If you have bridge, you don't need to buy Lightroom unless you do a lot of printing. Lightroom is the most versatile program for printing.
Should I be using Adobe Bridge?
- Thread starter wotan1
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Not A Speck Of Cereal
Well-known member
You do not have more control—you have less. Not dissing your fan, but he probably just doesn't like LR and should leave it at that.
Bridge + ACR is basically very much like LR Library module (folders on the left side, just like in Bridge) and the LR Develop module (which is basically ACR under the hood).
In Bridge, you can load any image (or set of images) into ACR, copy your ACR Develop settings from one image to several others, which you also do in LR using the sync button. The controls and dialog boxes are the same all around. (ACR is also in PS, called the Camera Raw filter, and does most of the same.)
On top of that, LR is a full DAM (Digital Asset Manager)—the LR catalog—which is basically a database that holds a record for each of your images, where it sits on your system, all of the EXIF metadata, plus extras like tagging, grading (both numerical and color coded), location tracking (with a full world-wide Map module) and more. All searchable. And this means more and better organization to me.
There is no way that using only Bridge (and he probably also means using ACR) is "more control" that LR. At best, it is equal for someone that doesn't care for the LR DAM functionality.
Chris
PS: I am an avid LR user, but I do keep Bridge and ACR around for instances where they are more than enough. I also sometimes just bypass LR and load the RAW file directly into PS (whether it's already been imported into my LR catalog or not), just because it's what I need at the moment. But my main workflow remains using LR as a home-base and using other tools (Bridge, ACR, PS, third-party plug-ins) as needed. Flexibility.
Didn’t know it could do that…oops. I don’t use it so have never really dug into the details but I thought I remembered seeing the lack of those features in an article somewhere.07. Filtering Images And Creating Collections
Bridge can filter images to show us just the photos that meet certain criteria. We can view only images with a five star rating. Or only the images shot with a certain lens, or at a certain focal length. Bridge can combine photos into collections that make it easy for us to group related images together. Collections can even group images that are scattered across different folders or even different hard drives. And smart collections in Bridge act like dynamic search results. Smart collections tell Bridge to automatically add any images to the collection if and when they meet the criteria we specify.
See Here at Photoshopessentials.com Site
The above site explains the search functions across different hard drives. I have been adding keywords, collections, etc... in Bridge for a long time. Searches work great! I am not saying Bridge is better than LRC by any means. Just stating what it does. I will drop out now.
Milos
Member
I used only Bridge until I saw Steves video. Now I am 99% on Lightroom Classic. I only use Bridge if I need to look at pictures that I don't want to catalog for example if I plug in an external drive just to see what is there. I originally did not like that you need to catalog pictures, but it turned out to be good think since it does not take much space and make organizing and searching much easier.
Jack McEwan
Well-known member
I’ve been using Bridge in conjunction with Photoshop for years, primarily as a browser for jpg’s previously processed from RAW. I use Capture One primarily for my RAW processing (although occasionally use Lightroom Classic), and export directly to Photoshop to complete the processing. Bridge is also useful in assigning metadata to the processed jpg’s. I review many of the jpg’s on an iPad and not infrequently decide one needs some additional processing. I find the image on Bridge and open in Photoshop to make the changes. BTW, the reason I avoid Lr is that you cannot use the scroll wheel of the mouse to zoom in/out, and smoothly change control settings. Both Photoshop and Capture One have this feature which significantly improves the usability and efficiency of the interface. In this regard Lightroom’s control interface is primitive, inefficient and not very usable.
I am a Light Room Classic user. I am a birder and shoot for citizen science and I provide images to a number non profits. Key wording and rapid retrieval is critical for me. I also print from LRC print module in a very simple and efficient mode. I also use the map module in LRC and my Z9 built in GPS populates that.
I have not used PS in a number of years and the advances in LRC editing abilities have just made PS not needed for me.
So for me it is all about efficeency and speed.
I have not used PS in a number of years and the advances in LRC editing abilities have just made PS not needed for me.
So for me it is all about efficeency and speed.
Actually..... in lightroom classic in the library the scroll wheel runs through the library up or down, but ctrl-scroll wheel increases or decreases the zoom of the thumbnail. In develop scroll wheel moves the image up or down but ctrl- scroll wheel increases or decreases the zoom. A left click or tap of spacebar toggles between the two zoom levels previously set. Combined it is a very fast way to get through a lot of images.
It is but by the time I get to LRC I have already culled my images with Photo Mechanic which is far faster when you are wading through a days birding with Z9 in RAW at 20FPS
Roy
Well-known member
I use bridge but I feel its more important to first arrange your files.
I use folders with date yyy/mm/dd and then a short description.
bridge is just a simple file manager that for me opens files in photoshop.
photoshop may take longer to learn ...
It is but by the time I get to LRC I have already culled my images with Photo Mechanic which is far faster when you are wading through a days birding with Z9 in RAW at 20FPS
The post I was replying to said they wouldn't use lightroom mostly because the scroll wheel wouldn't zoom the image. I was just pointing out that now it does, so they could give it a try if that was a big deal for them.
michael gaylard
New member
I think that is a very mistaken view. Bridge is not intended as a similar tool to either lightroom or bridge. It is much more of a file management tool rather than an editor. It is hugely better at adding Keywords and metadata iin batch than Lightroom and is superior in terms of building a structured keyword list.
Consider Bridge as your bridge or portal from a photo file system or collection into the tools you need for editing.
Well, that is also dependent on user needs.
Adobe Bridge does excel in batch keywording and metadata editing. Since Bridge is designed as a media management tool, it allows users to tag, categorize, and edit metadata across large groups of files quickly and can handle various file formats, including non-photographic formats.
But Bridge does not have Lightroom’s hierarchical keyword structure. Lightroom Classic enables a nested, hierarchical keyword system that can be organized into parent-child relationships (e.g., “Animals > Mammals > Dogs”), which is powerful for photographers looking to categorize images comprehensively within a catalog. Bridge’s keywording system is simpler but may lack this depth of organization.
So, again - depending on your needs...
There is a lot to explore in Bridge and it is very capable, but once one becomes familiar with using the library in Lightroom I think most folks find it to be all the file management they need. For example collections and smart collections, filtering and searching by any combination of attributes, and the painter tool where one can "spray paint" keywords or other things very rapidly.
jkost.com
Julieanne Kost's Blog | Using the Painter Tool in Lightroom Classic
One of my favorite tools in Lightroom Classic is the Painter tool. For those of you not familiar with it, the Painter tool allows you to pick an attribute (including keyword, label, flag, ratings, metadata templates, settings (presets+), rotation and target collection) and apply to images by...
jkost.com
Jack McEwan
Well-known member
Thanks for the tip. It’s very useful information to know!
I miss the feature to open/load multiple images as a stack in photoshop. Instead I have to open photoshop and manually browse to the desired images.
You can open multiple images as a stack in Photoshop directly from Lightroom Classic.
- In Lightroom Classic, select the images you want to stack.
- Right-click on one of the selected images, go to Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop.
- Photoshop will open and load each selected image as a separate layer in a single document, effectively creating a "stack" for you.
Does Bridge provide all of the collections, flags, colors, and sorting ability that LR does along with all of the AI features. Don’t know since I don’t use it…but if one is using LR vs Classic then Bridge might be all you need…but if it doesn’t provide all the Classic features and one needs those…then Bridgenmight not be the answer. I will have to load up Bridge and see if it offers all those features unless there’s a web page that compares them and answers the question for me.
Not A Speck Of Cereal
Well-known member
No. Bridge and ACR were here first. Lightroom is what happened when people wanted a) integration of the two and b) all of the additional features and functionality you mentioned.
It's Lightroom for me, I could never go back, but I keep Bridge / ACR around for some things.
Chris
I wasn’t implying they weren’t first…just wondering if the current version of Bridge had all the features of current Classic. Of not…Classic is the way to go for me for now. If Bridge +ACR is needed for that…I’m not sure that’s any better or worse than Classic. But it really doesn’t matter anyway since an Adobe subscription gives you all of them. I’m on record as saying Classic is on the way out…not this year or next but not 10 years either. Once LR is feature parity with Classic and has everything it does…I can easily see Adobe deciding that the newer code base in LR is easier to maintain than the far older and more full of workarounds code base in Classic for the same features…and I’m not sure that all of the dpfeatures in Classic will ever get there anyway…hierarchical keywords for indtance…but if they do then less code to maintain for the same features is better for Adobe. Many people…not me…hate the idea of the catalog and I’ve never understood the hatred for it at all…but maintaining two different feature parity apps doesn’t make a whole lot of business sense…but it does hinge on absolute parity IMO.
Not A Speck Of Cereal
Well-known member
I wasn't trying to correct you over which came first, just stating that for historical clarity.
Bridge + ACR will never have all of the features of any version of Lightroom because it's not really (and never will be) a Lightroom variant.
Those that prefer Bridge + ACR are not interested in the other things that Lightroom offers.
To me, the comparison is Lightroom vs. Lightroom Classic. Personally, I don't really care of Lr ever gains parity with LrC because I'm not interested in any kind of cloud storage.
Chris
Many users aren’t fully aware of everything Lightroom has to offer, so they don’t realize what features they might be missing out on.
It’s similar to how Anjin San doesn’t have complete knowledge of Bridge.
Here’s how I would briefly summarize the two options.
- Adobe Bridge + ACR includes essential file browsing, basic editing, and organizational tools without catalog or advanced automation features.
- Lightroom Classic offers a comprehensive set of features, including advanced editing, catalog management, AI tools, and extensive export options, ideal for users managing large, organized photo libraries.
Bridge doesn't have the following Lightroom Classic features - these are the ones I remember on top of my head
- Face Recognition
- Virtual Copies
- History Panel
- Photo Sync with Cloud
- Slideshows and Book Creation
- GPS and Location Mapping
- Third-Party Plugin Support