Lightroom

Lightroom is a software suite for digital photography workflow developed by Adobe. It comprises two main variants: Lightroom (cloud-based) and Lightroom Classic (desktop-focused).

Lightroom Classic centers on a local catalog-based workflow. Users import images into a catalog, organize with folders, collections, keywords, flags, and ratings, and perform non-destructive edits in the Develop module. It emphasizes asset management and studio-tethered capture.

Lightroom (cloud-based) emphasizes cloud storage and cross-device syncing. Edits, presets, and metadata are stored in the cloud and synchronized to mobile apps and a web interface, enabling access from phones, tablets, and desktops. It prioritizes streamlined editing and AI-assisted features, with offline work supported by local caches.

Both variants share core editing capabilities: non-destructive editing, exposure and color adjustments, tone curves, HSL/Color, Color Grading, lens corrections, noise reduction, sharpening, crop, and local adjustment tools such as brush, radial, and graduated filters. Presets and profiles, batch processing, and export are supported.

Platforms and licensing: Lightroom Classic runs on Windows and macOS with local storage; Lightroom runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and web. Both are offered under Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions; the cloud-based version includes cloud storage, while Classic relies more on local storage.

History: Lightroom was introduced by Adobe in 2007 for digital photography workflow. In 2017 Adobe split the product into Lightroom Classic and the cloud-based Lightroom, which have since evolved along separate paths.