Weekly Discussion Thread: Lightroom vs Photoshop vs Aperture / or do you combine??

AgnieszkaAgnieszka Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,263 Major grins
edited May 5, 2011 in Weddings
Let's talk about our different processing approaches. I'm wondering what YOU are using; Lightroom / Photoshop or Aperture, or do you use all 3 of them? :ear

Comments

  • Moogle PepperMoogle Pepper Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    Agnieszka wrote:
    Let's talk about our different processing approaches. I'm wondering what YOU are using; Lightroom / Photoshop, or do you use them both? ear.gif

    Both! :)
    Food & Culture.
    www.tednghiem.com
  • wadesworldwadesworld Registered Users Posts: 139 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    Don't forget the Aperture users. :)

    (though I'm not a wedding photographer, so I don't count)
    Wade Williams
    Nikon D300, 18-135/3.5-5.6, 70-300/4.5-5.6, SB800
  • l.k.madisonl.k.madison Registered Users Posts: 542 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    wadesworld wrote:
    Don't forget the Aperture users. :)

    (though I'm not a wedding photographer, so I don't count)

    Yes, we love our Macs!!!

    Between the two of us, we use all three, depending on what needs to be done. I favor Photoshop, my husband favors Lightroom (mainly for the workflow) and Aperture comes in every once in a while. We've used Bibble a few times, too. :)
  • AgnieszkaAgnieszka Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,263 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    wadesworld wrote:
    Don't forget the Aperture users. :)

    (though I'm not a wedding photographer, so I don't count)

    Ha!! You are right .... sorry for that & great point!! thumb.gif
  • BlurmoreBlurmore Registered Users Posts: 992 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    LR 3 Beta 2 and the day it is released in final I will buy the upgrade from 2. LR is badass, only stuff with heavy masking/diffusion/layers/layout/text sees photoshop (CS 2) and I'd say that amounts to maybe 5% of my total photography output.
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    Blurmore wrote:
    LR 3 Beta 2 and the day it is released in final I will buy the upgrade from 2. LR is badass, only stuff with heavy masking/diffusion/layers/layout/text sees photoshop (CS 2) and I'd say that amounts to maybe 5% of my total photography output.

    What he said. 15524779-Ti.gif
  • mmmattmmmatt Registered Users Posts: 1,347 Major grins
    edited April 19, 2010
    I use bridge > camera raw > (sometimes) ps cs3

    I can do 90% of what I need to do in ACR, and then just do bigger cloning jobs and run actions in ps. Sometimes I use curves but even that is rare. I like the concept of bridge although I'm sure lightroom would speed me up some. ACR is more powerful than people give it credit for...

    CS3 is showing minor quirks on windows 7, so I'm going to have to make some changes soon. CS4 didn't float my boat but cs5 is looking interesting... I may go LR though, I guess I'll be watching this one closely!


    Matt
    My Smugmug site

    Bodies: Canon 5d mkII, 5d, 40d
    Lenses: 24-70 f2.8L, 70-200 f4.0L, 135 f2L, 85 f1.8, 50 1.8, 100 f2.8 macro, Tamron 28-105 f2.8
    Flash: 2x 580 exII, Canon ST-E2, 2x Pocket Wizard flexTT5, and some lower end studio strobes
  • zoomerzoomer Registered Users Posts: 3,688 Major grins
    edited April 20, 2010
    I never do any serious processing, just the basics.
    A little cloning here and there but not much, that is serious processing for me mwink.gif .

    Depending on how busy I am.
    Busy season 95% Lightroom 5% Photoshop.

    Slow season where I have more time to play with processing.
    70 percent Lightroom 30 percent Photoshop.
  • KinkajouKinkajou Registered Users Posts: 1,240 Major grins
    edited April 22, 2010
    Poor people unite! Gimp all the way!

    Although it makes for a slow, slow, slow workflow, it does the job. Well, mostly. I'll be upgrading to a new computer soon and plan to get LR and PS for it.

    I have to say that Gimp has been a great tool thus far and I definitely recommend it for someone just starting out in photo editing who can't afford LR and/or PS. You can do much of the same stuff, but there is no batch processing. Theoretically you can create something similar to PS actions, but I haven't really sat down and tried to work through that in detail.
    Webpage

    Spread the love! Go comment on something!
  • Jean LevasseurJean Levasseur Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
    edited April 23, 2010
    I'm using F-Spot for my basic management (tags, smugmug uploads, etc), UFRaw to develop my NEF files and GIMP for extensive editing. I've tried Hugin as a panorama stitcher, but it is not quite user friendly though. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my workflow, but I don't know much about PS / Aperture / Lightroom, so I can hardly compare.
  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2010
    Kinkajou wrote:
    Poor people unite! Gimp all the way!

