Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic

2021 Guide
The Complete Beginners Manual with Tips & Tricks to Master Amazing New Features in Adobe
Lightroom Classic

Curtis
Campbell
Copyright © 2021 Curtis Campbell

All rights reserved.

It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document by either electronic means
or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited

Disclaimer

The information in this book is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the
author has made every attempt to achieve an accuracy of the information gathered in this book, they
make no representation or warranties concerning the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this
book. Your circumstances may not be suited to some illustrations in this book.

The author disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book. Readers are
encouraged to seek Medical. Accounting, legal, or professional help when required.

This guide is for informational purposes only, and the author does not accept any responsibilities for
any liabilities resulting from the use of this information. While every attempt has been made to verify
the information provided here, the author cannot assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or
omission.
 Contents
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE
Photoshop Lightroom Classic At A Glance
Installing The Software
Taking A Look At The Interface
Full-Screen Mode
Automatic adjustment suggestions
Auto selectors
Advanced panel
CHAPTER TWO
Using Catalogs
Local catalog
Managed catalog
Organizing The Catalog
What Are The Worst Reasons to Delete a Lightroom Catalog?
How to resave your catalogs
Have lightroom catalogs you fancy keeping?
Organizing The Lightroom Catalog Using New Folder & Library Folders
Avoid Multiple Catalogs, Merge Them As One
What Differs The Lightroom From The Lightroom Classic?
What Is Lightroom CC?
Using The Context Panel
Using The Layer Management Assistant
What Image Formats Does Lightroom Classic Support?
Other Important Options In Lightroom
Lightroom CC Settings For Both Lightroom CC and Classic CC
CHAPTER THREE
Importing Photos
Customizing Import Options
 Using Auto Import
Setting Up Tethering
CHAPTER FOUR
Accessing The Library Module
Using Picture Lock: Library Module’s Command Bar
Using The Command Bar In The Library Module
Using Compare View
How To Find Your Best Photos Using Compare View In Lightroom
Making Use Of Collections
Necessity Of The Collections
The Collection Sets
Using the Collection Panel
How To Create A Collection
Utilizing Smart Collections
Difference Between Smart Collections And Collections Group
Where Are Smart Collections Available?
Creating A Smart Collection?
CHAPTER FIVE
Color Label Customization
Guide On Using Templates
Lightroom Classic Templates
Using Keywords
Using Lightroom’s Levels Adjustment Brush To Add Light To Shadows
Using Lightroom’s Contrast Tools To Make Shadows More Realistic
Painter Tool Usage
Using Filter Bar
CHAPTER SIX
Using People View
Enabling ‘People View’ In Lightroom
How To Adjust The People View Effect In Lightroom
Quick Develop And Auto Tone
How to Enable the Quick Develop Button in Lightroom Classic
How to Enable the Auto Tone Key in Lightroom
How To Use “Quick Develop” And “Auto Tone” In Lightroom Classic
Merging Photos With HDR Panorama
 Presets, How To Install
Advanced Tips: How to Configure Presets
Presets in Lightroom
Post-Processing Tips: Using Presets And Rounded Edges
Adding A Highlight Correction On JPEG Images
Get Your Images On The Map
Instructions on Installing Lightroom Map Module
Lightroom Tip: Adding Distance Markers to the Map Pro
CHAPTER SEVEN
Using Histogram
How to use the histogram
Using Basic Panels
How To Use The Sun Tool In Adobe Lightroom
Making Your Photos Pop
CHAPTER EIGHT
Photo Cropping And Straightening
Fixing Spots And Smoothening The Skin
Red-Eyes Removal
Positives to using red-eye corrector in lightroom
Changing Mirror Image Angle And Setting Rotations For Portrait In Lightroom
Pet Eye Removal
How to remove pet eye in lightroom classic
Going Pro With The Graduated And Radical Filter
CHAPTER NINE
Using The Adjustment Brush Tool
Utilizing Snapshots
Are snapshots worth it?
Accessing The History Panel
CHAPTER TEN
Correcting Your Photo’s Tone And Contrast
Image Sharpening
Using Creative Profiles
Installing Creative Profiles
Calibrating RAW Files
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Syncing Edits In Lightroom Classic
Syncing Photos
Things To Avoid Syncing
CHAPTER TWELVE
Making Use Of Color Grading
Grading Panel
Photo Editing With Color Grading
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Using External Editors
Create A Photo Book With Ease
Create Slideshows With Ease
Exporting Your Projects
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Printing Your Photos
Web Gallery Creation
Saving Your Images For Web
Saving Your Projects
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Avoid These Mistakes When Working With Lightroom Classic
Troubleshooting Guidelines
Easy Tricks You Should Try
CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
Lightroom Classic 2021 simplifies every step of processing images, no matter
how they were captured. It takes your photos, makes them better, and puts
them on your computer, at your fingertips. You can store your images
anywhere, in any format you choose, in one place. It is the base for the rest of
Lightroom CC, so if you desire the very best to enhance your photographs
then this is the only option. Lightroom Classic is still the way to go if you’re
serious about working with your photographs.
Lightroom Classic is slightly different from the new Lightroom CC edition.
For a start, it’s still division of the Creative Cloud system, so you’re not
being disconnected. You simply use a different website to access your
subscriptions and storage. You can also download your photos directly to a
local hard drive.
In addition to editing, this application provides several cataloging tools,
organizing, searching, and scanning tools, and how to use all these features
and functionalities would be broken down in detail in this guidebook.
Explore this book now and get clarity in using the software’s full potential.
 CHAPTER ONE

Photoshop Lightroom Classic At A Glance

Lightroom Classic is the CC version of Lightroom, which has served me well

for the past four years. The developers didn’t bring the cool new features and
performance enhancements that we have seen in the newest version of
Lightroom CC, but there are a few extras that you might want to pay attention
to.
Some of these features include all the brush tools that were recently added to
the Lightroom CC, the ability to hide metadata information by manually
entering a unique data code that is applied when editing a copy-protected
image (you can find this feature under Edit > Tools > Hide Content), ability
to mark up images using fonts directly from within the Edit menu and
application of HDR correction after applying the light tone and contrast
corrections for an edited image.
Finally, Lightroom has a couple of noteworthy latest appearance that I
believe are worth mentioning. For instance, you can now select a segment of
an image within a stack and either applies a transform or an adjustment to a
subset of the entire image, and you can also select a specific area of an image
and target an adjustment that is bound to that area in the following view.
Overall, though, it’s vital to note that if you’re an existing Lightroom user,
the development of Lightroom hasn’t changed much about what you can
accomplish.
Lightroom Classic has been a better choice for a long time because of its
more powerful blend of features, solid performance, and versatility. That
said, if you are thinking about replacing a heavily used version of Lightroom
with something very new, Lightroom CC might be a good choice.

Installing The Software

This topic is going to discuss how to install Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Classic on a new laptop. This tutorial is for you if you’re new to the
Lightroom. Before trying this, please download the latest version of the
software by following these steps:

Download Mac OSX or Windows installer for Lightroom

Classic. Now, run the installer to download the file

Launch the installer

Click Next to continue

Enter your admin password

Click Next

Note down the Operating System details for your computer

Click Next

Install the software

 Click Install

Click Start and let the installation complete.

After the installation is complete, the software will appear on the

desktop

Signing In
Step 1: Log In With Adobe ID (and your profile)

Step 2: Go to Settings -> Adobe ID -> Scan your computer for fraudulent
software

Step 3: Update or add to the list and click OK

Step 4: Go to Preferences -> Privacy -> “Accept Contact Information From

Advertisers,”

Step 5: Click Add When Available

Step 6: Go to Downloads -> Installed Software, then select Lightroom

Classic CC and click Install

Step 7: Click Continue in the dialogue box and wait while the installation is
done

Step 8: Go to Lightroom -> Settings -> Preferences -> Privacy and click
Toggle on Activate Plugin for Creative Cloud Photography Plan -> Click
Manage -> Plugins and Plugins For Advertisers

Step 9: Click Allow and verify you’re OK

Step 10: Return to Lightroom and click File -> Add Plugin

Step 11: A new window will appear.

Step 12: Add Lightroom Classic CC plugin to your Lightroom software. Go

to Plugins -> Install and select Lightroom Classic CC as the source. After
installation, you will be prompted to restart your software. Once restarted,
you will see the Plugins button on the left of your Library module.
Taking A Look At The Interface

Having used Lightroom for a few years, my early impressions are of a

version that looks like it could have been built from the ground up for
windows; everything appears tightly integrated.
There’s the ability to right-click on an adjustment in the Develop module
(and an associated command in the sidebar) and then choose to apply that
adjustment to a layer is great.
Once you’ve selected an effect, like Distort, you can preview it on the layer’s
parent layer. If you like the effect, you can click its thumbnail to apply it to
another layer.

While the interface is a little more awkward in some places than you might be
used to, the overall look and feel is very Window-like, and a little less busy
than the Adobe Lightroom CS5 interface.
The list of sliders used for the Develop Module is not divided by whether the
slider controls can be adjusted individually or independently from one
another. All sliders can be adjusted independently.
The Context Menu, which is normally accessed by clicking on the square
right of the Edit or Sync layers, is found in the toolbar above the sliders.
There is a definite learning curve, but once you get familiar with the program,
it functions a lot better than Photoshop CC and Aperture.
Want A Better Workflow? Customize Your Workspace Now
Lightroom Classic comes with a default workspace that is geared towards
using the taskbar on the screen’s left corner to navigate. To customize your
workspace panel can be dragged and dropped to rearrange the tools, move
certain panels, change the size of them, and add new panels or plug-ins.

If you know Lightroom, you know that it is best to start with the stock
interface, and then explore the various modules if you are familiar with them.
If you are brand new to Lightroom, it’s worth taking a look at the Basic
module to see how the workflow works, then move on to the ‘Advanced
module,’ and finally the ‘Extended module.’
If you are switching from a different editor, such as Photoshop, the
introduction to the Lightroom interface is the same but here are some
variations in the layout.

Beginners Notebook

At the bottom of the screen is a start menu for quickly organizing your
photos. When you first open Lightroom, the first thing you should do is select
Edit > New Beginner’s Notebook and name it whatever you like.
Click Edit > New to create a new blank notebook.
On the left-hand location of the next screen select Default Appearance, then
give your notebook a decent color and click OK.

On the right-hand location of the next screen, you will see the Content
section.
The Content section will give you a tree-style catalog that you can navigate
through the library. From here you can go left to right and bottom to top.
You will also find a section for metadata called Tags, another for Catalogs,
another for Date and Time, another for Albums, and more.

Under the tabs, you will find:

Auto & Manual Selector

The Auto Selector is an auto-suggestion that pulls out the right tool for the
right job when you start to drag the toolbars or objects in the photo.

Select the Presets tab at the bottom of the Content screen.

From here you can add presets and rename them if you like. When you add a
preset it is applied to the entire folder. Most people find the presets helpful
and come in handy.

In the right column, you will find different interface options and adjustments.
On the left corner, there are two-row options. The first one is Tabbed Editing
and gives you all the selections you require to make your adjustments on a
per-page basis.

The second row is Custom Editing and gives you the option to edit your
adjustments in an individual panel on a per-page basis. To edit each
adjustment individually, you can either tap on the arrow on the upper right
part of the panel or select the tool you desire to adjust.
To edit a panel individually, you can either hit the arrow on the upper-hand
section of the panel or select the tool you want to adjust.

What you should do

In this section, we’ll go over some of the best settings you can set. These are
ones you will notice often in your favorite photos.

Full-Screen Mode
Full-Screen Mode is a button on the upper right side of your screen that
changes the look and function of your screen when you click it.
When you click Full-Screen Mode you will see that the entire layout is on a
single page.
It can be a bit hard to learn the layout, but it is useful if you have photos that
you want to view in full-screen mode.
In the screen’s upper corner in the right, click Edit > Interface.

In the Interface dialog box, click on the new “Grid View” toggle switch to
show all the views on your screen.
Here you will see the different views that Lightroom will show you.
Due to the Lightroom setup, your images will be viewable on the screen left-
hand section. Each photo will show you the album it is in and a preview of
what is inside.
The middle of your screen shows your content. Here you can set exposure,
brightness, and shadows to be shown. You can also select a different color
from the quick menu.

The bottom left shows your metadata, tree-style viewer, and filters.
The bottom right shows where you have auto and manual selectors.
The lower right shows your correct histogram if you have one active, and a
quick window to save a file, view an adjustment panel, see how many photos
you have loaded, or switch to the Develop module.

I will go into detail below about each of the sub-sections of this section.

Automatic adjustment suggestions

The automatic adjustment suggestions can be set to Auto, Automatic
Adjustment, or Custom Adjustments.
By default, it is set to Automatic Adjustment.

To change this option, you will need to click on the red button above the
Auto selection and select one of the available options. You will notice the
suggestions do not automatically apply to your photos. You have to go into
each adjustment to make your changes.

To get to the edit screen to modify the automatic adjustment settings, tap the
edit button on the toolbar. This is the edit screen that shows you what each
adjustment will do to your image. As you click on the different adjustments
you will see their description pop up.

There are also a few arrows to the right that you can click to toggle various
tools on or off. As you go through the adjustments, you will see the actions
you can take.

There are three tabs on the screen’s upper left-hand location. The left-hand
section of the first tab shows a time interval. Also tap and drag the time to
form a new adjustment.

You will notice the second tab shows a percentage of how you are adjusting
the photo. The last tab shows the percentage value you are changing. You can
draw the bar to the left to spot the percentage values change.

Clicking on the editing tools you want to use will open them. I like to do a
little research before I make any major changes to my photos. This is just one
of the ways you can do it. This is one of the tools I like to use to find out how
light my exposure is. It will show you the exposure value of the photo with a
slider.

You can change the percentage for the photo to increase the exposure,
decrease the exposure, or stay where it is. When the adjust key on the toolbar
is tapped, the tool will automatically adjust the photo to the lightest value in
the photo. This is useful when you are shooting a photo in the early morning,
and the sun has not fully risen.
The tool will add some saturation to the photo to make it a little more orange.
You can do the same thing by going into the Develop module and selecting
the hue / Saturation sliders.

Auto selectors
By default, Lightroom will show you two buttons next to your photo’s
information.

The first button is an Auto Selector. This will pick a photo for you based on
the brightness and shadows in the photo.

The second button is a Select Color button. This will let you select a color
from the blue, green, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black color channels.
Click on the Auto Selector button to show a grid with 5 photos in it. You will
notice the image of the photo is there, but it is not selected. This is because it
is way too bright and can be dangerous for photographs that are exposed.

You can click on the Auto Selector button to adjust the photo. It will show
the image with the Auto Selector selected. It will also show a percentage
value showing how bright and how dark you are adjusting the photo to be.

You can click on the Auto Selector button again to change the image from
the Auto Selector. The image with the Auto Selector selected will be selected
automatically. You can also select the image from the grid to change it again.
The Select Color button will only let you pick one color, so that is why the
selections screen is not showing up.
Advanced panel
I like the Advanced Panel. It is the section you go when you feel like creating
your edits. You can start by going to the Top Panel and clicking the small cog
icon.
If you do not see a cog icon, try a different computer or go into the menu and
search for the panel.

You will see the Advanced Panel under the Top Panel. You can use the
advanced panel to adjust the picture frame, shift the center of the frame, and
zoom the camera into the image.

The Advanced Panel also lets you add a little artistic flair to your image. Go
into the Advanced Panel and click on the HSL Color slider. It will show you
the values of the red, green, blue, and alpha channels. The slider can be
pulled to adjust the colors. You can adjust the levels to achieve a full tone or
a halogen hue.

Hint: Hold the Shift key when you change the sliders. This will shift the
sliders together to change the settings.

You can also use the Adjustment Brush tool to paint on the colors. You can
select any color you want and paint directly onto the image. Doing this is
straightforward. Click on the blue Brush tool and make the desired color
change. The Adjustment Brush Tool will only show you a few shades of blue.

You can pick the color you desire to paint with and tap on the inner box to
draw in a darker or lighter area. You can then tap on the checkmark button to
finish painting and take it back to the beginning of the brush stroke.

Once you have painted in the color, you can click on the blue paint bucket
button to delete the brush. Click on the inner box again and drag the brush to
where you want it to end. This will allow you to place the painting
somewhere later on in the editing process.

Once you are happy with your painting, click on the blue Remove Brush
button to erase it. I have used this tool to paint in the shadows of a sky with
some mist.
Hint: Click on the image to enlarge it.
 CHAPTER TWO

Using Catalogs

A Catalog in Lightroom is an image that stores metadata that can be saved as

separate files in your catalog. The default Catalog is the Local Catalog and
you can edit it to show what you want to show in your catalog. In Lightroom
6, there is also the Managed Catalog.

Local catalog
A Local Catalog is an image that you import and it appears in your Develop
Module. You can edit the Local Catalog to display data about the image in its
original format.

Managed catalog
This is an image that you’ve imported in another module, usually Creative
Gallery or Media Library. If you are in one of these modules, you can edit the
Managed Catalog to see information that you prefer keeping in your catalog.
Organizing The Catalog
If you don’t use Lightroom much, there’s a good chance you have an
unorganized Lightroom catalog. This is especially the case with free image
processors, like Photoshop Lightroom, and people who only keep a local
copy of Lightroom.

What Are The Worst Reasons to Delete a Lightroom Catalog?

Some photographers don’t want their work to be “out there.” I understand
this viewpoint. One way to avoid this dilemma is to delete your Lightroom
catalog quickly. To do this, you can hold down the Ctrl key and click the
trash can icon, and then click the Delete from the list at the top of the page.

This deletes your entire catalog. Your photos are no longer available in
Lightroom. All your recently added photos in the last 30 days will be purged,
too. Alternatively, you can also do this via the Display tab of the Catalog tab
in Lightroom.

In the Display tab of Lightroom, you can select Lightroom Catalogs from the
left menu. You’ll see two icons near the top of the page, which are the
Trashcan and the Trash.
Click the Trash icon to see the list of the catalogs you currently have in your
catalogs. You can drag your mouse over the catalogs to select them. You’ll
see a preview of the current state of the catalogs.

Once you’ve selected the catalogs you want to delete, click the Trash icon.
This deletes the catalogs. Your current photos in that catalog are purged from
the system. You can re-apply this action if you delete another catalog in the
future.

How to resave your catalogs

If you know that your workflow will be to use the same catalogs for the next
couple of years, then this method might not be suitable for you. The
alternative is to create a backup of your Lightroom catalogs and store them in
Lightroom cloud storage, such as Adobe’s Creative Cloud. This is an easier
option, as you only need to copy the catalogs and keep them around in one
place.

Have lightroom catalogs you fancy keeping?

If you desire to carry on your catalogs as it is, but still save your photos, you
can do this using a few processes.

The first is to delete the images you desire keeping. Doing this is by dragging
your mouse over the photos to select them. When you do this, you’ll see a
preview. I’d recommend making a folder called “Images,” and saving all the
images inside of it. Then you can copy them to the “Images” folder.

