Adobe Lightroom vs. Camera Raw: What Are the Similarities and Differences?
Reading Time: 4 minutesUsing Camera Raw should be a breeze if you’re familiar with Lightroom because they’re quite similar. But there are also some key differences.
Adobe Lightroom is one of the most popular photo editing platforms, and it’s used by hobbyists and pros alike. Photoshop is another tool many image-takers use—and within it, you’ll find a program called Camera Raw.
At first glance, Camera Raw and Lightroom look almost identical. But when you look closer, you’ll notice a selection of differences worth keeping in mind. This article will outline the differences and similarities between Camera Raw and Lightroom to make things easier for you.
What Are the Similarities?
Lightroom and Camera Raw have several similarities. We’ll outline some of the main things they have in common below.
1. You’ll See the Histogram at the Top of Your Screen
Understanding the Lightroom histogram is one of the most important things you can do to maximize your results. The histogram shows how certain parts of your image are distributed, such as the highlights, shadows, and exposure.
The histogram differs slightly depending on whether you use Lightroom Classic or Creative Cloud. In Lightroom Classic, you can drag directly from the graph to edit certain areas of your photo—but in CC, it’s view-only.
If you use Camera Raw, you can—like in Lightroom Classic—drag the histogram and change your photo however you feel is necessary.
2. Many of the Sliders Are the Same
Lightroom has several sliders that you can use to edit your photos. You can adjust the brightness using tools like Exposure and Shadows, along with adjusting Vibrance and Saturation to make the colors look more interesting.
When using Lightroom, you can also adjust each color’s hue, saturation, and luminance individually. Moreover, you’ll be able to make further changes via the Calibration tool.
If you use Camera Raw, you’ll find many of the same sliders that are in Lightroom. You can adjust the exposure and add clarity and texture—plus numerous other things. Similarly, you can alter your picture’s temperature and tint if you need to tweak your white balance.
3. The Color Grading Options
Once you’ve made the initial edits to your photo, you’ll want to add the next set of touches. For many people, that involves changing the colors in your picture. Color grading has become one of the most popular features in Lightroom since it replaced split toning, and you can adjust your midtones, shadows, and highlights.
In addition to the above, Lightroom’s color grading tools let you change the color of your entire picture.
You’ll find the same color grading wheels in Camera Raw. So, if you’ve already got experience in this area, you shouldn’t find adapting too difficult.
4. Tone Curves
Tone curves is another powerful tool for adjusting the brightness in different parts of your photo. In Lightroom, you’ll find an overall tone curve that allows you to add different effects—such as the S curve.
In addition to the overall tone curve, you can adjust the reds, blues, and greens in your photo. Each of these has different graphs that you can play around with as you please. Camera Raw also allows tone curving, and you can use the tool the same way as in Lightroom.
What Are the Differences?
Despite their similarities, Lightroom and Camera Raw have a couple of key differences. Below are some of the most notable ones.
1. Lightroom Has More Advanced Search Features
As your photo library grows, you’ll want to try and keep everything organized. But sometimes, you may find it difficult to look precisely for what you need. In these instances, having good search functionality can help massively.
Lightroom’s search features are more advanced than Camera Raw—but it’s also worth noting that Camera Raw is designed for different purposes. You will already have your images imported into Photoshop, and Camera Raw is for retouching. On the flip side, Lightroom is much better for storing your images in different projects within the app.
2. The Interface Looks Slightly Different
Although Lightroom and Camera Raw look somewhat similar, you will also notice a fair few differences in their user interfaces. Lightroom has many more tabs to navigate; on the left-hand side, you can add presets, look at your editing history, and navigate the picture you’re trying to edit.
At the bottom of Lightroom’s interface, you can choose whether you want to see the other pictures in your library. And on the right, you can also decide whether you want to start editing the photo you’ve selected or look at some of the others you’ve imported.
But you’ll see nothing on the left-hand side when you use Camera Raw. Moreover, the design is slightly different if we look at the fonts and menu sizes.
Another difference between Camera Raw and Lightroom is that the tools for healing, cropping, and so on, are on the side in Camera Raw. In Lightroom, you’ll find these below the histogram.
3. You Don’t Need to Import Photos From Photoshop to Camera Raw
Many photographers will edit their images in Lightroom first before importing them into Photoshop for the finishing touches. Doing so is simple; Lightroom can save your images as PSD files.
Contrastingly, you do not need to import photos from Photoshop to Camera Raw. Since the tool is within Photoshop, you can begin editing your files directly—and you can do so with all of the extra adjustments you made in Photoshop. To access Camera Raw in Photoshop, go to Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
Get the Most Out of Camera Raw and Lightroom
Lightroom deserves its position as one of the best photo editing tools on the market. Even if you used nothing else, you’d still have plenty of tools to make amazing edits to your shots. However, it’s not the only photo editing platform on the market.
If you’ve decided to add Photoshop to your editing workflow, you might also want to use Camera Raw. It has many of the same features as Lightroom, meaning that the learning curve is lower if you’ve already used the former.
When you use Camera Raw alongside Photoshop, you also won’t need to import your images twice. So, you might save a bit of time on your edits.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/adobe-lightroom-vs-camera-raw/
Ref: makeuseof
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