Hello from Fort Worth, Texas

[tcumom0613]

Hi,

I am new to photography (less than 2 years) and I am finally beginning to understand my camera, proper settings, etc. However, I am totally, 100% green as afar as Lightroom and editing goes. I do not photograph professionally -- I am a hobbyist -- photographing mostly wildlife and landscapes and now just recently portraits as I am a new grandmother. All that being said, I am not too far into photography that I cannot change courses.

So, my first question is which LR product is best -- Classic or cloud base? I currently have LR cloud base but I could switch if necessary.

Second question, where should I start studying in the Lightroom Queen's massive content?

Thanks, Michelle.

 

[Replytoken]

Hi Michelle. Welcome to the forum and to grandparenthood! LR and LR Classic are aimed at different audiences, although many use both programs. Here is an article that Victoria penned that should help a bit with choosing: Lightroom cloud ecosystem vs. Lightroom Classic - which do I need? | The Lightroom Queen . I would recommend reading about both versions and playing around with both before making any decision and diving in head first.

Regarding where to begin, I would start on this page and download some of the free resources: Members Area | The Lightroom Queen . Feel free to ask questions as you learn more and play around. Also, there are a lot of good video tutorials, and Julieanne Kost's are quite easy to follow: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh5bKKSi_bGJh717hVlEbRg .

Good luck,

--Ken

 

[tcumom0613]

Thank you, Ken.

 

[Paul McFarlane]

Welcome to the Forums, Michelle!

Ken's suggestion of the blog on choosing is a good one. As Ken mentions, the two free eBooks that introduce you to each one (Quick Start Guides) are in the Downloads area.

 

[matonananjin]

So, my first question is which LR product is best -- Classic or cloud base? I currently have LR cloud base but I could switch if necessary.

Second question, where should I start studying in the Lightroom Queen's massive content?

Thanks, Michelle.

Welcome Michelle.
I wonder how many shutter firings have been driven by new grandparenthood?!?! Most of mine were with film if that tells you anything!

Which LR product is best? Classic is best for me but that doesn't mean it is best for you. That link that Ken provided I'm sure will be helpful.

And I'm sure his link to study materials is just as helpful. I used LR in my equine photography practice which I retire from 6 or 7 years ago. But I still found her "Lightroom Classic Quick Start" very helpful to get started again.
For you with the cloud based version, she has its counterpart.. Then, I would think the next step up the learning food chain would be her "Edit it like a Pro". But I don't know anything abut it.

I just purchased "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Classroom in a Book (2021 release) 1st Edition". When I say "just" it got here Sunday. I bought both it and the Photoshop one. These are both "an official training series from Adobe, developed with the support of Adobe product experts. " I am finding it very educational and there has to be a cloud version available.

You mentioned an interest in wildlife and landscapes. A guy by the name of Nigel Danson has a lot of good YouTube videos on Landscape photography processing with Lightroom. This one is called How I Edit a photo From Raw to Print in Lightoom. There is also a guy named Matt Koslowski that has some good Landscape tutorials with Lightroom.

Good luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress.