Today’s Question: As I read articles about Lightroom, it appears that I need to learn to use Lightroom as Adobe seems to be on a path to replace Lightroom Classic with Lightroom. My question: what are your thoughts on how I should start to get up to speed on Lightroom so that I will be ready to make the switch?
Tim’s Quick Answer: First, I don’t think you need to worry about Lightroom Classic being discontinued in the immediate future. In the meantime, however, if you want to get more familiar with the newer cloud-focused version of Lightroom, I can offer a couple of suggestions.
More Detail: Every now and then there is a flurry of rumors suggesting the impending demise of Lightroom Classic. I’m sure Adobe would prefer to streamline their portfolio of software applications focused on organizing photos. After all, we have Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Bridge, and the Photoshop Elements Organizer, all from Adobe and with considerable overlap among them.
However, I don’t imagine that Adobe wants to discontinue Lightroom Classic anytime soon, considering the large number of photographers currently using this software. Of course, I could also just be too optimistic, since I use Lightroom Classic to manage my library of almost 400,000 photos. But I really don’t think Lightroom Classic will be discontinued anytime soon.
That said, if you want to get more familiar with the cloud-focused version of Lightroom, I do have a couple of (admittedly biased!) suggestions.
First, if you haven’t already seen my webinar presentation on the subject of “Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, or Bridge?!”, I think it is worth watching. During the presentation I shared an overview of each of these applications, and suggestions for choosing the right one for you. You can view the full presentation on my “Tim Grey TV” channel on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwpneG4y0nQ
If you want to take a deeper dive into the cloud-focused version of Lightroom, including the relatively new ability to browse locally stored photos in addition to managing photos stored in the cloud, my “Mastering Adobe Lightroom” course provides comprehensive coverage. You can find the course on my GreyLearning website here:
https://www.greylearning.com/courses/mastering-adobe-lightroom-cloud-2024
Note, by the way, that I have recently published updated courses on Bridge, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom. All these courses, and much more content, is included in my GreyLearning Ultimate Bundle, which you can learn more about here:
https://www.greylearning.com/bundles/greylearning-bundle?coupon=99ultimate
