Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® & Photoshop® Workflow Bible

Chapter 2. Comparing Lightroom and Photos

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Getting to know Photoshop: three pieces of software in one

• Learning how Lightroom combines the best of those three pieces into an intuitive workspace

Photoshop is an amazing image editing software package. Ever since it was originally released in 1990 it has become the image editing industry standard for all sorts of users: from illustrators and designers to doctors and engineers. That's because it's loaded with powerful tools that do all sorts of interesting things to a wide variety of image files. However, very few Photoshop users make use of all of the tools in the program. They tend to use their own specific toolset to accomplish their particular needs, leaving as much as 80 percent of the program untouched. This is particularly true for many photographers.

Photoshop is like a huge toolbox full of every tool you can imagine. (Figure 2.1 shows the default user interface.) If it were a real toolbox it would be a lot like the toolbox I have in my garage, except it would be a lot bigger—maybe as big as my garage! It would be as if someone went to the hardware store and picked out one of each tool, and then filled the toolbox with them. This might seem cool, but for most people it's overkill. When a plumber goes to the hardware store he only purchases tools that a plumber needs. When a carpenter goes to the hardware store he only purchases the tools a carpenter needs. Sure, each may buy a hammer and a saw, but they will most likely ...