Can someone explain the differences (or advantages) of using lightroom as opposed to ACR?
Hi Linda,
It kind of depends on what version of Photoshop you are using. If you are using CS3, there is no difference in terms of ACR controls, although Lr has some extra tweaks that let you drag in the image and adjust Hue, Saturation, etc. The image dragging is not available and is a neat feature.
If you are using Elements 4/5 (and dont know about 6), you do not have access to more than the Basic (exposure) and Details (sharpening and noise reduction). There is a lot missing from this (Tone Curve, HSL, Split Toning and Lens Correction) - all of which add some pretty neat capabilties.
Beyond that Lr gives you extra tools that allow you to sift thru large numbers of pictures and get to the real gems. I have had Lr for about 2 months now, like it, but have not used this picture managament capabilities yet. Maybe soon.