Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is essentially a self-contained, standalone version of Adobe Camera Raw. Like Apple iPhoto and Aperture, images are imported into a library, but the image files themselves remain in their original locations. Adjustments are stored as metadata within the application’s database, while the files themselves remain unchanged. Multiple images are handled as a “project” rather than on an individual basis as they are in Photoshop. This makes processing in Lightroom extremely efficient.

Adjusted images can be “published” (exported with changes permanently applied) to Flickr, Facebook and SmugMug as well your hard drive or other media. You can print directly from ACR, and you can also build web pages and upload them to your own website.

Overall adjustments can be made to white balance, exposure, recovery, fill light, blacks, brightness, contrast clarity, vibrance, tone curve, HSL/Color/B&W, split toning, detail, lens corrections, vignetting, grain, and camera calibration. Images can be cropped, straightened, and retouched. Retouching includes spot removal and redeye correction. You can also apply a graduated filter

Some adjustments can also be brushed in, and these include exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, clarity sharpness and color.

ACR is ideal for the photographer who does not need to combine images or perform pixel-level retouching.