What do you use for post processing, LightRoom or CameraRaw?

Hey All!

A newbie here with a question for the pros and whoever know's better than me. I realized that lot of people, even if they have CS5 Extended, they still use LightRoom for post processing.

WHY?

As far as I know Camera Raw can do exactly the same as LightRoom plus all the good stuff that Photoshop CS5 offer.

Lightroom is for those who have a fast workflow needs i.e. those who have a deadline e.g. magazine based photographers. CS5 are not for those is dire need i.e. no deadline worries

That pretty much sums it up. Just gonna add LR is best for doing mass edits. It is very easy to open an image in PS if additional edits are required and when you save it creates a TIFF file which is stored beside the original RAW file in LR.

Thank you guys.

I used Photoshop and Camera Raw for years and never felt I needed anything that Lightroom would offer. When Lightroom 4 came out at half price I figured it was worth checking it out. I haven't opened a photo with Raw since. The workflow just makes things more streamlined and there are tools in the develop module that are not in Raw such as gradient, spot heal and adjustment brush.

Bob

The only thing that turned me off LR while I was playing with the trial a few years back is there is no visual reference when output sharpening when exporting. I could not deal with it. I work around that now.

Lightroom 90% of the time and I do all of my tweaking in PS5. I never use camera raw. LR has more options and it's effective and efficient for me because I use RPG speed keys for wedding post processing

I want to like Lightroom...I really do! But I guess Im just so used to the ACR interface.

To me Lightroom just seems like a pretty interface for ACR....But with the buttons in all different places.

I only use it for mass edits when I need to move fast. Outside of that I use ACR or DPP depending on my mood.

Bridge/ACR for me.

PS7 with a RAW processor.

Eric, this kind of question gets asked and hashed out on a weekly basis here!

In a nutshell Lightroom was developed by photographers for providing an integrated interface for the photographers' workflow, built around the Raw processor that it shares with Adobe Camera Raw.

Lightroom is about the workflow, integrating good tools for Digital Asset Management (DAM), organizational tools that are key to understanting and using LR, and great output tools, all built in to the integrated interface. It's a totally different workflow from the Bridge/ACR/Photoshop workflow where the different tools/capabilities are basically "add-ons" rather than being so "integrated".

But, obiously, if you need the capabilities of the Photoshop image editor, then even if you have and use Lightroom you will want Photoshop or say Photoshop Elements or another image editor close at hand.

But, Lightroom doesn't by any means appeal to everyone! If you have a good Raw processor, and you are happy with your current workflow, don't worry, be happy! Hey, I remember that song!

And, take your time! Do some reading about things like DAM and the "Raw workflow". Spend time here, reading relevant posts as they come up and reading the "stickies" -- the Lightroom Sticky thread, for example, has a ton of useful info and it keeps being supplemented.

Also non destructive editing in LR. You can do so much more without affecting the original RAW file before you have to convert to TIFF or JPG and send it into photoshop.

RoadPhotog wrote in post #14411189
Also non destructive editing in LR. You can do so much more without affecting the original RAW file before you have to convert to TIFF or JPG and send it into photoshop.

Camera Raw has the same "engine", including the non-destructive editing.

Hot Bob wrote in post #14409572
I used Photoshop and Camera Raw for years and never felt I needed anything that Lightroom would offer. When Lightroom 4 came out at half price I figured it was worth checking it out. I haven't opened a photo with Raw since. The workflow just makes things more streamlined and there are tools in the develop module that are not in Raw such as gradient, spot heal and adjustment brush.

Bob

I'm curious about your statement in bold there. Are you sure that the newer versions of ACR don't have all those things?

My older version (CS3) does have the spot healing and cloning -- they are in the "Retouch Tool" which is in the upper toolbar (hot key "B"). I'm wondering if the other tools (Gradient and adjustment brushes) might be up there as well? Can someone post a screen shot of the ACR upper toolbar from CS5/CS6, or at least verify what is there compared to LR and what is not?