    Although it makes for a slow, slow, slow workflow, it does the job. Well, mostly. I'll be upgrading to a new computer soon and plan to get LR and PS for it.

    G I M P ~

    GIMP is totally c00L, at least with me, and any folks that like open source.

    Everything I do , goes through LR2....I go to newly acquired CS4 for different corrections and to learn...I turn back to GIMP when I need something quick! But 98% of my stuff only sees LR2~

    cheers,
    tom wise
  • SnowgirlSnowgirl Registered Users Posts: 2,155 Major grins
    edited April 27, 2010
    Mac Mac Mac :)
    Yes, I am a MACmwink.gif

    I use the new and trés cool Aperture 3 now for the bulk of my processing. For close-up portraits etc. I then go to PS for finishing touches, masking etc. Aperture 3 HAS curves - yehaw!
    Creating visual and verbal images that resonate with you.
    http://www.imagesbyceci.com
    http://www.facebook.com/ImagesByCeci
    Picadilly, NB, Canada
  • mutti_wilsonmutti_wilson Registered Users Posts: 33 Big grins
    edited April 28, 2010
    Fastone for gleaning through the images - Capture NX for most of the work - PSPX2 for the little things.
    Bodies: D300, D200
    Lenses: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Tokina AT-X 828 AF Pro 80-200mm f/2.8, Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8, Nikon 50mm f/1.4
    Accessories: Nikon SB-600, Zeikos Grip, Original Tilt-All Tripod, Smith-Victor BH-52 Ball Head, Various Filters etc.
  • glengoffinglengoffin Registered Users Posts: 19 Big grins
    edited April 29, 2010
    LR Rules! Well ... mostly ...
    I'm your basic LR for most stuff but PS for those special items kind of guy :)

    I'm wondering if anyone has used (or is using) Photo Mechanic? Zack Arias has a video where he shows his workflow which starts with Photo Mechanic ... and it is quite impressive! I'm planning to give the PM demo a try.
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited May 5, 2010
    What he said. 15524779-Ti.gif

    Yup, Lightroom 3 Beta 2 with plans to buy it as soon as it's out.
  • SwartzySwartzy Registered Users Posts: 3,293 Major grins
    edited May 5, 2010
    LR & PS......Doing more in LR these days and less in PS for weddings..except for the "Ooooh Baby" shots...then they get special PS treatment.
    Swartzy:
    NAPP Member | Canon Shooter
    Weddings/Portraits and anything else that catches my eye.
    www.daveswartz.com
    Model Mayhem site http://www.modelmayhem.com/686552
  • david_hdavid_h Registered Users Posts: 463 Major grins
    edited May 8, 2010
    I used to use CaptureOne/Photoshop now it's Lightroom/Photoshop

    My workflow is pretty simple.

    Copy NEF files to hard drive.

    Back up to external drive and to LiveDrive (in cloud)

    Import to Lightroom - applying an import preset to get the starting point I want

    Tag files I want to keep

    Correct the keepers for white balance and exposure as needed

    Export to jpg

    Re-name files so no gaps in sequence

    In Photoshop run a little action for colour and sharpness that also ads my logo and resizes for webproofs.

    Run similar action (without resize and logo) for proofs to deliver

    Upload webproofs to SmugMug

    Relax with a nice beer!!
    ____________
    Cheers!
    David
    www.uniqueday.com
  • Jeremy WinterbergJeremy Winterberg Registered Users Posts: 1,233 Major grins
    edited May 10, 2010
    Dont Forget Bridge!!

    My workflow:

    Shoot wedding in RAW
    Download images using Bridge CS5 to my pc desktop
    Backup to Smugmug using StarExplorer Pro - our own Nikolai made this program and its amazing!
    Backup to external Hard Drive
    Backup to DVD
    Backup to MacBook Pro
    Go through the countless images in bridge giving a star rating to the images I like
    Fine tune those images down to the final cull
    Edit the "keepers" in Camera RAW 6.0 (its such an amazing update to the old 5.7 or whatever it was in CS4)
    Do any major touch-up work in Photoshop CS5 (the new Content Aware fill is amazing.. everything about CS5 is amazing)
    Upload edited images to SmugMug using StarExplorer Pro
    Make another backup DVD of edited images
    Blog images from the wedding
    Make Album in InDesign CS5
    Format Memory Cards

    sleep.

