Lightroom Vs Photoshop: Which Photo Editing Software Is Better?

While editing images, photographers have a variety of tools they can use. And Lightroom & Photoshop are two of the most well-known photo editors created by Adobe. Are you in a dilemma about which one to choose to make your editing skills a breeze? We have got you covered! Here, in this guide, we will have an in-depth comparison between Lightroom Vs Photoshop that will save you time & money!

You might well be wondering why Adobe offers two post-processing tools if you’re new to photo editing. Which one is best to use? What is better compared?

Here is the quick difference between Lightroom Vs Photoshop:

Both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom are two of the best photo editing software but there are some differences & similarities that will help you an informed decision for your needs!

A photo editor called Lightroom is designed for a photographer’s workflow and quick photo editing process. With the aid of Lightroom, you may quickly edit virtually any image file. Although you may need a strong computer to handle large PSD files. Photoshop is built for extraordinarily powerful image manipulation and editing.

Adobe Lightroom is among the best photo editing programs available when you need a quick and easy way to edit images, clean up, and archive dozens or hundreds of photographs. Pro and serious photographers utilize Lightroom, a powerful but relatively simple-to-learn photo processing and editing application, much to how classic film photographers used darkroom. Even better, whether you’re using your phone, tablet, or computer, Lightroom instantly saves your photos to the cloud and enables you to edit them using the same or a comparable Lightroom interface.

For more than 30 years, consumers have had access to cutting-edge digital image alteration capabilities through Adobe Photoshop. Its market dominance is being challenged by products like Affinity, Luminar(which opens in a new tab), and Adobe’s own sibling Lightroom, despite the undeniable show-stopping capability it still provides. In addition to some very exciting new features, the most recent release of Photoshop CC 2021 also included the company’s Sensei (artificial intelligence) technology, which promises to do edits in the cloud and automate tedious jobs.

To guide you decide which application to use when, we’ll examine the benefits and drawbacks of both Lightroom and Photoshop in the following article. Let’s begin the Lightroom vs. Photoshop comparison.

Overview: What Is Adobe Lightroom?

One of the most widely used catalog-style editing apps available is Adobe Lightroom and for good reason. It offers a straightforward yet effective all-in-one workflow solution for enthusiastic photographers, enabling them to batch import, edit, organize, and output their photographs from a single window.

For photographers and picture editors that require flexible editing features and cloud-based file synchronization, Lightroom, a non-destructive image editing program, was introduced in 2006. Lightroom is suitable for folks who need an editing tool that they can access wherever they are, whether from their home desk or a portable smart device. It is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android platforms. The program saw some of the biggest modifications in recent memory with the release of the most recent version in October 2021. Additionally, adobe’s lightroom includes artificial intelligence (AI) analysis of situations for topic and sky masking, new crop overlays, and premium presets are among new features. Read our guide on Luminar Neo Vs Luminar AI Comparison Guide.

It frequently functions as a one-stop store. The workflow of a professional photographer may be handled by Lightroom effectively, from photo management to finishing touches, unlike Photoshop, which supports a number of creative disciplines.

You can obtain 20GB of online storage and the full edition of Adobe Photoshop (which by itself used to cost up to $999) with a Creative Cloud Photography membership, which costs $9.99 per month. The last perpetual license for Lightroom was for version 6, so if you see one for sale, run the other way because you’ll be paying for outdated software that won’t support modern camera types. Adobe no longer sells Lightroom as a one-time purchase and no longer updates pre-Creative Cloud versions.

Lightroom Image Editing Features

Here are the top-notch Lightroom image editing features:

Overview: What Is Adobe Photoshop?

Photoshop has evolved into a powerful software suite with a wide range of features and capabilities to serve the needs of graphic designers, architects, animators, publishers, photographers, and even 3D artists. Photoshop was initially designed as a simple image editing tool. Imagine it as the Cadillac of image editing, capable of endless expansion through software updates and upgrades as well as specialised plugins known as “filters” from Adobe and other software providers.

More than 30 years ago, Photoshop ignited the digital image alteration revolution. Today, Adobe’s ground-breaking program is still the best photo editing program available (or rent, to be more precise). Use Photoshop if you require multilayer image manipulation, typography, drawing, and a wide range of effects.

For designers, web developers, graphic artists, photographers, and other creative workers, Adobe Photoshop is an essential tool. It is frequently used to edit, retouch, compose, build mockups for websites, and apply effects to images. For use on the internet or in print, digital or scanned photographs can be modified.

The best and most modern tools for their trades are found in this program by both designers and photographers. Adobe Photoshop offers new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, such as the astounding Neural Filters, Sky Replacement, Landscape Mixer, and Color Transfer. Recently, more practical tools like pattern preview, live shapes, and cloud-stored files also debuted. However, 3D modeling is now a feature of the company’s Substance 3D product line and is no longer a component of Photoshop.

Photoshop Editing Tool Features

Here are the top Photoshop editing tool features:

Lightroom Vs Photoshop – Pricing Plans

Lightroom Pricing Plan

An annual subscription to Lightroom is available for as little as $9.99 per month or US$119.88 per year. You can buy a Lightroom Creative Cloud Photography plan that includes Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop instead of the Lightroom plan with 1TB of storage (20GB or 1TB).