If you have tens of thousands of photos, this may not be an option for you.
The second option is to “resave” the photos you want to keep in a new
catalog. To do this, select the Lightroom Catalog tab in Lightroom. Click the
plus icon at the down part of the dialog.
In the dialog, select all the photos that you choose to “resave.” You can then
copy these photos into a new Lightroom catalog, which you can name
whatever you’d like.

Organizing The Lightroom Catalog Using New Folder &

Library Folders
Organizing your Lightroom catalog is a great time waster. Even for those that
don’t ever edit photos, it’s usually a necessity to do so to properly view your
work. You can tell how organized and user-friendly an app is by its interface
and how easy it is to navigate its features.
Unfortunately, because Lightroom is the de-facto leader for photo workflow
in photography, there is no shortage of features and ways to organize and
manage your work. In this topic, I’m going to share a method that may seem
a little obvious at first but will save you a lot of time and headache down the
road.

If you’re wondering why I’m using the word organization instead of

arrangement, that’s because this method is different than arranging photos.
You can organize photos using LUTs, layers, and even the new Photoshop
Preferences panel. However, I find out that organizing photos through folders
and categories offers you a much easier and quicker way to find what you
need quickly.

Step 1: Cleaning Out Your Lightroom Catalog

When you first open Lightroom, there are tons of settings and options that
may not be very useful or that you don’t need at all. Some of these are mixed
into the “Customize” options, while others will require you to locate the
option directly at the window’s downward location.

I find that it’s very useful to clear out your catalog once in a while so that you
can declutter and find the main areas you use the most. If you do find any
duplicates, you can easily delete them and then re-add them when you need
them. You can also delete things that you don’t need or that are outdated.

Go ahead and select Lightroom from the menu up on the screen. Then go to
Library – Preferences – Advanced, select Clear Catalog, and then Close
Catalog.

Note: If you do not have Lightroom’s newest version, you will have to add
the “Remove Catalog” toggle to Preferences – Advanced (clicking the
checkmark next to “Clear Catalog”) and then Close Catalog to make things
work.

While you’re in the Library window, you should see a “Feedback” button
(the thin black rectangle on the extreme left section of the list bar) that you
can hit it off to go into Lightroom’s Preferences window. There you can
swiftly and straightforwardly clear out your catalog by selecting the “Clear
Catalog” button on the Lightroom Toolbar (the white menu button) and then
clicking the “Clear Catalog” tab in the box at the down part of the window.

Step 2: Create New Folder and Folders

Now that your catalog is empty and clean, you can go ahead and create
folders for each area you need. Start with the left-most “Explorer” Tab.

From here, select “New Folder” (the gray menu icon) and click “Add
Folder.” Once your folder is created, select it from the list of options at the
upper of the window and then choose “Add Folder” from the list of options at
the downward part of the window.
That’s all there is to make new folders in Lightroom! You can opt for a Color
Picker Toolbar at the down part of the window (the dark gray toolbar on the
far left side) to quickly select a color from the Color Picker panel. Select the
Color Palette you would like to use, right-click the thumbnail, and then
choose “Use Palette.”

Step 3: Organize Your Photos

We are now in the “Settings” tab. Here, we’ll be working on several folders,
making it effortless for us to find and organize the photos we need. These
folders will be added to the right-hand section of your Library, below the
down part of the window.

These folders will create a second level for organizing your photos into:

First Level: The default folder on your hard drive

Second Level: Photos from your Lightroom catalog and folders.
These are photos you are most likely to use, like photos you’ve
already finished with or photos that are of a certain type,
location, and type (e.g. cars, sports, weddings, etc.)
Third Level: Photos from various folders, like “Library,”
“Favorites,” “Photos to Use,” etc.
Fourth Level: All of the other photos you may have in
Lightroom, including photos on your camera roll and RAW
images.

For instance, go through your images and create the folders you need by
clicking “File” (the lower right-hand section of the window) to access the File
Palette. From here, select “Create New Folder” (the gray menu icon) and then
choose “New Folder.” I am going to create a folder for “Photos to Use” – this
will be the primary folder of all my photos I will work with within
Lightroom. Click “OK” and then click “OK” again when the icon turns green
to let you know the new folder is created.

Once your new folder is created, you should see the “Photos to Use” folder in
the right-hand column, underneath your default photo folder. If your photo
doesn’t appear in the “Photos to Use” folder, select “Photos from Catalog”
(the gray menu icon) and then click “Edit Folder.” This will take you to a
similar editing window to that of the “Explorer” tab. Here, select “Edit
Subfolder” (the gray menu icon) and then click “Select Folder.”

In this folder, you’ll want to create a folder for “Photos to Use.” Once you
have done this, click “OK” when you are finished.

In the resulting folder, you should see all the photos you’ve previously taken.
I would recommend adding an “About” note if you have one, so you know
more about each photo before you go through and edit them. Now, select
“Main” from the list bar at the upper part of the Lightroom window and then
choose “New Folder.”

Here, you’ll be creating a folder for the images you want to edit, so for my
example, I will create a folder for “Photos of Walking Dogs.” For now, we
will work on the photos in my “Hangover Photos” folder. Click “OK” when
you are finished creating the folder.
Now, you can drag and drop your photos from your “Hangover Photos”
folder into your new “Photos to Use” folder.

When you choose a photo in Lightroom, there’s ability to spot all of the
photos you’ve already worked on. If you tap on a photo, you’re equipped
with all the editing options available to you.
You can also choose all the photos you have edited in the past and then
swiftly and without difficulty, place them in the “Photos to Use” folder. This
is especially helpful if you have dozens of photos in a folder.

Now that you’ve created a second level of folders for “Photos to Use,” select
“Save” and your new photo editing folder will be created, beneath your
default photo folder.

Avoid Multiple Catalogs, Merge Them As One

How do you merge multiple Lightroom Catalogs? This is a fairly common
question that photographers like me get asked from time to time. Since
Lightroom 3, a new feature called Merge has been added. It lets you easily
and quickly combine several Lightroom Catalogs, without any prior
knowledge of how to do this, or to what. This tutorial will go over the exact
steps you need to follow to combine several Lightroom Catalogs as one.
Note: This will be a detailed tutorial, so bear with me if the steps aren’t how
you would normally merge multiple Lightroom Catalogs. I’ve done my best
to explain them. Also, for more advanced merging options, there is a
Lightroom-specific extension called Merge Extensions.

To combine several Lightroom Catalogs as one, you’ll need to know a couple

of things about Lightroom.

1) Merge Settings
Lightroom has specific Merge Settings, which you’ll need to edit first. There
are a couple of different ones, but you’ll need to know the most relevant to
your use. The other two are fine, but these are the ones you’ll be using most
of the time.

Change the existing Merge Settings to the ones you want to use.
Add some presets to the Merge Settings.
Once you’ve done that, you can do the rest of this merge tutorial.

Here are the settings you’ll need to edit:

Split Content Order – Select All Preferences – Enable in the Merge
Settings – The Preferences section doesn’t matter for this step.

2) Editing Lightroom Catalogs

Before we do any merging, let’s look at what the different types of catalogs
are. Here’s a quick diagram that explains the different types of Lightroom
Catalogs:

So the question then becomes: how do you deal with different types of
catalogs? In this case, we have four different types of catalogs, so this will
require a little more time than some of your other merge tutorials.

If you haven’t done your research, here are the different types of Lightroom
Catalogs:

1) A Complete Lightroom Catalog – It’s a Lightroom catalog where every

picture is located in a single spot. This type of catalog is useful when you
need to quickly go through a bunch of photos.
2) A Library Catalog – It’s a Lightroom catalog where all the pictures are
arranged in a library. You can set up a separate library by going to Edit >
Library > Add New Library. Then, for this particular situation, you don’t
need a separate catalog, but it’s still worth adding to this Catalog.

3) An Unordered Catalog – These are the most common types of Lightroom

Catalogs. You’ll have photos in a bunch of different spots. When you’re
merging with another Lightroom user, you can choose the order that you
want the pictures to be in.

4) A Featured Collection Catalog – Like a featured collection on Instagram,

you can put your pictures on a spot. Then, when you choose a certain catalog
type, you can put your pictures in the same spot. So it’s a very simple way of
storing your photos. This is the type of catalog that most people use.

OK, I know what you’re thinking. Four different types of Catalogs are way
too many. How am I supposed to merge these catalogs as one?
Easy. There’s a way to do it.

3) Merge Settings
To merge one of the four different catalogs into one, we need to edit the
settings. Lightroom has a ton of different settings for merge:

After you choose what type of Catalog you’re merging, there’s a bunch of
different settings you can change. For this particular situation, we’ll only be
changing two of those settings:

The “Open In Develop module” setting: This is called “Merge Master,” and
it’s the easiest way to merge the picture and the catalog. So if you use
Lightroom Classic, you can see it on the right.
The “Merge With Other Locs” setting: This is called “Local Merge” in
Lightroom. It’s the second setting we’ll change. So this is the easiest way to
merge the picture and the catalog.
Now let’s go through how to make those changes to the “Merge With Other
Locs” setting.

4) Merge Settings: Local Merge

Lightroom will show you all the other Locs that you have access to (or can
import) before you merge the picture and the catalog. So if you have a “Local
Merge” catalog that has pictures from the “Local Merging” catalog, this will
show up as a list of Locs you have access to.

5) Merge With Other Locs

Before we merge with the “Local Merge” catalog, let’s make sure that we
have “Show Proxies” turned off in our “Local Merge” catalog.

So this is how you go into that catalog in “Properties” > “View”

There’s a “Proxies” tab in that list, and we need to uncheck “Show Proxies”
from there. This will make sure that any pictures that are in our “Local
Merge” catalog are not included in our “Local Merge” catalog.

We can also uncheck “Show Proxies” in the catalog itself by going into the
catalog and unchecking “Proxies.”

Now, this is all fine and good, but we want to merge the picture and the
“Organize Changes” catalog. To do that, we need to do a click there. This
brings us to “Select Locs for Merge.”
From here, you can see a bunch of other folders that you can merge the
picture into. We only have two folders that we want to merge the picture into:
“Organize Changes” and “Merge With Other Locs”.

First, select the “Merge With Other Locs” Folder.

You can see a list of all the Locs here, with a “Merge With Other Locs”
folder on the far left. Click “Merge With Other Locs.” That’s how you merge
pictures from other catalogs into the “Organize Changes” catalog.

What Differs The Lightroom From The Lightroom Classic?

Although they look similar and work similarly, Lightroom Classic is a new
version of Adobe’s Lightroom software. Lightroom Classic is the direct
successor to Lightroom 5, although Adobe has made improvements to some
of its core features, and has tweaked others as well.
The biggest change is the integration of cloud storage for images, but many
of the other updates are minimal. However, for serious photographers, I think
that Lightroom Classic is a serious advantage over Lightroom CC.

That said, one of the most interesting changes that Lightroom Classic brings
to the table is the new Context Panel. Context panels are a smart new feature
that helps you discover and organize all of the little things that make your
photos special.
Context panels can appear as a view in the Library but are also embedded
into all of the other functions of the software.
Another interesting aspect of the context panel is the ability to group related
photos and look for similar content.
The Context panel can also be set to open your photo library, your catalog, or
a specific photo in an instant. The list of available functions is extensive and
I’ll go into detail about how to use the context panel in more detail on another
topic.

For now, you can use the contextual view in Lightroom Classic to manage
your photograph, or look for similar content in one of the most significant
creative tools in your photography arsenal.

What Is Lightroom CC?

Lightroom CC is a new cloud-based photography service that can sync up
with your desktop version of Lightroom Classic. In other words, if you use
the desktop version of Lightroom, Lightroom CC will be able to search,
organize, and streamline your workflow in much the same way.
Although the integration between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic isn’t
a completely seamless one, I think that Lightroom CC is an easy alternative
for users who prefer the desktop version of Lightroom.

While I think that Lightroom CC is great for those who don’t have a
particular preference for desktop versions of Lightroom, I think that a
majority of photographers, especially those who own a Mac, will find that
Lightroom Classic is the more stable option.
Lightroom CC is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems,
and I think that for most photographers, it’s worth the added security and
reliability of having the service as a service on both platforms.

Using The Context Panel

Here’s a tip that’ll take you two clicks and make your post-processing faster.
In making changes to your photos in Lightroom, you have access to the
Context Panel that you can add in as a layer. You can use this panel to save a
lot of time once you’ve got the hang of it.

We’ll start with Lightroom CC. The Context Panel is also available in
Lightroom Classic but there are some key differences. The main difference is
that in Lightroom CC you can’t name your layers. In Lightroom CC the
panels work very much like Facebook’s Clutter option where you name the
layer once and then the rest is up to Lightroom.

As we’ll see here though, this can be a blessing. I would argue that this is the
only reason to use the contextual panel in the first place. Once you make a
layer in Lightroom, you can go back into the contextual panel to access and
modify that layer. This is one of the reasons why I do all my pre-processing
in Lightroom CC because I don’t want to be frustrated by trying to find my
Layers panel as I’m editing. It takes me back to an old-world where you
couldn’t use the contextual panel.

In Lightroom Classic, you use the contextual panel to find layers and work
with them, and then go back to the main layer panel to manipulate them.
With the contextual panel in Lightroom CC, you work with layers in isolation
and then go back to the main layer panel to see your changes. If you have a
bunch of layers that you want to make adjustments to, and you have to go
into the context panel, you end up missing a lot of your work.

By contrast, with Lightroom CC, you can stay right in the context panel to
make adjustments. I find this a much more efficient use of my time and a
much more engaging workflow. To get started with this, open Lightroom
Classic or the new Lightroom CC. I recommend using the “Lightroom
Classic” interface because that’s what I use the most and it’s not going to
change any time soon.

In the top right, click on the contextual panel and then choose the option
“Make new” the contextual panel. You’ll need to create a new folder in your
projects called “Context,” then go to the “layers” folder and create a new
layer called “background.” It doesn’t matter which layer you use as long as it
has “background” in it.

The nice thing about this is that you can access this layer from the contextual
panel, as long as you go to that particular folder and it exists. In my
experience with this layer, you’ll spend a lot more time in the context panel
than if you used the main layer panel. If you go back to the main layer panel,
you’ll see that you have multiple layers selected in the bottom left. But if you
go to the “Background” layer, the only layer that’s selected is the layer in the
“Context” layer. You have to go back to the context panel to add any of the
others that are selected.
The trick with this tip is that to add the layer, you don’t need to go back into
the contextual panel. In Lightroom CC, you can drop the new layer onto the
existing layer you’re working on.

All of the other options are what you would expect from Lightroom Classic.
You can edit the name of the layer, move it around, change the opacity and
muting options, adjust the sliders. I suggest you keep all these options
available so that you can focus on how to use your layer.

I use the same command I use in Lightroom Classic, which is from the
contextual panel to the main layer panel. The command is CTRL+SHIFT+P,
which is the normal contextual panel command. With Lightroom CC,
however, I keep my command in the context panel and go back to the main
layer panel to use the command.

I suggest that you create as many layers as you can because they give you a
lot of power. But you can always go back to the contextual panel and take
another look at the layers if you’re having trouble with your layers.

Using The Layer Management Assistant

When you’re working in a particular folder, you can add or remove layers
from there with the Layer Management Assistant. You can create or delete a
layer from any folder you can place it in. But if adding a new layer to a
project is your decision, you go to the contextual panel and add it there.

Tap on the “File” list in the down left part and select “Create Layer from
File.” When you click on that, you’ll see a new dialog box. To make a new
layer from the “File” menu, click “Create New Layer From File.”

But you don’t need to go to the File list bar in the down left to add a layer.
With Lightroom, you can pull your layer thumbnail from the library panel to
the document window and place it wherever you’d prefer. You can also do
this with the context panel, and it’s a grand technique to position a context for
the whole family.

Something I find useful is if you feel like to changing something about the
layer before you make a change to it, you can tap the Edit list bar in the
screen’s downward left part. The options available to you for this feature are
“Edit With,” “Rename,” and “Convert.”

With the “Edit With” feature, the name of the layer can be altered, which is
useful if you’re working on a project and it’s a photo that you would like to
continue with. With the “Rename” feature, the name of the layer can be
altered. “Convert” changes layer’s color to a white layer. And this is useful if
you’re working with a RAW file and it’s a complex photo that you need to
adjust and make a black and white version of.

When you choose a new name for your layer, you can choose the quality that
you want, and that will help you adjust the level of each one of the layers as
you go through the project.

What Image Formats Does Lightroom Classic Support?

All your favorite and most popular image formats should be supported on
both Lightroom Classic CC and Lightroom CC. These formats include BMP,
TIFF, JPEG, PSD, and PNG. Some formats will work better in some versions
of Lightroom than others, so double check to see the Lightroom edition you
are using. For example, Lightroom Classic CC is most likely to support the
latest version of BMP, while Lightroom CC is more likely to be able to
handle the latest version of PNG.
To see which version of Lightroom supports the most popular image formats,
hit off the drop-down in the upper right-hand corner of your catalog. Next,
click on “Image Formats” in the “Help” section.

Once you have selected the image format of your choice, click on “Apply” in
the upper right-hand corner of your catalog. Now, you can quickly change the
format that your images are saved without having to completely reboot your
computer.

Other Important Options In Lightroom

In addition to image format support, there are some minor key Lightroom CC
settings to be acquainted with. The first of these is whether it’s your
preference to store your Lightroom Classic CC catalog on the cloud or your
local computer.
To set Lightroom to be automatically saved to the cloud, go to the Options
drop-down on the right side of the screen. Then, select “Back Up Now” and
another window emerges that will prompt you to back up your current
version of Lightroom CC to the cloud.
You will have the option to add more copies to the cloud, in doing this; it’s
either you select all your collections or only specific ones. The Lightroom CC
settings we are describing are all ideal for those who prefer a cloud-based
Lightroom CC workflow.

Lightroom CC Settings For Both Lightroom CC and Classic

CC
What other Lightroom CC settings are worth knowing about? Well,
Lightroom CC is basic when a setting is mentioned, but there are minor
things worth taking note of. For starters, don’t make your flash behind the
camera: The flash is not displayed in the “Flash” panel, but you can see it in
the “Flashlight” panel by going to the three-dot menu in the upper right-hand
corner of your catalog. If you go to the “Flash” panel, you can switch the
light on or off for the selected button, and you can also change the sensitivity
of the flash.
To do this, first, go to the “Flash” panel, and then in the “Tools” section,
select “Flashlight.” Next, choose the manual control in “Crop,” and finally,
move to the “Photoshop” section, and choose “Highlight Color.”
One thing you will notice is that the shortcut for switching between portrait
and landscape orientation is for portrait orientation and that is because
Lightroom is designed to be an “applications”-based solution for
photography, instead of being a traditional “camera.”
 CHAPTER THREE

Importing Photos

In Lightroom Classic you need to go to File->Import->Convert All Files…

Note: The Import-Categories dialog is often non-functional in Lightroom CC
and Photos.

1. Navigate to your photo library and choose Photo -> Import Photos.

2. Scroll down and select Import from a catalog and click OK.
3. Click on your catalog name to open it in the catalog editor.

4. Scroll down and double-click on the Catalog Files drop-down menu.

Choose the folder that includes all your photos.

5. In the import dialogue window, hit OK to return to Lightroom CC.

Customizing Import Options

1. Click the tools icon to enter the list bar. In the Import Options window, hit
the plus sign underneath your right corner.

2. Find the Edit metadata filter and hit off to change it.

3. Find the (Local Files Only) checkbox and tap to change it.

4. You can also use the “Abandon Your Catalog” checkbox, which will give
you the option to return to Lightroom.

5. Return to the Import dialogue window. If you’re using Lightroom CC, hit
OK and import your photos. Otherwise, click Export.

Using Auto Import

As photographers, we spend a lot of time importing images into Lightroom. It
can be a big challenge to select images based on their subject and then
manually edit them. We have automated this process so that we never have to
worry about importing images but still want to be able to edit them quickly.
Lightroom Classic has an Auto Import feature.
With Auto Import you can specify two images, one to import and one to
create. This tool has some nifty options that can help when you have a lot of
images. The import filter can be used to help narrow down the images you’re
working with. The size filter can limit how big the image is. Another useful
feature of this tool is that it allows you to set the alignment to match the
camera and lens. If you import an image from the Nikon D750, for example,
you’d set the alignment to D750 camera and lens. This will ensure that the
image will be correctly sized and rotated to match the orientation of the
camera and lens. I’ll show you how to set this up so it works in Lightroom
Classic.

A key example
If you import an image into Lightroom, you can then select all images and
quickly highlight the one that you prefer utilizing, and drag and drop it to the
appropriate position. I do this for high-resolution images. I then manually
choose the image and crop it to be the size that I need.
The following steps show you how to do this with an example.

First, you must create the project and then position it so you can make
something out of it. In my example, I’ll work with images from my Nikon
D750. My Lightroom Classic projects are named “Photograph.”

1. Find your way to the project folder in which you created the project and
then move your project folder to your preferred position.

2. Right-click on the project and click on “Show Options.”

3. Tap on the “Show Document” tab on the upper menu.

4. Under the Toolbox sub-menu, click on “Quick Import.”

5. The first step is to set an initial subject. Select a thumbnail from your
selection and click on “Auto Import.”

6. A popup will appear asking which photos you want to import. Tap on the
Photos tab and then choose images to import. Make sure that the picture is
properly aligned in the right place and then tap on the “Ok” button to set the
import process.

The “Auto Import” tool in Lightroom lets you choose the pictures that you
prefer to import into your project and then automatically selects the best ones.
You’ll see that Lightroom has indicated the best images by coloring them
with a light grey.

7. Open an image and then tap on the “Open” tab in the upper menu.

8. Next, choose your filter. This is the adjustment that you’ll apply to the
images before you import them. Select the “Black & White” filter.

9. In the Advanced Settings sub-menu under the Tools, Effects & Filters sub-
menu, click on the adjustment tool. Select “Precompose.”

10. Next, you’ll be given the “Add to Composition” option. This will allow
you to add your adjustment to the image. You may need to click on the
“Check-In” button a couple of times and then you’ll be given the choice to
apply the adjustment to the whole image or only the area you want to be
adjusted.

11. Open an image, and then select an adjustment brush from the brush
section. Click on the auto-selection tool and paint with the tool.

12. The tool will automatically place the adjustment on the photo. Hit off the
tiny box for the location where you prefer the adjustment to appear.

13. Tap on the check box for the areas that you prefer adjusting. Hit off the
little box for the other location. Tap on the check box for the camera and lens
you prefer utilizing. Tap on the check box for the Position.

14. Tap on the “Ok” tab to complete the process.

The “Auto Import” tool lets you select the images that you prefer importing.
If you release a photo and make a selection, it will also select the best image;
otherwise, it will select the one that’s closest to your selections. The tool
selects the best photos for you.

Remember that you need to be within your framing when using the tool. The
tool will do what it needs to do to find the best image for you.

Setting Up Tethering
How To Set Up Tethering With Lightroom Classic

Tethering is a great feature for photographers when using the Adobe

Lightroom CC, Adobe Bridge CC, or Lightroom Mobile app to transfer
photos from a computer to the camera to the phone. A photo’s thumbnail
doesn’t show up in the image library until you make an interesting change to
the photo. To pull up the thumbnail, you need to tether the image. However,
it’s not as easy as it seems and you should know what you are doing.

Tethering is not something you can easily set up by going into Lightroom’s
settings or Camera. Open the Lightroom CC camera profile on your Mac or
PC. Tap on Image -> Set Up Sync. Select the Upload button and copy the
image URL. In Lightroom on your mobile device, open it, and click on the
sharing button. Choose “Tethering” then Sync with “Copy Uploaded
Images.”
 CHAPTER FOUR

Accessing The Library Module

The Library Module comes with three panels: Panel 1, Panel 2, and Panel 3.
The first two are menu items. The library panel is the main menu item and is
displayed in the upper-left of the screen. The Library panel has two sections:
Library Section and Collections Section.

As you can see, the Library section is a menu item located on the left. The
Library section offers to show you all the images you have in the Library
Module. The Collections section permits you to browse all the Library Items
(it’s the same for the Library section).

One of the unique things about the Library Module is that you can switch
between the two sections and switch between collections from the Library
Section itself. This feature is very useful if you know you have lots of images
in your library and want to speedily toggle between “Select to Import” and
“Select to Load” options, without having to leave the library section.
If you prefer browsing all the photos in the Library module, but have images
in multiple collections, the solution is simple. All you have to do is double-
click on the “Sort By” and “Sort By Age” options. Select an image from the
library module’s Collection section to browse all images in the module.

Using Picture Lock: Library Module’s Command Bar

Picture Lock is the first command bar on the upper left of the Library
module’s navigation screen. It is a drop-down menu that you can use to lock
an image. I like the picture lock feature in the Lightroom Library Module
because it makes it easy to save new and unpublished images to a specific
library.

Picture Lock creates a new folder for all the unpublished images in the library
module. All your existing images in the library will appear in the same
library, except they will not be able to be imported or exported anymore.

To lock a picture, double-click on it and it will be locked to the same library

and will not be able to be unlocked. If you have a multi-layer folder with
more than one folder, you can lock an image from one of the folders inside
the folder. The picture lock command bar is also accessible from the Library
section. Ensure you use the following picture lock options:

✓ Show Picture Lock icon

✓ Lock from any library

✓ Lock to any location in the library

✓ Lock from one folder only

Now the name of the folder in the library module will be “locked” in the
Library section.

Using The Command Bar In The Library Module

The second section, which you can also see from the Library Module’s
Navigation Bar is the Command Bar on the upper right. As the name implies,
this is a list of many options you can use to tweak your library.

There is no direct tutorial on this Command Bar since it can be switched

between 3 different settings: I always use the left Option 1 button, but if you
are okay with the other 2 settings, you can play around with the 3 settings for
each section in the list.

So, these settings are how I switch between the three sections:

Disable

To disable this section, click on the bottom button. Now the library module
will only have a navigation bar in the upper left of the screen. However, it
can still manage your library. However, it won’t be able to put out of sight
and illustrate the library navigation. That means the only way you can change
libraries is through the “Clear Library” menu option, which you can locate in
the upper left part of the Library Module.

Options

I use this set of settings to navigate through the library module’s different
sections, depending on which section I am using.

Gallery

I use this to view all the library images in the bottom section. It shows the
image previews, the layer icons, and links to open the images in different
places such as HDR Slideshow or Photoshop Presets.
Note that the Gallery option might not appear immediately because it does
not have an icon. It only appears when you tap on the List button. To toggle
to the Gallery section, double tap on the Library Module’s Navigation Bar.

Gallery Section in the Library Module

I suggest that you tap on the top-right menu button to switch to the Gallery
option.
You will be welcomed with a figure
Click on the bottom right button to toggle to the Gallery section
Note that the Gallery section works like the Library module.

Find Gallery Image to Use

The first thing you should do to begin a library or photo manipulation project
is to find the image you want to use from your library or photo library.
This might seem like an obvious thing, but that is one of the biggest
challenges of digital image manipulation.

To find the image you want, drag the image to the canvas using the mouse.
Once you have chosen the image, go to the Project Settings in the Gallery
section of your Library module.

As you can see, there is an icon that looks like a small circle on the left of the
image. This is your target image. When it is tapped on, it will bring up the
image’s details. This is what will help you to fine-tune your choice.

You can zoom in and adjust the image’s dimensions to your liking, change
the image’s color, crop it, adjust its size and rotate it using a series of tool
controls.

Using Compare View

Now that you have discovered which parts of your photos are blurry, you
need to make adjustments to your images so that they no longer show any
blur. How you do this depends on the differences that you have found in your
photos, but there are two approaches to this:
Either you can go in and change the sharpening or exposure for all of your
images to fix the blur, or you can focus on changing the sharpening or
exposure of each part of your photos to bring back the sharpness and contrast
of the photo that you want.

The first option works best if you have a lot of photographs that are relatively
simple (unless you are very sharp-eyed, then you may have a lot of
photographs with too much blur). When you use this approach, you can
compare different parts of each of your photographs, and you can make
changes to the sharpening and exposure levels to make your blurry images
look better.

When you use the second option, you can compare different parts of your
photographs, and you can make changes to the sharpening and exposure
levels to make your blurry images look better. It’s easier to compare your two
images and make the changes to the sharpening and exposure levels for each
part of the photo at once.
How To Find Your Best Photos Using Compare View In
Lightroom
To use the second option, do the following:
From the list of adjustments available in Lightroom CC, select compare view
in Lightroom Classic. When you do this, you will find that the first photo has
been replaced by your first edited photo. Click on the top photo to save it, or
you can drag it to your clipboard if you want.
Drag the second photo into the list of results. This makes it easier for you to
compare each part of your image. You can then make the changes to your
settings to bring back more detail in the parts of the photo that are not in
focus. Click on the first photo to save it, or you can drag the second photo to
your clipboard if you want. If you want to bring back the highlights and
shadows for some of your best photos, you can make this change using the
Exposure and Contrast Adjustment sliders (more details on this in another
topic).

Making Use Of Collections

Lightroom collections are groups of related images that you may want to
work with together. We’ve already talked about some of the best collections
in Lightroom CC, but a new feature introduced in Lightroom CC is the ability
to create your collections
One of the great things about working with Collections in Lightroom Classic
is the ability to open a Collection at the same time that you work with a
specific group of photographs. In the past, when you opened a Collection in
Lightroom, you had to choose a group of photos from your Library. It was
easier, and much more efficient, to organize your collections this way.
In Lightroom CC, you don’t have to do this. Instead, if you click a group of
photos in the Library, it opens your Collection. You can then make any
changes you want to, at this point. When you save your collection, it will
open it as a Collection as well.

Necessity Of The Collections

“Collection is a hierarchical structure to easily manage your image
collections. You can arrange all your images into collections by using presets
or layers that can be rearranged or renamed easily.” – Adobe
The images above are a few examples of the Lightroom Collections
framework. Lightroom does a great job of grouping your images into
collections and makes it easy to make them more organized and readily
available. You can create more than one collection. You can also sort your
collection by date, type, filter, or rename the collection. For example, say you
have thousands of images and you have your work albums organized with a
category like “Sunsets” or “Trails.” In this case, you can create a Collection
called “Sunsets,” a separate Collection called “Trails” or “Los Angeles.”
To create a new Collection, go to My Collections and click on the Collection
button. In the resulting window, you can name your Collection, select an
icon, as well as change its order and create a shortcut to it. It is as simple as
that.

The Collection Sets

The primary method of organizing your Lightroom presets is through
Lightroom Collections Sets. A Collections Set is a type of preset that you can
apply to a particular picture or group of pictures. When you start building
your collection, you choose the size of the preset based on how many pictures
you have selected. You then create a Collection Set, with all the images in
that set.
You can edit, delete, rename, move, or add additional images to a Collection
Set. The size of the set depends on how many images are included in the set,
and the size of each image in the collection.
The amount of time it takes to apply a Collection Set will depend on how
many images you have. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes, but other
times it can take up to half an hour. It’s mostly dependant on how many
images you’ve selected and how many images you’ve added.
If you need to add an image to a Collection Set or if you want to delete an
image from a Collection Set, you can do so using a few simple keyboard
shortcuts. The shortcut keys for that are:

Control+S: Select all the images in a collection set

Control+D: Delete all the images in a collection set
 Control+E: Merge all the images in a collection set

Once you have a Collection Set created, you can apply that to a picture or
group of pictures using the Catalog button. If you open the Catalog, you can
do so by clicking in the upper-left-hand corner of the window. You can also
right-click on a picture or group of pictures in the Library to access the
Catalog.

Using the Collection Panel

The Collection Panel is used to add, edit, delete, or rename Collections Sets.
You can access the Collection Panel by clicking the Catalog button, and then
clicking the Collection Panel button in the top right-hand corner of the
window. The Collection Panel is located to the right of the Catalog and is a
thin panel that runs along the right side of the window. You can move the
Collection Panel to any of the corners of the Library.
Once you click on the Collection Panel, you can add, edit, or rename
Collections Sets. The best part is that each Collection Set has its tab in the
Collection Panel. This means you can have one Collection Set on each corner
of your Library.
When you add a Collection Set to your Library, you will be asked to name it.
For each item in your collection, you can name the Collection Set that
corresponds to that item. This is important because it will be easier to remove
images from the Collections Set by editing the name, rather than searching
through the Collections Set’s items.

How To Create A Collection

Now, you may want to group images and separate them into different
collections, but how do you do it?
That’s where Lightroom collections come in.
The new Gallery Window will let you manage your Lightroom collections.
Here, you can create new collections and import images into them. You can
use the new Browse Function to find the Collections you want to add.
Alternatively, you can select an existing collection.
In this example, I’ve imported a folder called “REPORTING” into the
Libraries folder, and I’ve created a new Collection called “REPORTING.”
The Browse Function then points at the Libraries folder to see all the existing
collections. You can browse through and select the images you want to put
into your new collection.

After you create a new collection, you can adjust its settings. Set its size, add
folder structure, add all the images to the collection, and assign labels to your
images. You can also add or remove folders from the Collection, as well as
delete them or export the collection as a zip.
Once you’re done, click the “Sync to Asset Manager” button to export your
collection to the Adobe Lightroom Asset Manager.
When you open the asset manager, you can then view the directory structure
of the folder and select your desired output format.

Utilizing Smart Collections

Smart Collections make it easy to quickly sort and arrange photographs by
year, topics, subjects, even into groups of similar subjects by looking at
metadata.
You have to do nothing to enable the Smart Collections feature. When you
import a new photograph, it will be automatically set up and assigned a
custom category for you, based on the keywords you enter. You can also set
the Smart Collection layout. With this functionality, a very complete photo
organization system can be generated without having to keep any manually
created books.

Difference Between Smart Collections And Collections Group

Smart Collections are defined as sets of photographs grouped by theme, like
the Import panel. But unlike the Import panel, you can set the grouping theme
using metadata on the photo. For example, you can set the Year of Creation,
Subject, Subject History, Subject Categories, and other parameters on the
metadata-driven Smart Collections. You can also use the Custom Field option
to add keywords directly to the image metadata.

Let’s say you want to group all your photographs that were taken in a year
during the summer. This is something that you could also do by hand with a
picture book. But if you have Smart Collections set up, you can drag and
drop those photographs into your Collection and continue working on your
way.

The downside of Smart Collections is that they don’t have the large keyword
tags and metadata associations that you’d need to group about any kind of
photos.
This is a pro and a con. But if you know the kinds of photos you want to be
grouped and the sort of metadata you need to organize them, it’s not a big
issue. If you desire to apply Smart Collections to build a bookshelf of photos
that you fancy utilizing later for a specific event, such as a wedding, it can be
a little less helpful.

Where Are Smart Collections Available?

Smart Collections are available in the New and Custom Enhancements Panel.
And the other thing you need to remember is that once you’ve chosen a
specific Smart Collection, it’s always visible in the top right corner of your
desktop.
You can also hide the top-right Smart Collection whenever you need to get
out of it. But you can always get back to it by right-clicking anywhere on
your desktop and then selecting Smart Collections.

Creating A Smart Collection?

The first thing to do is to add a Smart Collection to the library. Click New in
the ‘New or Custom Enhancements Panel.’
You can name your Smart Collection whatever you want. My personal
favorite is “Adults” but “Summer Kids” is a great choice, too.

If you drag the Smart Collection onto the main folder icon in the upper left,
you can immediately begin editing the collection as if it were another image
in your library.

The next thing to do is go to the custom enhancements panel. Click the Edit
button in the upward section. In the top right screen area, you’ll see an Edit
Smart Collection button. Click that button. You can either right-click or click
the plus sign to create a Smart Collection.

Right-clicking will give you the “Add to collection” option. Click that button
to add a photo to your collection. If you’re used to going to your Import panel
to add photos to a collection, then you can skip the option to right-click and
select “Add to collection” from the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand
corner of the custom enhancements panel instead. In the same drop-down
menu, you can also use the Automatic upload button to automatically add the
photo to your library.
 CHAPTER FIVE

Color Label Customization

You can’t change every single label on your photos, but there are several you
can customize and a great guide here explains what each one does. You’ll
need to have an Adobe account to edit and manage your Lightroom catalog.
If you don’t have one, you can sign up for a free trial for the Adobe Creative
Cloud Photography Plan. If you already have one, then you can skip to the
next step.

The 3 color labels you’ll customize:

Cool, Neutral, and Warm

You can configure the labels to match your taste with color swatches. You
can also add a mask to the labels for a professional look. Here are the steps to
add a color swatch and mask to the labels you’ve created with any Lightroom
presets or 3D Effects filters.

❖ Step 1: Add the color swatches

Open the top menu at the top of Lightroom. In the top menu, select Edit
Color Labels.

❖ Step 2: Add the mask to the label

Add the mask to the specific color swatch you wish to add the mask to. To
add a mask to the label, tap and drag the center of the mask on the correct
swatch, in the relevant color swatch.

❖ Step 3: Change the color palette

Use the primary color swatch and the mask to change the primary color. In
the example above, the mask is for a cool color, and the color is in the hue
range of white to green, changing the color palette will alter the dominant
colors.

❖ Step 4: Reset the palette

Press the BACK button on your desktop or navigate back to the home screen
of Lightroom and press the options menu to access the white box to the left of
the Library option. Click the OPTIONS button next to the Reset palette.
Lightroom will open a palette restoration dialog.
In this dialog, change the Default palette to the original palette.

❖ Step 5: Export to a file or Edit Look

You can export the change to the file directory or edit the look in Lightroom.
If you’re in Lightroom and want to edit the look in Lightroom, you can press
CTRL+Z and you will open a new tab that has the Original Look menu.
Choose Import, which will open a dialog to open the original file.

❖ Step 6: Download the edit to your computer

When you are finished editing your photo, you can save the changes in a new
document. After you’ve saved the file, select File > Export > Export As. This
will save the edited photo to a new .jpg file.
❖ Step 7: Share the image on social media
That’s all there is to it. Once you’ve created a custom image you can share it
with your friends or on social media.

Guide On Using Templates

If you’re a member of the Creative Cloud Photography plan that comprises
Photoshop, Lightroom, and PSD, you can access several of the preset
Lightroom Classic templates for free. These templates are CC-licensed and
legally available for download.
These Lightroom Classic Templates include such functions as Adjustment
Brush, Curves, Brush Settings, Sharpening, and Color and White Balance.
But don’t worry about your presets not getting upgraded, or for that matter,
converting to CC licensing.
These Lightroom templates are available to both Lightroom CC and
Lightroom Classic CC members alike and are the same with no conversion
necessary.
The templates are available for download as a set of .zip files, along with
options to choose the Lightroom Classic CC template you want to access and
copy your presets.
For more info on the CC templates, and to download these templates, check
out the Adobe website.

Lightroom Classic Templates

1. Template for Unsharp Mask (Luminar, DxO, Capture One, and DxO
Optics Pro only)
This unsharp mask (UQM) template comes from Ed McManus, a very
talented and experienced photographer. His list of templates for both
Lightroom CC and Classic will be mind-boggling to most, so it’s an absolute
no-brainer that he would give us this one.
UQM presets can be very helpful, even when working with a full-strength
brush for UQM removal if you like to avoid impacting the original image too
much.

2. Template for Color Tool

This color tool offers several preset adjustments, along with an adjustable
brush. It offers you a quick way to get colors right, with adjustment brush
options available for tone, saturation, and color.

3. Template for LAB Pen Tool

This tool is named LAB Pen Tool, but that’s not exactly the tool’s name. So,
if you’re not already aware of it, it’s probably for the best. But it’s a LAB
(Lightroom Plugin Attribute) that gives you sliders to change the color and
intensity of the effect on the photo.
4. Template for Basic Color Balance Adjustment Brush
Basic color balance adjustment is a must-have for any photographer. All
Lightroom presets available from Photoshop CC or Lightroom CC will have
those sliders, so this can make your life easier if you’re trying to get the
colors right.

5. Template for Basic Landscape/Airscape Adjustment Brush

If you’re a landscape photographer, this brush can help you fill in the
landscape areas, or even for setting adjustments. And if you’re a wide-angle
shooter who likes to do medium-close-ups, this brush can help with those, as
well.

6. Template for Compositing (DxO Optics Pro, DxO View, and Capture One
only)
This template from Rolando Marini’s Lightroom Classic CC templates is a
single brush that offers a ton of options to customize the final look of your
composite image.
It’s not a pan/tilt/shift option, as some of the Lightroom Classic CC presets
for panning, tilting, and shifting are. But this brush helps you a lot more with
creating the complete look of a composite image.

7. Template for Diffusion Brush

If you like blending, then this brush may be a very good tool for you.
Diffusion is a method that’s used in some processes to enhance shadows and
highlights. With this brush in your arsenal, you can add a bit of shadow to a
black image, as the DosX Pano Pro Photoshop CC template does.

8. Template for Milky Way Brush

If you’re a landscape photographer and you have a good eye for detail, then I
would give this tool a whirl. Milky Way is one of the most sought after and
an impressive area for landscape and astrophotography, this brush gives you
a few options to manipulate your image for your next Milky Way shot.

9. Template for Shadow Brush

As a landscape photographer, your job is to not only create a certain look and
feel for the photo but also to help lighten or darken the image. With that in
mind, you will need to create a subtle shade for shadows. This shadow brush
is perfect for that.
10. Template for Noise Blur Brush
This is another tool that, although it’s a sample brush from a Pano Pro
Photoshop CC template, is most definitely worth using. With this brush in
your backpack, you can create various types of image noise — like motion
blur — in your photos, or you can add a little extra contrast or clarity. It
works great for portraits as well.

Using Keywords
You can use keywording in Lightroom to get to know where you are losing
light, and then you can apply a simple, intelligent adjustment to help fix it.
You could say, “I can see my highlights are in the red zone. So I’ll press CTL
+ G and then when I turn around I’ll see my blues are also in the red zone. So
I’ll press CTL + H to lighten the blues a little.” It’s that simple, and that
smart.
Get into the habit of keywording for high-contrast highlights, as well as to
help you evaluate your overall exposure. There’s a huge range of pre-sets
available in Lightroom, from Defining Element, to Clear, Contrast,
Chromatic Aberration, and more. You could try any one of these options and
quickly be surprised with the effects.

❖ Look for High-Contrast Highlights and Use The Mixer Preference

There are many high-contrast highlights in your image that you don’t even
know about yet. Maybe you have good exposure for the highlights, but not
much else. You’ve never noticed it before because your exposure is usually
decent. But you’ll see it in your photos; you’ll see it in your histogram. And
the exposure meter might even appear a little lower than it should. So it’s
time to pick up the exposure slider and open up the histogram.

❖ Look for High-Contrast Highlights and Use The Adjustment Brush

To Expose Them
Because there’s so much contrast, you have to make the most of it. It’s also
called underexposing a high-contrast subject. You want to start with slightly
higher exposure than you normally would and then dial it back until you can
control the highlights. Lightroom makes that incredibly easy. Open up the
Highlight slider to as much as you’d like, and then click the wheel next to it
to bring up the Blend Options.
Adjust The Highlight Shade, under the Mask option, and you’ll see
Lightroom automatically “blend” the highlights away. You might have to
tweak a little bit, but the lightness should be better for the highlights than it is
for the shadows. Now, you want to look through the adjustments panel and
click the Adjustment Brush. Select the Highlight Brush and make a small
adjustment. Now the highlights should appear a little brighter. Repeat the
process with the shadow slider and apply an even, tiny amount of highlight to
the shadows. Finally, click the wheel to go back to normal.

Next, you want to look at your other shadows. Lightroom has more highlights
to choose from. If you used the Highlight Brush as before, you can try to
brighten those as well. You should be able to find the best areas to work with
to lighten the shadows without bringing down the highlights. For example, if
you used the blend option and the Shadow Slider, then those should be fairly
easy to sharpen up.

To do that, click on the shadow sliders and then the wheels next to them.
When you’re satisfied, click the Erase button, then pick another function
from the wheel. In this case, the Heal option will likely give you more
control. Click this and pick a darker shade, go through the healing process
and give the shadows some more definition. The areas that remain will be the
brightest part of the shadow.

The final step is to find the lightest shadow and underexpose it. You could try
the Highlight Shade slider again and bump it up, or you can choose another
color from the wheel. Now you want to apply a setting where it looks darker
than the actual image. When you’re satisfied, click Erase again, pick another
color, and try again. Eventually, the image will be more or less
underexposed. It may need some Lightroom adjustments to get it right, but
you’ll have a much more defined shadow.

If you find your image still isn’t quite right, a layer mask can be inserted. The
layer mask will help you preserve the more subtle highlights. You’ll also
want to work with it and adjust the Lightroom highlights to more clearly
define the contours of the shadows.

Using Lightroom’s Levels Adjustment Brush To Add Light To

Shadows
You also want to fix the shadows in your image. Now, this is a little trickier
because you can’t change the shadows in Lightroom (yet). But, you can layer
the shadows. As the sun sinks lower and lower in the sky, the shadows will
become more noticeable and harder to control. They’ll also appear flat. You
can go a long way toward creating more realistic-looking shadows by adding
a color layer.
Open up the layers panel and drag the lighten and darken buttons to the
Layers panel. Now, pick a color (I like to use dark grey), find a color circle
that looks good, and gives the layer a lighter shade. You want to paint your
image to bring out the shadows, but not make them overly flat.

After you’ve done this, you’ll notice that the shadows can’t be edited when
Lightroom’s masking tool is on. The masking tool is perfect for fixing
portraits because it works better on faces and eyes than it does on objects. But
for a more realistic look at your scene, the masking tool will need to go away.

To get it to go away, click the masking tool and then click the Options button
in the middle of the tool bar. Find the Post Filter Mask button and click the
Add Mask from the dropdown list. Give the mask a longer wait time, like 5
seconds, and then click OK. When you do this, Lightroom will remove the
mask.

Using Lightroom’s Contrast Tools To Make Shadows More

Realistic
Finally, you want to add some contrast to your shadows. When you do that,
you’ll have to combine the shadows and the highlights. It’s going to be a little
tricky to combine them with the current blend mode in Lightroom because
the shadows will get dark and the highlights will start to fade. Fortunately,
Lightroom makes it easy to work around this problem.
To do that, click on the Shadow Slider and then on the right arrow. Then go
down to Filters and select Contrast. Choose a slightly darker or lighter shade
than your original shadow and then click the Compensate button. It’s going to
seem like your image is slightly out of focus, but don’t worry. It will fix itself
after a few seconds. This effect is called exposure compensation and is what
most digital cameras use. It’s the reason why you don’t want to increase or
decrease the exposure level on your camera. Instead, you should adjust the
exposure on your computer.

Of course, now you’re looking at a completely different image because the

shadows now have something interesting happening on them. To make it
even more realistic, add a layer mask and use the same technique as before.
In the very beginning, this was kind of confusing, but I can guarantee you
that a day or two will go by and you’ll be able to do this in your sleep. And,
when you’re done, you’ll have an impressive photo!

Painter Tool Usage

There are lots of excellent tutorials out there on Lightroom, so let’s get
started with using the Painter tool. This is a wonderful tool that’s tucked into
Lightroom Classic CC. As we work with photos, the Painter tool is used to
bring out detail and highlight differences in a photo. To access the Painter
tool we’ll use the + symbol at the bottom of the Range tool panel. Then select
the ‘W’ icon on the palette and use it to change the properties of the Painter
tool. I use the Brush Presets panel to create the brush we’ll need. The
paintbrush panel is denoted with a paintbrush icon.

Change the brush size to two-thirds, then select the brush from the panel and
apply it to a selection. I’ve seen this pattern before, so it’s very familiar, but
don’t assume that what you’re seeing is how to set the paintbrush size. If you
need an example, think of the brush size as a window. The Painter tool comes
up from the left side of the window and an arrow pointing up directs you to
the W panel. This shows you the set of brushes that change brush size. Click
on the ‘clear’ button in the W panel to remove the selected brush.

Using Filter Bar

How do you find photos in Lightroom? As I said before, with a very large
catalog you may need to use a filter bar, but all of those methods are good,
and they work great for finding photos in Lightroom. They aren’t perfect
though, and unfortunately, Lightroom is smart enough to be able to figure out
your search terms.
If you do use a filter bar to find photos, then you’ll have to memorize your
filter name. For example, I frequently use ‘Avoid Shadow.’ When you open a
photo in Lightroom, click the Filter bar at the top-right corner of the window,
select Filters from the dropdown menu, then choose the desired filter.

Lightroom will then open a new window where you can further customize
your filter. For example, you could use the Advanced Options and then
change the ‘Zooming in/out’ setting to ‘Automatic,’ the color filter to ‘Soap,’
and then you can apply a different Threshold to determine which Lightroom
Looks you want to apply to your photos.

For each filter you add though, it will save the name of the filter to the
clipboard, so you don’t have to memorize it. In this case, ‘Avoid Shadow’
will be called ‘Avoid Shadow’. You can keep this information handy to see
what your filter name was.
 CHAPTER SIX

Using People View

Lightroom Classic has its standard interface. Lightroom’s UI now has a new
slider based on a new ‘People View.’ I’ll be reviewing how to use the new
‘People View’ in the Layers panel on this topic. There’s also an updated Help
section with the People View instructions in the Lightroom Help.

Enabling ‘People View’ In Lightroom

Open Lightroom, click your Lightroom icon in the top left corner. Click
Tools -> Preferences. The Preferences window opens to choose ‘Lightroom’
in the left column. Click on ‘Advanced’ in the right column. Under ‘People
View,’ set your default People View to “Feature Photo.”

How To Adjust The People View Effect In Lightroom

You can make minor changes to how your people details appear in the People
view, but I can only think of three adjustments that I use regularly:

➢ Ctrl+M: Use Ctrl+M to open a new edit window, which opens the
selection tool. In the dropdown, you’ll see the effect that you selected
on a thumbnail, click on the effect, and then drag the selection to
change the ‘People View’ to ‘Background.’ When you’re done, close
the window and go back to Lightroom Classic to finalize your
selection.

➢ Ctrl+Shift+L: Press Ctrl+Shift+L in Lightroom Classic to open the

Look At the menu, you’ll see your selection. Click on ‘Refine
Selection’ which will bring up the selection tools. Use the look at a
tool to look at your selection in the People view, the magnifier tool
will appear in the lower-left corner. Click on the magnifier tool and
start rotating the selection. Make adjustments to your selections until
you get the effect that you want. Then close Lightroom Classic and
go back to Lightroom CC.

➢ Shift+Delete+M: Pressing Ctrl+Shift+E opens a new Edit window,

delete the selection you made in Lightroom Classic and the people
view will change back to the default. Click the ‘Save & Quit’ button
in the upper right corner to exit out of the edit mode.
Quick Develop And Auto Tone

Although it’s meant for a select group of photographers, many photographers

have asked about adding a “Quick Develop” mode and an “Auto Tone”
option to Lightroom. This can help when you can’t locate the Quick Develop
or Auto Tone sliders within Lightroom CC. The most popular question is
“Can I enable the Auto Tone button in Lightroom Classic CC?” and the
answer is Yes.
To do this, right-click the Auto Tone slider and select the “On/Off” tab. The
Auto Tone slider has also been added to Lightroom CC.

How to Enable the Quick Develop Button in Lightroom Classic

The Quick Develop button is available in the Develop Module, found in the
sidebar.

Step 1: To enable the “Quick Develop” button in Lightroom Classic CC,

right-click on the Develop Module and select “Edit.”
Step 2: On the Edit panel, go to the Enable/Disable Developer Panel items.
Under the Connections group, select the radio button (top right corner) next
to the module to enable it.

Step 3: On the Develop Module’s Group page, enable the “Quick Develop”
item.

How to Enable the Auto Tone Key in Lightroom

This key is situated in the Develop Module and can be accessed by going to
the Develop Module’s Group page.

Step 1: To enable the “Auto Tone” button in Lightroom, first locate the
button.

Step 2: Once you locate the Auto Tone button, click it.

Step 3: On the Develop Module’s Group page, enable the Auto Tone button.

How To Use “Quick Develop” And “Auto Tone” In Lightroom

Classic
One of the most beautiful features in Lightroom is the ability to have nearly
instantaneous color adjustments. Now, this doesn’t mean you can fire it off
like a Gatling gun and turn one hue into another hue or stop all the hues to
make them all look the same, but it’s a way to have quick yet “optimal” color
adjustments.

I like to refer to it as “Quick Develop” and “Auto Tone.” In essence, these

two keywords describe what you do in Lightroom to make your photos stand
out in a crowd.

1. Quick Develop

You first hit “Quick Develop” (option under “Photo” menu) and then hit the
color space you’re after.

2. Auto Tone

Next, you hit “Auto Tone,” then hit the “Auto Tone” tab on the “Photo”
menu.

3. Speed Dial

Click on your first photo, and then hit the “Speed Dial” feature.

4. Bevel/Grind Tool

Hit the “Bevel/Grind Tool” tab on the right-hand.

5. Focus Mask

Next, click on your subject and hit the “Focus Mask” key on the right-hand.

6. Darken

Use the “Darken” button on the left.

7. Luminosity Mask

Hit the “Luminosity Mask” button on the right.

8. Hue/Saturation Mask

Hit the “Hue/Saturation Mask” button on the right.

9. Vibrance

Hit the “Vibrance” button on the right.

10. Strength

Hit the “Strength” button on the right.

Now you’re all set. I hope that the above has made your Photoshop
Lightroom skills go from so-so to amazing. That’s one skill I wish I had.
However, I’ve always been a purist when it comes to photo editing and it
takes me a lot of practice to reach the quality of “rapid creative” in
Lightroom.
Merging Photos With HDR Panorama
If you’ve ever tried to take an HDR photo using Lightroom and Photoshop,
then you’re aware of the challenges involved. Oftentimes, post-processing
techniques are employed to make the HDR look more realistic. By default,
Lightroom has this set to Automatic, which gives you one photograph with
highlights and shadows adjusted separately, one photograph with the
shadows adjusted separately, and one photograph that is displayed as-is. It’s
not ideal.
To make things a little easier, you can take an HDR photo with Lightroom
and Lightroom Classic, and merge the two. A fantastic tool that combines all
your photos into one, full-color panorama with enhanced clarity is the HDR
Panorama Photo Merge tool. By following these steps, you will be able to use
the tool to merge your HDR Panorama Photos in Lightroom.

Step 1: Open the Lightroom web interface Click on Lightroom and go to File
| Site Preferences. In the bottom right, click on Advanced. In the window that
opens, check the box on the left that says Merge Photos. Click Save.

Step 2: Open the Lightroom mobile app Click on the Camera icon in the top
left corner. Go to Capture One | Keyframe menu and select a photo for
Keyframe. Select the photo with the HDR Panorama right below the default
photo in the list.

Step 3: Wait a minute for the process to complete. Once the process is
finished, click on the bottom right corner of the screen. There should be a
purple cloud. Click on that cloud to view the Merge photo.

Step 4: Click on the Merge and Retouch On the right side, there should be
two buttons:
Merge and Retouch.
The Merge and Retouch button will select the merged photo. Right below the
merge button is a Retouch button. Click on the Retouch button. It should
merge the photo and adjust the shadows and highlights separately, making
the two images look like one HDR panorama photo.
The small arrow to the right will tell you which direction to adjust the
shadows and highlights. Make sure to play with both sides to get the best
outcome. You can also use the Unite button to merge all your HDR
Panorama Photos with one click.

Presets, How To Install

One of the biggest issues with Lightroom and its preset system is that they
take a few seconds to set up when using Lightroom Classic (64-bit) or
Lightroom CC (32-bit). Once you have your profiles downloaded and ready
to go, add them to the ‘custom presets’ pane by pressing the + icon in the top
right corner of your Lightroom window.
Once the Lightroom presets are added, you’ll see that you can customize each
one to make sure your images look their best. One thing to note is that if you
save your original files into your Camera Roll and change the file type to
JPG, those presets will be rendered out of the format for that camera (for
example, if you’re converting your RAW files to JPG). This is the reason you
want to convert your original RAW files into JPG before applying a preset,
so your original images can be used within that preset.