    This workflow works well for me. It will be even easier once I get a fancy firewire CF card reader. Hopefully will be getting that before my next wedding. I used to use Lightroom 2 but its too similar to bridge, and there is more control in ACR. And, bridge is extremely integrated in Photoshop CS5 (they have a mini-bridge tab now that lets you do almost everything you can in regular bridge from within photoshop), so it makes my workflow easier.

    Oh and matt, CS4 and 5 work wonderfully well on Windows 7. 5 is by far worth getting over 4. (I dont even think you can get 4 anymore)
    Jer
  • PhotoLasVegasPhotoLasVegas Registered Users Posts: 264 Major grins
    edited May 10, 2010
    david_h wrote: »
    I used to use CaptureOne/Photoshop now it's Lightroom/Photoshop

    My workflow is pretty simple.

    Copy NEF files to hard drive.

    Back up to external drive and to LiveDrive (in cloud)

    Import to Lightroom - applying an import preset to get the starting point I want

    Tag files I want to keep

    Correct the keepers for white balance and exposure as needed

    Export to jpg

    Re-name files so no gaps in sequence

    In Photoshop run a little action for colour and sharpness that also ads my logo and resizes for webproofs.

    Run similar action (without resize and logo) for proofs to deliver

    Upload webproofs to SmugMug

    Relax with a nice beer!!

    Suggestion:
    Re-name the files in LR, you can name them based on time shot..
    we have names for our files as follows:
    YYMMDDHHMMSS-originalfilenumberprefix

    When sorting by filename, they arrange right down to the second.
    Las Vegas Wedding, Family, and Special Event Photographers.

    Canon 7d
    2 Canon 40d
    70-200 f2.8L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, Tamron 17-55 f2.8, ProOptic 8mm Fisheye
    And a bunch of other stuff ;)
  • JCJC Registered Users Posts: 768 Major grins
    edited May 18, 2010
    Digikam-UFRaw-Gimp
    Another open source user here, but i don't do pro work, so YMMV.

    I absolutely love Digikam. I do a lot of mundane work shots with my point and shoot, and I use Digikam to organize, tag and geocode them, and basic photo-editing, which for documentary work shots can only consists of adjusting basic exposure and levels, no fancy image manipulation.

    Digikam is also great for my hobby art shots.

    I'm not as happy with UFRaw- you can do everything with it, it's really versatile but I have a hard time matching the embedded JPG/Raw preview look, and a lot of time I'm pretty happy with the out of the camera processing in the jpg preview. I wish UFRaw had a default setting that would match whatever Canon does in the camera.

    Gimp is fine for me, I wish batch processing were easier, the script coding in Gimp is pretty incomprehensible to me, but you can do basic GIMP batch processing in Digikam.

    (edited)
    Whoops, i didn't realize this thread was in weddings, i did a search for UFRaw and found it. I definitely don't shoot weddings!
    Yeah, if you recognize the avatar, new user name.
  • KomalKomal Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
    edited May 2, 2011
    I love Lightroom! It really does the trick for me. I use Photoshop Elements for canvasing images to get them ready for the blog.
  • ShepsMomShepsMom Registered Users Posts: 4,319 Major grins
    edited May 3, 2011
    Mostly LR and some CS for a special touch. I've downloaded trial of Aperture a long time ago, but just couldn't get my head around it.
    Marina
    www.intruecolors.com
    Nikon D700 x2/D300
    Nikon 70-200 2.8/50 1.8/85 1.8/14.24 2.8
  • Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited May 4, 2011
    I preferred Bridge over Lightroom for a very long time, and I still do enjoy the ease of browsing with a properly configured Bridge CS3-CS5 program. Bridge is great for browsing old archives that you don't really care to bother creating a Lightroom catalog for...

    Moving forward, I do usually use Lightroom for all high-volume processing, any job more than 100 images or so gets it's own Lightroom catalog. Most everything, including color correction etc. of course but also even burning and dodging, minor blemish removal and skin smoothing, happens in Lightroom.

    I only really use Photoshop for seriously advanced stuff, which maybe only happens a few times per job...

    For any new buyer, I can highly recommend starting with a copy of Photoshop Elements and Lightroom; Photoshop Elements comes with Bridge CS5 these days, so for a pretty decent price you can do pretty much everything...

    =Matt=
    =Matt=
    My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug PortfolioMy Astro-Landscape Photo BlogDgrin Weddings Forum
  • Ed911Ed911 Registered Users Posts: 1,306 Major grins
    edited May 5, 2011
    For my last wedding... Viewed, culled, and Processed in LR3 with less than 10% additional post processing in CS5.
    Remember, no one may want you to take pictures, but they all want to see them.
    Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.

    Ed
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