What version of LightRoom to get for my particular needs?

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I finally got a computer that should be fast enough to run LightRoom! Most of you here on POTN seem to be quite familiar with LightRoom, so I thought I would call on your knowledge for help. I need to know what version would best suit my particular needs........which are:

1: . I really don't ever want to get pushed into paying any kind of monthly fee (no "Creative Cloud", whatever that is)

2: . I also don't want to rely on an internet connection to access and use Lightroom. I often go 5-8 weeks with no internet connection at all, and need to be able to edit photos during those times. I am curious, how does that cloud thing ever work if you do not have your computer hooked up to the internet for months on end??? It seems to me like Adobe is forcing people to have an internet connection whether they want one or not.

3: . I need to be able to make selective adjustments. For example, I need to be able to pick an area of a photo (such as a bird's eye) and sharpen only that area, leaving the rest of the image unsharpened and unchanged. The same thing with white balance adjusments, exposure adjustments, etc, etc, etc. I do/did have an older version of LR, and when people tried to help me figure out how to use it, every time I wanted to do something, they kept saying, "this version can't do that." Universal adjustments are not helpful to me; I can already do those with iPhoto.

4: . I need to be able to add canvas and perform cloning to the added area, so that I can "fix" images that I composed too tightly. An really good example of what I need to be able to do can be seen here: https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=F46l3Qq1j-4 . I am not sure if he is using LightRoom for that or not - I don't think he ever says.

5: . I want a version that is capable of downloading and processing RAW images from Canon's newest prosumer DSLRs, as I will most likely buy a 7D2 or 5D3 within the next year or three, and do not want to be stuck with a program (version) that can't read those RAW files.

I am really, really hoping that need #1 and need #5 are not mutually exclusive.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17735310
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I finally got a computer that should be fast enough to run LightRoom! Most of you here on POTN seem to be quite familiar with LightRoom, so I thought I would call on your knowledge for help. I need to know what version would best suit my particular needs........which are:

1: . I really don't ever want to get pushed into paying any kind of monthly fee (no "Creative Cloud", whatever that is)

2: . I also don't want to rely on an internet connection to access and use Lightroom. I often go 5-8 weeks with no internet connection at all, and need to be able to edit photos during those times. I am curious, how does that cloud thing ever work if you do not have your computer hooked up to the internet for months on end??? It seems to me like Adobe is forcing people to have an internet connection whether they want one or not.

3: . I need to be able to make selective adjustments. For example, I need to be able to pick an area of a photo (such as a bird's eye) and sharpen only that area, leaving the rest of the image unsharpened and unchanged. The same thing with white balance adjusments, exposure adjustments, etc, etc, etc. I do/did have an older version of LR, and when people tried to help me figure out how to use it, every time I wanted to do something, they kept saying, "this version can't do that." Universal adjustments are not helpful to me; I can already do those with iPhoto.

4: . I need to be able to add canvas and perform cloning to the added area, so that I can "fix" images that I composed too tightly. An really good example of what I need to be able to do can be seen here: https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=F46l3Qq1j-4 . I am not sure if he is using LightRoom for that or not - I don't think he ever says.

5: . I want a version that is capable of downloading and processing RAW images from Canon's newest prosumer DSLRs, as I will most likely buy a 7D2 or 5D3 within the next year or three, and do not want to be stuck with a program (version) that can't read those RAW files.

I am really, really hoping that need #1 and need #5 are not mutually exclusive.

Lightroom is still available as stand alone software. I recently upgraded from Lr4 to Lr6 (the current version) Lr six should give you just about everything you need. As far as adding "canvas" that you can then edit (I'm imagine you mean something similar to the process of duplicating the edges of an image for a gallery wrap) that's going to be a Ps thing.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #17735316
Lightroom is still available as stand alone software. I recently upgraded from Lr4 to Lr6 (the current version) Lr six should give you just about everything you need.

Ok, but....can't that lead to some real serious problems?
http://www.naturescape​s.net …iewtopic.php?f=​2&t=258330
Personally, if I had the problem that the OP of that thread had, I would never figure it out. I would probably end up ditching LightRoom altogether and just go back to iPhoto if something like that ever happened to me. I don't have the ability to focus/concentrate long enough to get something like that solved.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #17735316
As far as adding "canvas" that you can then edit (I'm imagine you mean something similar to the process of duplicating the edges of an image for a gallery wrap) that's going to be a PS thing.

So then this was not LightRoom that he is using?
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=F46l3Qq1j-4

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17735334
Ok, but....can't that lead to some real serious problems?
http://www.naturescape​s.net …iewtopic.php?f=​2&t=258330
Personally, if I had the problem that the OP of that thread had, I would never figure it out. I would probably end up ditching LightRoom altogether and just go back to iPhoto if something like that ever happened to me. I don't have the ability to focus/concentrate long enough to get something like that solved.


