To me, I think it is most helpful to understand the key differences between the applications as you consider what is most important to you and your workflow. This is where it gets tricky, and there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. There are a lot of things I love about both versions of Lightroom, but we all have different needs, gear, experience, time, etc., to factor into which application will best suit our needs in the short term and into the future. Note, in an effort to be clear about which program I am referring to I will refer to Lightroom Classic as LrC and Lightroom as Lr (as shown on their icons) from here on out. I often get asked about which version people should choose, or I see people confused about the version they have, and they want to understand the differences. It is nice to have choices, but it can also be frustrating and confusing. It does not appear that either one is going away, and that leaves us with choices. In the years since this change both applications have continued to gain new camera/lens support, interface tweaks, and new features. At the same time Adobe reworked what was previously just a mobile app called Lightroom Mobile into its own “ecosystem” that was designed to function separately from Lightroom Classic (though the original connection between the apps remained), and they named it Lightroom (though for a short time it too was called Lightroom CC). Some Adobe subscription plans also include both Lightroom Classic and CC, meaning that you can give both of them a try and decide which works better for you.Back in October of 2017 the program once called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC 2015 was rebranded as Lightroom Classic.
Adobe has created apps for both versions of the software that can be used on your computer, whether you have an Apple or Windows device. If you only want to edit pictures with Lightroom on your computer, you don't have to pick one or the other. You can also get more advanced with the pair of them by using Color Grading wheels and tone curves.
With both Lightroom Classic and CC, you can make standard tweaks like adjusting exposure, contrast, and saturation. Related: The Ultimate List of Adobe Lightroom Keyboard Shortcuts These are laid out similarly and work alike too. Though Lightroom Classic and CC look a bit different aesthetics-wise, the two apps have almost identical ranges of sliders and buttons. Let's go over how both versions are alike. While both Lightroom versions have their fair share of differences, they are still similar in some ways. As the more modern version, it's perhaps unsurprising that CC has more of a sleek feel.
The two versions of Lightroom also differ in how they look. Alongside JPEG, you can also export files in PNG, DNG, TIFF, and much more.
In contrast, Lightroom Classic offers a larger variety. When exporting to an external drive on CC, you can only do so via JPEG. Image Export FormatsĪs you might expect from a watered-down version of Classic, Lightroom CC offers limited choices regarding image export formats. To alter the lighting in your image, you'll need to scroll down to specific sliders. In CC, however, you can only use the Histogram for guidance. Rather than using sliders, you can alter the graph by clicking on the graph and dragging it to either the left or right. On Lightroom Classic, you can directly influence the distribution of light in your image through the Histogram. And while both Classic and CC have their own versions, how you can use the feature differs significantly. The Histogram feature on Lightroom helps you see how light is distributed in your photo.
On Classic, you don't have this problem all you need to do is double-click on a picture to see what it looks like when at full size. A common cause of frustration for photographers when importing images into Lightroom CC is that they can only see a thumbnail preview.