Advanced Tips: How to Configure Presets

Lightroom Classic (64-bit) and Lightroom CC (32-bit) Custom Presets:

➢ Crop, Blend, Clone, Roundness, Tilt, and Stacked Negatives –

Crop, merge, cut, copy and paste the sliders on the sliders to tweak
the image.
➢ Clone-to-Clone Motion – You can create a duplicate of a section of
your image, then clone it to another area of the image, copy it, and
paste it into another area of the image. I call this ‘cloning’ your
exposure.

➢ High Key and Lower Key – You can use the sliders to adjust the
luminosity of each area of the photo, so that everything is the same
luminosity, and then adjust the contrast of the areas.

Presets in Lightroom
 ➢ Proxies, Levels, Contrast, Tonal Contrast, DaVinci Resolve, The
Element – these are all the presets that you’ll be using on your raw
files.

➢ Primary and Secondary Adjustments – these sliders adjust the

brightness of the photo, which can be useful if your subject is in
shadow or it’s not easy to accurately see your subject when using a
big bright window like the one above.

➢ Toon-ish Vignette – in video editing we’ll often use this to visually

place the person in the shot. We will often do this so that their eyes
are in the most interesting part of the shot. I often do this to give my
Bokeh, especially in wildlife, a softer look. This will generally affect
the subject’s eyebrows as well.

Post-Processing Tips: Using Presets And Rounded Edges

Although the Lightroom presets work great with raw files, using them on
JPEG files presents a bit of a challenge, since we can’t edit the files. In this
tutorial, I’ll show you how to use the Lightroom presets to quickly sharpen
images to make them look sharper, and how to apply rounded edges to make
them a little more pleasing to the eye.
Click and hold on the word icon (a circle with an arrow underneath it) next to
the adjustment icon in the right of your current layer, then drag the circular
clip to the position you want it to appear. Hold that position down, and
Lightroom will do its magic. The applied adjustments will be applied to that
layer and no other layers on the layer stack.
Note: You can use Lightroom’s custom filters on those layers.

With the curser (the circle with an arrow underneath it) still holding the angle
icon, drag the arrow that is next to it to the right, and then select the correct
adjustment that you want. In the example, I’m using the Level slider.

Pro tip: The N (Neutral) slider can be utilized instead of the Linear Bias if
you want the flat look. Remember that when using the Right-Hand Tool, you
want to always select the sliders that correspond to your adjustment priorities
– the angle slider will allow you to balance the overall sharpness of your
image without being too obvious. I’ll explain below.
With the right side of the click icon now holding the values you want to
adjust, drag the left side of the click icon down and to the right to make them
bold, then drag the button that is next to it to the right, and adjust the
resulting value.

With the arrow icon now holding the symbol icon, drag the middle icon (the
cloud) to the right to make the rounding feature pop.
Note: You can choose to have the ‘shake’ feature on by default. I choose to
have it off because the rounded edges do tend to separate from the
background, which can be distracting.

Adding A Highlight Correction On JPEG Images

If you’re shooting JPEG images, you can use the Highlight Corrector
Adjustment Layer to sharpen or brighten your JPEG photos in Lightroom.
This can be helpful if the rest of your image isn’t as sharp as you might like.
Place the Highlight Corrector Adjustment Layer on the image layer, and then
go to Edit>Highlights.

The Highlights button in the Highlight Color slider is utilized to position the
level of the Highlight Corrector Adjustment Layer.

Get Your Images On The Map

The map is an intuitive module that lets you layer multiple images on top of
each other and gives you the option to place objects on the map. The map can
be positioned at any position, the layer can be disabled or allowed to be
visible, and then click on the desired object to select it. Hit the resize button
at the bottom to make it all work together. If you haven’t installed the Map
module yet, go ahead and do that first.

Instructions on Installing Lightroom Map Module

To install this module in Lightroom CC, select your Camera Profile, and then
choose the “Import New Folder” option on the top.
Click OK, and Lightroom will automatically install the .zip file, and you’ll
have your map module on your camera.
Note: Although I am not sure how well it would work with third-party
modules, it is a lot easier to add. map functionality on a pro-level DSLR than
it is on a consumer DSLR, so if you have the budget to throw around, go for
it!

Make sure to save this file as MAP.plist to avoid the extra step later.
Once you have downloaded and saved the file, go ahead and open up the
Lightroom preferences and click on “ Map Pro.”

Set the grid dimension to 2048 x 2048

Click the “OK” button to save the settings

Lightroom Tip: Adding Distance Markers to the Map Pro

Once you have the Map Pro Module, there are a few things you need to do to
set it up for use in Lightroom.

Open the Map Pro Map file in the “File – New Map” module

Set the Map interval to 4096 by 4096

Open the file in the “File – Open” module

Remove the default mark indicating the center of the map and just leave the
GPS label on

Go back to the Map module in the “File – Open” module

Click on the button to add an Object to the Map Pro Map, and then click on
the location you want to position the object. It’s better to specify a specific
location rather than a random spot on the map as the GPS will set the point
where your object will start and end. Hit the “Convert to a coordinate map”
button to do this. Click the “OK” button to save the changes
 CHAPTER SEVEN

Using Histogram

If you are not familiar with histograms, they are not super easy to use in
lightroom. But, if you want to master them, it’s possible to change up how
they look, and what sort of information they present in a more user-friendly
way.
This topic shows you how to use the histogram as you’ve never used it
before. It’s time to transform your images, taking all the guesswork out of
working with a tool you should be as familiar with as your brush tool or color
palette. Let’s take a look at how to make the tool do what you want it to do.

How to use the histogram

In a normal image, when looking at the histogram, you have two options:

➢ Fill it – a histogram is either solid, or it’s open. When looking at a

flat, black or white histogram, it is either in between the two options
(either a mix of both is open) or it’s close to being one of the two
options. A histogram is either solid, or it’s open. When looking at a
flat, black or white histogram, it is either in between the two options
(either a mix of both is open) or it’s close to being one of the two
options.
➢ Shrink it – this histogram is usually smaller than a flat, black, or
white histogram, and often is given a box label to help make it easier
to work with.
As you can see, the histogram is far from being a flat, black, or white
histogram. The entire histogram is the open option.
But, if you dig a little deeper, you see that there is a little wiggle to it. That is
your ability to blow a large area into a small area. This little curve is a shade
of gray, and it is a useful way to use the histogram.

Remember that histograms are like shadows. They darken the lightest areas
and soften the dark areas. So, when you see that curve at the bottom of your
image, it means the area highlighted with that “yellow box” represents your
ideal exposure.

Remember that a flat or open histogram is a shade of gray, while that wiggle
represents the appropriate exposure for that image.
Once you understand how to properly use a histogram, you can significantly
improve your photography.

As always, your best bet is a RAW shot. But, once you have your photo
finished, you will be able to see what areas you need to expose, and you can
then apply those areas in the RAW file!

Using Basic Panels

The Basic Panel is an incredibly powerful tool in Lightroom, and it can be
used to achieve incredible effects in almost any image. The Basic Panel
provides a tool for quickly and easily changing the color of an image’s entire
tonal range, including shadows, highlights, and color or white balance.
Before we get to how to use the Basic Panel, let’s go over how it works.
Below, you’ll find a small overview of what each of the panels does,
followed by how to use each panel in Lightroom.

Basic Panel

The Basic Panel is a piece of software itself; it’s stored on your computer as a
text file and reads in the color value of the image that you have currently
selected. Once that image is loaded into the Basic Panel, you can manipulate
it on the fly to tweak the overall tonality of the entire image.

Color Sliders in Lightroom

The most basic way to manipulate the RGB colors of an image is to adjust the
colors in the first three sliders on your keyboard: Red, Green, and Blue.
You’ll often find these sliders in the top left-hand corner of Lightroom. When
you’re ready to start using the Basic Panel, click on one of these sliders and
drag it around the screen to change the RGB values of the image.

Basic Hue/Saturation Panel in Lightroom

The Hue/Saturation Panel controls the appearance of the full picture,

including color, white balance, and more. When you select the Basic
Hue/Saturation panel, you are essentially viewing the RGB values of the
entire image, and you can therefore change the image’s hue or saturation on
the fly.
Let’s say that you want to remove the blue tint in a particular part of your
image. For example, you may want to restore the saturation of a purple
purple-colored sky.
Drag the purple slider across the screen to darken the sky. Now, move the
blue slider until the sky turns blue again. As it is, you have restored the
purple hue, but you’ve also increased the blue saturation.

Apply this simple technique to any part of the image and your color and
white balance will change instantly.

Basic Filtering in Lightroom

The Basic Filter panel in Lightroom applies various adjustments to the entire
RGB range of your image. It can be used to produce a dramatic or subtle
effect. When you select the Basic Filter in Lightroom, you are looking at the
RGB values of your image.
Now, click anywhere in the Basic Filter and drag your mouse on the screen to
make the RGB value change. By using this technique, you can create
dramatic effects on your images without needing to mess around with the
camera, the aperture, shutter speed, focal length, ISO, or anything else.

Pro Tip: If you have the Basic Filter open and you’re done editing an image,
you can save it and open it again later for further tweaking. You can also
view your images in a particular category on the right-hand side of the Basic
Filter panel if you’d like to apply a filter to the entire image, rather than one
part of it.

Pro Tip: If you’ve used the Basic Filter in Lightroom before, you may have
noticed that there are two bars in the Basic Filter panel itself. The first bar is
for hue, the second for saturation. You can move the hue and saturation
sliders left and right to alter the brightness and saturation of your image.
Note: the Basic Filter will not work if you drag the same sliders around in the
same direction. To quickly find your image among all of your other images,
go to the previous image, select it, and then move the Basic Filter up or down
to the image you want to view.

Basic Exif Panel in Lightroom

The Exif Panel adjusts the image metadata (the things that identify the
camera model, the aperture setting, ISO, lens focal length, shutter speed, etc.)
for each pixel in your image. Once again, you’re looking at the RGB values
of the entire image.
As you drag the Exif Panel across the image to edit the metadata, the RGB
values change accordingly. Once again, this is a very quick way to change the
color of your image on the fly, without leaving Lightroom.
All of the sliders to adjust the Exif information are in the top portion of the
Exif Panel.

Be sure to click on the Remove button when you’re done editing the Exif
information. This will remove all the Exif information from your image. If
you like to enter a different camera model to try out with diverse aperture
settings, you’ll also want to remove that information. Otherwise, if you
switch to a different camera model, you will have to start from scratch with
the Exif panel, meaning you’ll have to re-enter all of your camera model
information all over again.
Pro Tip: When you drag the Exif Panel, you’re essentially adding or
subtracting the Exif information from the RGB values of your image. This
means that if you change the color, you also change the Exif information.

Using Curves

This is a simple, yet very powerful technique that can change the color of an
image on the fly. To learn how to change the color of your image in
Lightroom, first draw a light red line over an image e.g., flower, then drag the
tool to an area of the image (the color red) to create a lighter color.

Next, I create a darker line under the color red, and then drag the tool to the
other side of the flower (where the light red line is). You can see the lighter
and darker lines affect the entire image, and change the color of the flower to
appear purpler.

Once you’ve done this for the entire flower, you can go back and change the
color of the line, or the entire flower. You can even add some vignetting and
control the contrast. You will then be able to control the subtle color shift in
the image.

Advanced Adjustments

In the new Lightroom, there are a host of advanced adjustments available.

Some are filters that let you make minor adjustments to the color of an image,
while others let you change the image’s tonality.

Saturate Filter

This is probably the most obvious filter to use in the filter panel in
Lightroom. By adjusting the white balance, you can change the tonality of
your image. You can make the image appear slightly warmer, or cooler, or
bluer.
To adjust the white balance, drag the Saturation filter to the desired area on
the color wheel, and then adjust the Lightness of the slider to bring the white
balance in line with your desired color temperature.

Color Shift Filter

If you need to make an image appear more blue or green, this filter allows
you to change the color of an image from one color to another. Drag the
Filter to the desired area of the image, and then click the Effects button.
Once you drag the filter to the area of the image, you can increase the
strength of the shift, and once you’re satisfied with the shift, click the Effects
button. You will then see some different color combinations you can choose
from.

When you choose the “Super Saturate” color, you’ll see the purple line shift
into the green and blue areas of the image. Once you’re satisfied with the
color shift, click the Effects button. This will stop the filter from working,
and the colors will appear as they originally appeared in the image.
To reduce the strength of the shift, click the filter and then click the Effect
button. The green and blue areas will lose their color shift, and the purple will
be less apparent.

Hue & Saturation

Hue & Saturation is probably the most powerful tool to adjust the color of an
image. You can alter the color of the entire image by adjusting the saturation.
Let’s take, for example, a photo of a dune shot in Colorado.

To control the color of the dune, I used the Hue & Saturation filter in
Lightroom. First, I used the Hue & Saturation Filter and then moved the
Lightness slider towards the middle of the color wheel.

The final result is the color of the dune will appear much more orange and
red, than the true hue of the dune.
The Hue & Saturation Filter also allows you to adjust the level of saturation
of the image, and therefore change the look of the entire image. To do this,
drag the filter to the desired area of the image, and then click the Effects
button.
The above photo was made by tweaking the Saturation and Hue and the
resulting image appears much more vibrant and colorful.

Click & Drag Filter

Another popular filter to use in the same vein as Saturate and Hue &
Saturation is the Click & Drag Filter. This one is also popular, as the results
are far more drastic than the other filters on the list.
To use the Click & Drag Filter, drag the filter to the area of the image that
you’d like to change, and then click the Effects button.

Once you have the effect you want, click the Effects button and then the
Effects button again. You’ll then see some color combinations to choose
from.

There are hundreds of color combinations that you can choose from with this
filter. The colors will be altered to the point that the photo will appear
drastically different.
To make things a little easier, this filter can be done on most images that you
take, as opposed to images that you make in Lightroom. As a result, you’ll be
able to see the results almost immediately.

Classic Master Flush Filter

One of the most popular adjustments that Adobe Lightroom offers is the
Classic Master Flush Filter. This filter has also gained popularity, as it’s a lot
less time-consuming than other filters.

The idea behind the Classic Master Flush Filter is that it removes any
distracting color from an image.

By removing distracting color, this filter allows the main subject to be the
focus of the image.
To use the Classic Master Flush Filter, click the Master Flush filter button.
Then click the Effects button. You will then see a series of sliders appear on
your Lr screen.
As you drag the sliders to the right, the colors of the background of the image
will begin to fade away. The resulting image should appear to be much less
colorful, and that’s exactly what we want.

The only downside to this method is that there is usually a dark edge around
the photo, where the color filter was used.

Drag the sliders to the left of the borders, and the colors will begin to return
to normal.
Because this filter is such a popular adjustment, many photographers tend to
overuse it, as they tend to make many adjustments with it. This, however, can
make the filter less effective and it might help to only use this technique once
a week or so.

How To Use The Sun Tool In Adobe Lightroom

I can’t stress enough how powerful the sun tool in Adobe Lightroom can be.
As a result, many photographers will use it to accentuate an image and make
the whole thing pop.

One of the best ways to use the sun tool is to do just that, add some pop to an
image. By adjusting the intensity of the sun tool, you can significantly alter
the overall look of an image.

To use the sun tool, click the sun tool button in the bottom right corner of
your Lightroom menu bar. Next, click the Effect button. The photo will
appear to be brighter once the slider is pulled left-ward.

Making Your Photos Pop

A handful of small tweaks can have a big impact on your image, and if
you’re working with photos that are already natural-looking, they’re small
tweaks that won’t take much time to do. Plus, you’ll be doing yourself a
favor by preserving a photo that could be difficult to preserve for posterity.
These 10 tips will help improve natural light photos, no matter what kind of
camera you’re using:

1. Reframe
The easiest way to change the look of a photo in Lightroom is to do so with
the contextual toolbar. Tap the contextual menu (three horizontal bars), select
Edit, and then select the contextual menu to see the contextual menu. The
contextual menu in Lightroom is at the bottom of the keyboard.
Tap the contextual menu, then select Adjust. In the contextual menu, tap the
re-frame icon. Lightroom will automatically re-frame the photo in your photo
library to find the best framing and alignment to the subject.

2. Resize the image

The same re-frame icon that Lightroom used for the image is also used to
crop and resize the image. Tap on the contextual menu and select Scale, then
touch and hold on the right side of the frame. This is where the right-hand
edge of the frame intersects with your image. It’ll become your zoom setting
in the image, while the other two options become the size of the frame in the
image.

3. Add blur to the image

Since your photo will be cropped, what you want to do is compensate for the
non-exposed area. This is usually the top or bottom of the frame. Doing this
adds a blur to the image, creating a more realistic image. All you have to do
is slide a slider on your photo’s contextual menu to increase or decrease the
blur in the bottom of the frame. The amount of blur you want to add is
dependent on the amount of motion in the photo. You’ll want to increase or
decrease this by a few stops to achieve the desired effect. The goal is to make
your subject appear more natural by adding a blur effect.

4. Add color
If you have a natural-looking photo, now’s the time to add a bit of color. You
want the color to stand out to the eye, and for the right color to be in the
foreground of your photo. To find this in Lightroom, tap on the contextual
menu and select Edit > Adjust. In the contextual menu, tap the Color >
Highlight. This will make the red portion of the photo appear a bit redder.

5. Add text
With all of the right color, right-angle, and blur effects, your photo will start
to look pretty good. But your photo still needs something more. To add some
text to your photo, tap on the contextual menu and click the line icon. Once
this box is highlighted, click and hold on the area to place your text.
Alternatively, you can use the trackpad to control where your text is placed.
To remove the text, you can tap on the text and then click and drag. If you
want to replace the text, just tap on the text and then the Replace Text option.

6. Resize and crop the photo

It’s a good idea to resize and crop your image now before adding any color.
You don’t want to spoil the shot by shooting at a wide-angle and then
cropping the image. You can resize the image by going to Image >
Adjustments > Resize, and then scroll to the bottom. On the size slider, press
the Optimize button. You’ll want to adjust the size so it fits the shot well.

7. Add a pen holder

It’s time to add a pen holder. Tap on the contextual menu and then tap on the
Pen icon. From here, you’ll create a Pen Hold icon so you can put your pen
on the image, without needing to touch it.
Once you create the icon, tap on the contextual menu and then go to Effects >
Pen > Fill & Stroke. On the Effects > Pen Tool drop-down menu, select
Stylize, then click OK. On the Pen Hold screen, make sure the Pen and Mask
> Cut icon is selected. After that, use the Pen Tool to draw a box around the
text you just created.

8. Play with color

If you want to play with color, you can change the hue and saturation of your
photo. If you want a very bright photo, tap on the contextual menu, then tap
Color > Hue. Then, make sure the color below the Hue slider is a very light
shade of green. Once you do that, you’ll need to move the slider to the right
until you find the desired hue. If you want a less saturated photo, adjust the
color slider. If you’d like to fine-tune the color more, tap on the contextual
menu, tap Color > Saturation. The saturation will then be less than 80
percent, and will generally be lighter than the photo.

