Lightroom catalog

[DMKAlex]

My understanding is, Lightroom keeps all the edit information inside the catalog, thus, the non-destructive edit.

I do all my edit with Photoshop and save the edited version separately. I have to resync the folder to import the edited version into Lightroom.

Is there any reason I need to maintain a catalog. I have been working with just the folders structure, which is identical to my HDD.

 

[dwight3]

...

Yes, I use Ctrl+E to edit the original file in Photoshop. When done, I Save As a copy in the subfolder of the original. I believe I have to resync the directory to import the newly edited version into LRC. Are you saying that it should be automatically recognized?

It will automatically recognize a "Save". That is different from a "Save as", which is dependent on a number of factors.

The Save will bring a new file back with an "Edit" attached to the name.

The suffix attached to the file name is something you can edit.

Preferences -> External Editing -> File Naming (at the bottom of the dialog. I add CC22 to the file name. That tells me which version of PS I used. I changed that when I first loaded the program, and don't remember what the default suffix was, but it could very well be 'Edit'.

The only thing I don't like about editing in PS instead of LR is that you don't save the history. Editing in LR gives you a history panel and you can go back to any point in that history. For that reason, I use LR for simple edits instead of PS.

I note that there is a way to save your edit history in PS, but it saves to an external file and I have not figured out a way to actually use it other than to read it (plain text) and try to repeat it.

 

[DMKAlex]

The following from an article summed it up well.

Conclusion

For most photographers, Lightroom is the better option – at least at first. Digital photography adjustments are easy, and you have an image management system. This becomes essential as you take more images. Most of the features included in Lightroom are in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw. But why use two programs when Lightroom does it all?

Anytime you want to change pixels in an image, it’s worth round-tripping into Photoshop.

Subscribing to Creative Cloud, you get both Lightroom and Photoshop. So, you don’t have to choose. Try both, and find your perfect combination.

 

[Zeee]

The following from an article summed it up well.

Conclusion

For most photographers, Lightroom is the better option – at least at first. Digital photography adjustments are easy, and you have an image management system. This becomes essential as you take more images. Most of the features included in Lightroom are in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw. But why use two programs when Lightroom does it all?

Anytime you want to change pixels in an image, it’s worth round-tripping into Photoshop.

Subscribing to Creative Cloud, you get both Lightroom and Photoshop. So, you don’t have to choose. Try both, and find your perfect combination.

Plus you get a personal website that is integrated with Lightroom.

 

[DMKAlex]

The following from an article summed it up well.

Conclusion

For most photographers, Lightroom is the better option – at least at first. Digital photography adjustments are easy, and you have an image management system. This becomes essential as you take more images. Most of the features included in Lightroom are in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw. But why use two programs when Lightroom does it all?

Anytime you want to change pixels in an image, it’s worth round-tripping into Photoshop.

Subscribing to Creative Cloud, you get both Lightroom and Photoshop. So, you don’t have to choose. Try both, and find your perfect combination.

Plus you get a personal website that is integrated with Lightroom.

I didn't know that. Can you elaborate?

 

[Zeee]

The following from an article summed it up well.

Conclusion

For most photographers, Lightroom is the better option – at least at first. Digital photography adjustments are easy, and you have an image management system. This becomes essential as you take more images. Most of the features included in Lightroom are in Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw. But why use two programs when Lightroom does it all?

Anytime you want to change pixels in an image, it’s worth round-tripping into Photoshop.

Subscribing to Creative Cloud, you get both Lightroom and Photoshop. So, you don’t have to choose. Try both, and find your perfect combination.

Plus you get a personal website that is integrated with Lightroom.

I didn't know that. Can you elaborate?

The Photography Plan comes with a personal website called Portfolio. You can download single files off your computer or collections from LrC. To do that with collections (which you have to create) you need to sync them to the cloud. This only sends Smart Previews to the cloud, not your actual files. It is impossible to send your actual files to the cloud using LrC. Smart Previews use almost no cloud storage so you will never use up the 20GB of space with the base plan for $9.99. Portfolio is a nice way to share your work with family, etc.

I don’t use Lr so I don’t know much about it besides it sends your actual files to the cloud automatically. I never installed it as I have no interest in cloud storage for my files.

 

[MattPointZero]

My understanding is, Lightroom keeps all the edit information inside the catalog, thus, the non-destructive edit.

