Advice Needed on LR/PS Workflow

Question

Hi,
I'm running Windows XP SP2 with Lightroom 1.3.1 and Photoshop CS. Over the past several years, I've established a comfortable workflow for processing my images in PS. I have recently added LR to my world and am now trying to get a handle on how to integrate it into the work process I use.
Right now I use PS to do all the normal post-processing: using layers, levels and color balance to clean up images (skin, hair, blemishes, etc), adjust exposure/contrast, lighten eyes/teeth, apply one or more tones, etc. Pretty normal, common stuff, as best as I can tell.
But now I find that some of these steps are so much easier in LR, e.g., modifying exposure and contrast, using presets to adjust tones. So I'd like to use LR to do the steps that is does so well and with such ease, while using PS to do what it does best.
I know what LR and PS are each designed to do: LR, among other things, can be used to make adjustments to exposure, WB, tones; PS to make edits at the pixel level.
Here's where I'm stuck - how to get the two pieces of software to streamline my work process, without having to duplicate work or change my process.
What I want to do is be able to take an image, make some initial exposure modifications, then cleanup up the image one time, then apply one or more develop presets to create multiple version of a single cleaned up image (B&W, color, duo-tone, etc.) and then make some final edits to it.
Using the two tools, here's how I see my process:
1. Make initial exposure, WB adjustments in LR on my RAW image.
2. Edit a TIF copy in PS so I can do all my cleanup one time on a master copy of the image.
3. Now I'd like to bring the master image back into LR so I can apply develop presets to modify the tone, colors, convert to B&W, etc.
4. Final step is to make one last set of modifications to image in PS, like whiten eyes or teeth, add copyright logo, etc.
I know that once I bring the TIF back into LR (Step 3 above) I do not have the same controls in the Develop Module (e.g., WB control is now -100 to +100 instead of color temperature) that I did with the RAW image and the presets that I want to do not behave the same way. This is my first hurdle.
Sorry for the long-winded note, but I wanted to explain as best I could my process and how I'd like to use LR and PS to enhance my process. I'm looking for some advice on how I might best use these two wonderful tools in the process that I described above without having to duplicate any of my steps (like create multiple versions of the image in LR and having to take multiple versions of the image into PS to perform the same edits to clean up the image)
Ideal world: I move back and forth between LR and PS with a RAW image, passing changes I make back into each software package as I work on each step in my process. Is this doable somehow? Do I need to upgrade to PS CS3?
Thanks in advance for any advice or ideas you experts can provide.
Steve

Answer 1

>I move back and forth between LR and PS with a RAW image, passing changes I make back into each software package as I work on each step in my process.
Lightroom 2.0 allows editing of RAW images in Photoshop without creating a .tiff or other copy. You can even open files from Lightroom as Smart Objects. See this video for further information: http://creativesuitepodcast.com/index.php?post_id=323482