9. Add an image circle

The last step is adding an image circle. First, touch and hold on to the photo
you want to add an image circle. Then, tap on the image circle icon. This will
place a circle around the photo. The circle will be slightly transparent. Tap on
the icon again and slide the circle to the right so it’s completely transparent.
Then, tap on the contextual menu, tap Edit > Resize, and make the circle
smaller or larger depending on your preference.
Once you’re done adding the circles, the image will look great. To make sure
your circles don’t move and look out of place, you can make them invisible.
If you’d like to see the circles, you can use the contextual menu, then tap on
the circle icon, and tap Hide. You’re to do this every time you add a new
circle, and you can see how many circles are on the screen by swiping over
the image.

Another tip is to always make sure the edges of the circles are rounded. If the
circles look very sharp and cut corners or corners of the circles are jagged,
the photo will be off-center.

10. Share your creation

You can share your creation by either taking a screenshot or touching the
blue button in the upper right corner. Once you do that, you’ll be able to
share your image via email, text message, or social media. If you’re taking a
screenshot, then you’ll be able to save it in your Images folder. Once you
share your creation, you’ll be able to get back to the picture as soon as you
touch the blue button.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

Photo Cropping And Straightening

Selecting the crops and levels for each one of the portraits is the most
important part, and also most easily discovered through trial and error. The
size of the crop area affects the tonal range of the photograph. This range
varies from 1/10 to 1/2 of the original area. After selecting the crop area, it is
relatively easy to get a good baseline for each shot and get a better idea of
which adjustments to make. Most of the techniques covered in this topic also
apply to moving around and rotating the crop area. Here are some of my
basic steps to take in cropping and straightening photos in Lightroom.
1) Set your crop level.
Lightroom has three basic crop levels, each with a slightly different look. The
first crop level is a bit soft. This is the default setting for all photos. It allows
Lightroom to maintain a “film look” when cropping. Allowing Lightroom to
retain a “film look” allows the photo to show fine details, and remove “grain”
when cropping.
For instance, you set the crop level to 16, giving the image a softer look.
Lightroom then uses the brightest adjustment, which is the shadows slider.

2) Set your crop.

Next, you will adjust the crop, straighten, and depth of field settings in
Lightroom. Remember that even though you have changed the crop level,
Lightroom doesn’t like to remove the crop once it has been made. So don’t
adjust the crop manually, but rather set it to default values first, and then
adjust the other settings below.

3) Adjust the Curves slider for highlights, mid-tones, and shadows.

The last step is to choose the exact settings for which you want the photo to
look its best. Curves and White Balance are two of the most important
settings to adjust. I recommend adjusting the Curves slider to the left as much
as possible. The exact settings for which you want the photo to look its best
should be in the X ‘marks the spot.’

4) Adjust the Highlights, Midtones, and Shadows sliders for your image.
The last thing to adjust is the Shadows slider. Select it from the View menu
to change the contrast of the shadows. You mustn’t increase the overall
contrast level of the photograph. Increase the Shadows slider so that the
shadows are barely visible.

It’s important to remember that Lightroom can’t blend shadows completely

into the light. To prevent the shadow from extending into the photo, use a Y
or a Green arrow under the shadows slider, depending on how dark you
would like the shadows to be. You also have the option to let the shadows
extend into the photo, although I would avoid that to a certain extent. The
point is to enhance the light, but not completely erase the shadow.

5) Finish by selecting the X ‘mark the spot’ adjustment for Lightroom.

It is also a good idea to remember to “mark the spot.” Many photographers
often forget to do this. To “mark the spot,” press and hold the mark you want
to use. As you adjust your curves and White Balance sliders, keep the image
in the viewfinder, and keep pressing the mark you want to use. After a few
minutes, you should have your desired adjustments in place.
Fixing Spots And Smoothening The Skin

Summer always comes with an abundance of minor imperfections —

wrinkled skin, spots, and fine lines, for example. But that’s precisely why we
love this special Lightroom tool: It can take any discoloration and make it
look like it never happened. Check out the steps below to work with
Lightroom’s Renoir filter to brighten skin and smooth out wrinkles. You’ll
also learn how to fix some common skin blemishes in the process.
❖ Step 1: Open the Adjustment Brush Tool (Object) in the Customize
Module
Create a new layer and use the Adjustment Brush Tool (Object) to pick the
area you want to correct. In this case, I’ve chosen the Inner Eye Area (lower
left side of the face) and am going to apply a brightening and smoothing
effect to it. You can change the size of the brush — at this point, I’m using a
size 2.

❖ Step 2: Select the “Suppressed” Gradient option

Select the “Suppressed” Gradient option from the top menu bar. Renoir filters
also automatically detect skin tones. Use the hue brush and choose a reddish-
purple shade.

❖ Step 3: Position the Blend Mode to “Graphics” in the settings

window.

❖ Step 4: Blend with the Brush Tool

Using the Brush Tool, now that I’ve set the tone I want to correct in my Inner
Eye Area, apply a soft feathery stroke towards the end of the soft brush.

❖ Step 5: Add Lightroom Effects

Tap on the “+” button at the top of the Adjustment Brush panel and choose
the Upscale Brush. You can also choose the Purity Brush.

❖ Step 6: Clean Up The Final Image

Tap on the small arrow in the bottom right corner of the Adjustment Brush
panel, and choose Clean-Up from the Swatches section. You can also choose
Fade from the Repeat Gradients tab.

❖ Step 7: Try different settings and see what works best for your face
You can see that the mask looks a little extreme on my face. I’m not
surprised — my face isn’t square. But if my face is more oval, try increasing
the thickness of the brush or using a different color for the highlight areas.

❖ Step 8: You can also adjust the opacity of the mask in Lightroom
If you want to make sure that all the tone has been lifted off my face, make
sure you have the mask applied in such a way that your eyes still look good.
This way, if there’s too much contrast between the light and the shadows, the
colors in the mask will “drown out” your eye color and it will look worse.

❖ Step 9: Utilize the Clone Stamp Tool or Paintbrush Tool

Again, tap on the small arrow in the bottom right corner of the Adjustment
Brush panel to change your tool. I’m using the Clone Stamp Tool to clone out
a section of my skin.

❖ Step 10: Add different contrast

I chose a complementary color for my face to create the same kind of contrast
as on my face. You can choose different colors to do this — make sure to
keep them the same color as your light source.

❖ Step 11: Add a Blur

I tapped on the small arrow in the bottom right corner of the Adjustment
Brush panel and made a small, wiggly, blur (I think of it as an eye blurring
effect) that connects where I had my eye blurred with the place where I
wanted to lift my skin.

❖ Step 12: Add Gradient Overlays

For some reason, I had a ton of problems with this mask but I’m glad that I
persevered. If you don’t have any, tap on the small arrow in the bottom right
corner of the Adjustment Brush panel to change your brush size or choose
one from your choices.
Next, paint on a solid white layer on the areas that need whitening. Take care
to paint on the base layer before painting in white. You’ll need a white
highlight to make sure it shows up. Now, using the Pen tool, draw a gradient
over the whole mask, but make sure you do not paint on any black or white
areas. It’s also important that you do not touch the brush itself.
I also found that painting a gradient can help make the area smoother, as it
will also allow you to adjust it. If you didn’t paint a gradient yet, check out
this tutorial on using a Gradient Brush to get the idea.

❖ Step 13: Add A Black Outer Glow

This step is probably the trickiest of them all. First of all, before painting in
the gradients, you have to add a black outer glow. This can be done in your
adjustment brush panel or by using the Pen tool. I chose to add the glow to
my forehead as it was one of the areas that needed it the most.
While holding down your Ctrl key, draw a straight line at the center of your
eyebrow with the Pen tool. Then, use the Saturation slider on the top right of
the adjustments panel to increase the amount of brightness of the line. If you
are using a black color, you can do a soft black color.

Now, you mustn’t paint on the area that needs lightening, as it will make the
mask a little bit too light. So take care when painting on the black line and be
careful about where you place it. You can adjust it later on. Just be sure to
leave enough space between the line and the area you want to lighten.

❖ Step 14: To make it look more polished, mix it with the Decals
panel
This is where it gets fun. Once you’re done painting your mask, it’s time to
mix it with the Decals panel to make it a little more polished.
Create a new layer above your masked area. Then, add a Gradient Overlay
and the center of your mask with the Pen tool. Then add another Gradient
Overlay on top and blend it in with the mask. Go to Adjustments >
Gradient Effects > Blend. Keep in mind that the Gradient Overlay is now an
adjustment layer and not a copy layer, so you need to go to the Layer Tool
again to blend in the mask. If you’re trying to make the mask more graphic,
you could increase the number of gradients you use to your mask layer. You
can adjust the number of layers, and the blending mode, later on, so it looks a
little more graphic.

Red-Eyes Removal

If you’re like most photographers and the weather is ideal, but you’ve got
work to do, you’ll need a way to remove or edit red-eye (or what you call
“mirror glow”) in your images. As the saying goes, you can do better. With
that in mind, here are a couple of approaches to remove red-eye from your
images.

Positives to using red-eye corrector in lightroom

Using Lightroom’s Red-Eye Corrector is a popular method to help reduce
red-eye. It’s fast, fairly easy to use, and works well for most images. There
are some other Red-Eye Corrector options available, but for most people, the
basic version is sufficient.

Each time you load an image into Lightroom, you’ll be presented with two
options, Mirror Image and Mask/Rotation. Choose the latter, and that will
apply the mask in whatever orientation and rotation you’d like (for the most
part, it doesn’t matter which direction the mask rotates, except for portrait
orientation. If that’s an issue for you, check out the next topic.

Changing Mirror Image Angle And Setting Rotations For

Portrait In Lightroom
One of the first steps to getting the most out of your portrait mode is to learn
how to change the mirror image angle and the set of rotation options. In this
topic, I’ll show you how to do so in Lightroom Classic.

1. Open your Lightroom catalog in the first CC in the bottom left corner
(click the gear button or browse to the CC you want)

2. Once in the left column, click the second tab labeled “Selective Crop.”

3. Click the drop-down box in the “Mirror Image Angle” section to adjust the
following values:

Left: (90) = 55 degrees

Right: (90) = 55 degrees

Bottom: (85) = 40 degrees

3. Once you have set the rotation and the mirror image angle, you can save
your selection and continue with the steps to apply the photos to your work in
progress.
4. Highlight the selected photos with Lightroom.

5. Next, right-click on a photo and click “Set as Image.”

This will go to the “Selective Crop” dialog box.

6. Click the button on the right to “Select First.” This will set the “Image”
field on the dialog box to “Photograph,” which is the first photo of your set in
the left column.

7. Click the “Sort & Filter” button at the bottom of the “Image” section,
where the “Patterns” section shows all photos in your collection.

8. Type in the color you want to see on each photo, such as “Deep Sky.”

9. Click “Filter” and then select “Paint With,” then “Noise Reduction,”
“Speckle Reduction” and “Pixelate Noise.”

10. Click “OK” and apply the changes.

Pet Eye Removal

Like any other type of image editing, cropping and rotating your images in
Lightroom will help you make them better in a way that doesn’t negatively
impact your image. Cropping isn’t enough by itself though, it needs to be
optimized. We all know how important it is to have an eye for sharpening,
contrast, and exposure; these are four keys to a good photo. This topic is
specifically for pet photographers who need to remove pet eyes. It does not
cover when to do this, but it does illustrate how to locate your finest tools for
this. I will explain how to utilize some of the tools in Lightroom to find your
best tools.
First of all, it is important to know that pet eyes are pretty easy to find when
you are shooting in Auto. The problem is, if you don’t know what to look for,
you will see your shot more often than you would like. In the case of pet eye
removal, there are only two issues that you need to deal with. The first is
dealing with the pet’s eye and the second is dealing with the fur.
In this first case, the hardest part is dealing with the eye. If you don’t have
good eyesight, you can’t tell if a dog has an eye or not. As a result, it is
important to find a different tool that is designed for this purpose. That is why
I would suggest the Distant Focus tool.
How to remove pet eye in lightroom classic
If you want to find the Distant Focus tool you have to start by clicking on the
quick menu button and select the Highlight tool. If you have used this tool
before, you know it has one parameter that can be adjusted to either bring up
the in-curve preview or the source image.

After you select Highlight, click on the eye icon and select the Distant Focus
tool. This tool has a lot of options but you should start by adjusting the focal
point. This will make it more difficult to find the dog’s eye. To see the source
image you can press Ctrl + +.

In the next window, select the shot of the dog with the eye and you will see
how the Distant Focus tool is used. If you have a good eye, this won’t be a
big problem. If you don’t, you will probably have to increase or decrease the
focal distance. This will help you determine which distance will best show
the dog’s eye. There are many settings to choose from, but I suggest choosing
the brightest areas.

After you have adjusted the focus of the Distant Focus tool, select the
remaining dog fur. Go to the next window and select the brush tool. If you
have never used the brush tool in the Highlight tool, this is your best chance
to use it. It will be useful for many of the uses that we will cover in the
following topics. For now, select the Brush tool. Then, from the settings
select Hard Focus and Shade under the Corner Management window.

You have now finished the very first step to removing pet eye. You can use
the brush tool to remove the fur, use the copy tool to create a mask around the
dog fur, and use the eraser tool to remove the fur. All of these tools are
usually set to 50%. If you can’t use the clone brush, make a new copy of the
fur using the copy tool. Remember though, you will have to use the copy tool
to copy the fur and erase the fur; this is so the copy tool does not change the
focus of the fur too much.

In this case, I will suggest using the copy tool to make a mask around the pet
fur. Once you have created your mask, you can erase the fur by selecting the
eraser tool and selecting the Spot options.

By using the Spot options you can make sure that you remove all the fur that
does not belong to the dog. If the fur in the paw of the dog matches the skin
tone, it doesn’t need to be removed. Make sure that you remove all the furs
that do not belong to the dog.

The next tool that I want to discuss will remove the fur from the eyes. If you
have any experience using the Clarify tool, you will be familiar with the Spot
tool.
To remove the fur from the eyes, select the Spot tool and make a selection
around the eyes. After you have made the selection, use the Spot Tool to
erase the fur around the eyes.

Going Pro With The Graduated And Radical Filter

If you’re like me, then you’ve been annoyed at certain Lightroom Classic
functions for some time. In case you need a little more encouragement than
that, here’s something cool that no one else will be doing for you. These
powerful Lightroom Classic filters are only accessible to advanced users, but
they’re so easy and efficient that you don’t need to be an expert to implement
them. No, you don’t need to become an advanced Lightroom Expert to make
this happen. These five steps are:
1. Set a preset

Open Lightroom Classic. In the upper-right corner, click on the

gear-shaped filter button.

Click on Settings.

Click on Filters.

Click on Advanced.

Choose Add New.

Click OK.

To begin, name your preset. Type “Graduated Color” in the field

that appears.
Next, select either Graduated and Saturation or Graduated and Range. Click
OK.

In the body of the filter, click on the Separate Slider button.

Select the Range drop-down menu.

Click OK.

In the body of the filter, click on the Separate Slider button.

Select the Graduated Filter icon.

Select the Adjustment sliders in the Graduated Color group.

Click OK.

Next, add a Graduated filter icon with the Range drop-down

menu.

Click OK.

2. Set a filter

In the upper-right corner, click on the gear-shaped filter button.

Click on Advanced.

Click on Filters.

Click on the Set A Preset button.

Choose the Graduated Color preset.

Click OK.

Now you can edit the filter!

3. Assign a name
Select the Color Range drop-down menu.

Choose Align Selected.

Choose the Align icon in the corner.

Click OK.

4. Save it

Click on the Save button in the top-right corner of the edit page.

Click on the Graduated Color icon in the corner of the toolbar.

Click on Save.

5. Use it

Here are the details:

Open the file you saved in a copy or tracer attached to your computer.

Change the filter name and save again.

Repeat as needed!
These may seem like advanced filters for advanced photographers, but with
this technique, you can edit any preset in Lightroom Classic. Enjoy!
 CHAPTER NINE

Using The Adjustment Brush Tool

If you know the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” then what’s the
adjustment brush tool? Well, what it does is to adjust the sharpening intensity
of an image in Photoshop or Lightroom. It’s usually found on the tool bar
along the far left, or in the top left part of your Photoshop Panel, and we’ll
use it to perform some quick edits to a photo in Lightroom Classic that we
want to bring back to life a bit.
It seems simple, doesn’t it? The tool does what it does, and there is no reason
to think that this is anything other than a 1-button adjustment tool for fine
adjustments. Is it worth using, though? We’ll let you decide that, but the
basics are easy to understand: It does a little thing to your photo that’s not
much, and that’s a good thing. That’s the whole idea. It helps fix specific,
small adjustments.
Does this tool do anything else? Let’s take a look at how you can use this
handy little tool to make some quick,

✓ The first step is to create a new adjustment layer.

Click on the “Paint” icon in the upper right corner of the library module.
You will be asked to create a new adjustment layer.
Select “Adjustment Brush” and click on the “Create” button.
You will be asked to choose the size of your brush.
Next, you will be asked to fill your brush using a color. I suggest that you
select one of the following:

White

Black

Pink

Blue

Green

Purple

A green and pink color makes great grayscale and color saturation.

I suggest that you paint the green color on the background of your image to
give it a little life.

To do this, drag the Paint Tooltip to the right of the Brush section of the
library module.

Now, select your green color and drag it to the top of the layer group.

Once your paint has been applied, click on the white arrow button on the
Brush section and paint on the first horizontal line to fill it.

Next, select the purple color in the color palette and drag it onto the second
horizontal line.
You will be asked to increase the stroke to one unit from five units.

Next, select the Pink color in the color palette and drag it onto the third
horizontal line.

Finally, select the blue color in the color palette and drag it onto the fourth
horizontal line.

Next, click on the X button on the far right side of the purple and pink color
selections to delete them from the selection.

Now that you have painted on the horizontal lines, you can click on the “New
Adjustment Layer” icon at the bottom of the selection menu.

This will create a new adjustment layer.

Next, choose the “Soft Light” Adjustment Layer Type and then tap on the
“New Adjustment Layer” button to begin painting your adjustment layer.

Here are the settings for your adjustment layer:

As you can see, the only different thing is the color palette that you have
chosen. The image on the far right is what your layer will look like.

First, click on the Adjustment Brush icon in the upper right corner of the
library module.

Once again, choose “Soft Light” in the Adjustment Layer Type and click on
the “New Adjustment Layer” button.

Once again, choose your paint color from the color palette and then click on
the white arrow button on the Brush section.
Click on the down arrow button to change the radius of your paint stroke.
You can increase the radius of your paint stroke to increase its contrast,
which is the purpose of increasing the radius.

