Which program is finest, Adobe Digicam Uncooked vs Lightroom? And which must you use in your pictures workflow?
On this article, I’m going to share a radical comparability of those two applications. I’ll talk about all the important thing options, from enhancing capabilities and file sorts to digital asset administration and integration.
By the point you’re achieved, 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 kind, akin to a TIFF, JPEG, or perhaps a PSD – to be able to simply preview, share, or edit your work.
ACR started as a Photoshop plugin, permitting photographers to open RAW information, convert them in Digicam Uncooked, then proceed with enhancing in Photoshop. Nevertheless it quickly turned a everlasting fixture of the Photoshop surroundings (approach again in 2003, when Adobe first launched Photoshop CS).
Since then, Digicam Uncooked has gone by means of loads of iterations. Right this moment, it presents tons of of enhancing choices, together with primary publicity changes, primary shade changes, and focused (native) changes by way of 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 facility of a standalone editor.
What Is Lightroom?
Lightroom is a picture enhancing and digital asset administration (DAM) program provided by Adobe.
In contrast to Adobe Digicam Uncooked, Lightroom is break up into a number of modules, every with a delegated operate. As an illustration, you get a picture library (for importing and organizing photos), a Develop module (for making edits), a Print module (for getting ready photos for print), and extra.
Lightroom was initially labeled “Photoshop Lightroom,” with the purpose of high-volume picture processing that simply wasn’t potential in Photoshop. Be aware that Lightroom’s builders took the (already present) 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, an analogous enhancing structure.
In different phrases:
In relation to 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 talk about these in depth beneath).
The Benefit of Nondestructive RAW Modifying
Each Digicam Uncooked and Lightroom are nondestructive RAW editors, which implies they alter RAW information with out overwriting the unique picture.
So in case you enhance 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 which you could make as many modifications as you need to your information, but you’ll by no means destroy the unique. All the pieces is reversible. In case your tastes change otherwise you make a mistake, you possibly can all the time reset the edits and begin over.
Additionally, ACR and Lightroom (together with Lightroom Basic, Lightroom, and Lightroom Cellular) all acknowledge each other’s catalogs and sidecar information – so you possibly can 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 possibly can import any Lightroom presets into ACR and vice versa.
What Are the Benefits of Lightroom?
As I defined above, Lightroom and ACR provide an identical enhancing packages.
However Lightroom presents a stage of performance on prime of its enhancing:
Digital asset administration.
In Lightroom, you possibly can import information of every type (together with each RAWs and JPEGs), then you possibly can manage them into totally different collections, give them key phrases, scores, flags, and far, rather more. And after organizing, you possibly can transfer into the Develop module to make edits, then again into the Library module for additional group, and so forth.
This can be a large deal. It’s a solution to maintain your entire photographic workflow – from group to enhancing to exporting – in a single place, and that is invaluable for inexperienced persons, fanatics, and professionals. Plus, Lightroom isn’t simply a digital asset administration program, it’s the digital asset administration program, one which outperforms a lot of the different choices available on the market and is utilized by loads of world-class professionals.
Examine 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 photos into folders or collections or anything. (You possibly can add a star ranking, however it’s not particularly helpful except you utilize Adobe Bridge, mentioned beneath.)
What Are the Benefits of Adobe Digicam Uncooked?
As you’re now conscious, Adobe Digicam Uncooked is generally only a portion of Lightroom that converts information 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 information with one other laptop – as an alternative of sending your RAW file plus the entire Lightroom catalog, you possibly can simply ship the RAW file and the sidecar file (which is conveniently positioned proper subsequent to the unique RAW).
(You can make Lightroom do that, however it takes some setup, plus it takes up further cupboard space.)
And two:
Adobe Digicam Uncooked is made for Photoshop, so it’s extremely simple to start out in ACR, do some enhancing in Photoshop, after which (by way of Adobe’s Digicam Uncooked filter) make further modifications in Digicam Uncooked.
Sure, Lightroom does provide Photoshop integration. Nevertheless it’s not practically as handy because the ACR-Photoshop workflow, so for individuals who plan to spend a number 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 dearth 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 manage photos in Bridge, then do RAW conversions and primary edits in Adobe Digicam Uncooked earlier than making main changes in Photoshop.
Plus, Adobe Bridge is a photograph organizing program that’s fully free.
How one can 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 means of a helpful little workflow:
First, you import and manage your photos in Lightroom.
Then, you can also make primary changes within the Lightroom Develop module.
When you’re able to do higher-level changes, you possibly can right-click on a picture and choose Edit In > Open as Sensible Object in Photoshop.
Your file will open in Photoshop. You can also make any Photoshop changes you want. And you may additionally use the Digicam Uncooked filter, which helps you to entry ACR inside the Photoshop interface.
Adobe Digicam Uncooked vs Lightroom: Conclusion
Adobe Digicam Uncooked and Lightroom are each glorious applications. The bottom line is to find out which one works for you.
For those who spend most of your time in Photoshop, ACR (plus Bridge) is likely to be the higher alternative. However in case you want Lightroom’s enhancing and group capabilities, you possibly can all the time work successfully with Lightroom and Photoshop – and, whenever you want it, the Digicam Uncooked filter!