You have the ability to install two versions of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom while paying for Adobe Creative Cloud for photographers. Doubts arise about which program interests us more or which is better. to doPhotoshop or Lightroom? Let’s give our opinion.

The birth of Adobe Lightroom is most likely due to the rise of a program that no longer exists, the famous Apple Aperture. It is a program that presents all the steps that can be taken in photography, from import and organization to printing, by publishing it on web pages.

Adobe launched Lightroom to stop the flight of photographers who, like the bitten apple program, just want to open their photos and make basic adjustments without much hassle. That was the initial goal, a simple program that will work for anyone.

Key difference: catalog

I would leave Photoshop for more complex tools and Lightroom for quicker adjustments. The problem is that sometimes we are not so clear. Is one or the other better? They do the same thing, but Photoshop gets you better.

And then there’s the Lightroom issue and two versions causing confusion. Currently there is Lightroom Classic and Lightroom for drying. The first allows you to work with the catalog, the second is available as a program for the computer and as a mobile application, but cannot work with the catalog. In addition to the interface change is the main difference between both versions. Since we are talking about the comparison with Photoshop, we will focus on the Classic version.

Adobe Lightroom versions

Same photo in Lightroom and Photoshop

The catalog is a file with the .lrcat extension that contains a copy of all thumbnails to avoid working with the originals. This allows us to go faster and perform all kinds of searches as if we were in an Excel sheet. Our file becomes an image database that we can search by traversing any data.

And this catalog marks the big difference between Lightroom and Photoshop. Organizing our work is more agile, but you need to know how, work with Lightroom Classic rather than Photoshop, which will force us to work yes or yes with Adobe Bridge, Adobe’s main editor.

Basic development of our photos

While there are photographers who reject digital development (due to ignorance or vital attitude), you should always get the best out of a file with the help of editing programs. Photoshop and Lightroom can also do this perfectly. Photographers can also be distinguished by how they appear. Some prefer to shoot the picture and make basic adjustments. And others bet on everything that comes up. Some like to be in the middle and choose by photo or project.

Adobe Lightroom It is an excellent program for a basic improvement., here you only need to adjust the overall brightness and contrast. If we want to follow the developing decade, it is an excellent program as we solve the photo in a short time.

This photo develops perfectly in Adobe Lightroom

But if we need to do more things like working by regions or removing elements from the image, it’s better to bet on smart objects in Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop. This way we will have more possibilities.

It’s true that Lightroom has made great strides in the latest versions to work by region, for example darkening the sky and brightening the terrain. But for fine details Photoshop is still irreplaceable.

The possibilities offered by both programs

Everything we can do in Lightroom modules, we can do in Adobe Photoshop. We can do everything else with Photoshop+Bridge+Camera RAW, if I’m not mistaken, except the Map module that allows us to locate our shots in Google Maps and the Web module that allows us to create a web page. .

Lightroom lets you do anything without leaving the program. Each module specializes in one subject. I always advise you to learn Library and Development modules. They are the most interesting ever. Next, we find the Book module, which allows you to easily edit a book without having to learn InDesign.

This photo is better developed in Adobe Photoshop because of the number of regions it has.

I think the rest of the modules are not widely used by the majority either because they are not useful like the Map module or they are outdated like the Web module. In that sense, we have to choose whether we want (and can) do everything in Lightroom, or we have no choice but to go to other options.

As a result

Adobe Lightroom is an excellent program for working from start to finish without rushing and without too much demand. Adobe Photoshop has many more options, as it is not just a photography program, it is a design software that allows us to do anything we dream of.

light room only for photographers For something as important as the number of tools it has and being able to work with layers, Photoshop lets even the most seasoned designers do anything they can imagine.

Full development in Photoshop and development in Lightroom

If you don’t have much experience with computers, Lightroom will be your essential tool. But if you’re not afraid of layers, blend modes, layer styles, adjustment layers, and everything else, Adobe Photoshop is best for you.

Of course, you can do as many photographers do. I always work with both. I download photos, edit and categorize them in Lightroom. There I do the initial development on them and if necessary I finish them in Photoshop, where I can more precisely adjust the lights, shadows and different areas.