using iPhoto ever since I got my iMac in late 2009. I say stupidly, because I never really knew anything about which formats to save as, how to store my files, etc. iPhoto only would let me export jpegs, while the whole time I was shooting RAW on my camera and importing it as nothing more than a jpeg- what a joke, on my part! Silly me. Well, I've learned what's 'right' now, just this past week, and I'm looking to do a complete system revamp. Went and put all 800 gigs of photos onto a quality external yesterday and now am looking to upgrade to a better photo management program that'll let me tweak more and actually use the files as they meant to be used. From what I've read, LR is great for this type of thing. I just want something that I can import all my photos to straight after a shoot that will archive them and I'll be able to do whatever I want with the files, in whichever way I want. Is LR what I need? Also, how does it work with LR4 do I just use it as beta now and just buy it when it becomes fully 'ready'?

[W.T. Jones]

Marko,

Lightroom is first & foremost a data base that points the user to where the images are stored & keeps them organized Like a card file in a library. It also allows us to process raw images, do basic & some advanced edits parametrically. i.e. non destructive. As well as print, make web galleries. You can also export to edit in a pixel editor such as Photoshop & save that edited file in the Lightroom database. It really is a powerful management tool for photos. Lightroom will do what you require. Anything you do in beta should upgrade to the final version. However I would not make your permanent catalog from the beta just in case something changes drastically.  

If you are having trouble with the concept of the data base, (I suggest before setting up a permanent system) purchasing Micheal & Seth Resinicks excellent video "Where The $#%@ Are My Pictures" from the lula store. It will explain in detail how the system works and Seth makes a good and logical case for his method of using the data base. You can tweak as required to suite your needs of course. The video is a bit dated in some aspects as they used LR2. some things have changed as far as user interface goes, but the principle still holds.

Also Mike & Jeff Shewe have their popular light room videos here as well. They do a supurb job in explaining how the Lightroom program works and you will learn a lot of information. Both videos are worth the price you pay as far as I am concerned especially if you are new to lightroom. A new LR4 video is being shot now according to the forums.

When I first bought light room I did not know about LULA, I struggled a bit with it at first. But I realized right off that printing from Lightroom was brilliant. That was LR2. It is way better now. After I found this website & forum. I bought the LR2 tutorial & then began to realize just how powerful the program is.

Learn how the data base works & it will be your friend. With proper file management, key wording etc.. You can find stuff real fast. Oh yeah  don't forget to keep an offline back up!

[wolfnowl]

Lightroom will definitely do what you need.  If you've not used LR before, you'd probably be best with LR 3.6 at this point as it's a fully-developed program.  Adobe put out LR4 Beta to the public to find bugs and make suggestions for improvement.  O'course if you buy LR3 now you'll have to upgrade in a month or two.  If you wish, you could wait.  Or you could download LR 3.6 and try it free for 30 days.  That will take you to the beginning of March at least and LR4 might be available by then.

Mike.

[francois]

I would just add that once you have Lightroom on your computer, spend some time in the Library module and don't jump immediately (like many) into the Develop module. Knowing how the Library module works makes the experience much more enjoyable.

[Chairman Bill]

Before buying Lightroom, check out the price of Aperture 3  - about £55 / $80, whereas Lightroom 3 is £118 / $150, and that's a discounted price on Lightroom. Both very similar offerings in terms of what they do.

[francois]

Before buying Lightroom, check out the price of Aperture 3  - about £55 / $80, whereas Lightroom 3 is £118 / $150, and that's a discounted price on Lightroom. Both very similar offerings in terms of what they do.

Both Lightroom and Aperture are available as demo software so, you're right, testing both is a wise move before deciding.

[dreed]

I would just add that once you have Lightroom on your computer, spend some time in the Library module and don't jump immediately (like many) into the Develop module. Knowing how the Library module works makes the experience much more enjoyable.

I'll chip in here and add to what others have said - that is the Library is perhaps the "killer feature" in LR. You can do image editing in raw or jpeg in many other applications, but things like CaptureOne and DPP do not have LR's Library.

[jalcocer]

+1 on testing both softwares (lightroom and aperture), aperture is really full of features at a very low price and will mantain the user interface you are familiar with, lightroom is also a very good choice so you should try them both.

[Gerry Walden]

I would concur that Aperture 3 is the logical way to jump. It is a very good program indeed, and will import your iPhoto catalogue in a form that you will instantly find natural to you - and at the price, well it is very good value. (There is an upgrade due soon, and someone has suggested the date will be 14 Feb)

Gerry