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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n1. Understand the Basics of Lightroom \n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re new to Lightroom, check out our Lightroom beginner\u2019s guide<\/a> on how to get started. After that, these basic post-processing tips will help you progress in your photo editing journey:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>Set your camera to produce RAW files rather than JPEGs. RAW files contain more data, letting you manipulate the image more than you can with JPEGs. This is especially helpful if you don\u2019t expose your images correctly, as it gives you more leeway to rescue the light and dark areas.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dodging and burning is when you apply exposure tweaks to small areas of your image, rather than applying global adjustments. \u201cDodging\u201d is when you increase the exposure (or lighten the image) and \u201cburning\u201d is when you decrease it (or darken the image).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lightroom includes several selection tools, from brushes to radial filters to automatic subject selection tools. The most common way to apply dodging and burning is to make local adjustments using the Brush tool.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do so:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip: <\/span>Use the \u201cAuto Mask\u201d feature to assist your brushing process. Applying a brush to specific, finely defined areas (like hair or birds) can take a lot of time. Auto Mask lets Lightroom try to find the edges of each object automatically. This way, when you use the brush, it won\u2019t apply masking to the area it doesn\u2019t think is part of the object.\n<\/p>\n\n\n When you use masking, there\u2019s a handful of ways to tell Lightroom to only apply that mask to particular parts of your image inside the mask.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do so, press Masking <\/span>then select Range <\/span>and choose either Luminance<\/span> Range <\/span>or Color Range<\/span>. Alternatively, if you already have a mask, you can press Subtract<\/span> then Luminance<\/span> Range<\/span> to remove that luminance value from your mask.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Each of these will give you power over what to include or remove from your masks. However, range masking gives you even tighter control by letting you tell Lightroom which colors or luminance values you want to focus on.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choosing Luminance<\/span> Range<\/span> will open up a new slider that lets you control both ends from 0-100. Play around with the sliders to see how your mask changes. To target dark values, move the right-hand slider towards the 0 value. To target light values, do the opposite.\n<\/p>\n\n\n You can also use the automatic dropper to click an area with the luminance value you want to add or subtract from your mask. Press Show <\/span>Luminance<\/span> Map<\/span> to make sure that the correct parts of your image are included.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Choosing Color Range<\/span> opens up a similar slider. Use the dropper to select the color you want to remove, then use the slider to refine your selection.\n<\/p>\n\n\n You\u2019ve probably noticed that several of your photos have a frustrating green or purple fringe to objects in harsh light. This is caused by something called \u201cchromatic aberration\u201d, an unavoidable optical phenomenon that occurs because of the way light reaches your camera sensor through your lens.\n<\/p>\n\n\n Luckily, Lightroom has a built-in tool to remove this. In the Develop module<\/span>, scroll down to Lens Corrections<\/span>. Here, you can choose either Profile <\/span>(automatic) or Manual<\/span>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use Lightroom\u2019s grid overlays to crop and compose your photos exactly how you\u2019d like. There are several overlays, from the rule of thirds to the golden ratio spiral. These can help you compose your photo according to several well-known aesthetic \u201crules\u201d of composition.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find the histogram in the top-right corner of the Develop module. This complicated-looking graph shows your image’s tonal values and color distribution.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The red, blue, and yellow sections represent how concentrated those colors are in the image. Green areas are where blue and yellow overlap, and turquoise areas are where green and blue overlap. The gray areas are where all three colors overlap.\n<\/p>\n\n\n The left-hand side of the histogram represents the darkest parts of your image, and the right-hand side is the brightest. So if most of your peaks are on the left, your image may be underexposed (and vice versa). A well-exposed image will generally have most of the histogram toward the center of the graph in a single peak.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pressing the J<\/span> key <\/span>will show you where your image is clipping. Clipping is where your highlights or shadows have reached the point where no information is being shown anymore \u2014 it\u2019s just white or black pixels.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you press J<\/span> and then play around with the exposure slider, you\u2019ll see red areas where the highlights are clipping and blue where the shadows are. This can help you get the perfect exposure.\n<\/p>\n\n\n You can also edit your image directly via the histogram. Hover over each part of the graph to see what it represents, then click (or tap) and drag to alter that section. You\u2019ll see the corresponding sliders change as you do.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to photography, dust spots are an annoying part of the process. Changing lenses often introduces dust to your camera sensor, which can appear as distracting black smudges in your photos.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lightroom now features a spot removal tool that can help you remove these (and other) distracting objects from your photos, speeding up your editing workflow because you no longer need to switch to Photoshop<\/a> to get rid of them.\n<\/p>\n\n\n To remove dust particles:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a series of similar images you want to edit the same way, you can apply batch editing to speed up your editing process.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do so:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re applying sharpening and noise reduction, you\u2019re able to selectively choose which parts of the image you want to affect. To do so\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color grading is one of the hardest skills to learn, but with a lot of trial and error, you can hone your eye and learn to make beautiful images.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Lightroom, colors can be manipulated in several ways:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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2. Use Brushes to Dodge and Burn\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n3. Use Range Masking\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n4. Remove Fringing\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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5. Use Composition Aids\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n6. Pay Attention to the Histogram\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n7. Remove Unwanted Dust Particles (and Other Objects)\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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8. Batch Editing\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n9. Use Masking When Applying Sharpening\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n10. Learn How to Color Grade\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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