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nancy6107
Participant
October 14, 2009
Answered

What is the difference between Lightroom and Elements?

  • October 14, 2009
  • 3 replies
  • 21568 views

I'm trying to decide between Photoshop Elements and Lightroom--both for a Mac. They seem to have very similar photo editing features. Could anyone tell me some of the differences so that I can see which would be better for my work? One feature that I have to have is the ability to add text to a photo. In Photoshop I can do this with the text tool and layers. Is this a feature of Lightroom too?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer

    Adding text is possible, but limited in LR.

    Both apps have a 30 day trial period, and to describe the differences would take reams. In general, LR is designed for digital photographers, whereas PS and PSE have much broader reaches, but aren't so honed in on new images as is LR.

    Conversely, tell us what and how much you shoot, what your goal is, etc.....

    3 replies

    C
    Canon_Ron
    Participant
    October 15, 2009

    Element supports Layers, Lightroom does not.

    You won't be able to stitch photos together or create animated GIFs with Lightroom.

    You won't be able to select areas of the photo to apply changes to in Lightroom that are irregularly shaped.  You get a round brush. That's it.

    While Lightroom supports Metadata keywords, adding keywords to photos is much easier in Elements.

    If these are the kind of things you want to do, get Elements.

    As the previous post indicated, Lightroom is more of a photo touch up utility. You're basically playing with color tone, highlights, exposure values, gradients, etc.  You can apply these to a single photo or a group of photos at a time.

    J
    Community Expert
    Jao vdLCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2009

    You won't be able to select areas of the photo to apply changes to in Lightroom that are irregularly shaped.  You get a round brush. That's it.

    Try to actually use the brush as this is quite untrue. It is a very simple way to make quick irregularly shaped effect masks. You can even make it only go to certain tints, making it operate like a magic selection brush.

    While Lightroom supports Metadata keywords, adding keywords to photos is much easier in Elements.

    You're kidding right? The keywording in Lightroom is very good and very easy. Try using the metadata spray can, the keyword tabs, the automatic associations, etc. It is far better thought out than what you get in Elements.

    As the previous post indicated, Lightroom is more of a photo touch up utility. You're basically playing with color tone, highlights, exposure values, gradients, etc.  You can apply these to a single photo or a group of photos at a time.

    It's more a different way of working and more photographic than a pixel editor like Elements or the real Photoshop. I used to swear by (adjustment) layers in Photoshop, but Lightroom allows me to do the stuff I used those for far quicker, more space and resource efficient and with usually better results. The only times I go to Photoshop now are for images that need a lot of cloning touch up (extremely rare), where I need to combine multiple images from different exposures, or when I need to do softproofing.

    G
    Gordon Cahill
    Participating Frequently
    October 15, 2009

    "You won't be able to select areas of the photo to apply changes to in Lightroom that are irregularly shaped.  You get a round brush. That's it."

    That's not actually correct. You can make (read: draw) a mask in virtually any shape you want and apply changes to only that area. Certainly the functions available are limited compared to Elements but it is possible.

    Gordon

    DdeGannes
    Community Expert
    DdeGannesCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 15, 2009

    My view is that Lightroom is a program designed to provide for optimizing the processing and management of RAW files from digital still cameras.

    PS Elements is designed for the cataloging and editing already processed digital files.

    They are not the same but provide complementary features. If you do not shoot with your camera in RAW mode there is no real need for Lightroom IMHO.

    Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5,; Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; (also Laptop Win 11, ver 24H2, LrC 15.0.1, PS 27.0; ) Camera Oly OM-D E-M1.
    A
    Anonymous
    Correct answer
    October 15, 2009

    Adding text is possible, but limited in LR.

    Both apps have a 30 day trial period, and to describe the differences would take reams. In general, LR is designed for digital photographers, whereas PS and PSE have much broader reaches, but aren't so honed in on new images as is LR.

    Conversely, tell us what and how much you shoot, what your goal is, etc.....

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