Correct.

I do all my edit with Photoshop and save the edited version separately. I have to resync the folder to import the edited version into Lightroom.

That's because you insist to work around using Lightroom, you make life harder for yourself because you don't use Lightroom but rather use Photoshop. Why do you use Lightroom at all if you aren't using it?

Is there any reason I need to maintain a catalog. I have been working with just the folders structure, which is identical to my HDD.

Nope. Uninstall Lightroom and use Bridge to do your image selection and management.

I would strongly advise to no longer avoid Lightroom, instead I would start looking into what Lightroom can do more easily than Photoshop (which is quite a lot by now) and if any round trips to PS remain I would initiate them from within Lightroom. That has so many benefits that trying to avoid this is a major hassle that IMHO only is justified if you don't have the time to learn how to use Lightroom.

I am in all the way for learning more. If LRC is more effective, or convenient than PS for what I do, I may not have the need to go to PS.

I have dabbled into the Develop mode and find those adjustments on the right hand panel. It's OK if I want to adjust the overall brightness, or color of the picture.

I can't figure out how to do something I routinely do in Photoshop. The following two pictures are the before and after versions. From the original, I removed the orange floating ball on the upper right. I added a bright line to the right hand side of the body of the blue huron to exaggerate the backlighting effect.

Would you tell me how I can do that in LRC?


Original


Removed orange ball from upper left. Added highlight on bird's body right.

I don't think you need PS for these kind of adjustments. You just need to understand the local masking tools in LR and the heal tool will remove the orange ball in seconds with one click.

The masking panel in lightroom is relatively new and will do what you want - google lightroom masking panel and there will be lots of tutorials, it is very simple to use though - and I think you may even get better results - your white line on the right of the bird isn't jarring or anything, but for me has the feel of a masking halo - I think a brush in LR might continue the genuine light at the top of the wing even more effectively than your chosen method in PS - LR has one touch subject selection, so one click will select the bird and mask it - you can then use a brush or even a gradient intersected with that original subject mask to produce some very natural results. It sounds more complex than it is, and to do something like that is only a couple of clicks and a few seconds of edit time.

 

[Darryl Brooks]

Darryl Brooks wrote:
I abandoned LR recently, and besides finding a new DAM and raw processor, I am working on learning Affinity to replace PS and dropping the subscription entirely.

I probably never will understand the reasoning behind such a move. You need a DAM, you need a RAW processor, you also go with a product which has seen little development in the last years because the company has moved on to different projects for quite some time already. You have just at least tripled your costs and in future will be depending on three products to continue to be available and to be serviced. This will become a major headache but everyone is his own single point of failure...

Don't really need to explain myself, but here goes.
1) I never had a problem with the Adobe subscription plan. If price is the only factor, they win hands down. But it's not.

2) I got tired of the LR catalog system. It was constantly getting screwed up forcing me to maintain too many backups. And, as far as little development, LR was guilty of that for many years. It's gotten better, but IMO, not good enough.

3) I switched from Canon to Fuji. I shot jpg with it for a long time because frankly, 2020 and 21 were pretty much non-events. When I got to serious shooting again in raw, I was very disappointed in LR.

4) I tried C1 and DxO. Both were so far superior to LR in processing my Fuji raw files that a change was inevitable. I settled on DxO because I liked the workflow much better and its NR and sharpening meant very few trips to Topaz.

5) I rarely used PS and need it even less now. Without development, Affinity does everything I need it to do.

6) Having a separate DAM is something I have read and thought about for many years. And while iMatch is a superior product, I went with Photo Mechanic because it more fit the way I think and work and I liked its keywording functionality better.

7) Tripled my cost? meh

8) I don't believe it will become a major or a minor headache. My workflow through DxO has become much faster than it ever was with LR and I am getting far superior results. But, even if it does, I haven't gone down some road through a locked door. I can turn back anytime the need or notion strikes me.

9) I wanted to. So I did.

 

[DMKAlex]

...

Yes, I use Ctrl+E to edit the original file in Photoshop. When done, I Save As a copy in the subfolder of the original. I believe I have to resync the directory to import the newly edited version into LRC. Are you saying that it should be automatically recognized?

It will automatically recognize a "Save". That is different from a "Save as", which is dependent on a number of factors.