Next, change the stroke color to black, then click on the “Apply” button.
This will create a new adjustment layer. After creating this adjustment layer,
go back to the default image and touch it up.
Utilizing Snapshots
Snapshots are an easy way to take multiple copies of your photo and batch
process them to give you multiple versions of the same image with the
original file that you’re working on, so that if for some reason you do need to
move files around, you can keep the files in a similar position, without them
being overwritten with a new version. There are two ways to take a snapshot
in Lightroom:

✓ With the camera On the PC / Mac

When you take a picture, the camera takes a photo of the scene on the
photodiodes, like with a normal photo. The photodiodes are the
photosensitive element inside the camera, just like a photo sensor. You can
use these to create a virtual copy of your original file if you want to make
sure that it’s the same file that you’re working on.
This is where snapshots come into play because the app can apply similar
filters and transformations to all the files in the photo folder to produce the
final image. Once all the files have been processed to this point, Lightroom
saves the file as a single snapshot.
You can view the original version of your file by going to File > New
Snapshot.
Taking a snapshot reduces the file size by no more than it would have been if
you had manually applied the same effects to the file. So, this reduces the file
size but does not reduce the file size in a literal sense.

Are snapshots worth it?

When I first came across the idea of snapping multiple shots of the same
image, I didn’t see any real reason to take a snapshot. What I discovered was
that taking a series of snapshots resulted in the image getting noticeably
sharper. It’s a subjective thing, of course, but there is no doubt that the ability
to take multiple versions of the same photo made a significant difference.
You could apply the same lens, same picture conditions, and same processing
techniques, but with the benefit of a preview of the images at different focal
lengths and different framing options.
Taking pictures with the camera also helps you to gain a more objective look
at your pictures.
Some photographers suggest that you shouldn’t worry about taking snapshots
because Lightroom will do the work for you. However, this isn’t the case;
Lightroom needs to know exactly which photo files you’re working with so
that it can offer you the best possible editing experience.

Lightroom won’t be able to apply the same effects to multiple files unless
they have the same name. This means that, if you’re taking more than one
picture, you’ll end up with two different versions of the same photo.
Although, similar thing can be done using Lightroom, the workflow is a lot
more cumbersome than it would be if you used a mobile camera app.
There’s a whole bunch more that you can do with snapshots, but, once you
see what they can do, you’ll want to start taking them!

Accessing The History Panel

If you’ve ever taken a photo and needed to look at it again, but can’t
remember where it came from, it’s always a bad sign. I use the Lightroom
History Panel to get to see my pictures in chronological order, and it’s a
useful tool for trying to understand the workflow I’ve used to create the final
shot.
The History Panel isn’t a panel—it’s a window that has a couple of tabs at the
top. The first tab is a simple list of all of your photos, all sorted by Lightroom
version.

The second tab is a more functional list of your projects. Like most
Lightroom, this list is based on the file type of your photos, rather than the
name of your project. Lightroom will automatically sort it by folder, which is
probably the most common way people use it.

The third tab is a more detailed, nested list of your projects. At the top of it
are the name of your project and its current folder. It will then show the name
of all of the photos that fall under the name of your project, and give you the
option to create an outliner folder for all of your photos.

The bottom of the list shows you how many photos fall under each project, so
it’s the most useful to see where you stand in your projects.

I use the main project tab to look at the exact timeline of my workflow. If I’m
working on a shoot and I want to see exactly when I finished each photo, I go
to that tab. If I’m looking to analyze the last few years of my work, I go to
the project list, because it gives you a breakdown of when you did a
particular task and finished each project.
 CHAPTER TEN

Correcting Your Photo’s Tone And Contrast

I’m sure you have heard the phrase “everyone looks better with their face in
the shot.” I think the reason for that is because the light is the biggest
influence on what a photo looks like. If there is a light supply at the rear of
your subject, it will look a lot better. That means if you don’t have a light
supply at the rear of your subject, they are less likely to look “pulled” into
your image. One of the things I often get asked about is how to correct color
and contrast in photos.
Often, in Lightroom, the correct exposure is what the image looks like at that
moment, and the ability to adjust the exposure further will make the photo
look too yellow or too blue. Since color is going to change from exposure, we
need to compensate for this. In Lightroom, the most common tool to do this
is something called “lookup tables.” The interface for these lookups isn’t the
most beautiful thing, but it’s the only way to handle the massive number of
possible combinations.
So, in this topic, I’m going to give you options for how to correct tone and
contrast in photos.
1. Use the LAB adjustment layer
Use the New icon that’s inside the right-hand column (or whatever it is on
your screen) and set it to a dark gray. Create a black layer underneath and
select the Lookup Tables plug-in from the Library panel. This is what the
menu bar looks like for LAB (lookup tables):

(A note about plug-ins, in case you are wondering: LAB is a plugin for
Lightroom, not an actual 3-D image editing tool, as some of the other LAB
plugins are.)

First, you need to open the Library panel. There is a Settings icon, which is
the one to the right of the Library panel. Select the Third Panel from the
Third Panel menu.

Then, make sure you change the number of lookups to 1 and hit OK.

2. Use the Profile Adjustment Layer

After you have opened the Library panel, you should see the Profile Control
Dialog at the top. Click on that button and change the number of lookups to
2, and hit OK.
Note: If you don’t have the Profile Adjustment Layer plug-in, select New
Layer from the Layers panel to duplicate it, and then go into the Layers panel
and rename it. Then drag that duplicated layer to the left side of the LAB
panel. It should look like this:

3. Use the Artistic Panel Adjustment Layer

After you have opened the Library panel, you should see the Artistic Panel at
the top. Click on that button and change the number of lookups to 2, and hit
OK.
Note: If you don’t have the Artistic Panel plug-in, select New Layer from the
Layers panel to duplicate it, and then go into the Layers panel and rename it.
Then drag that duplicated layer to the left side of the LAB panel. It should
look like this:

You’re now ready to play! As with anything, do your research to find the
look you are looking for. If you aren’t sure if a look is available, or if you
think it is broken, you can click on the plug-in that you are using in the plug-
in panel and go into the Lookup Tables menu. Then, go into the tab labeled
“Analog” (the menu-bar icon will change to that). From there, go into the list
of analog lookups and make sure the look is not there.

Or, you can search the database with this search query:

“%0, %1” (this tells Lightroom to look at the tone curves instead of just the
shades, but you can switch the format to # or %0 or %1. It also means that the
LAB lookup is not just a comparison of the shades, but a comparison of the
whole image as a whole)
Once you find a look that you like, add it to your list, and then click on OK to
save the file.

4. Adjust the Look of Your Lookup Tables

Now that you have your lookup to your liking, you can work on making them
more beautiful. That’s where the toolbox comes in handy!

Image Sharpening

This tutorial explains in detail how to go about setting up a sharpened image

so that the images don’t look pixelated and the edges of the photo are lined
up properly.

Set the following parameters:

✓ Photo Name (Simple) – Name a photo (“Hayden Pays at the
Pottery”).
✓ RAW Quality (Medium) – Set the RAW quality level to the higher
of the two quality levels listed on the right. “Medium” is the default.
✓ Depth of Field (Normal) – Set the depth of field to “Normal.”
✓ Alt Exposure (Intensity) – Set the value of the lightness slider to
“Intensity” and the value of the contrast slider to “Intensity.” A value
of 0 for lightness and 1 for contrast looks perfect.
✓ Exposure (Fine) – Set the exposure value to “Fine” or “Aperture.”
Since most photos are going to be shot with an aperture setting of
around f/16-f/22, you can see why these are the most commonly used
values here.
✓ Expanded Area (Full) – Set the white highlight area to “Full.” This
will emphasize the white highlights in the photo. The less contrasty
the area, the more white you’ll get. Note that the point in the photo
where you’d want to take out highlights is usually very bright, like in
the sky, a person’s face, or the right side of the photo. But if you
want to emphasize the white highlights in the photo, go with the
wider white area.
✓ Sun Color (Black) – Set the red highlight area to “Black.” This will
emphasize the red highlights in the photo. The less contrasty the area,
the redder you’ll get. The point where you’d want to take out red
highlights is usually very bright, like in the sky, a person’s face, or
the right side of the photo. But if you want to emphasize the red
highlights in the photo, go with the wider red highlight area.
✓ Shadow Color (Black) – Set the grey highlight area to “Black.”
This will emphasize the gray highlights in the photo. The less
contrasty the area, the more gray you’ll get. The point where you’d
want to take out gray highlights is usually very bright, like in the sky,
a person’s face, or the right side of the photo. But if you want to
emphasize the gray highlights in the photo, go with the wider gray
highlight area.
✓ Under Exposure (Lighten) – Set the lightness slider to “Lighten”.
This will lighten the shadows in the photo. The less contrast the area,
the more light you’ll get. The point where you’d want to take out
shadows is usually very bright, like in the sky, a person’s face, or the
right side of the photo. But if you want to emphasize the shadows in
the photo, go with the darker under-exposed area.
Most of the settings here can be found by clicking on “In/Out” or “See All.”
You’ll find them under the Effects tab of the Develop module.
Also, to reduce the size of your thumbnail photos, be sure to switch to “Full
Screen” by going to “File → Full Screen.” This will also enable Slideshow.
So if you want to see the photos on full screen, they have to be part of your
photo library.

Using Creative Profiles

There are a few things to note about the Creative Profiles feature in
Lightroom Classic CC. First, it’s still available in Lightroom CC and Adobe
Camera RAW. Second, you can even modify the profile before it is applied to
an image in the Capture Assistant. And lastly, Adobe has said it will be
adding the Creative Profiles feature to the Lightroom mobile app, even
though the Creative Profiles feature in Lightroom Classic is an adjustment
brush.
When an adjustment brush is applied to an image, the control points to adjust
an effect are set with the same control points to the control point of the
adjustment brush. When the feature is activated, it will use the control points
you’ve set to the adjustment brush.
For example, I’ve found that when I was in the adjustment brush panel, I may
not have applied all the settings to an effect. When I want to do this, I would
adjust a few things with the control points. When I finished editing the image,
I would check the adjustment brush panel to see if it was complete and then I
applied the effect to the output file. This allowed me to edit an image without
worrying about changing the brush as I was editing an image.
That’s the easy answer to a complex question. This feature can take time to
get used to and understanding how the tool works. I prefer the Color Lookup
Tables (CLTs) in Lightroom CC for basic editing, where all of the
adjustments are applied with the same control points to the same point on the
mask of the image. But when it comes to color correction and sharpening, the
adjustment brush is helpful. It’s also useful for getting rid of areas of the
image where you don’t want a gray tone to appear.

Installing Creative Profiles

You can easily install the profiles to the Lightroom CC desktop interface with
the following steps:
Open Lightroom. Click the Main Menu at the bottom right corner. Click
Develop. Click the Profiles tab. Click the Create New button. Select two
profile tabs on the right. Name the first Profile Name, and select the second
one. Click Apply, then OK to save the profiles.

Calibrating RAW Files

Getting the most from your photos is always about more than just your
camera settings. There’s something else that helps to make a photo look
great: how the camera’s RAW files look in your photo editing software of
choice.
Lightroom Classic has long supported custom profiles, which let you control
your camera settings (like exposure, contrast, and ISO) and get the photos
you want for whatever settings you might be shooting in. For example, if you
know you need to shoot in aperture priority, you can make those settings
available in Lightroom’s Profile Menu, and then have the camera pick them
up automatically.
Now, thanks to a recent update, you can set Lightroom to have its custom
profiles.

The solution is to create your profiles.

The profile for a camera is stored in a file called the DNG (digital negative)
file. For profile creation, the RAW files that Lightroom generates from your
camera needs to be edited.
This is a good time to point out that the DNG file isn’t the file your camera is
saving to your memory card; it’s a different file.

In Lightroom, go to File>Import>DNG. Select the DNG file and click Open.

If you’re shooting JPEGs, you’ll need to go back to the Photo>Compose tab

to add a more direct DNG file location. I suggest setting this to the “Core”
location so that you can quickly and easily import the file on any other
camera that you might use with Lightroom.

The entire process takes about 30 seconds, and now your images will all have
a profile (a Custom Layer, if you will) for your camera’s specific setting
(such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO, or white balance). The “Browse” icon
under the File menu is a quick way to find your custom profiles, or you can
use the “Create New” button.

There are two approaches to create your custom profiles. The first is to use
the Lightroom Custom Layers feature. You can find it in the File menu in the
Lightroom Classic interface.

The first thing you’ll want to do is select your camera and then go to the
Custom Layers tab.

Select a preset to apply to your images, and then use the Custom Layers
option on the left side of the screen to add a new layer. This is where you’ll
create a profile for the camera.

Using the built-in camera profile will let your images automatically pick the
camera profile. To check, click the Profile checkbox, and then click the
Camera Capture setting.

If you don’t want to use a custom profile, you can also edit the DNG file. To
do that, go to File>Import>DNG. Select the DNG file, and click the three
vertical dots next to the Custom Layers dropdown.

Select the “Copy DNG Data” option, which will add metadata about your
DNG file to the files Lightroom imports from your camera.

Another option is to find a camera profile and save it on the Memory Card.
That way, when you make images from your camera and import them into
Lightroom, the camera will automatically apply your favorite camera profile.
You can find profiles for all camera models on the FSU Tab in Lightroom’s
Settings.

One more suggestion: you can even go to another computer and create a
profile for another camera (say, your phone or tablet) and import it into
Lightroom on another computer.

In all, Lightroom’s new customization capability works great, and we’ve

found it to be the easiest and quickest way to set up a custom profile.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN
Syncing Edits In Lightroom Classic
Even though there are tools like Lightroom Server which allow you to use
cloud-based syncing with your Lightroom account, Lightroom CC, and
Lightroom Classic CC accounts that can sync edits, there is another option
which is the Lightroom Sync software. With Lightroom Sync, you can
synchronize edits between devices and you can edit multiple images at the
same time.
First, you have to sign up for a Lightroom Sync account.
After you register, you can download the actual program. Go to Tools > Sync
Settings > Select your wireless network, and you should see the number for
your synced machine, and then click the check button.
From there you can then pick which images you want to synchronize. You
can sync the edits in batches, so for example, you can choose 1 batch, and
then all the other images will automatically be updated every 10 minutes.
The second button, which is the only one that doesn’t have a photo to indicate
it is a batch option, can be used to update the initial edits after the batch. To
go back, you have to click the batch arrow button.

Syncing Photos
One of the paramount attributes of Lightroom is that it can sync your photos
between the web and mobile applications. This is handy when you want to
update a particular photo that you wanted to create a new Lightroom CC post,
or when you’ve created a bunch of editing presets.
One potential challenge with syncing Lightroom to your mobile device is that
the sync only takes place with full photos – not edits. So, if you were to make
a batch of photos from Lightroom CC and sync those, that batch would be
saved without any edits. If, however, you made a batch of photos from
Lightroom CC and then applied a different filter, you’d be able to make that
change in the mobile application.
Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to sync Lightroom photos to your mobile
devices and edit them on your iPad or iPhone.
First, you’ll need to download the Lightroom CC library.
You can access it via your Lightroom CC app.

After the link downloads, you’ll be prompted to allow the program to sync
with your computer and then log in to your Lightroom account.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll be able to see your Lightroom library – it’ll be
located in the Assets menu on your Library > Web tabs.

Launch the library from your Lightroom mobile app and then open the
Lightroom browser tab, and browse for your photos.

If you don’t see your library, go ahead and delete it, as this is an automatic
process. However, if you’ve already created the library, then you’ll need to
go ahead and search for your photos. Simply select any photos that you want
to move over to your iPhone or iPad and then select Copy.

You’ll be prompted to download a file from your computer to your phone.

To download a copy of the library file for your Phone, open the Finder and
navigate to the folder where the photos are stored.

Then, in the Finder window on the right-hand side, navigate to the target
folder – in my case, it’s “Users & Groups – Desktop”.

Finally, on the target folder, right-click on the Lightroom library and then
select “Open command window here.”

Launch the Lightroom app on your iPhone or iPad and then select the Photos
menu. Then select “Photo Library” and click the Plus icon to get the Library
syncing feature up and running.

The photo library will download the photos and then you’ll be able to move
the photos over to your device.

Once you have photos on your iPad, launch the iOS version of Lightroom
and then select the Photos menu. From there, you can see any photos that you
have synced with your phone from the web.

That’s it! If you just want to edit the photos you’ve synced and make
adjustments to them on your iPad or iPhone, then that’s easy to do.

Things To Avoid Syncing

Here are the things you absolutely should not sync into Lightroom Classic.
Keep scrolling if you want to understand what is wrong with these three
things.
✓ You Can’t Sync Color Lookup Table Locations to Camera
Metadata
I find color lookup tables to be useful tools when editing your photos. They
show you the exact color settings applied to your raw files, giving you a
better understanding of what’s going on. You can always find what you’re
looking for in Lightroom Classic. But three things will stop you from ever
finding them.

First, some color lookup tables (not every camera’s color lookup table) are
exported as metadata on the image file. If you want to search your images,
you will need to search Lightroom Classic metadata for that specific color
lookup table. As you can imagine, searching that metadata for every color
lookup table will take a long time. You should avoid this.

Second, many cameras create their color lookup tables. Without a color
profile, how are you going to find them? You will need to use your camera’s
native format to find them. This usually means you’ll have to use your
camera’s color management menus.

Third, some cameras produce multiple colors on the camera. If you don’t
have any local copies of the cameras’ color lookup tables, you will have to
use the information from Lightroom’s color profile. Using both the camera’s
metadata and your color profile is usually a more reliable way to search your
files. If you want to save a ton of time, grab a color profile before importing
your files to Lightroom.

✓ Sync Major File Attributes Only

This is a weird one because technically all of the image attributes should be
synced. This includes location information, file format, image parameters
(temperature, exposure, luminance, color profile, aperture, and focus), and
meta information such as file name, file size, and file date and time.
However, most photographers don’t want to sync every single thing about
their images. Especially for some color tables. For example, a lot of
photography blogs I like to read recommend you don’t sync the names of the
color lookup tables, or the files they create.

I find this particularly useful because if you were ever to need to sync your
images to a server, you would want to pick the images based on their file
names, not the color lookup tables. A lot of photographers like to name their
color lookup tables “color tables”. If you had one called “colortable-
narm00.cw”, and another one called “colortable-c00.cw” I wouldn’t want you
to sync the first one, because it’s meaningless. And you won’t want to sync
the second one, because you’ll end up with files with names like “colortable-
ce.cw,” “colortable-f00.cw”, and “colortable-f00.narm00.cw.”

Syncing over CIF files is also not advisable. If you sync over CIF files, you’ll
have no idea if the server can read your files. That means you’ll lose some of
your precious backups. The best thing to do is to sync over JPEG images and
choose the files on your computer to be synced.

If you sync your images to Lightroom from third-party cloud storage, you can
choose to sync the metadata only.
 CHAPTER TWELVE

Making Use Of Color Grading

It is a little controversial to say that not everyone is a colorist. There are many
reasons why not everyone can do color grading. Some have no idea what they
are doing. The main reasons are:

You have no idea what you are doing, to begin with

You have no equipment that is up to the task of doing color

grading

You don’t have access to the right software

You don’t know anything about color theory

And so on.
You will be able to see color grading in Lightroom, even if you have no
experience. This will be a matter of how you set the “look and feel” of the
image to begin with. You will need to set a color palette in Lightroom. This
will be what your LR presets will be based on. Some people will have similar
palettes to others, but you can never have too many because you will be
altering colors often. For instance, you can adjust a blue, green, or yellow
color to change the look of a red apple. The color of the sun or moon can
change the color of the sky. If you want warm color, you could make the sky
more yellow. If you want a cool color, you could make it bluer. By the way,
just about every black and white picture can be manipulated to make it appear
more “colorful” or “trendy”.

