Bridge

Hi Roland, I use Bridge instead of using Lightroom. Bridge is part of the Photoshop suite which includes Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, and Photoshop. Bridge is a basic program for sorting/cataloging files. It isn't really designed to work with Lightroom; rather, Lightroom combines (and enhances) the cataloging and image editing functions of Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw. I personally find Lightroom annoying, so I don't use it. Bridge isn't very good for advanced cataloging and keywording, Lightroom is preferred for that sort of thing. Adobe Camera Raw offers essentially the same editing capabilities as Lightroom. My workflow is to sort and select files in Bridge, edit the raw files in Adobe Camera Raw, and then I output the files to Photoshop for any final editing.

Bridge and Lightroom were written by the same person, Jeff Schewe. The interfaces are a bit different, but perform the same basic tasks. Bridge is a flat file database and Lightroom is a relational database so it is a bit faster. Bridge reads all file formats; Lightroom only reads photo files. I generate Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat and other format files which I cannot view in Lightroom, but I can in Bridge. I, like Ian, use Bridge because it is more versatile. I find Lightroom's workflow—compelling you to use a copy of your file when exporting to Photoshop and then making a new file when returning to Lightroom—to be cumbersome and a space hog. Some photographers only use Lightroom, relying on presets to process their images. I have used Photoshop since version 2 and it is infinitely more capable at processing images with infinitely more control. I use Photoshop for the same reason I shoot RAW—I don't want someone else, who has never seen my image, making decisions about how it is supposed to look.