Lightroom Question

[misse336]

I'm ready to make the jump to a better editing program. After reading reviews and various threads I decided that Lightroom would do what I need and sounds like it will be easier to learn. Some of the threads referenced buying it at an educator discount, which we would qualify for. When I go to the website I only see where you can pay $20 a month for Lightroom. The threads I read mentioned just buying a disk - where do I go to buy the program and not have a monthly fee? I must be missing something.

 

[mom2rtk]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/979667-REG/adobe_65215147_photoshop_lightroom_5_software.html

You can access Lightroom through the the monthly subscription to the Creative Cloud or you can buy the disc. I bought the disc because I don't have time to learn the other programs included with the CC, so it's much cheaper just to own it.

If you purchase a student or teacher version, they will ask you to upload a copy of your student or teacher ID.

 

[havoc315]

I believe there is an education discount even on the monthly creative cloud subscription, or there was when we purchased it.

Actually... yes...
http://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/buy/students.html

You can get Photoshop + Lightroom for $9.99 per month. To me, that's a much better deal than buying the disc. Because honestly, the annual upgrades are usually worthwhile. This way, for $120 per year, you automatically get the upgrades, and full access to Lightroom + Photoshop + mobile access and other benefits.

 

[misse336]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/979667-REG/adobe_65215147_photoshop_lightroom_5_software.html

You can access Lightroom through the the monthly subscription to the Creative Cloud or you can buy the disc. I bought the disc because I don't have time to learn the other programs included with the CC, so it's much cheaper just to own it.

If you purchase a student or teacher version, they will ask you to upload a copy of your student or teacher ID.

Thanks for the link. I didn't realize that you could buy it somewhere besides from Adobe. It looks like there is a Lightroom 6 out now, but no student discount on that one? I'll have to investigate to see if the features in the 6 are worth paying extra for since it is almost double the price.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1132136-REG/adobe_65237578_photoshop_lightroom_6_download.html

 

[misse336]

Thanks. I've never used any photo editing software besides the Canon software and am not sure that I want a program where you have to be connected to internet to use since I edit many of my pictures while on the go or waiting for my kids at activities, many times without internet.

Edit - not sure why it didn't quote havoc315 like intended?

 

[jec6613]

There's also a $10/month option that just gets you Lightroom and Photoshop, not the $20/month single app subscription:

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html

Or, as above, you can buy the disc. If you're the type who tends to update to every version, the Creative Cloud will be a bit cheaper over time. If not, the disc will be cheaper (although it doesn't get features such as Dehaze). You really shouldn't get Lightroom 5, you're setting yourself up at a significant disadvantage when newer cameras come out that it doesn't support. Unfortunately, you pretty much need to buy the latest version.

Oh, and you only need to be connected to the internet every few weeks with CC, to verify licensing. I think 30 days is the actual number, but it'll work just fine disconnected.

There is no EDU discount for a single user since the CC launch, only subscription plans: https://creative.adobe.com/plans?plan=edu

 

[havoc315]

Thanks. I've never used any photo editing software besides the Canon software and am not sure that I want a program where you have to be connected to internet to use since I edit many of my pictures while on the go or waiting for my kids at activities, many times without internet.

Edit - not sure why it didn't quote havoc315 like intended?

No... You don't need to be connected to the internet to use it. You still download the software and keep it on your computer. You just need to connect to the computer to get upgrades to the software, a couple times a year.

The stand-alone disc is over $100.... The newest version, with the really handy De-haze feature, as well as face recognition, HDR, panorama, is $150 for just lightroom. So $120 per year, to have Lightroom + Photoshop + other, or $150 just to have lightroom 6. (Actually, De-haze isn't part of the disk, only part of the CC option). They upgrade the software every 1-3 years.
Comes down to this -- If you just want to buy an older version of Lightroom, you don't have any interest in any of the additional features (like the ability to also use Lightroom on an iPad.. like being able to use some cloud storage, light Photoshop), and you don't think you will want every future upgrade -- Then it can save you some money to buy the stand alone.

But for the monthly price, you get A LOT of extra benefits. I don't use Photoshop often, but the smart healing brush is a fantastic "eraser." So when I really really need to remove something from a photo, I go into Photoshop. I use Lightroom for 95% of my editing.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks for the link. I didn't realize that you could buy it somewhere besides from Adobe. It looks like there is a Lightroom 6 out now, but no student discount on that one? I'll have to investigate to see if the features in the 6 are worth paying extra for since it is almost double the price.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1132136-REG/adobe_65237578_photoshop_lightroom_6_download.html

I'm not up on the differences between 5 and 6. I just got 5 the beginning of the year because my old LR3 would not support my new 6D. That said, I had that version for over 4 years and was very happy with it. Even at the student price of $10/month, it would have cost me $480 in subscription fees over that same amount of time (just an example..... I know the subscription did not start in 2010). I'll likely keep LR5 for a similar length of time. Generally though, I'm not one to jump at every upgrade so the disc was perfect for my needs.

What I find interesting is that the link I gave you to the student price is about what I paid for the non-student version of LR5 around the first of the year. Maybe they were clearing out the 5's before the 6's came out? Not sure. But it was a great deal and I do love it.

 

[elmoandzoey]

Adobe doesn't offer edu discounts anymore for any of their standalone creative programs - that is if they even offer a standalone version at all!

While I absolutely love Adobe programs, I do have to rant now.

