Today’s Question: I just saw an announcement from Adobe that there is a completely new version of Lightroom CC. Should I switch to this new version? Will the Lightroom CC I’ve been using stop working?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The new Lightroom CC is a completely new platform for managing your photos, which revolves around cloud-based synchronization of all of your original captures. The existing Lightroom will now be referred to as Lightroom Classic, and will continue to be updated and supported by Adobe.
More Detail: Understandably, there has been some confusion about Adobe’s latest announcement about a completely new software application (and ecosystem) that is being called “LightroomCC”. The existing Lightroom application will now be referred to as Lightroom Classic.
The new Lightroom CC includes some impressive features, such as cloud-based synchronization of all of your original captures, so that every image can be accessed from anywhere (provided you have an Internet connection), from virtually any device such as a computer, smartphone, or tablet. In addition, image analysis in Lightroom CC enables you to search for photos based on content, without having to add keywords for those details first.
Lightroom Classic will continue to be supported and updated, and in fact I plan to continue using Lightroom Classic as the foundation of my workflow for organizing and optimizing my photos. I see great promise in Lightroom CC (and some of the technology it includes), but it doesn’t yet include all of the features I need in my workflow.
To me, Lightroom CC is a good solution for those who want to be able to access their photos from anywhere, and don’t feel the need to be extremely “hands-on” when it comes to managing their library of photos. With time I’m sure both Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic will evolve, so I’ll certainly be re-evaluating my workflow approach from time to time.
To learn a bit more about the new Lightroom CC, you can check out the latest episode of Tim Grey TV on YouTube here: