Choosing the best photo editor was always a headache for photographers and graphic designers. If you are one of them, you may face this situation. Ultimately, you have two options, Lightroom and Photoshop.
And here the confusion starts. Lightroom vs Photoshop is a never-ending debate. Both are the products of Adobe and the gems of photo editing and digital art. Let’s explore both products and compare to see what suits you more.
While both of the products are a part of Adobe Creative Cloud Plan, there are several features that distinguish between them. Moreover, both are designed to do special functions. Lightroom indeed has many functions that Photoshop has, but still, some specialties create differences between them.
Lightroom is for bulk image processing while Photoshop is for few but expansive edits. We only need to know when and how to use these tools.
To Get in-depth details let’s learn both of these products individually.
When discussing a user-friendly and most powerful editing tool, we mean Adobe Lightroom. Lightroom is a catalog-based software. It means you can edit your photos without altering the original image files. So there is always a backup. It’s one hundred percent non-destructive, as you can always get the original image file with the same metadata.
If you want to undo any change, it’s super easy in Lightroom. Moreover, you can easily organize, locate, and save your edits in Lightroom.
Today’s photography demands a perfect editing tool, and Lightroom always fulfills the expectations. There is no mess while using this handy tool. When it comes to editing a large number of images, Lightroom becomes users’ first choice.
Launched as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, this software not only made its place in the market but also has two to three variants. Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic are now crawling into the market.
But why should we go to Photoshop? Only expert designer knows this. But after reading this blog carefully, I hope you’ll get a detailed comparison between these two. Let’s jump to the comparison.
Photoshop and Lightroom have many differences and similarities too. We cannot actually say that it is Lightroom vs Photoshop. But it’s Lightroom features vs Photoshop features. Both of these apps are doing wonders in their related specialties. We have to find out which software suits us. This comparison guide will make it easy to understand what’s best for a user.
Here we begin with the features of Lightroom.
Features Of Lightroom
Following are some features of Lightroom that not only distinguish it from other software but also enlighten the importance of this tool in photography.
Following are some features of Lightroom that not only distinguish it from other software but also enlighten the importance of this tool in photography.
Non-destructive editing
As a catalog-based software, it doesn’t change the original image file. So there is always non-destructive and completely safe editing. Whenever you create a mess, go to the original image file, and start from scratch.
Images organization and File Handling Feature
Photo organization was never easy before Lightroom. The catalog database system manages the collection so efficiently that it allows users to access the files quickly from the database.
While Photoshop works on the original image file.
Smart Photo Search
Smart Photo search is a remarkable feature that alone can win the Lightroom vs Photoshop debate. This feature enables the users to find images effortlessly.
We make collections and then these collections help us in accessing specific sets of pictures without going through all the images.
For example, You created a collection of “ Cats” in your Lightroom. Now every time you need a picture of your cat, all the funny cat pictures from your collection will appear. It’s a quick and easy way to navigate a specific set of pictures.
Another amazing way is keyword tagging. Name your photos and then search for them easily in the catalog.
Presets & Profiles feature
Adjusting your photo with a single click is not a myth now. Lightroom preset provides this option to save you time.
Moreover, there is a profile option to interpret your raw files into tones and colors.
Batch Selection Editing
Editing photos one by one is fun until batch editing comes. Batch selection editing is a real gangster feature in Lightroom.
Suppose you want to adjust the exposure of all of your birthday party pictures. What will you do? Photoshop each picture or simply use a preset to adjust all the images by using Lightroom?
For me, Lightroom is the winner here.
Now comes the love of Graphic designers_ Adobe Photoshop. Created in 1990 this software was developed as a basic editing tool first. But now the technically sound one loves this advanced editing and digital art-making tool.
To create, design, edit, and manipulate images, Adobe Photoshop is your friend. Almost all of the digital art, illustration, and animation is done through this software. Isn’t it amazing?
Photoshop works on Windows and MacOS. Creating, enhancing, and editing illustrations and images are the main functions of this software.
Features of Photoshop
Some of its features are super amazing. I used to wonder why graphic designers love to use Photoshop. But when I did, I found the answer. Following are detailed features of Adobe Photoshop.
Graphic Design Capabilities
In graphic designing, no one can beat Photoshop. Some of its advanced tools make it a perfect software for drawing and designing artwork and illustration.
Vector Shapes
For creating Logos, illustrations, and digital photos, we need to resize images without losing quality. This software allows you to create and edit images that can be resized without losing pixels and quality.
Text Editing
Text editing is super easy. Using different fonts, styling and modifying text, and adding different layers and formats are what this software provides.
Advanced Drawing Tools
You need a handful of tools to create the best artwork and illustrations. Tools like brushes, pencils, and other drawing marvels are available with one click.
Precise Retouching Tools
These three retouching tools can make your life easy if you are a photographer or graphic designer. To enhance your photos and make them flawless, use these tools.
Clone Stamp Tool
To be a pro graphic designer or a photographer you need to perfect every detail of an image. The clone stamp tool helps duplicate a specific part of the image making it easy to remove imperfections.
Healing Brush Tool
Now use the Healing Brush tool to remove imperfections from a photo. Removing unwanted things from photos makes them look awesome.
Content-Aware Fill
Now you need to fill the gap that you removed. For example, you took a photo on the beach with your friends and want to remove the person with a bag. Healing brush will remove the person and Content-aware fill will fill the gap to make your picture look natural.
