One of the most popular software for photographers is Lightroom. Developed by Adobe in 2006 specifically for photographers, Lightroom has helped photographers manage and develop their photos. Lightroom is a massive program with so many features that were only available in Lightrooms’ big brother Photoshop. Here we break down and simplify a seemingly complex Lightroom, so why choose Lightroom?
Table of contents
Why Lightroom
1.Organize:
Lightroom has a Library module that, as the name implies, allows you to organize and archive your photos. You can organize your photos into folders, collections, as well as rate them and tag them. You can also further organize your photos by using the place they were taken. All photos with location information are grouped on a map based on their location in the map module.
2.Process:
In the develop module, you can develop your photos. The develop module if your digital darkroom where the bulk of the work is done. All your raw files (digital negative) must go through this module to process them before you can output them to your desired format. This module has many tools to help you edit and manipulate your photos based on your artistic vision. Most of the photographic tools available in Photoshop can be found in Lightroom, but it should be noted that the
3.Output:
Once you have worked on your photos, applied all the necessary adjustments and are ready to output your images, Lightroom offers various output options. You can print your photos using your connected printer or even create a book that you can submit to a printing company right inside Lightroom. If you prefer a soft copy, you can create a slide show or web gallery using the respective modules. When you are ready to export your photos, Lightroom offers several file formats such as JPEG and TiFF, among others.
Why use Lightroom
Why is Lightroom such a popular piece of software? Well apart from being part of the well know Adobe brand, Lightroom has three other advantages
1.All in one:
The best advantage of Lightroom is that all the needs of photographers are in one place. You can import images into the program, or even tether your camera to the program, organized your images, work on them and finally output them. Most software programs, Photoshop included, do not offer this all in one photo management and processing solution
2.developed for photographers:
Lightroom is for photographers. This program was developed specifically for photographers. For a long time, photographers relied on the more powerful Photoshop for postproduction. As good and useful as Photoshop is, it is a program designed for all artistically inclined professionals. As a result, Photoshop is cumbersome, full of tools that are not useful for photographers. This is the reason why photographers love Lightroom. Lightroom is ‘a stripped-down version’ of Photoshop with only necessary tools for photographers. For this reason, Lightroom enhances the productivity of photographers by giving them only the essential tools. The program’s design also enhances a soothe workflow as all photo processing stages from inputting images to outputting them can be done within the program.
3.Non-destructive editing:
All edits in Lightroom are nondestructive. What does this mean? When you edit your image in Lightroom, you are not actually applying the edits to the image. Rather, what Lightroom is doing is creating a separate file containing a set of instructions that you want to be associated with your image. This is in struck contrast to programs such as Photoshop, which actually affect the image.
As robust and versatile a program Lightroom is, it is not an end-all solution for photographers. Most photographers will tell you that they still have to use other programs in conjunction with Lightroom. The major reason photographers use other programs is that Lightroom excels only at global adjustments. It lacks surgical tools that can handle tiny local edits. For example, masking is limited in Lightroom, and other local selection tools such as Lasso Tool are not present in Lightroom.
Another downside of Lightroom is that it’s not a cheap piece of software. Lightroom plans start from US$120 and year to upwards of US$240 a year. The price point is difficult for many hobbyists to justify. For updated pricing, visit https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom/pricing-info.html.). Now that we have given you a simplified introduction to Lightroom let us dive deep by looking at the layout and modules. Click the link below.
Lightroom is constantly being update click here for updated features
LAYOUT OF LIGHTROOM AND MODULES
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