Installed a trial version of lightroom, and still struggling to find my way with it.
I don't want to copy all my pics on the laptop to be able to work with them,
opening a picture in lightroom seems quite a hassle and it offers nothing over photoshop camera RAW, seriously considering uninstalling the trial and forgetting all about lightrrom, unless you have reasons why I should stick with it
I sometimes sound as impatient as you, toni-a, so the advice is, if you're not willing to learn about the use of it, you should uninstall.
I don't k now any of those Digital Assessment Managing softwares which would be easy to use after a couple of hours. All of them do need learning efforts, at least understanding:
which is the file management part?
which is the editing part and what can you do with it?
which is the output part?
There's a lot more, Lightroom and it's colleagues can do with picture management than old photoshop ever can. But if you're going to make massive edits, composings, HDR, panoramas then old photoshop has still a right to remain on HD. Otherwise I don't need PS - and I'm only using Aperture, which is more or less doing the same things as LR.
I tried it on and off in the past and never got on with it either. I guess we should separate out the two major functions as far as I'm concerned: file management and editing. On the latter, it is as far as I'm concerned just a variation of ACR so nothing special. The file management side I can't really comment on, as it is one of those things you need to fully embrace to make use of. You can't really experiment with it a bit. Like any software, it will suit some people and uses more than others.
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You confirm what I thought, I am unistalling it
Lightroom is the best thing since sliced bread. It took me a very long time to get on top of it but now I don't use programs such as Capture NX and Aperture.
I still use Photoshop from time to time but the two products are very different, and directly comparing one to the other is the wrong approach.
Sure, you can do most of the editing in ACR but it's designed so that you then have to work further on it in PS. With LR you have far more options especially if you've just done a shoot where your have several hundreds or even thousands of shots to sort through. You can quickly cull say 90%, and use the same settings, sync them and put them all in a collection or even several of collections. You just can't do this in PS.
And remember, it's only a small amount more than what you've already paid for PS.
As I said, LR and PS go hand in hand. One doesn't replace the other.
Stick with it for a couple of years and you'll see what I mean.
I find LR a pain the ar5e to use and I've had it for a long time. It is however very powerful. There is a learning curve so if you not patient then change but I think its worth the bother. Excellent tone-mapping
sorry...
and image editing features, plug-ins etc
I'm very surprised to read that so many of you guys struggle or struggled with it. But perhaps I find it easy after using it since 1.0 ?
I don't know what's so hard about it : you need only two modules to get started : library which is nothing but a file explorer with tagging and develop which is ACR. It's just like a seamless million times more flexible Bridge + ACR combo, isn't it ?
Toni-a, I found that the official tutorial videos were quite well made and provided a quick start.
But I read that you uninstalled it already. I think it's a shame because it has a very powerful engine nowadays. You seem to have a rather negative and impatient approach to your return to photography...judging only by your latest posts. Why not trying it a little longer, watching a couple of tutorials ?
Usually, this kind of software becomes easier to use if one is familiar (in general) with databases and digital editing. And not each DAM-package was developed with a careful look for a smooth user experience. Although I like Capture One, it works with more edges and hooks compared to Aperture which might not be as powerful in editing, but still is the best in organizing a big lib.
To me.
Others will like other products. Each RAW-converter, especially the ones with a database/catalog structure to organize files, needs some or very much efforts to understand the usage - before you haven't learnt it, Toni-A, you can't judge it. And even if the concept is understood, I doubt that any of us are still working in the same organizing library structure as we did when we were fresh - but I don't want to conclude my own experiences for all.
Quote:Installed a trial version of lightroom, and still struggling to find my way with it.
I don't want to copy all my pics on the laptop to be able to work with them,
opening a picture in lightroom seems quite a hassle and it offers nothing over photoshop camera RAW, seriously considering uninstalling the trial and forgetting all about lightrrom, unless you have reasons why I should stick with it
I understand exactly how you feel toni-a because I felt the exact same way. I went through the built-in tutorial twice and I watched videos on Youtube and I still felt intimidated by the dark, strange menus in front of me. I just dropped it as I lost interest in using my Nikon D40 anyways. That was 2011.
Now I have an iMac and I've been using Aperture. I found it easy to use and operate and more friendly as well. I picked it up within minutes. I have gone back to Lightroom recently and I was surprised, I picked it up quickly, even though I think the interface is ugly and clunky in comparison. Maybe you're just not ready for Lightroom yet, as I was.
Lightroom isn't designed to open 1 picture, it's designed to handle hundreds, or thousands of pictures, edit and export them quickly and efficiently. In my opinion either Lightroom or Aperture are the 2 best programs for photographers today, pro and amateur. They are designed for getting the most out of your camera (raw photos) and making your pictures look their best without spending a lot of time editing.
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