Cropping Tool
The cropping tool is another handy tool that Photoshop has. It crops unwanted sides, backgrounds, or a portion of the picture.
Layer-Based Editing
To beat Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop has a special feature called Layers. Layer-based editing allows users to work on different layers of the original image.
You can create, hide, and adjust different layers to work individually on them.
Creating layers to adjust different attributes like brightness, contrast, exposure, etc is fun in Photoshop.
Filters & Effects
In Addition to all the tools and editing options, there are several filters and effects that enhance the image quality. Using these filters wisely can work for you.
3D editing
Adobe Photoshop may seem like a basic photo editor but it does wonders. You can edit some kind of 3D images and illustrations on it. There is great room for improvement in 3D editing but it’s helpful for a beginner.
History panels
If editing an image from where it went wrong is an art, then Photoshop is Picasso of it. In Photoshop there is a history panel, that keeps track of all the alternations done to an image. You can undo changes from the history panel if they don’t match your expectations.
| Characteristic | Photoshop | Lightroom |
| Library Tools | No | Yes |
| Non-destructive Editing | Partially | Yes |
| RAW Image Processing | Yes | Yes |
| Layer-based Editing | Yes | No |
| HDR Merge & Panorama | Yes | Yes |
| Presets and Profiles | No | Yes |
| Content-Aware Fill | Yes | No |
| Extensive Text Editing | Yes | No |
| 3D Editing | Yes | No |
| Advanced Color Editing | Yes | No |
Now it’s real Lightroom vs Photoshop. The above features are enough to choose between Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. But the below 5 will tell you who is the actual winner. Let’s start with Pricing.
Pricing
Lightroom is slightly less expensive than Photoshop. But it’s not enough to complete the competition between these two.
Adobe provides different plans and packages for its users. It includes photography, Adobe Creative Cloud plan, and Photoshop plan.
Adobe offers a 7-day free trial too, so trying before buying is the best approach to choosing any plan.
Interface
Lightroom is more user-friendly than Photoshop. The simple and clean interface puts Lightroom above Photoshop. Workflow is also smooth due to a better UI/UX. Simple sliders will do wonders for you in Lightroom.
Most of the adjustments are just one or two clicks away. And you can do bulk editing by simply setting the presets.
On the other hand, Photoshop is a bunch of messy options. It’s more complex and advanced. Using Photoshop is a hard nut to crack.
Learning Curve
Learning a simple tool is always easy. Lightroom is a simple-to-learn tool. There are a few options to customize an image to make it perfect. It takes less time to acquire and enhance Lightroom editing skills.
Photoshop is an advanced editing tool. You’ll find options and then sub-options in this software. It will take a longer time to be a pro in Photoshop.
Editing Capabilities
Photoshop is for graphic designers. It is so advanced that you can edit even a minute of information in an image. So Photoshop has more capabilities in editing.
On the other hand, the simple and user-friendly interface of Lightroom doesn’t allow users to edit details in images.
That’s why all professional graphic designers and photo editors focus more on Photoshop. But if you are a beginner, start from Lightroom. Achieving lightroom skills is also a great milestone in Photography.
Action and Presets
Photoshop has actions while Lightroom has presets. Actions are like a command to which you act. You can change the act when needed. For example, When we click an action(let’s suppose Vibrant pop) it will perform several sets of functions (adjust brightness, saturation, and Vignette) to complete the action.
Actions are a series of commands recorded by the user.
Presets are a little different. A preset is added in Lightroom by some professional photographers that you can use as a template for editing your photo.
Curious about how Lightroom fares against mobile editing apps? Take a look at our analyses of Adobe Lightroom vs Picsart and Lightroom vs Snapseed.
Pros and Cons of the Lightroom App
Pros
Cons
Pros and Cons of Photoshop App
Pros
Cons
Update About Lightroom and Photoshop
In its recently launched series, google has added support for RAW images shot on Pixel 8. Now users can improve and fine-tune their images in Lightroom and Photoshop. Now you know the importance of both Lightroom and Photoshop.
Note: for a detailed photo, capture the picture in RAW format. This format collects more data and hence a quality image can be produced.
Both tools are some of the best software for photo editing in 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Lightroom perform all the functions of Photoshop?
No, Lightroom can’t perform in-depth image editing. For simple photography editing, Lightroom is best. But for layer-based descriptive editing, you must have to go to Photoshop.
Should I start with Lightroom or Photoshop?
For a beginner, it’s better to start with Lightroom. But keep in mind Lightroom is not the whole world. You have to move on to Photoshop for professional editing.
Is Photoshop more powerful than Lightroom?
Yes, Photoshop is more powerful in the sense that it has more capabilities in editing. Advanced tools are used to improve the image and remove any imperfections.
Moreover, digital artwork, Logo designs, icons, and illustration is also done in Photoshop.
Do professionals use Lightroom or Photoshop?
Yes, Professionals also use Lightroom but only when they need batch editing. It saves them time. Eventually, every artist comes to Photoshop. Editing images and creating them in mind are two different things.
Ending Thoughts
Comparing Lightroom to Photoshop is like comparing apples to mangoes. Both are fruits and both are sweet. The same goes for Lightroom vs Photoshop. The thing is when to use which tool.
For a beginner, it’s better to use Lightroom, but if you are a pro, you don’t even need to read this article. Just kidding! Wasn’t it helpful? Share your thoughts in the comments.