Photoshop Pricing Plan

There are various Adobe Photoshop plans available. You can choose between an adobe photography plan annually that costs US$239.88 per year or US$20.99 per month, or you can choose a Creative Cloud All Programs or Photography plan that includes Photoshop and more apps.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop – Advanced Editing Tools

One of the major differences between Lightroom Vs Photoshop for photo editing tools. There are countless filters, brushes, and other tools in Photoshop that you can use to alter and change your photographs in a variety of ways. Additionally, Photoshop lets work by enabling you to build many layers on which your adjustments are really applied. Each layer can be changed separately from the others, as seen in the image on the right, which displays the numerous layers I used to edit the statue’s image. Although this may seem like a lot, a digital artist frequently uses dozens of layers when modifying an image.

Lightroom on the other hand In comparison has a considerably more linear workflow with fewer editing tools, no layers, and less overall flexibility. Using layers provides you infinitely more flexibility over how you modify your image than using either program’s history panel, which allows you to go back in time to any of your adjustments.

Photoshop for retouching is the best tool for practically every image-editing situation because of all of its options and features (which include support for text, 3D graphics, and even video). One reason Lightroom photo editing software options are so tempting to many photographers is that it essentially reduces Photoshop to the functions that Photographers use most frequently.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop – Workflow

On the opposite end of the scale is Photoshop image editing software, which cannot organize your photographs, transmit files, or create photo books or slide shows. But once more, it all depends on the compromises you’re ready to make. In terms of raw editing capabilities, nothing even comes close to Photoshop.

However, you may use Adobe Bridge to handle some workflow-based chores, such as importing images and organizing digital files on your computer. When used in conjunction with Photoshop, Adobe Bridge does provide a more thorough workflow experience akin to Lightroom. Although it doesn’t quite offer the same level of efficiency as working only in Lightroom gives a nice level of automation as opposed to manually organizing all of your PSDs, JPGs, and other photographs.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop – File Handling

The fact that Lightroom doesn’t actually alter photos or move your images to new locations on your computer is one of the key ways that it differs from the version of Photoshop. Instead, every modification you make is saved in a separate file called the Catalog, which functions as a type of recipe book for how each photo should be edited. The version of Lightroom effectively maintains a database of the changes made to the original image in lightroom when you apply an edit, such as a radial filter or correction brush. It’s a process known as non-destructive editing, which is completely different from how Photoshop elements work.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop- Raw File Processing

Since Photoshop lacks its own Raw file engine, working with Raw files requires opening a second window with Adobe Camera Raw. Despite the fact that Camera Raw is perfectly compatible with the Raw format, it adds an extra step to your process that is not actually necessary.

Lightroom is a photo editor that provides lens corrections in addition to automatically rendering Raw images. If you select to use Lr, you will have access to all the adjustment sliders that are present in standalone Adobe Camera Raw. Lr is therefore more practical for raw files than Ps.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop – Layers and Composites

Photoshop is the king of picture composites in the world of photo editing software. Photoshop excels most when it is used to combine several photos to create a single work of art. Masking and selecting tools available in photoshop have long been considered the best in the business.

Lightroom makes absolutely no layer functionality. It smoothly integrates with Photoshop, thus it is believed that you will complete your layer work there before returning to Adobe Lightroom once everything is finished (which is super easy, quick keys, and all). There are options for local adjustment and masking, but none for compositing.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop- Actions and Presets

One of the most common features includes both lightroom and photoshop offer is a way to automate processes. This is accomplished in Photoshop using “Actions.” In Lightroom, presets are employed. Both significantly accelerate the editing process.

The presets in Lightroom are simpler to utilize as a result. They are simple to customize and may be applied with only one click and use lightroom to edit.

Advantages of Lightroom Vs Photoshop

Adobe Lightroom Advantages

Adobe Photoshop Advantages

Lightroom Vs Photoshop: Who Is The Winner?

For the majority of photographers, Lightroom is a superior choice—at least initially. Adjustments for digital photography are simple, and you have an image management system. The more photos you take, the more important this becomes. Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw Plugin already provide the majority of the functionality that Lightroom does.

It’s worthwhile to return to Photoshop. As we know photoshop is a pixel-level image editor, as well as photoshop, also provides most of the tools which are similar to lightroom’s advanced tools.

Lightroom Vs Photoshop: Which One You Should Use?

There are other photo editing programs than Photoshop and Lightroom, which are both good choices. Adobe Camera Raw, which uses the same top-notch image processing engine as Lightroom, and Adobe Bridge, which is used to manage a variety of file types, are both included in Photoshop. Alternatively, you can use Adobe Photoshop Express and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for mobile to edit entirely on the go. Find out which photography apps are offered under the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography package.

The decision between Lightroom and Photoshop ultimately comes down to your personal preferences and the objectives of your creative efforts. The solution is frequently to employ both. You may customize your process to produce the photos you desire now that you are aware of the distinctions between the two. Have fun and explore until you find your ideal editing procedure to learn what works for you.

Conclusion On Lightroom Vs Photoshop

I hope this comparison of Lightroom Vs Photoshop was informative. Both software have a lot to offer for various editing techniques, and each has benefits and drawbacks of its own.  Both Lightroom and Photoshop are included with a Creative Cloud subscription. Therefore, you are not required to make a decision. To find your perfect balance, try both.

FAQs On Lightroom Vs Photoshop