Lightroom Classic vs. Lightroom CC

[15Katey]

What’s the Difference Between Lightroom Classic & Lightroom CC?​

I have the Adobe Creative Cloud app installed on my desktop computer. Every so often, I receive a notification that a few of the image editing applications that I use need to be updated. I go about the process of updating them, which really only consists of me clicking the Upgrade button. After a few minutes, the newest version of whatever app I just upgraded is fresh on my computer and I can get back to work. I like this “live” software so much more than what I used to work with in the old days. You know, the old CD ROMs that I’d have hanging around for half a decade before I got around to updating to the latest version.

Anyway, as I was walking through the updates yesterday, I noticed that both Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic needed to be downloaded. I only use Lightroom Classic, so I ignored the CC version. Then, I said to myself, “You know, I bet there are quite a few people out there who don’t know the difference between these two versions.” That’s when I decided to write a post on the topic and here I am. This is how it works folks. This is my creative process in action.

By the way, take a look at the two different logos for these applications. Lightroom Classic is on the left and Lightroom CC is on the right.

Lightroom CC vs. Lightroom Classic​

Okay, lets get going. There are currently two different versions of Adobe Lightroom available and each of these versions target a different type of user. If you’re a more traditional photo editing person like I am, you’ll likely want to use the Classic version and if you’re more on the go and use your mobile device for capturing and editing photographs, you’ll likely want to use the CC version. Both accomplish the same things, but they go about how they accomplish them slightly differently.

File Storage

If you’ve ever used any of Adobe’s software in the past, you likely know how files are stored on your computer. You install the application and then you choose where everything goes on your hard drive. With Photoshop, you can put things wherever you want and you can do the same with Lightroom Classic, but it just takes a few more steps to do so in Lightroom, and it’s a tad bit more confusing. Not all too much though. The point is, when it comes to the dual versions of Lightroom, each handles file storage differently. Classic’s files are kept on your computer or external hard drive and you configure what you want your storage strategy to look like. I’m not saying that you need extensive computer knowledge here or anything because Adobe does a very good job of handling default storage setups, but you do need to know what “storing files on your local hard drive” means. You also need to know what catalogs are and how Lightroom uses these catalogs to arrange your images. Furthermore, you’ll need some advanced knowledge to configure Lightroom Classic across multiple computers.

When it comes to Lightroom CC, everything is uploaded to servers in the sky. You know, the cloud. You don’t need to know the intricacies of catalogs and you don’t have to configure a storage strategy. Working across computers is easy and you’ll have access to your full resolution, original images. You can work on the images locally and then sync them to the servers later on. So basically, file storage is radically different between the two versions of Lightroom. One stores files locally and the other in the cloud.

Smart Proxies vs. Full Resolution

If you know how Lightroom Classic works, you’ll know about the feature where you’re able to work with low-resolution proxies when it comes to syncing images. These low-resolution images are actually a benefit to many users because working with the full-resolution files can sometimes be cumbersome. Original files can be absolutely huge. Oftentimes, users reduce the sizes of their images to share them online anyway, so having the proxy feature is a definite plus. The thing is, while editing these types of images in Lightroom, your sharing of the originals can be hampered. This is something to keep in mind. With the CC version, again, files are stored in the cloud. As with any cloud storage application, files are accessible by a variety of computers, smart phones and tablets. As long as you’re connected, cloud storage is pretty awesome. Also, since the full-resolution files are in the cloud, those are the ones you’ll be working with. No more proxies.

Backing Up Files

Every time I work in Lightroom Classic and then go to close out of the application when I’m finished, I see a message that asks me if I’d like to back up the catalog. Not back up the actual files, but the organizational catalog itself. I have this set so it backs up once per day, so if I open and close Classic more then once per day, I don’t continuously get asked to back up. Anyway, when using Lightroom Classic, it’s the user’s responsibility to back up their own catalogs as well as files. Just like the old days – if your hard drive goes bad and you didn’t back up on another drive, everything is gone. This is a tragic scenario that I’ve witnessed far too many times. With Lightroom CC though, everything is backed up in Adobe’s cloud, with redundancy, so there’s no worrying about losing valuable data. I use cloud storage to back up all of my own files, so let me tell you that it can offer a lot of peace of mind. The installs of Lightroom CC on multiple devices is sort of like working on the dummy terminals of yesteryear. Remember them? Boy, I’m getting way too old.

Sheer Quantity of Features

Lightroom Classic wins, hands down. CC is a pared down version of Classic that’s meant for mobile devices. At the time of this writing, Classic is at version 8.3 and uses the Camera Raw engine that’s at version 11.3. Lightroom CC is currently at version 2.3. It’s catching up, but it is definitely not there. So if you’re a pro, I encourage you to work with Classic. By the way, a sampling of the features that are included in Classic but not CC are Snapshots, History Panel, Color and Luminance Range Masking, Photo Merge, Smart Collections and quite a bit more. That’s not to say these features won’t be available soon, it’s just that they aren’t yet.