So then this was not LightRoom that he is using?
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=F46l3Qq1j-4

It sounds like he saw the "Lightroom CC" in the license agreement and decided not to click on it. I'm not sure though, I've never had that issue. Granted I don't really read the fine print either. As far as what you're seeing in that tutorial, that is Ps CS6.

For the things like adding canvas you're going to need PS. I was pretty adamant against paying any subscription fee of any kind but now I'm on CC and quite enjoying it. I like that fact that LR and PS are included and I've even used Dreamweaver when I needed some HTML and CSS (I'm not a programmer at all). Also I've had to use Illustrator to work on vector based cards for clients.

It's a bit of a mindshift but keep in mind you get the latest features with CC as well such as dehaze (that maybe helpful with your wildlife work) which as far as I know isn't part of the stand alone version.

Ok. Does this CC stuff work if you don't have your editing computer hooked up to the internet?
(not that I ever want to pay $9 per month.......just curious)

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17735384
Ok. Does this CC stuff work if you don't have your editing computer hooked up to the internet?
(not that I ever want to pay $9 per month.......just curious)

I personally haven't taken the plunge, but as I've had it explained to me the computer doesn't need to be online every time you boot up the software. It does need occasional access to verify your account, but not every day. IIRC the time frame was something like once a month, but don't quote me on that.

5th question down. No you do not consistently. Only occasionally to check for updates.

http://www.adobe.com …eative-cloud-answers.html

Here is what Adobe say:

flowrider wrote in post #17735377
It's a bit of a mindshift but keep in mind you get the latest features with CC as well such as dehaze (that maybe helpful with your wildlife work) which as far as I know isn't part of the stand alone version.

Dehaze functionality can be easily added to the stand alone version, though.

Thank you for the info, Timothy and Steve - it is helpful.
Thanks, WD.

I use LR and find it to be very useful for practically all my post-processing needs. Unfortunately it won't add canvas, not even when rotating an image. Many apps will give you white wedges at the corners when you do that. Those white areas can then be filled by cloning from elsewhere. But LR forces you to crop, which in some cases loses parts of a pic that you would like to keep. For such cases, use PS as already mentioned, or Elements or Paint Shop Pro.

WishfulDoing wrote in post #17735403
Dehaze functionality can be easily added to the stand alone version, though.

How?

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17735310
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To answer your questions.

1. As far as I know, Lightroom 6 is still available as a standalone (pay once) product. Whether this will continue forever? Who knows, who can predict the future.

2. Has been answered. You don't HAVE to use the Cloud to store anything. If you're paying the subscription-based software, you only have to check in occasionally to ensure your subscription is current. (99 days or 30 days)

3. Yes, you can make local adjustments. The local adjustment brush has gotten more and more powerful with each version of Lightroom. Like any tool, it has a little bit of a learning curve. I use the adjustment brush a LOT, and will be happy to discuss it briefly or at length. You can also see any of my posts in the "Show your RAW conversions" thread.

4. Lightroom won't do this, not yet anyway. The latest version has a rudimentary pano stitch, but that's not really what you're looking for.

5. Right now, the standalone LR6 should support all available cameras. However, past standalone versions don't support the newest cameras. This leads me to believe that EVENTUALLY, LR6 won't support the newest cameras that are released in 2019 or whenever. To follow that line of thinking: If, one day, they discontinue the standalone version in favor of JUST a subscription-based version, it's possible that you'll never have a standalone version that supports the new camera you buy in the year 2025.

*. For now, #1 and #5 are NOT mutually exclusive. This may change in the future.


I guess my advice would be to go into it with as much of an open mind as you can muster. There is a bit of a learning curve and a new mindset, so don't get frustrated and throw in the towel after 20 minutes.

Allow Lightroom to help you at the things it does best (importing, organizing, and publishing your files) - don't fight against it when it comes to these things. Allow it to have a little control, or it'll be more of a struggle than necessary.

Remember that it manages your whole library of images - you don't have to open, edit, resize, and save every individual file. You can see and touch and arrange all of them at once, or whatever subset of those you like (folder, collection, date, etc). Conceptually, this might be easier for you (coming from iPhoto), than for someone who is coming from JUST Photoshop or Elements.

There are free basic training videos on http://tv.adobe.com/pr​oduct/lightroom/ and lots of great in-depth training videos (but not free) on lynda.com - of course, if you're without an internet connection for a while, these might not be as useful to you.

It's been a long time (5 years maybe) since i used iPhoto, but I think there are some tools out there that will help you migrate from iPhoto to Lightroom. I can't recommend any specifically.

Archibald wrote in post #17735434


How?

Adding 'Dehaze' to Lightroom 6 can be done either by installing presets (Google them, if you want), or Cut through the fog's plugin for 6.1/6.1.1 (which I like).