If your main work is photo enhancement rather than manipulation, you might not need Photoshop at all. The October 2021 updates have brought new intelligent sky and subject masking features that further close the gap. Lightroom is an all-in-one image cataloguing, raw processing and editing program and the perfect partner for Photoshop. Lightroom CC is limited -Lightroom Classic can be slow

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Remember, though, that it's aimed at designers, illustrators and artists, not just photographers. On its own, Photoshop is powerful but limited with Adobe Lightroom it’s half of the world's most popular image editing double-act. There are no ‘novice’ modes, but the tools panel does offer fly-out animations that show you how the tools work and what they do. There are no image browsing or cataloguing tools in Photoshop itself, but since Lightroom is included in the same Photography Plans as Photoshop, that’s not an issue (or you can use Adobe Bridge, which is simpler). Despite its reputation for complexity, Photoshop actually offers a very clean, slick interface. Its support for selections, masks and layers is unmatched, making it the tool of choice for complex composite images, and the latest October 2021 updates bring smart new Neural Filters and auto masking – and its AI sky replacement is steadily improving and now rivals Luminar's.

Needs Lightroom for organizing -Raw processing is a separate stepĭespite its immense power and constant steady improvements, Photoshop is slick and straightforward to use. that can match them for features but for a one-off fee are bound to be strong rivals. Adobe's subscription plans are still a deal-breaker for many, so any alternatives.

And for crazy AI-driven reality distortion (and some rather good portrait enhancement tools), Luminar AI might be the tool you need. If you want advanced black and white effects, retro/analog filters, HDR merging or one of dozen other specialised 'looks', you're often better off using a custom-made plug-in or a different application. You can get lots of different profiles and presets for Lightroom, but nothing to match the scope and invention of those in the DxO Nik Collection, Exposure X7 or ON1 Photo RAW 2022. And to keep your images organized you need a tool like Lightroom to use alongside it.īut even this double-act doesn't provide a whole lot of creative inspiration. If you need to open a raw file it has to go through Adobe Camera Raw first, and that's not even the best raw processor out there. Despite its mighty reputation, Photoshop is just a photo editor.

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