Alternatives to Lightroom 4

[djstarfox]

I am looking for a linux-based photo workflow between RAW file and web/print-service optimized final images. Currently, I'm using a combination of Rawtherapee, GIMP, and Lightroom 3 in a Virtualbox WinXP machine. It mostly works, but it's not efficient.

I'd like 1 or 2 linux-native applications to do everything. Any suggestions?

I've just started a trial of Corel AfterShot Pro. Anyone used that before vs Lightroom 4?

 

[thedge]

http://www.darktable.org/

 

[UnknownSouljer]

I suppose it depends on what you want your workflow to look like.

I used Apple Aperture for around 3 years. Now however, I exclusively use Photoshop (raw processing in Canon Digital Photo Professional.) Because I don't do processing en-mass, I don't worry or miss things like batch processing. That's mainly due to the fact that I primarily do Nature/Landscape/Architecture. Since I post this stuff, usually I'll only show 1-2 photos (usually 1) from a shoot/location and Photoshop is by far the most powerful photo-editing tool. Photography specific programs like LR4 are much more laid out for Photography however.

If you do a lot of event work like concerts, sports, weddings, etc then having batch processing is almost necessary (first batch, and then tweak what the batch processing missed.) Lightroom 4 then is probably the best option for that. I liked Aperture a lot, but it has inefficiencies with the way it generates its library, and LR4 leap-frogged Aperture in terms of features and overall power.

So in conclusion, generally I'd recommend some type of workflow between LR4 and Photoshop. A lot of people's workflow actually is LR4 to Photoshop. They'll use LR4's organization system and library, maybe do some global edits, then open it up in Photoshop, which generally speaking is pretty efficient.

 

[DeathPrincess]

Because I don't do processing en-mass, I don't worry or miss things like batch processing. That's mainly due to the fact that I primarily do Nature/Landscape/Architecture. Since I post this stuff, usually I'll only show 1-2 photos (usually 1) from a shoot/location and Photoshop is by far the most powerful photo-editing tool. Photography specific programs like LR4 are much more laid out for Photography however.

Photoshop does batch! You can even do it so you set it to automatically do some steps then have steps with manual adjustment (just record an action on the first photo, and then batch the rest)! You can also make a photography specific layout (theres default one in CS5 and later I think, but it just adds a histogram).

 

[djstarfox]

I installed and tried DarkTable, but it's very inadequate for what I'd like to do. The application has potential.

I suppose if I went the Windows VM route, I could do LR4 + Photoshop (or GIMP). That would give me what I want, based on your comments.
If I stick to the Linux route, I can't use either of those products.

Oh, and yes batch processing is a requirement. RAW to jpg with resize, adjustments for exposure, color, contrast. Then, I'd need to review the output for special ones to pick out and process by hand.

Several times now I've needed to go back to an event's photos, pick out a specific picture, and re-process it by hand. I.e., for higher resolution or artistic editing. So, perhaps just having an easy catalog system that doesn't modify the original NEF file would be very useful.

I am getting ready to throw some money at this, so I appreciate the feedback.

 

[madFive]

LightRoom 4 is an incredible app - and it's nice a cheap to boot! Just $120 for a pro-grade piece of software is unheard of! It makes me a little sad to have to consider alternatives...

But I sortof understand where OP is coming from, since I was recently considering getting my dad a copy for his B-Day next month and noticed it isn't compatible with Win-XP. Which means I'd have to also get a Win7 licence and put it on his machine before he could run it...

So I say get Windows 7 and stick with LightRoom. It is worth it!

 

[UnknownSouljer]

Photoshop does batch! You can even do it so you set it to automatically do some steps then have steps with manual adjustment (just record an action on the first photo, and then batch the rest)! You can also make a photography specific layout (theres default one in CS5 and later I think, but it just adds a histogram).

Well, I knew it did some stuff, but it isn't nearly as useful or as intuitive as other programs designed solely photography. Technically you are right, I concede. Oh, and I do have the "Photo Layout" option on in PS, but like you also mention, it's all but useless. One thing it does add to the default toolbar however is Adjustment Layers, and that is actually helpful, as they are 100% necessary for excellent post-processing.

I installed and tried DarkTable, but it's very inadequate for what I'd like to do. The application has potential.

I suppose if I went the Windows VM route, I could do LR4 + Photoshop (or GIMP). That would give me what I want, based on your comments.
If I stick to the Linux route, I can't use either of those products.

Oh, and yes batch processing is a requirement. RAW to jpg with resize, adjustments for exposure, color, contrast. Then, I'd need to review the output for special ones to pick out and process by hand.

Several times now I've needed to go back to an event's photos, pick out a specific picture, and re-process it by hand. I.e., for higher resolution or artistic editing. So, perhaps just having an easy catalog system that doesn't modify the original NEF file would be very useful.

I am getting ready to throw some money at this, so I appreciate the feedback.

Well, I do all of my batch exporting in the sense of creation of jpgs with Adobe Bridge. Bridge converts my PSD's (which of course came from processed RAWs) to jpg and also takes care of resizing. Lightroom of course can also do that.

What I mean by batch process was the application of global adjustments. As an example, if you do a wedding shoot and you set your white balance to a particular setting, but noticed the colors were quite right in post, you could change the white balance of one photo, and then batch process the rest so they would all have the correct white balance (or close to it.) The same can be done for other global edits like say brightness, contrast, saturation, etc. Batching then helps to edit parameters quickly. Of course with Lightroom if individual tweaking is necessary, then you can go into each individual photo and adjust as necessary, but the batching cuts down on time necessary to edit a large amount of images. I was mentioning that LR4 is great at doing this, whereas Photoshop isn't. Technically Photoshop can do batch processing as DeathPrincess mentioned, but it isn't intuitive, and I would say it is good at it.

LR4 is non-destructive with its edits, so any editing done in LR4 will maintain the original file(s). LR4 can quickly add layer masks, which is a similar function to the way it operates in Photoshop. Layer masks are extremely powerful, and for many people's uses are more than enough to get the job done. There are quite a few Photographers that don't need a second program.

The reason why I do use Photoshop instead (to re-iterate) is the level of editing I do. I'm less concerned with having "natural looking photos" and I'm more focused on interesting, dynamic photos. So I work a lot with HDR's, filters, masks, multiple-layers, and clean-up techniques. If you don't need to do heavy editing, then you won't need Photoshop. It may be wise to just try LR4 alone and see if that's enough for you. If you find you have a specific limitation, get PS.

Photoshop can be destructive. The way that it isn't is by saving a separate file, but it won't save over RAWs anyway, so that is sort of a non-issue. That has pros and cons as a result.



If you're interested, here are some of my photos which have been fully edited. Just trying to illustrate the crazy level of editing I'm doing, not necessarily to pimp photos.