AP V. LR - ROUND 1

February 23, 2007

A Few Days with APSLR (Adobe Photoshop Lightroom)
First gripe: Seriously? Couldn’t come up with a better name? Maybe – oh, I don’t know – Lightroom? Just a thought. OK, cut me some slack from here on out, s I haven’t really ever used this venue to review a software product or do this sort of comparison. Also, I’m not going to call it that monstrosity printed above, nor am I going to use the LONG abbreviation: “The Product” will henceforth be referred to simply as LR. And Apple’s foray into the realm, Aperture, will be referred to as AP. Hey, I don’t make the rules, I just… Well, I did make those rules, and dem’s the rules, so let’s abide by them. For all of our sakes. Let’s get started, shall we?

Firstly, let me say I love the general look that LR has about it. Navigating through from one pane to another leaves you feeling as though this is most definitely a photographer’s tool. I think in large part it’s due to the black treatment given to the interface, but whatever the trick it definitely works.
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And it also has the benefit of giving more favor to the image at hand as well, which I think aids in developing the image, as it’s not competing with colors and luminance from either side from the UI. The Develop Module, where most people will spend a fair amount of time is – for me – the real dealmaker. The adjustments are nicely organized, and they’ve done a real bang-up job tying a lot of adjustments into a few sliders in the Basic tab. I have found that I can quickly make an image stand out with minimal effort from that this one tab, moving to the others to really fine-tune an image (and usually screw it up in the process, but that’s a different story).

Compared to AP, image adjustments seem to make more sense. They’re organized better, with WB and basic corrections at the top. AP wants to put WB in the middle, but for me it seems a correction like that, which affects the image globally and instantaneously, should be near the top of the workflow. Defining white is really the first step for me, and having to dig down the menu to find it then prance back up the HUD to get back to square two
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at the top is a real pain sometimes. Well, every time. Also, the hue/saturation/luminance controls seem to do more in LR. I say seem, because you have essentially the same level of control in AP, though the interface of the “Levels” commands grouped with the Colors Panel is not as straightforward. Not only that, but the levels command itself is a chore to use in my experience. Apple would be smart to move the Levels and Colors panels closer together in the workflow, and move to a slider setup akin to LR’s instead of the phooey graph they’re currently employing.

Moving back to the Library pane from Develop in LR is – for me – the deal breaker. The interface here could use a healthy dose of Apple visual continuity and “flow.” Stacking groups are superb in AP; lackluster at best in LR. And keywords? Please get me started on Keywords. Yes, I said get me started. In AP, it’s implemented beautifully, if flawed. The hierarchical structure has such promise, even if right now it’s not perfectly finished. See here for more details on perceived room for improvement in this area. But to summarize, I feel searching with keywords should also be hierarchical in nature, not flat, and better inform the user of what keywords are available in the current selection.

A lot has been said online about “modal” versus “non-modal” workflows with these two apps. Personally, as much as LR has been knocked for this, let me say that I like it. Also, remember that AP first shipped with buttons of its own to accomplish the same thing. And I miss those buttons (frown). Sadly, with the update that included the new “modify workspace” commands, they removed the modal workspace buttons, and I only found out about it after I had removed them to test, fully expecting them to be available to put back on. Imagine my surprise when I go to peruse the bar and find those button options have vanished! Hey, if anyone knows how to get them back (short of switching to LR), let me know. But continuing on about modal workflows: to me, they remove a lot of in-between setup when moving from one phase to the other (organization & developing). With modes, my preferences for displays, tables, adjustments panes, and all else is preserved, and switching to that workspace is that much easier. In AP, I have to shrink the thumbnails, open the adjustments pain (pun intended), bring up the lower control bar, etc. In LR, it’s as simple as going to Develop; settings are maintained. Simple!

As much promise LR has, especially in the Develop mode, and even with AP’s nagging imperfections, I’m still solid in my belief that for workflow, AP is best. LR has a seeming advantage in the the way it processes images and may in fact produce slightly better results in less time, but I don’t develop every picture I take. I do, however
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, organize, keyword, stack, arrange, lift & stamp, and handle all of them. It’s the “all of them” part that AP really blows away LR. The lift & stamp tool is invaluable to me in its current form. Yes, LR has a rudimentary copy, but AP’s is always right there, especially where I need it most: the library. Also, the tool itself seems like an afterthought compared to it's implementation in AP, what with OSX Aqua panels popping up instead of something in line with the rest of the LR UI theme. And It seems so silly to me that LR removes shortcut buttons for this action where it may prove most useful. Stacking and stamping all the myriad of photos we collect isn’t usually done in develop, is it? I mean, I have 4 shots that are similar, I develop the best one, stamp the changes, and be done with it. Caveat: LR’s “Sync Settings” option is simply magical. If I could transfer that to Aperture, and set a default whereby all stacks are synced (at least at first), I’d maybe ask for Steve Jobs’ hand in marriage. But I hear he’s already taken, so I guess I’m off that hook. He's not really my type, anyways.

In conclusion, neither app is perfect, and both have there respective strengths and weaknesses. LR simply excels at bringi
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ng the most out of the photo in the least amount of time. AP excels at organizing the mess of photos you throw at it, and applying batches of changes to many photos through the lift & stamp tool. I’d also like to say that playing with Lightroom has helped me to get more out of AP. I have discovered, through the difference in the two in respect to use of color in the interface, that I prefer to adjust my photos in AP using Full Screen mode. I also experimented with ways to speed up the editing process to achieve quicker results, and discovered the Auto Levels tool, which I had always ignored, fearing auto anything sucks. I’d read otherwise, but hadn’t really experimented with it until recently. Verdict? Good. At least as an initial step.
Experiment; both have 30-day free trials. What’s an overwhelming sales point to me may not be the end-all-be-all for someone else. And as has been said many times over on many forums, this competition is good – both products will be forced to improve to compete, and we’ll all benefit. Who cares if I'm pulling a little bit for Aperture? It's nothing personal, just that I don't want to lose all the history I have with my current library. Ah, the downside to closed libraries using non-destructive editing...