The Save will bring a new file back with an "Edit" attached to the name.

Based on your advice, I played with the workflow about editing in PS and Save and here is what I found, and I need some more advice from you.

After Ctrl+e, I chose "Edit a copy" and it takes me to PS. Immediately, in LRC, it created a copy (_AN1234-Edit.jpg) in the library. After I finished editing in PS, I would Save and close the file. Back in LRC, the copy showed all the edited features.

As you said, it's automatic.

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

Is there any preference I can change so the filename and the folder can be different from the default? I would like the name the edited version with x trailing the filename to indicate it's 1080 and y for 2160. I don't like to have the edited version in the same folder as the original (too much chance of messing it up). I usually create a subfolder under the original folder.

Would appreciate some insight. Thanks.

 

[gscotten]

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

If you use Save As in Photoshop, you can save to any path and with a modified filename. It will appear automatically in Lightroom. At least in the current version.

 

[DMKAlex]

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

If you use Save As in Photoshop, you can save to any path and with a modified filename. It will appear automatically in Lightroom. At least in the current version.

When press Ctrl+e, which option you choose?

 

[Zeee]

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

If you use Save As in Photoshop, you can save to any path and with a modified filename. It will appear automatically in Lightroom. At least in the current version.

When press Ctrl+e, which option you choose?

I've just used Save and it puts the file into LrC stacked beside the original.

 

[Jim B (MSP)]

...

Yes, I use Ctrl+E to edit the original file in Photoshop. When done, I Save As a copy in the subfolder of the original. I believe I have to resync the directory to import the newly edited version into LRC. Are you saying that it should be automatically recognized?

It will automatically recognize a "Save". That is different from a "Save as", which is dependent on a number of factors.

The Save will bring a new file back with an "Edit" attached to the name.

Based on your advice, I played with the workflow about editing in PS and Save and here is what I found, and I need some more advice from you.

After Ctrl+e, I chose "Edit a copy" and it takes me to PS. Immediately, in LRC, it created a copy (_AN1234-Edit.jpg) in the library. After I finished editing in PS, I would Save and close the file. Back in LRC, the copy showed all the edited features.

As you said, it's automatic.

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

Is there any preference I can change so the filename and the folder can be different from the default? I would like the name the edited version with x trailing the filename to indicate it's 1080 and y for 2160. I don't like to have the edited version in the same folder as the original (too much chance of messing it up). I usually create a subfolder under the original folder.

Would appreciate some insight. Thanks.

I simply change the file name in the Lightroom Library module. Look under the MetaData tab.

 

[dwight3]

...Is there any preference I can change so the filename and the folder can be different from the default? I would like the name the edited version with x trailing the filename to indicate it's 1080 and y for 2160. I don't like to have the edited version in the same folder as the original (too much chance of messing it up). I usually create a subfolder under the original folder.

Would appreciate some insight. Thanks.

Preferences -> External Editing gives you a dialog that you can use to build a template for the suffix to be added to the filename.

 

[gscotten]

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

If you use Save As in Photoshop, you can save to any path and with a modified filename. It will appear automatically in Lightroom. At least in the current version.

When press Ctrl+e, which option you choose?

When pressing Ctrl+e, I always choose the first option ("Edit a copy with Lightroom adjustments"), as I do all the easy stuff in Lightroom before doing any of the hard stuff in Photoshop.

As a postscript, using the Save As option in Photoshop, you can save as many versions of your image as you want to as many folders, and they all end up in Lightroom properly.

--
George

 

[Zeee]

Here is my questions . . .

I can't change the file name and folder location when I save from PS. If I do, LRC would not show it automatically. I have to go thru the sync process to bring it into the library.

If you use Save As in Photoshop, you can save to any path and with a modified filename. It will appear automatically in Lightroom. At least in the current version.

When press Ctrl+e, which option you choose?

When pressing Ctrl+e, I always choose the first option ("Edit a copy with Lightroom adjustments"), as I do all the easy stuff in Lightroom before doing any of the hard stuff in Photoshop.

I’m not a keyboard shortcut enthusiasts I just right click and chose the edit in PS command.

As a postscript, using the Save As option in Photoshop, you can save as many versions of your image as you want to as many folders, and they all end up in Lightroom properly.

That I didn’t know. Thanks