5 Lightroom Secrets for Better Photo Edits

There are some hidden tools and techniques in Lightroom that can transform your images. This helpful video tutorial explores five essential Lightroom tips from a seasoned pro.

Coming to you from Katelyn James, this insightful video dives into five powerful Lightroom tips gleaned from her 15 years as a professional wedding photographer. James emphasizes the importance of starting with a clean slate, advocating for the "Adobe Standard" profile over presets that apply automatic adjustments. This approach allows for greater control and a more personalized editing experience.  

James also highlights the often-overlooked Lens Corrections and Calibration tools. Enabling Profile Corrections automatically cleans up distortion and vignetting caused by the lens, while the "Calibration" panel offers subtle yet impactful adjustments to fine-tune the hues of greens and yellows in your photos. These seemingly minor tweaks can make a significant difference in achieving a polished and cohesive look. The video further explores the power of the Tone Curve for nuanced control over highlights, shadows, and overall depth. James underscores the importance of developing a consistent editing pattern to establish a recognizable style. 

Color grading is another essential technique covered in the video. James demonstrates how adjusting the color of highlights and shadows can dramatically impact the mood and atmosphere of an image. She encourages experimentation with the HSL sliders and color grading tools to find the perfect balance and achieve a desired aesthetic. Check out the video above for the full rundown from James.
 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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3 Comments

Why is it that so many professional people/websites don't seem to know the difference between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic.
A pet peeve of mine I admit. The title talks about Lightroom, the ico on the tile screen is "Lr", but the video is about LIghtroom Classic "LrC". I realize this is an Adobe nomenclature issue, but there is a difference between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. I skipped over this until someone sent it to me as Lightroom Classic video

--- " I skipped over this until someone sent it to me as Lightroom Classic video"

Lightroom was the original name and folks that have been using it for a decade or so ain't gonna change. And, I'd wager there are more professional photographers using Lightroom (LrC) than that mobile version.

Secrets? Oh boy...