I work at a university and it has put us in a very delicate position because we have worked with all kinds of Adobe programs (mostly InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere and After Effects) with between 800 and 1,000 licenses on the campus. In our state alone, Adobe has sold around 100,000 edu licences to colleges and universities per year in the past (not including schools or private student/teacher sales). We are not able to update any of these programs anymore with the subscription model because in the past we were able to share licenses with remote software setup (which was endorsed by Adobe) - the cloud model doesn't offer remote software setup anymore. Most of our older Win XP computers were running CS4 licenses so in progress of updating these to Windows 7 or 8, the Adobe programs needed to be installed. Except we couldn't reinstall them anymore (though we had valid licenses) because Adobe has marked these licences as not valid anymore. Meaning we have licenses but cannot validate them hence the program can't finish installation. New programs cannot be bought because we cannot update these PCs with a monthly subscription fee as we would be talking yearly subscription fees in the lower 6-digit range (yes, even at edu bulk discount). Standalone software isn't available either and older CS6 versions are no longer sold on the market. Other offices are now left without any kind of software and need to rely on either outside contractors or other university members who have CC licences or have kept old XP PCs to get their stuff done. I have an extra XP PC disconnected from the net just for design stuff in my office - a PC that desperately needs an update because exporting a 5 minute movie in Premiere takes about 4 hours.... but I can't use my brand new i7 PC for this stuff because I can't get an Adobe licence on it.... We have tried switching but if you have hundreds of templates that are all Adobe specific only and won't open in other programs, then what do you do. I really really hate this "eat or die" mentality.

While I think CC is pretty usable for a single consumer, it is a pretty unfriendly concept for big companies. And now my rant is over I just had to get it out just how greatly this Adobe CC stuff has impaired my work over the last year!

 

[jec6613]

I work at a University as well, and at EDU bulk discount for Creative Cloud, yearly subscription, and with only 1,000 licenses you shouldn't hit six digits. We have a campus agreement that comes in at a far lower price than you'd expect.

 

[havoc315]

I'm not up on the differences between 5 and 6. I just got 5 the beginning of the year because my old LR3 would not support my new 6D. That said, I had that version for over 4 years and was very happy with it. Even at the student price of $10/month, it would have cost me $480 in subscription fees over that same amount of time (just an example..... I know the subscription did not start in 2010). I'll likely keep LR5 for a similar length of time. Generally though, I'm not one to jump at every upgrade so the disc was perfect for my needs.

What I find interesting is that the link I gave you to the student price is about what I paid for the non-student version of LR5 around the first of the year. Maybe they were clearing out the 5's before the 6's came out? Not sure. But it was a great deal and I do love it.

If you are solely doing basic raw processing and cataloging, no big reasons to upgrade.

For more extensive use, "6" does have some very very nice features over "5":

- HDR and Panorama of raw files. I previously used photomatix for hdr, but that resulted in the final product being a jpeg. Now with lightroom, you get RAW hdr and panorama files. The panorama in particular, works nicely.
- Facial recognition. Nice feature for cataloging family photos, but I haven't really turned it on. Because it would take hundreds of hours to apply the recognition to my library of 50,000 photos.. but I probably should at least use it for new photos going forward.
- De-haze, just added to the cc version of "6". This really really works well in landscape photos.
- slightly faster overall performance
- More precise use of filters and brushes. you can "brush in" and "brush out" after using gradient filters, which you couldn't do before "6."

Essentially, "6" incorporates more features that you previously would have to use Photoshop and more advanced knowledge with. I suspect Lightroom 7 or 8 will start to incorporate content-aware brushes that are found in Photoshop. As they are really trying to sell Lightroom and Photoshop bundled, there is less reason for them to make features exclusive to just one of the products.

 

[PythonFan888]

I previously used photomatix for hdr, but that resulted in the final product being a jpeg.

Strange. I've always been able to output Photomatix files as 16 bit TIFF. The Lightroom plugin can save as 32 bit TIFF.

http://www.hdrsoft.com/download/merge32bit.html

 

[havoc315]

Strange. I've always been able to output Photomatix files as 16 bit TIFF. The Lightroom plugin can save as 32 bit TIFF.

http://www.hdrsoft.com/download/merge32bit.html

I misspoke I suppose. But lightroom can also save the HDR files at DNG, which I prefer over TIFF.

 

[elmoandzoey]

I work at a University as well, and at EDU bulk discount for Creative Cloud, yearly subscription, and with only 1,000 licenses you shouldn't hit six digits. We have a campus agreement that comes in at a far lower price than you'd expect.

I am not in the US. Our prices for Adobe products are a lot higher than the US, e.g. a standard edu subscription for CC is 20€ per month. We also need to license their non-creative software like Shockwave and Dreamweaver. With their current offer, we will hit a lower 6 digit number per year for the licenses we need.

 

[SkaGoat]

Personally, I signed up for the $10 a month Photography plan, I am the type that would want to be running the latest version of Lightroom, and you get both Lightroom and Photoshop for $120 a year, it's a very good deal.

 

[photo_chick]

I used the student/educator discount for my CC subscription and did not have to show any ID but I did use my university email address. However, the PS/LR plan is $9.99 for anyone. The student/educator savings come in when you get the entire suite for $19.99 a month which is a huge discount for access to the latest versions of all that software.

What I like about CC is that it's easier to maintain on multiple computers and I didn't have to buy a separate version to have it on both Mac and Windows in my house. There are also photoshop tools that they are releasing on CC that they are not releasing for box versions, so if you're a PS user there are some things like that they're using to try and get everyone to a subscription.