Image Search

In past posts, I’ve discussed how to work with keywords, keyword sets, and keyword lists in Lightroom Classic. This is a very manual process and it takes a lot of time. If you’re serious about your photos and your organization though, this is just what you have to do. You have to describe your images to Lightroom so you can find them again if you decide to do a search. This can be time consuming and it really is up to you. In Lightroom CC, there’s a feature called Adobe Sensei that can help you do your image searching. Sensei is built upon artificial intelligence and machine learning, so it’s constantly evolving. From what I hear, Sensei is the real deal. It can help you in many, many ways while working with photos and other types of images. It’s not limited to searching.

Conclusion

To decide which version of Lightroom is best for you, you’ll need to think about what type of photographer you primarily are. Are you a cell phone photographer or one who uses a DSLR or mirrorless camera? Do you like to edit on mobile devices or on your desktop? If you think about it, you can backup your data and files to the cloud with either version, so that’s not that big of a deal. What’s the bigger deal is how you like to edit. On the go or in an office chair.

Let me know what you think about these two different versions of Lightroom. Which do you use? Which do you prefer? Tell me down below in the comment section or in the Lightroom forum. Thanks for reading!

 

[15Katey]

Lightroom Classic vs. CC​

I’ve been reading a lot about the differences between Adobe Lightroom Classic versus Lightroom CC. I know these are two applications that do somewhat the same thing, but that operate differently. There’s a post I’ve written that discusses the distinctions between the two versions of Lightroom. I know what they are, but what I’m more concerned about is the future of Lightroom Classic and the perception of what’s going on inside of Adobe.

I guess the big questions out there have to do with Adobe stopping production of Lightroom Classic and replacing that entire application with CC. I’ve read through some comments on Youtube and a few other forums and people are very concerned about their workflow being altered. Needless to say, folks have become accustomed to doing things a certain way. Take a look at these comments:

Okay, this comment is about the name itself. I agree with this one. I was confused too until I started looking into things. Perhaps this is what’s making people who use Lightroom Classic so nervous. Since the names of both applications are so similar, they think Adobe is going to allow one version to simply fade out of existence.

To have less confusion, Why didn’t the name change to something like “Lightroom CC Professional” as the current LR. And “Lightroom CC Mobile” as the new version since it is more of a desktop version of LR mobile? Less confusion and self explanatory.

Users of image editing software really don’t like confusion.

Adobe going full Microsoft on photographers.

This comment is totally the truth. You ain’t editing and uploading full size RAW files into the cloud. That’s for Classic only.

Sounds like lr cc is for cellphone photographers. I plan on getting a Fujifilm xpro-2 and they create 50mb raw files. Can’t believe someone would load 100s files to the cloud.

It doesn’t seem like Adobe is fooling anyone with the feature set of CC. Some folks things it’s such a watered down version of Lightroom that it should be called “Elements.”

It’s clear when looking at the feature comparison table on The Lightroom Queen website that the new Lr CC is NOT for professionals or serious enthusiasts at all period. Lr Classic should have just kept the Lr CC name and the new Lr CC should have been called Lr Elements. That’s what it really is. A watered down, feature reduced version of Lr that has cloud features bolted on.

This comment touches on what I mentioned above. That Adobe may phase out Classic altogether.

Why rename the desktop version as ‘Classic’ ? That usually means “old version we are not developing anymore” ??

And this comment pretty much says it all for traveling photographers or for people out there who live without blazing fast internet connections. Another concern is the safety and redundancy of the cloud itself. Are the files secure? If so, how secure? Photographers are very particular about their work, so it better be secure.

The problem with cloud-centric is that it requires internet connection. Fine for 1st world countries with fast/cheap broadband. The moment you lose internet access for any length of time, or are or off on lengthy assignments in any country that does not have fast internet, or has expensive data bundles, you are going to fail completely. I am definitely sticking to Classic (whether I like or not). Of course, if Adobe change again and try forcing users to the new CC platform in the future, then subs cancelled and I move my operation to another platform. Simple. Globalisation does Not mean all countries have fast broadband. Try going to some off-track place anywhere for a month and see how useful pure cloud-based is. As an aside, I also want to know what protections the pure CC users will have from Adobe being hacked again; from Adobe rights to your cloud photos; and what guarantees and recompense Adobe have in place should they be hacked and cloud data be deleted en-masse? I would have a lot more questions to ask, but am sure others could add anyway.

Okay, I guess I’ll stop there. I know Adobe truly has to begin to move towards the cloud, but I guess my question is, why not merge all of these features into one application? Sort of like, flip the switch to store your files in the cloud or on your local machine. That sounds much more palatable for people, from what I’ve been reading. What’s your take on all this? Are you happy with the desktop version of Lightroom called Classic or do you prefer the mobile version because you shoot and edit on the go? I’d love to hear from you.