If I have Photoshop CS3 do I want Lightroom 3?

Luv2Scrap

<font color=green>The only way is if you have the
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Apr 20, 2007
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I have learned my way around CS3 enough to be able to edit my photos a bit and make them look quite a bit better (I think). I still have a lot to learn, but I keep wondering about this Lightroom 3. So far I haven't been able to determine if I should want it or not. :laughing:

Is LR3 significantly easier to use than CS3? Are there things LR3 can do that CS3 cant, or that are very difficult to do in CS3?

I am a student so I can get the discounted price from somewhere (can't remember where but I'm sure I can find it again...) but only for a few more months so I need to decide pretty soon!
 
Simple and Long Answer is YES!

Photoshop is the master of image manipulation. However, Lightroom is the master at production speed manipulation. Lightroom also orginizes and catagorizes my images. And I can open and manipulate the images in Photoshop from lightroom with ease.

Lightroom also in non-destructive editing, that means you can revert back to the old image or make a virtual copy of the original and edit it different.

If you do events like I do, Lightroom IS the tool to have, in fact, I'd want Lightroom over Photoshop any day of the week!
 
Now this is exactly what I wanted to know! Thanks so much!
 
I like to think about it this way. If I want to a lot of deep editing (remove objects, swap heads, etc) to one photo, I use Photoshop (which is rarely). If I want to do a lot of broad general editing (crop, brighten, etc) to a lot of photos, I use Lightroom (which is every time I take pictures).

Besides editing, it is also my photo management solution. I can find every digital photo of my daughter playing soccer I ever took. Or just the 5 star best ones. Or just the ones after 2006. Or I can find every Christmas photo that has all five members of my family. Or any photo with my parents and any of their grandkids. Or my best Disney shots when its time to loose another weekly contest. When you have over 25k photos on your hard drive, this is one of my favorite parts of Lightroom.
 

I like to think about it this way. If I want to a lot of deep editing (remove objects, swap heads, etc) to one photo, I use Photoshop (which is rarely). If I want to do a lot of broad general editing (crop, brighten, etc) to a lot of photos, I use Lightroom (which is every time I take pictures).

Besides editing, it is also my photo management solution. I can find every digital photo of my daughter playing soccer I ever took. Or just the 5 star best ones. Or just the ones after 2006. Or I can find every Christmas photo that has all five members of my family. Or any photo with my parents and any of their grandkids. Or my best Disney shots when its time to loose another weekly contest. When you have over 25k photos on your hard drive, this is one of my favorite parts of Lightroom.

Goodness, what have I been missing out on all this time? Now I don't know how I've lived without it!

Must. Order. Today. !!!

Does anyone know, is there a preferred student site to order from?
 
Goodness, what have I been missing out on all this time? Now I don't know how I've lived without it!

Must. Order. Today. !!!

Does anyone know, is there a preferred student site to order from?

I really like LR3. A picture doesn't leave my computer without going through LR3. The pure organization qualities are great. I take a lot of pictures and LR3 make it easy to organize them, not that PS and Bridge or whatever else doesn't. Could my CS5 do everything I do in LR? Sure. But if I'm not doing major editing/ graphics then LR3 just makes it so simple. It won't replace your PS. There are still times when I jump over.

If your a student, see what site your school has a relationship with or gets a discount at. You can get LR3 for a really good rate. Just be ready to prove you student status as you might have to get the serial code through Adobe.

EDIT: If your looking for a book LR3 book, I don't think you can do any better than Scott Kelby's The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 book for Digital Photographers.
 
I love LR3, but not everyone does. The smart thing would be to download the 30-day free trial and use it for a couple of weeks. After that, you should have a good idea whether it is for you or not.
 
I love LR3, but not everyone does. The smart thing would be to download the 30-day free trial and use it for a couple of weeks. After that, you should have a good idea whether it is for you or not.

You know, I didn't even think of that! Great idea, thanks!
 
Is the organizing, rating, etc. any different in LR than it is in Bridge?
 
Pretty much bridge and LR are designed to do the same thing, but each has pluses and minuses.
 
I like LR and Bridge. I used to use Aperture, but I felt crippled using it compared to LR.
 
Is the organizing, rating, etc. any different in LR than it is in Bridge?

Yes. Tagging and grouping is faster, easier and more detailed in Lightroom. Bridge works more off of a file browser type interface, where Lightroom uses a library system.
 


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