Lightroom disaster/workflow

[Guest WPalank]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Right click your image in LR (doesn't matter if you are in the Develop or Library Module), "Export to Photoshop CC" (Yes, with LR Adjustments intact, Hit OK).

Work on your image in PS. Layer it, flatten it, whatever you want, then determine final file type(Tiff, psd, jpeg (must be flattened). File>Save, image goes directly into the LR folder the original image was in.IMHO, couldn't be simpler.

Problem Solved.

[250swb]

[quote=mark_j;2498843If you don't need the database management (or find the LR catalog implementation too complex) then Bridge/PS is the simpler way to go.

.

 

I guess you missed the bit where I suggested that Bridge/LR is the way to go?

 

 

Steve

[250swb]

Right click your image in LR (doesn't matter if you are in the Develop or Library Module), "Export to Photoshop CC" (Yes, with LR Adjustments intact, Hit OK).

Work on your image in PS. Layer it, flatten it, whatever you want, then determine final file type(Tiff, psd, jpeg (must be flattened). File>Save, image goes directly into the LR folder the original image was in.IMHO, couldn't be simpler.

Problem Solved.

 

The OP is asking about working in Lightroom and organising his files, not how to export from Lightroom to Photoshop

 

Steve

[mark_j]

I guess you missed the bit where I suggested that Bridge/LR is the way to go?

 

 

Steve

 

Bridge/LR? Now you have me totally confused.

[mark_j]

I think you understate the capability of the current LR version as an editing tool. While I still have PS on my system, my need to use it has become increasingly rare. LR file management is important, but wouldn't mean much to me if the editing tools hadn't made such dramatic improvements over the last 4 or 5 years. And with minimal additional cost.

 

Jeff

 

I was trying to compare LR with PS and it was not meant as an absolute comment. I agree that LR has improved hugely and for global edits it is very good. I still find for local edits that I go to PS but I read from many LR users that they hardly use PS anymore so this obviously works for many. I guess we all have our different ways of getting the result and no one way is better than any other.

[250swb]

The OP is asking about working in Lightroom and organising his files, not how to export from Lightroom to Photoshop

 

Steve

 

Bridge/LR? Now you have me totally confused.

 

You are perhaps confused because the OP is asking about Lightroom while you are introducing Photoshop. If you can't keep on topic you will be confused.

 

Steve

[rob_w]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

As many have already said I too import the files onto the hard disk and into LR. The LR program leaves the RAW files exactly where they have been located. If you move them by directly accessing the disk folders you may need to tell LR where you have moved them to, but apart from that your control over location is undisturbed.

 

The big difference, and the one I suspect is bugging the OP, is that LR does not modify the RAW files themselves. Of course, this is a virtue, but if you are used to accessing, say, TIFF files in the same disk location after saving them from PS, you wont have the same facility.

 

It is possible to export TIFF files from LR into any file structure you want but this is normally meant to create a TIFF needed for a specific purpose. It is true you are then working somewhat against the intended workflow designed into LR rather than with it.

[mark_j]

You are perhaps confused because the OP is asking about Lightroom while you are introducing Photoshop. If you can't keep on topic you will be confused.

 

Steve

 

Nope, that's not the source of the confusion. It was someone else that you commented on about introducing PS. The only confusion I have is how you would use LR and Bridge together? I am sure you will enlighten us.

[250swb]

Nope, that's not the source of the confusion. It was someone else that you commented on about introducing PS. The only confusion I have is how you would use LR and Bridge together? I am sure you will enlighten us.

 

You are unbelievable. Have you tried reading this thread from the beginning and taking note of the punctuation? I asked the question in the first place, can Bridge be linked to open photographs in Lightroom and not just Photoshop? As nobody has answered it yet I find myself unable to enlighten you. I'll get back to you when I know.

 

Steve

[Guest WPalank]

You are unbelievable. Have you tried reading this thread from the beginning and taking note of the punctuation? I asked the question in the first place, can Bridge be linked to open photographs in Lightroom and not just Photoshop?

Steve

 

No, you are unbelievable. Why in God's name would one want to use Bridge to open in LR? Talk about redundancy. Wait, you must hold a government position or be retired from one.......

