LR newbie needs help

[pjsokal]

I searched for an answer but didn't come up with one.  I'm a long-term Photoshop user, using ACR to process raw files and could never get a handle on the LR workflow.  For me, it is totally counter intuitive.  I was interested to try LR 4 though and remain frustrated.  Is there a way to open a raw file from LR to edit in PS 5 AND maintain the edits made in LR, like you can do from ACR?  It seems you have to save first  ???as a non-raw file (TIF, PSD, etc) and then you're given the option, but I don't even see how you save a file as something other than the raw edit file you begin with.  There seems to be no save command on the file menu or a save button.  None of this would matter except that I think I prefer the way LR handles raw files compared to ACR, specifically highlight recovery.

[PeterAit]

With all due respect, this is one of the most fundamental things in LR and is covered in the help, in books, in tutorials, etc. You just right-click the image in LR, select Edit in, and Select PhotoShop. You can then choose to edit the image with or without any adjustments you have made in LR. Once you're done in PS, save the edited image - "Edit" is appended to the file name and the default format is TIFF. This edited image is automatically added to your LR catalog and you work on it further with LR tools, printing, exporting, etc.

The Lula video course on LR is well worth the cost.

[pjsokal]

Yes that would make complete sense except that isn't what was happening.  And that's what I did, exactly as described in the help manual, yet the files would open in PSCS5 without any of the LR edits that I made.  It is extremely frustrating.  And BTW, I'm not offended that you think I'm a moron, because I certainly could be, but I'm not.  I read thru the manual and searched other forums without an answer.  Maybe my copy has a bug.  I don't know.

[pjsokal]

Okay, now I think I'm onto something.  If the raw file was downloaded from the card using Bridge, then I edit in LR, and open in CS5, none of the LR edits appear.  If I download the original file using LR, the edits stick when an image is processed in CS5.  Is this the way it's supposed to work?  If so, that seems really idiotic.

[Chris_Brown]

You must import the images into LR and add them to the LR catalog file. Then LR "records" changes to the raw processing parameters, and saves them with the file. When you "Edit in Photoshop", then it applies the parameters and exports to PS in the file format you spec'd in your prefs.

(BTW, I'm a long-time Bridge/ACR user, too, and am still on the fence with respect to LR).

[pjsokal]

Thanks Chris.  That clears it up.  Seems like a really wasteful way of doing things though.  The thing that has always made LR useless to me is that it want's to superimpose a second file system on the perfectly good file system I have in Windows/Bridge.  There are enough complications in life I don't need to buy anymore.  At least they reduced the price 50% .

[Chris_Brown]

LR is designed for users who generate and catalog thousands of images. I'm still playing with it, but don't like how it manages its file system. I had a difficult time at first simply moving files around from within LR. In Bridge, it's so much easier and intuitive. In LR, if you move some files into a "watched" folder, you need to "synchronize" the folder. LR then "sees" the files and updates its catalog.

The upside to this is that its cache system and file records are more robust and stable. It supposedly has a robust rendering engine that provides full-resolution previews (based on parameter settings). It's not as fast as Capture One previews (which provide only screen-resolution previews).

Now that Adobe is releasing its new raw processing algorithms, ACR will have fundamental changes coming soon. Be prepared!

[kencameron]

Seems like a really wasteful way of doing things though.  The thing that has always made LR useless to me is that it want's to superimpose a second file system on the perfectly good file system I have in Windows/Bridge.  There are enough complications in life I don't need to buy anymore.  At least they reduced the price 50% .

I just had a go at doing things your way, as far as I could work it out - importing a file in Bridge before editing it in Lightroom, then going to Photoshop and so on. It seemed counterintuitive - or, to use your preferred language, "really idiotic" and "really wasteful". But I took my reactions to be evidence of my lack of familiarity with the products rather than of any defects in the products which, I am sure, work fine for people who, like you, have been using them for longer than 5 minutes. Lightroom is designed to import your images, then allow you to do most things you might want to do with them within the one product. Many users find that it simplifies their work flow rather than complicating it. It doesn't impose a second file system on the perfectly good file system you have in Windows. What it does is create a database which stores all your edits, keywords, etcetera - everything your have done to the files - while leaving the files themselves, and the way they are stored in Windows, untouched. I find that useful. Of course your YMMV - it seems that you have a well-tried workflow and no need of Lightroom. But that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with Lightroom.

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

If you have a compatible version of Camera Raw it will be used to make conversion when the file is opened. But once you edit an image on PS the parametric workflow is broken and you end up with a PSD or TIFF file.

ACR and Lightroom have the same raw processing pipeline, with user interface differences.

Best regards
Erik

I searched for an answer but didn't come up with one.  I'm a long-term Photoshop user, using ACR to process raw files and could never get a handle on the LR workflow.  For me, it is totally counter intuitive.  I was interested to try LR 4 though and remain frustrated.  Is there a way to open a raw file from LR to edit in PS 5 AND maintain the edits made in LR, like you can do from ACR?  It seems you have to save first  ???as a non-raw file (TIF, PSD, etc) and then you're given the option, but I don't even see how you save a file as something other than the raw edit file you begin with.  There seems to be no save command on the file menu or a save button.  None of this would matter except that I think I prefer the way LR handles raw files compared to ACR, specifically highlight recovery.