Which program is finest, Adobe Digicam Uncooked vs Lightroom? And which must you use on your images workflow?
On this article, I’m going to share an intensive comparability of those two applications. I’ll focus on all the important thing options, from enhancing capabilities and file sorts to digital asset administration and integration.
By the point you’re accomplished, you’ll know which program is best for you – and I’ll even clarify how one can successfully combine each applications into your enhancing workflow.
Let’s get began.
What Is Adobe Digicam Uncooked?
Adobe Digicam Uncooked (ACR) is a RAW file converter. It turns a RAW file right into a extra versatile file sort, resembling a TIFF, JPEG, or perhaps a PSD – so as to simply preview, share, or edit your work.
ACR started as a Photoshop plugin, permitting photographers to open RAW recordsdata, convert them in Digicam Uncooked, then proceed with enhancing in Photoshop. However it quickly turned a everlasting fixture of the Photoshop surroundings (means again in 2003, when Adobe first launched Photoshop CS).
Since then, Digicam Uncooked has gone by way of loads of iterations. Immediately, it provides a whole bunch of enhancing choices, together with fundamental publicity changes, fundamental coloration changes, and focused (native) changes through brushes and filters. Whereas ACR can’t match the expansiveness and depth of Photoshop, and whereas it’s technically nonetheless a Photoshop plugin, it now packs the ability of a standalone editor.
What Is Lightroom?
Lightroom is a picture enhancing and digital asset administration (DAM) program supplied by Adobe.
Not like Adobe Digicam Uncooked, Lightroom is cut up into a number of modules, every with a delegated operate. As an illustration, you get a picture library (for importing and organizing photographs), a Develop module (for making edits), a Print module (for making ready photographs for print), and extra.
Lightroom was initially labeled “Photoshop Lightroom,” with the aim of high-volume picture processing that simply wasn’t potential in Photoshop. Word that Lightroom’s builders took the (already current) Adobe Digicam Uncooked and caught it into Lightroom’s Develop module – so the enhancing options in each applications are functionally an identical, with the identical sliders, the identical adjustment instruments, and as of the latest main replace, the same enhancing structure.
In different phrases:
In terms of enhancing, ACR and Lightroom are basically the identical program.
That mentioned, there are some essential variations, particularly on the subject of workflow and digital asset administration (and I focus on these in depth under).
The Benefit of Nondestructive RAW Enhancing
Each Digicam Uncooked and Lightroom are nondestructive RAW editors, which implies they alter RAW recordsdata with out overwriting the unique picture.
So should you improve the publicity in ACR or Lightroom, you’re not really brightening the unique pixels; as an alternative, you’re writing the modifications to a picture catalog (Lightroom) or to a sidecar file (ACR).
The unique RAW picture all the time stays untouched.
Why is that this essential?
It means you can make as many modifications as you need to your recordsdata, but you’ll by no means destroy the unique. Every little thing is reversible. In case your tastes change otherwise you make a mistake, you may all the time reset the edits and begin over.
Additionally, ACR and Lightroom (together with Lightroom Traditional, Lightroom, and Lightroom Cell) all acknowledge each other’s catalogs and sidecar recordsdata – so you may edit in a single program, swap to a different, and head into a 3rd with full continuity.
And since ACR and Lightroom presets are the identical, you may import any Lightroom presets into ACR and vice versa.
What Are the Benefits of Lightroom?
As I defined above, Lightroom and ACR supply an identical enhancing packages.
However Lightroom provides a degree of performance on prime of its enhancing:
Digital asset administration.
In Lightroom, you may import recordsdata of all sorts (together with each RAWs and JPEGs), then you may arrange them into completely different collections, give them key phrases, rankings, flags, and far, far more. And after organizing, you may transfer into the Develop module to make edits, then again into the Library module for additional group, and so forth.
This can be a big deal. It’s a approach to maintain your entire photographic workflow – from group to enhancing to exporting – in a single place, and that is invaluable for novices, fanatics, and professionals. Plus, Lightroom isn’t simply a digital asset administration program, it’s the digital asset administration program, one which outperforms many of the different choices in the marketplace and is utilized by loads of world-class professionals.
Evaluate this to Adobe Digicam Uncooked, which incorporates zero group capabilities. You click on to open a file, you edit the file in ACR, and also you reserve it, export it, or proceed on to Photoshop. There’s no organizing photographs into folders or collections or anything. (You possibly can add a star ranking, however it’s not particularly helpful until you employ Adobe Bridge, mentioned under.)
What Are the Benefits of Adobe Digicam Uncooked?
As you’re now conscious, Adobe Digicam Uncooked is usually only a portion of Lightroom that converts recordsdata for Photoshop.
However this does include some advantages.
For one, ACR doesn’t use a catalog; picture edits are saved alongside the unique RAW file. This may be helpful if you wish to share RAW recordsdata with one other laptop – as an alternative of sending your RAW file plus the entire Lightroom catalog, you may simply ship the RAW file and the sidecar file (which is conveniently situated proper subsequent to the unique RAW).
(You can make Lightroom do that, however it takes some setup, plus it takes up further space for storing.)
And two:
Adobe Digicam Uncooked is made for Photoshop, so it’s extremely straightforward to begin in ACR, do some enhancing in Photoshop, after which (through Adobe’s Digicam Uncooked filter) make further modifications in Digicam Uncooked.
Sure, Lightroom does supply Photoshop integration. However it’s not practically as handy because the ACR-Photoshop workflow, so for many who plan to spend plenty of time in Photoshop, ACR is very interesting.
Digicam RAW + Bridge vs Lightroom
For these of you who like Adobe Digicam Uncooked however are annoyed by the shortage of DAM capabilities, there’s a resolution:
Adobe Bridge.
Bridge was launched again in 2005, and it’s simply a picture organizer – so it will possibly act because the DAM companion to ACR’s enhancing.
For photographers preferring to not use Lightroom, Adobe Bridge is a lifesaver. You possibly can arrange photographs in Bridge, then do RAW conversions and fundamental edits in Adobe Digicam Uncooked earlier than making main changes in Photoshop.
Plus, Adobe Bridge is a picture organizing program that’s utterly free.
Find out how to Use Lightroom and Digicam Uncooked Successfully
Adobe Bridge is nice – however what if you wish to stick to Lightroom for picture group, however you additionally need to have the ability to entry Adobe Digicam Uncooked? What do you do?
You possibly can mix ACR and Lightroom by way of a useful little workflow:
First, you import and arrange your photographs in Lightroom.
Then, you may make fundamental changes within the Lightroom Develop module.
When you’re able to do higher-level changes, you may right-click on a picture and choose Edit In > Open as Sensible Object in Photoshop.
Your file will open in Photoshop. You may make any Photoshop changes you want. And you’ll additionally use the Digicam Uncooked filter, which helps you to entry ACR throughout the Photoshop interface.
Adobe Digicam Uncooked vs Lightroom: Conclusion
Adobe Digicam Uncooked and Lightroom are each wonderful applications. The hot button is to find out which one works for you.
In case you spend most of your time in Photoshop, ACR (plus Bridge) is perhaps the higher selection. However should you desire Lightroom’s enhancing and group capabilities, you may all the time work successfully with Lightroom and Photoshop – and, once you want it, the Digicam Uncooked filter!
