First, I would like to thank you for the kind words regarding the article!

I will attempt to answer both questions as they are closely related. I use Lightroom primarily as a database and publishing tool. Yes, I do some adjusting before heading to Photoshop, however, it is very minimal.

I think, Lightroom and Photoshop are two completely different animals that happen to integrate well with each other.

Lightroom is an amazing tool to find pictures quickly, publish to various sites via plugins, and can produce beautiful slideshows, however, Photoshop has always been a “photo manipulation” tool, and I think we tend to forget that.

That being said, it is not unusual for a photographer to do all his or her adjustments in Lightroom and never touch a program like Photoshop, which is their prerogative, however, a photographer sitting next to them may be shaking their head wondering how they can possibly be happy with the output.

Lightroom/Photoshop questions are like politics and religion; Everyone has their views, and no one is right or wrong, it is all about self expression and remaining true to yourself. My personal view is that Lightroom is not a true photo editing program, and I will always turn to Photoshop for my final output.

To answer Steve’s question regarding channels and picture correction, I believe it depends on the photograph. If your photo has killer tones and contrast, then channels are your best bet as it is likely that finding the correct channel will be a no-brainer, however, if you have a photo like the one I posted on my blog yesterday called “The Stone Man,” (http://www.ldaofr.com) there was very little contrast and I spent about an hour in Photoshop masking and blurring the background so the statue would pop out. Once I separated the two elements, I turned to my dodge and burning tools to complete the transformation.

There are so many factors involved when it comes to using Lightroom over Photoshop, or using them in conjunction with each other. The best experience is when the picture you take needs very little adjusting making these types of conversations a mute point.

One last thought to consider; With the release of Photoshop CS5, and the soon to be released Lightroom 3.0, the playing field may very well change completely.

I eagerly await your replies.

Kind Regards,
Bryan J Zimmerman

Great article (and, might I add, great fountain pic!). I have a question in line with Marco above:

Do you feel the channels method is the best to get your photo to pop?

Can you delve into your decision making and workflow experience as opposed to, say, the B&W adjustment in photoshop or the greyscale adjustments in Lr?

Do you do any picture corrections prior to DeSat?

I guess I would just like a more in-depth look into your process, as I am always looking for tools and other approaches to add to my toolbox.

Thanks . . .

Nice article, but whats the difference in removing the saturation in Photoshop vs in Lightroom?
As a Lightroom user I’m using LR to remove the saturation and I’m wondering if I should use PS to do the trick.
Whats your experience?

TIA,
Marco