Lightroom and CS5

[brewercm]

I'm new to the software and have been using both LR2 and CS5 for a while with the trial versions. My question is what are the benefits of one over the other if you could only have one at the moment?

I'm working full time and going to school full time so haven't had enough time with either to really get deep into them other than play with some raw files which has been a lot of fun.

[KdLaneJr]

The benefits of one over the other depend on how much you shoot and what kind of photos you are processing. Providing more info will help forum members provide you with an answer that is more concrete than "check out www.adobe.com".

[brewercm]

I'm just shooting family stuff in general, lots of request for (taking pictures) at different events from friends etc. I sometime have hundreds of pictures to process through and other times just a few. Building an in home studio right now to mess around a little bit as I'd like to get into portraits eventually.
Just an enthusiast which has gotten deep into the hobby after shooting many macros of reef aquariums. Would love some day to get to the point where I could open a studio and do something I love for a living.

I can get all of the different products at student rate which is a hefty discount, but I'm just not sure at this point what would suite me best. I've played a little with both LR and CS5, but haven't tried PS Elements yet though. I'm sure they all work together great for certain things, just not sure if I was to purchase one at the moment what would be the best rather than spend $360 for all three. I'm sure I'd eventually get them all but what is best to start with and grow from there.

Sorry if this isn't making much sense, it's just hard putting into words the why, where, and how.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by brewercm

I'm new to the software and have been using both LR2 and CS5 for a while with the trial versions. My question is what are the benefits of one over the other if you could only have one at the moment?

I'm working full time and going to school full time so haven't had enough time with either to really get deep into them other than play with some raw files which has been a lot of fun.

Clifton,

Hopefully these articles will help you decide which program is best for you. Some of the articles are a couple of years old but you should have a basic idea in the end.

LightRoom vs CS4? - Canon Digital Photography Forums
Learning Center – Lightroom 2 | Learn Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Digital Photography | NAPP
Lightroom vs. Photoshop | TheLightroomLab.com | Written by David Marx
The Photographer's Life
Lightroom 2 vs Photoshop CS4: Pro Digital Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Lightroom Vs. Photoshop | eHow.com

[brewercm]

Thanks, appreciate the help and will look through those. It's amazing how much some of this software has changed over the years. Definitely make it confusing to figure out what is what any more.

Now off I go to read up.

[KdLaneJr]

Sorry it has taken a while to get back to this thread. If your current computer can handle CS5, then it should handle LR3 also. Since you said you can get these with a student discount, I'd recommend you go that route and then either join NAPP for instructional material or sign up with Lynda.com by the month.

Lightroom is good enough to be a stand alone solution for what you've described yourself doing photographically, but CS5 bears learning now while you can get the program inexpensively. Once you learned more about how to effectively use both of them, you will be in a much better position to determine whether or not you will need, CS5, LR3.. or both.

I prefer LR for sports and events where a large number of images are taken, and photoshop for portrait sessions. For Wedding work I use LR to import the photos and bulk process, then photoshop to edit the images that merit special attention.

[brewercm]

Thnaks for the input. I'll probably end up with both as the deal is just too hard to pass up on that price for CS5.