Advice on Using Lightroom or Photoshop
With current technology, anyone can feel like a photographer - Instagram makes fast and convenient changes to photos taken by Smartphone. Most computers come with either basic photography software or the programs can be downloaded for free. These programs have basic features such as color changes, cropping, sharpening, redeye adjustments, and more. While a couple clicks on Instagram or the computer can make your photos look cooler with minimal effort, it’s no comparison to what advanced computer programs can do to create a crisp and professional looking photo.
There are two programs that are the very popular with advanced amateur and professional photographers alike – Photoshop and Lightroom. If you are serious about doing photography, I highly recommend getting these programs. Not only are these programs powerful in how they improve photos - they are much more affordable than most people realize.
Adobe is the creator of both Photoshop and Lightroom. Both of these programs are available together for a monthly subscription of about $11. The subscription includes free updates of the newest versions of the software so you always stay up-to-date. It’s a much better deal than buying any stand-alone program, which will be initially more expensive and become outdated within a year.
Between these two programs, I use Lightroom more often. The style of photography that I shoot doesn’t require the high levels of image manipulation that Photoshop is capable of doing. Additionally, Photoshopping every image would take way too long because I often work with hundreds of photos at a time. Photoshop is only capable of working on one photo at a time, whereas Lightroom is capable of organizing and making changes to potentially hundreds of photos at a time.
Lightroom is more convenient because it can organize all of the uploaded images. You can make professional-level changes to these photos while saving time because all of the photos are easily accessible within the program. Lightroom is like a “Photo-shop Light,” but with a better system for image organization. While I say the word “light,” it’s still powerful and advanced enough to create professional looking photos.
Lightroom has advanced features, but the program as a whole is not as difficult to learn as Photoshop. Once you realize how the shortcuts work and what the program is capable of doing, you’ll soon realize that Lightroom is sufficient for most photography. Since the same company makes Lightroom and Photoshop, photos can be exchanged and developed through both programs easily.
Photoshop is best for high attention to detail. If you want to rearrange an entire background, do major adjustments, manipulations, and remove objects – then Photoshop will work well for you. If you want to adjust your photos to look more professional with detail and clarity, while working on a large quantity of photos - then Lightroom would be best for you.
Both of these programs are quite affordable and definitely worth the time and effort to learn. There are many resources online which can help you in becoming more fluent and knowledgeable with these programs. Enjoy making your photography look the best it can. For more tips related to technology, read: Why Your Website SEO is Massively Important & How to Improve It.
