Lightroom v's Elements for organizing photos?

[grahams86848887]

I'm currently using Elements 2018 Organizer to organize my photos stored locally on my HDD.
Which is the better tools for the job Elements or Lightroom?

Thanks in anticipation

[JP Hess]

I don't know how to answer your question because I have never used the Elements Organizer. Lightroom is unique in that it utilizes a catalog which is a database. The database is literally the only file that Lightroom opens, and all the information that Lightroom stores is in that catalog. Keywords, all Lightroom adjustments, and all the work that you do in Lightroom is stored in the catalog. Each image and its location on your computer is a record in that catalog. The image itself is not in the catalog. When you make adjustments, or add keywords, or do any work at all to an image using Lightroom, it is appended to the database record in the catalog. The image itself is never modified. It is left in its pristine state that it was in when it was added to the catalog during the import process. In order to obtain an image that has all of the adjustments including all of the keywords and all of the information that has been added using Lightroom, you must export a copy of the image. That's how Lightroom works. That probably is going to answer your question, but it will give you an idea of how Lightroom works.

[grahams86848887]

Many thanks for your reply, very useful

[99jon]

Elements Organizer is a catlog based on traditional files & folders.

Lightroom CC uses a cache which is intelligently managed so that optimized photos are available on your computer and all of your phone and tablet devices.

Lightroom CC requires a monthly subscription which includes cloud storage with all your original imports backed up automatically.

Photoshop Elements is traditional stand-alone software and does not require a subscription.

Hope this helps.

[RomFro]

It's been a while since I used Elements so my memory of it may not be what it is now. Elements is similar to Lightroom in that they both organize photos and allow you to edit them. Elements actually has a lot of Photoshop proper functions (mainly layers). Lightroom does not have layers.

Classic Lightroom is meant for pros, so it has a bunch of features a professional would want to have (e.g. batch processing or tethering a camera to a computer). New Lightroom CC is really meant for people who want to have their photo library in the cloud (most likely not pros). The available features so far are probably somewhere between Elements and Lightroom Classic. I dare say you may have features in Elements that are not even in the new Lightroom.

If you are looking at both new Lightroom (CC) and Elements, the first question to ask is, if you want to have your photos in the cloud and pay Adobe a monthly subscription for the service?

[joachims25232702]

I used PSE over 10 years before switching to LR.

PSE stores its catalog in a hidden folder and I found it difficult to find the originals. It took me a long time to move everything to LR. I still keep my old PSE System disk for fear of lost photos.

PSE has ( in my versions up to 9) two grid areas so it is easy to look at two collections at a time and move photos from one to the other while viewing both. I miss that a lot in LR.

PSE's auto-corrections are not bad, do not believe that LR is much better. It us more professional, but that does not need to be a good thing.