[mark_j]

You are unbelievable. Have you tried reading this thread from the beginning and taking note of the punctuation? I asked the question in the first place, can Bridge be linked to open photographs in Lightroom and not just Photoshop? As nobody has answered it yet I find myself unable to enlighten you. I'll get back to you when I know.

 

Steve

 

OK now I understand your problem, let me make this simple.

 

1. Bridge is a simple database management system which allows you to open your photos into ACR (which does the RAW conversion) and then subsequently into PS.

2. LR is a more complex and feature rich database management system which also incorporates RAW conversion (almost identical to ACR) which also allows you to open your photos into PS.

 

There is no good reason that you would use Bridge and LR together.

 

Does that answer your question?

[250swb]

No, you are unbelievable. Why in God's name would one want to use Bridge to open in LR? Talk about redundancy. Wait, you must hold a government position or be retired from one.......

 

I wouldn't want to use Bridge to open Lightroom, I don't use Lightroom . It was just an idea for the OP who bemoaned the alternative file handling of Lightroom. If it were possible to use Bridge it would be a familiar front end. So it was only a suggestion, I don't give a toss either way.

 

Steve

[250swb]

 

Does that answer your question?

 

No you ignored the question. Which was can you use Bridge to open Lightroom, and if using RAW open the Lightroom equivalent of ACR along the way. So you open Lightroom instead of Photoshop and edit your photo's in Lightroom. The question wasn't should you, which clearly involves some qualitative judgement, but can you. Seriously, I don't care, I don't like Lightroom, I don't want to use Lightroom, it was just a question to people who know Lightroom. I actually thought it would be easy to answer either yes or no. If not a yes or no and it needs expanding upon it is about the possibility of (somebody else, not me) using a simple database (Bridge) with a simple post processing programme (Lightroom).

 

Steve

[chrism]

Ah, a normal day at the L-forum and all's right with the world.

 

Chris:(

[Guest malland]

Amazing thread, although some would say "par for the course."

 

If anyone wants to move from PS or other PP software all he or she need to do is to look at a few of the basic video tutorials by Julieanne Kost. You'll quickly see that file structure, either within LR or on your hard disk, is not an issue. Then, all you have to do is to get used to changing modules (Library, Develop, Slideshow). Some people find this annoying, particularly after using Aperture. However, I switched from Aperture and found that LR5 has better tools and makes it easier to get the color that one wants.

 

Look especially at the new Radial Filter tool in LR5 (see Julieanne Kost tutorial), which is much better for burning and dodging than anything in earlier LR versions or in Aperture. Also, since LR4, the Black slider is a greatly improved tool; as are the Noise Reduction sliders. The easy way to work with LR5 is to first click Auto in the Basic panel and then adjust Exposure and the Black sliders, and then see whether you need to adjust Highlights and Whites; and keep an eye on White Balance. One quickly develops one's own approach if one starts in this simple way. For anyone just starting with LR, here are a list of steps for processing night shots that may be of help.

 

And, yes, Martin Evening's book is a good reference; but I find that I've used it rarely — usually a Google search can be quicker for finding out how to do something — and certainly wouldn't try to read it, unless this was the first post-processing software that I was using.

 

—Mitch/Paris

Tristes Tropiques [WIP]

[Unkei]

Hi there,

I had been using PS CS5, and got a sweet deal ($400 off) on CS6. If you can live without updates and CS6 answers your needs, it can still be purchased as a stand alone program and CC be da#ned! Since I went from PS7 to CS5 and only now to CS6, constant updates are not worth it to me, and I just would never use the rest of the CC junk. Just my humble opinion!

Unkei

[phoehsl]

I an looking for an alternative to PS since the advent of CC. My needs are something for Leica DNG and Nikon NEF (raw Nikon).

 

The M9 came with LR which I finally got installed and registered with Adobe with great effort. When you register a download from Leica it does not register at Adobe therefore no upgrades are possible and you can not move it to a new computer. You can manually register if you save the serial and are registered with Adobe. That is another whole painful story.

 

This whole library is a foreign concept . I do not want LR to own the images. I want them in the pictures folder where I have been operating for 5+ years now. It is a perfectly tuned system for me with sub folders fro raw, PS, softproof, resized pictures, etc.

