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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nLightroom Creative Cloud vs. Lightroom Classic\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are two versions of Lightroom: Lightroom Creative Cloud<\/a> (now just Lightroom) and Lightroom Classic.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lightroom is the cloud-based version across desktop, mobile, and web. Lightroom Classic is the desktop version focused on local storage and has more comprehensive features.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since many of the controls are similar between the two apps, this tutorial will focus on the more feature-heavy Adobe Lightroom Classic.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, let\u2019s dive into how to use Lightroom.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you first open Lightroom, you\u2019ll be asked to create a Lightroom catalog. Choose a location on your local drive (this will be faster than an external drive).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once this is completed, there are a few ways you can import photos, depending on your workflow:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>You can import most file types into Lightroom (for example, JPEG, PNG, or RAW<\/a>). However, if you use a digital camera, we recommend using RAW files, as these preserve the greatest detail and enable you to perform more in-depth edits.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve imported your photos, you can begin to organize them. There is no hard and fast rule for photo management, so it depends on your preferences. However, Lightroom allows you to add keywords and other metadata to photos to sort and access them easily.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To add keywords to your photos:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lightroom also lets you add and edit photo metadata. In the Metadata<\/span> drop-down menu, you can add a title, caption, copyright information, a creator\u2019s name, and a rating for the photo. This information is saved in the photo file.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve just been on a recent trip, chances are you have thousands of photos and hundreds of near-duplicates. That\u2019s okay \u2014 Lightroom has everything you need to sort through and discard the ones you don\u2019t like.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few tips when it comes to \u201cculling\u201d your photographs:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you\u2019ve sorted your photos and decided which ones are keepers, it\u2019s time to turn them into professional-grade images. In this section, we\u2019ll cover the major editing tools in the order they appear in the Develop tab.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lightroom provides a fairly large suite of image-developing tools, and if you\u2019ve never used it before, you might be wondering what you\u2019re looking at.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a quick breakdown:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presets are the quickest way to edit a photo in Lightroom. Similar to filters in social media apps like Instagram, presets allow you to apply a range of settings to your photo in one hit.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lightroom provides many presets designed for different genres of photography, from vintage effects, to landscape photo enhancements, to black-and-white styles<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To preview a preset, hover your cursor over it in the Presets menu. Then, simply select the preset to apply it.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Cropping lets you adjust your image to the best possible composition. When cropping, Lightroom lets you rotate the image to perfect the perspective (for example, you may need to align the image with the horizon).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To crop and adjust the perspective in your image, do the following:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>In the cropping panel, you can choose an aspect ratio. This ensures that your crop overlay conforms to a particular ratio (like 2:3) so that your images remain consistent.\n<\/p>\n\n\n As good as presets are, they don\u2019t always do a great job. Sometimes, a fine touch is required \u2014 that\u2019s where the Basic panel comes in.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>While adjusting the exposure, turn on shadow and highlight clipping by pressing the triangles<\/span> in each corner of the histogram. With this setting turned on, if you increase or decrease the exposure by too much (called \u201cclipping,\u201d where you lose detail in your image), it will highlight these areas in red.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Tone curves are a more advanced way to alter the tone values of your photographs. If you hover over each section of the tone curve, you will see which parts of your images it affects \u2014 shadows, darks, lights, or highlights. Selecting and dragging that section of the curve will increase or decrease the value for those tones.\n<\/p>\n\n\n While there are many possible variations for your tone curve, the most commonly used conformation is probably the basic S curve. This increases the contrast in your image and leads to a more pleasing look.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>To add the \u201cfaded\u201d look that many modern images have, simply add a point at the lower end of the curve and increase the point where the line meets the left-hand edge, as shown below. This increases the black point so that it\u2019s higher than true black.\n<\/p>\n\n\n To apply color correction, you want to head to the HSL<\/span>\/Color module<\/span>. Here, you\u2019ll see the list of colors with three columns: Hue, Saturation, and Luminance. Hue <\/span>affects the actual color. For example, you can change yellow to become much more orange. Saturation<\/span> affects the intensity of the color. Finally, Luminance<\/span> alters the brightness of the color.\n<\/p>\n\n\n You can also use the Color Grading tab. Here, you’ll have three color wheels that can be used to add particular tints to your mid-tones, highlights, and shadows. Select and drag the center point towards a particular color. The further toward the edge of the wheel you go, the more saturated the color will be.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>When you apply presets, the HSL and Color Grading tabs are updated with the changed values. This can be a great way to learn color grading in more detail. Simply choose a preset you like, then study sliders. As you experiment with these values, you\u2019ll get an idea of what works and what doesn\u2019t.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next in line is the Detail tab. This section lets you add sharpening and noise reduction to your images if they need it.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sharpening Tool features four sliders:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: <\/span>The image shown under \u201cDetail\u201d is a zoomed-in preview showing you what the changes will look like in your image. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Noise Reduction tool is very similar. Before we explain the settings, remember that there are two types of noise \u2014 luminance and color noise. Luminance is the black-and-white grain you see in noisy images, while color noise is when you get multicolored pixels.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the time, the default values will do fine. Also, Lightroom applies color noise reduction to RAW images on import.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>You can use the Adjustment Brush to apply effects to only one area of your image. To do so, choose the Masking icon, <\/span>then select Create New Mask <\/span>and select Brush<\/span>. Select and drag the brush over your photo. The edits you apply in this mode will only affect that area.\n<\/p>\n\n\n When you take a photo with a digital camera, the file stores information about the lens used. Many lenses are not optically perfect, meaning that straight lines can be distorted and look strange in your photographs.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Lens Corrections<\/span> module, click Enable Profile Corrections<\/span> and ensure that your lens\u2019 make and model is selected in the drop-down menus. Your image will be automatically corrected so that it\u2019s closer to the real thing.\n<\/p>\n\n\n You\u2019re almost done. The final step is to export your edited photo as a standalone image file. This won\u2019t affect the original file, as it will be saved separately.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To export an image:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to Import Photos\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Organize and Manage Photos\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to Sort and Discard Photos\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Edit Photos\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
An Introduction to the Develop Module\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Use Lightroom Presets\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Crop and Adjust Perspective\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Use The Basic Panel\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAdjusting Tone Curves\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Apply Color Edits\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Apply Noise Reduction and Sharpening\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Add Lens Corrections\n<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Export Images\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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