 

Somehow all the raw files ended up in LR, 5 years worth. Made a real mess. I asked how to get them out and was told delete the .ics folder or whatever the LR library was called. It worked.

 

Now the problem is all the raw files are missing from my pictures sub folders. Every last one gone. Thank God for time machine and I am recovering them. This is a painful process.

 

What my goal is to use LR for processing raw and then return the raw files to the proper folders in the picture hierarchy where I can pick what needs to go to photoshop. I do not want to return them all as TIFF as many probably will never see the light of day again. I do not want to build a big library for LR.

I wish to soft proof in photoshop RGB where I have actions set to call out proper profiles and various other functions. I have this almost automated and my commercial printer gets me perfect prints as long as I do my job . Soft proof in LR is a pain and not as accurate and simply does not have the full controls.

 

I realize I am bucking the design of LR, but this is Adobe`s fault with their money grubbing CC software rental program. BTW they sent a 6x9" post card advertising a half price sale for CC. They must be losing customers right and left. What did they expect when they doubled the price and require you to sign up for the rest of your life installments.

 

I am thinking capture one but have yet to try it. Also I have created an Adobe profile editor profile for the M8 and the colors a beautiful. Not what somebody in Germany wants to reinterpret them as. Took me months of work with the M8 trying to get this organized and I do not want to lose it. The M8 has but 7000 clicks and is too young for a rest home.

 

What would be the proper workflow??

 

I'm also no friend of LR but primarily because I never get the results I want without endless tweaking and then I'm still not satisfied. I think Adobe made speed the priority here and not quality. And, yes, having to import everything before you can do something also drives me insane.

 

Just as an idea here's my workflow in a nutshell. I use Photo Mechanic to transfer, view, sort and rate pictures initially and delete what I don't need. What's nice about Photo Mechanic is that it can be set up to use the previews embedded in the RAW's to speedup that process quite dramatically. I then use Capture One or DXO to navigate to where I have my selects or send the files from within Photo Mechanic to where ever I want to work with them, do whatever needs to be done and export the final image into the same directory as the RAW. Whatever export I need for web or email I do back in Photo Mechanic.

 

Nice thing about this is that every program saves all the necessary meta info together with the RAW's so if I take my drive and hook it up on another machine all the ratings in Photo Mechanic and all the RAW adjustments in C1 and DXO are all there. So, everything is basically file system orientated.

 

For cataloging I use Media Pro which can generate lowres copies for offline browsing but basically refers to the actual image in its original location. C1 also has similar organizing features but I've never used them.

 

Regards, Peter

[tobey bilek]

I was trying to make LR work because of CC cost. That seems to be fixed now for single AP users.

 

I have determined that I locate in existing file structure, import, process, then export or export to PS.

 

Just why do I have to work this hard even making the presets do most of the work. I will stick with PS.

 

Either that or just work with LR , but that has limitations.

[Guest malland]

...Either that or just work with LR , but that has limitations.

What limitations are you referring to? Have you looked at the use of the new Radial Filter in LR5 for dodging and burning?

 

—Mitch/Paris

Tristes Tropiques [WIP]

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Chuck68]

I had my very own disaster with Lightroom V5 on Mac, never ever select "Copy As DNG" on import.

 

The DNG files from my X2 are readable by most applications as is, after importing to Lightroom using "Copy As DNG", the file system no longer shows a preview icon, Aperture cannot read them, Preview cannot read them, Corel Aftershot Pro or Capture One cannot read them.

 

It seems that Lightroom creates it own DNG format files unreadable by other applications.

 

Frankly this by itself is enough to make me leave Lightroom, there should at least be some "Compatibility Mode" to prevent this from happening.

 

You can also destroy an existing "good" file in the same way by right clicking->Metadata-> Update DNG Preview and Metadata.

 

Seriously Adobe WTF? DNG has turned out to be more proprietary than *any* native raw file.

 

PS Can anybody tell me how to recover the files so that they are readable by other applications. I can convert to TIF, that seems the only way

 

EDIT: This seems to be camera dependant, I can still read my M8 files after this procedure although NOT my X2 files.