If you don’t know what colors you want your images to appear like, there are
many tools that you can use in Lightroom to “see” what colors you want to
have. Here are a few of the color settings that we have found to work in
Lightroom. Note that these are simple tweaks. You won’t be able to make
subtle color adjustments with these settings unless you have an expert eye for
color.

Grayscale – This option makes a monochromatic image

monochromatic (or just grayscale). You can control the color
saturation of a picture.

Vibrance – This option makes a picture more saturated than it

would have been otherwise. You can control the color saturation
by increasing the saturation of the red, green, and blue channels
of a picture.

Hue/Saturation – This option makes a picture more saturated

than it would have been otherwise. You can control the color
saturation by decreasing the saturation of the red, green, and blue
channels of a picture.

The red channel is important in most cases because it is the most responsive
to adjustments. A little bit of over saturation in the red channel makes your
image look very cartoonish. A little bit of undersaturation will make your
image appear washed out. When you want to emphasize a specific color, you
want to lower the saturation of that color. The color you want to emphasize
will be slightly more vibrant than it would have been had it not been bumped
up a little. We always try to make the most important color, such as the red
color, the most vibrant. By decreasing the saturation on the other colors, we
make them look less vibrant.
If you want to make the sky appear bluer, you can make the saturation of the
blue channel even less than it would have been. When it comes to high
dynamic range, this is the only option that matters.
Make sure you check this box or adjust the RGB channels to increase or
decrease the intensity of the red, green, and blue channels, respectively.
Don’t choose RGB channels randomly because they are not predictable. If
you do that, you may need to calibrate the color filters in your camera, which
is very time-consuming.

Distortion
Make sure you check this box or adjust the RGB channels to increase or
decrease the angle distortion of your photo. Don’t just choose RGB channels
randomly because they are not predictable. If you do that, you may need to
calibrate the color filters in your camera, which is very time-consuming.

Grading Panel
Lightroom has introduced great new tools for helping us create more subtle
color grading effects. While in a full-screen view, look at the newly
implemented Color Grading Panel. Click the “Color” dropdown for a color
gradient tool and effect mode. Right-click the gradient to get even more
customization options.
➢ Basic Gradient Editor
Now when you click the gradient tool, it automatically colors the result based
on your pre-defined choices. To modify the look, just click and drag the box
around. To end the gradient edit, simply click and drag the “on” button.

➢ Crop to Gradient with Power

The Power Crop tool has also been expanded with more options for this
technique. Select one of the “From Gradient” options to create a copy of the
gradient as a new layer above your layers stack. Then save it as a New Layer
Text File.

➢ Keep Color Rolling

You can keep color rolling (which adds color detail to areas in the depth of
field), by using a keyframe menu in the Color Grading panel. Just right-click
on your gradient, and select “Copy”. Right-click again and select “Copy
Layers to New Layers” to add a new layer above your current layer stack, and
use that as your new gradient “data” layer. Right-click again and select
“Copy Layer to New Layer with Audio” to add a new layer above your
current layer stack, and use that as your new layer with audio.
Remember to enable the “Copy as New Layer with Audio” option when
editing a new layer with audio. Once that’s set up, you can open your new
layer with the “Copy” option again, and then either adjust the color in the
Inspector to your liking or save it to the clipboard. You can then select that
layer, and paste it into a new document as a PNG file.

Photo Editing With Color Grading

In the main menu, click the gear-shaped “Tools” button and then click “Edit”
in the list that pops up at the top. If you’re on a Mac or a PC, you’ll probably
have to click “Preferences” and then “Advanced.”

From there, you’ll click on “Color Grading.” You can save your selection or
click “Open File” if you’d like to take a look at what you’re editing.
Lightroom allows you to adjust many aspects of the image, including
saturation, contrast, clarity, sharpening, and more.

Now that you’ve opened the file, it’s time to edit it. The first thing you’ll
want to do is change the curves to the appropriate hue and saturation values
since you’ll be grading the image later on.

Use your keyboard to make the adjustments.

➢ CTRL + C : Increase saturation

➢ Increase saturation CTRL + C : Decrease saturation

➢ Decrease saturation CTRL + C : Increase saturation

➢ Increase saturation CTRL + Shift + C : Decrease saturation

➢ Decrease saturation CTRL + L : Neutralize tones

 ➢ Neutralize tones CTRL + V : Increase clarity

➢ Increase clarity CTRL + Shift + V : Decrease clarity

➢ Decrease clarity CTRL + Shift + M : Increase contrast

Once you’ve finished your adjustments, you’re to click “OK” in the top-right
corner.

Look At The Preview

To finish your edits, click on the “Look At” tab at the screen’s downward
part. You’ll be able to see your adjustments right in the preview; it is
noticeable on how they’re working out before committing to them. Click on
“Preview,” then “Look At” again.

Once the previews are finished, select your images. The “Select” tab is the
right place to do it. Click the “Select” button, and select the images you want
to edit.

There are four panes that you can move around, and you can adjust each one
in the appropriate way using the arrows. Some options require you to zoom in
and out, while others have options to increase or decrease the quality of the
image.

Since I’m using the desktop version of Lightroom, I’ll be using the
Adjustment Brush section of the workspace, but if you’re using the mobile
version of the software, you’ll want to go to the “Brush” section instead.
You’ll use this area to edit the colors of your image by changing the hue and
saturation sliders.

Again, you’ll find this area in the “Brush” workspace, and the two sliders
you’re most likely to mess with are shown below.

Once you’ve made the necessary adjustments, click on “Save,” then “Export”
at the top right of the Lightroom window. If you’re using the desktop version,
Lightroom will save the edits as a 50MP JPG. The mobile version, however,
will save them as a 24MP JPEG, which is fine for most people.

Lightroom will also save the file as a DNG, or Digital Negative, which is
what you’ll be taking to another program, like Photoshop or Photoshop
Elements. The good news is that Lightroom handles the photo formatting and
converting of JPGs, so you won’t have to worry about changing the JPEG to
DNG format, as long as you have a program to convert it into the latter.

When you save the file, Lightroom will also apply a watermark to the file
with the name of the software. You’ll want to turn that off if you’re going to
export to a different program.

Now, when you open up Photoshop, you’ll notice that Lightroom adds a
watermark on top of your edited photos, as seen in the above image. The
watermark can be removed with the “Edit” button on the right, and it’s an
entirely optional watermark, so you don’t have to add it if you don’t want to.
 CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Using External Editors

It’s not hard to export photos from Adobe Photoshop, either for printing or
sharing on the web. Both Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC and
Photoshop CC can export to various storage media, including to most popular
file types. Here are a few steps you can take to start exporting your photos as
well as the best places to find an external editor that you can use to make
more edits and improvements to your photos.
➢ Create a New Photo Album
I’ve been using Lightroom for years and have accumulated a few albums.
They’re not always set up correctly, but I always have a few photo-related
albums that I export from Lightroom for backup and also to share photos with
others. The largest of these is a photo album called “Living Lightroom
Collections.” The most recent album was created on the fly after I made a
few copies of the files and then shared them with others. This photo album
only has 14 albums in it right now.

Adding or removing albums from this list is easy. Go to Preferences >

Albums in Lightroom, click Add, and choose the names of the photo albums
that you want to include in the list.

➢ Editing Your Exported Photos

There are a couple of good places to edit your exported photos. In Lightroom,
you can click the Albums icon (it looks like a calendar) in the bottom left
corner of the Library module. Then you can click Browse to select the
albums that you created in your list above.
Click the Adjust button on the left side of the window and then click one of
the editable controls to make changes. It’s as easy as that.

There are some things that you’ll want to keep in mind when editing your
photos in Lightroom. When you edit your photos in Lightroom, they will not
be saved as new files. Instead, Lightroom will open the current album that it
contains, apply the changes that you make, and close the current album.
The other thing to keep in mind is that Lightroom will export photos at
whatever size you exported them at. So you may want to reduce or decrease
the image size to your liking. I’m never really happy with the original size,
though, so I always go ahead and click the ‘Advance’ button on the bottom
right of the Lightroom interface. This releases a new pane that will allow you
to change the size and crop of the photo in Lightroom.

Create A Photo Book With Ease

For many of us, creating a photo book is the next step after taking a large
number of pictures, figuring out which ones are worth keeping, and then
ordering prints. Photobook creation can be very rewarding and can make a
real impact on the experience of your images.
Here is how to create a photobook in Lightroom:

Step 1: Creating a New Project

In the Library module, go to the New Module menu and select Book Module.
This will create a new book module that will appear in the module tree under
the Layers module. This new module is more extensive than the Default
Book module.

Step 2: Setting up a Book Project

Go to the Project menu and go to the New -> Book tab.

You will see the following buttons:

Get started: To start a new photo book project

Project: Set up a new project

Book: Create a book

Choosing a Book project is what defines the life of your photobook. In other
words, your project can be anything you like to call your photobook (ex: My
Photo Album).

If you’re happy with Lightroom as a photo organizer, there is no reason to

create a photobook, just keep your library.

For most of us, it is quite difficult to work in the mess that Lightroom brings.
It is far easier to create a photobook in Photoshop or even in Kodak Portra
DSLR Camera and upload it to your web server.

Step 3: Set up the Page Layout

By default, Lightroom creates a photobook page layout. For example, it

creates a width x height 3-column layout and covers the entire body of your
photo book in a background color.
When you make a change in this panel, you will see how your changes affect
the size of your photobook in the “Layout” panel.

Go to the View menu, then the Adjustments menu, and then the Project Tab.

The size of your photobook is a decision you can make only at the layout
stage. By default, Lightroom is generating a book layout with a 7-column
width x height.

You can change this width and height in the Pane Previews panel.

Next, select your book project in the Project panel and go to the Pane
Previews panel.

Here, you will see three panes of the book layout:

The pane that is currently selected will give you the information that the book
project is currently set to 7-column height x width.

The other two panes are displayed in portrait orientation. Click on the left
pane to see the panels that were used for generating the book layout.

There are several things to pay attention to here.

Step 4: Set the Page Layout to Mirror

We recommend using a multiple offset page layout for mirroring the pages.

Go to the Project tab and select Mirror. Your current book layout will be
available for you to choose from. Select the book layout and a dropdown will
appear.

Select the first option and hit Set.

This will save the multiple offset page layout for you in the project’s Pane
Previews panel.

Step 5: Manage Borders

Next, go to the Pane Previews panel and select all the layers that you want to
use for your book.

This will create a stack of layers that will be used for the photobook.

Under the right side, you will observe a sidebar with several options, such as
Top, Bottom, and Center.

Drag and drop the layers to create a vertical and horizontal border of the
book.

The first layer that you drag and drop will be used to create the vertical
border of the book.

Drag and drop a second layer to create the horizontal border of the book.

Step 6: Basic Project Setup

We can now start creating the basic structure of our photobook by selecting
the Next option.

At the bottom of the View menu, you will find a project setup section. The
number of pages in your book depends on the dimensions of the pages.

You can set up the page numbers and add space between them.

For example, if you plan to create a 100-page book, you would make a
resolution of 400 pixels per inch on your images.

This resolution is what you will use to display your book in the Book Layout
panel.

For example, if your 4.4″ x 5.3″ inch photos are 200 pixels in width, then you
would need to make 200 pixels in each direction to make a 4.4″ x 5.3″ inch
book.

Add some space between the pages in a single row to make a book with 500
pages.

Step 7: Placement of Pages

Create a naming convention for your pages and add them to the text fields.
Note that different photographers have different naming conventions for their
book titles. Some prefer to number the pages in the order in which they were
taken, while others use a method that they prefer.

Different photobooks have different page numbering systems, and we suggest

you follow whatever pattern you prefer.

To add pages to the text fields, go to the Text panel and then click on New
Page. The pages for your book will appear in the text fields.

Add some text to the book pages, and assign a title for the book.

To create a table of contents for your book, select the Title panel and click on
New Table of Contents.

The title of your table of contents will be the first line in the text fields.
You can assign a color to the number of pages, as well as the title of the table
of contents, which will emerge in the text fields.
Note that each table of contents starts with the page number “1.”

Step 8: Load Your Images

Now, we can add the images to the page layout.

To do so, go to the Project panel, and click on Load image.

Next, click on each image in your directory.
A dialog box will appear with a picture that represents the files that you wish
to load.

Select the file that you want to load, and click on Reload to load the image.

This will load your image into the appropriate pager.

Select the images you want to place in the book, and click on Add.
A dialog box will appear with a picture that represents the images you want
to place in the book.

Select the image, and click on Add to load it in the right pager.

The right pager will appear with your image in it.

Now, add the text and then click on Save.
The entire process of adding the image to the right pager, adding the text, and
saving can be done in less than a minute.
Now that you have created a photo book, you are all set to upload it online
and make money.

Create Slideshows With Ease

The best thing about Lightroom is that you can finally have a tool that does
your entire image editing needs.
Editing photos in Lightroom can be a powerful experience, but if you don’t
want to mess around with a ton of post-processing filters or messing with raw
files, or changing settings on your camera, it can also be daunting.

Thankfully, Lightroom is here to rescue you. In a nutshell, you can create a

slideshow of any images you’ve created using Lightroom. That’s right, the
powerful photo editor that many photographers rely on can now help you
create gorgeous photo slideshows on the go, right on your phone or
computer.
Here’s how to do it:

1. Open your current project that you want to share

2. In the top-right corner, click the Share button.

3. Choose which galleries you want to share with — it can be Facebook,

Instagram, VSCO, Flickr, Tumblr, or whatever you like — and the one you
want to send it to.

4. Type in the title of the slideshow or caption of the slideshows, if you so

wish.

5. Click the Create slideshow button.

6. If you have a CC License for Lightroom CC, you’ll have to link it to a

public Facebook page, if you want to share it on social media. Go to Edit >
Shared on Facebook.

7. From the camera roll, click the Share button and choose who you want to
send it to. From there, paste in the email address, and all of your connected
social accounts.

8. You can also click Save Slideshow to have the slideshow created
automatically.

9. The slideshow will display on the top-right corner of your display. Click
on it to play it, or drag it to another spot on your screen.

Exporting Your Projects

Let’s move on to exporting photos from Lightroom as an image or JPEG.
That’s one of the tasks photographers have to do and it usually takes a while.

➢ Convert Photos Into Image Format

Step 1

In Lightroom, select “File” -> “Export.”

Step 2

Click “OK” to close the dialog box.

Step 3

Now you should have an Export To image file dialog box. From here, select
JPEG, JPG, or PNG.
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Printing Your Photos
Lightroom users know the pain of the conversion process that is so
commonplace on the web. No matter if you’re doing Lightroom, Camera
RAW, or the standard Camera RAW plugin, Lightroom only accepts JPEG
files into its ecosystem. The conversion is usually done for storage reasons,
but even more often is the pain of printing and mail-out. Lightroom can help
alleviate some of this pain, however, by providing you with a quick way to
share photos with friends or print online.
A fairly simple process involves the import of a photo into Lightroom, then
uploading it to the target printer. Users can choose to select the web-based on
some criteria, such as distance to the camera. For example, a picture of you
walking to work could be a direct transfer to a personal printing site, while
the photo of your kid at a local park may need to be sent via snail mail.

The process is rather quick and painless. If you’re on Windows 7, 8, or 10,

follow these steps:

Open up Lightroom. Click File > Print.

Select Lightroom Basic and you should see a nice, clean, simple setting.
Right-click anywhere inside the interface, and choose Open > Media >
Open Library as Library Card.
This will allow you to import a photo directly into Lightroom, and allow it to
be printed as an online photo. You’ll find the same option in the Print dialog
box, but for faster access, right-click the paper size box and choose Open
Library as Library Card. That’s it.
You should now have a link to print a specific photo directly from
Lightroom. The link can be emailed, sent to a friend, or printed in many other
ways. It’s easy.
Web Gallery Creation
HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is a technical language used for
creating websites. It is used for building dynamic pages and including
images, JavaScript, CSS, and other files. It allows Web pages to change their
look and feel and includes many features such as the ability to store and
retrieve data. The same code can be placed on a website at many different
places and used in different ways.
The web gallery approach works great with Lightroom.
You can create an HTML web gallery by uploading your photos, configuring
them, and then inserting the gallery on a webpage. As a viewer, you will be
able to navigate through the gallery like a normal web page, and you will see
individual photos appear in an iFrame (or inline frames), which are located
on the right side of the webpage. The photos will then open as you scroll
through the gallery.
All you need to do is follow these steps and the rest should be easy.

1. Upload Your Photos

Upload your photos to the Lightroom Catalog. Depending on how many
photos you are going to use for your web gallery, you can take advantage of
the Lightroom Catalogs.

You can use the Browse Catalogs feature to quickly choose a catalog from
which to upload your photos. The Browse Catalogs feature is enabled by
default and does not require you to change anything.

You can also upload your photos from the main Catalog window. Simply go
to File > Catalog Settings and you can select the Catalog you want to upload
your photos from.

When you click the Upload New Catalog button, it will open a window with
the main catalog, and the photos are listed there. You can then pick the
photographs you desire to upload.

When you are satisfied, click OK to open the upload window again.

You can also upload your photos to a single Lightroom Catalog:

Click on the Catalogs menu button, then select the Catalog folder you want to
upload your photos from. It is recommended to create multiple Catalogs for
the web gallery, so you can create more individual galleries.

2. Add A Web Page To Lightroom

Next, we will add a Web Page to our web gallery. To do that, open the
Catalog and select Web Pages in the dialog box. Click New Web Page, and
then select your web page from the menu.

Lightroom displays an HTML gallery template that you can customize. The
web gallery template is based on a grid of images, so choose the one that you
want to use. The templates are by default all in landscape orientation. To
select a different orientation, right-click on the template and select Layout
(portrait), Layout (landscape), or custom orientation.

Click OK to finish the process.

You can add many individual elements to the web gallery:

You can also add a slideshow to your web gallery. If you add a slideshow, the
web gallery will automatically download the slideshows to your computer
(on Windows) or upload them to Google Drive (on macOS).

3. Set Up The Gallery Layout

Next, we will set up the layout of our gallery. In the Catalog, select Layouts
then set up a web gallery by selecting Layout, then Set Up Layout.

The Layout dialog box has several options. To change the layout, select
Layout, and click Edit > Change Layout.

To change the height and width of the gallery, select Layout, then Set Up
Layout, and then select Format Width, Height, and Height (or Change Width,
Height, and Height).

Once you have chosen the layout, click OK to save the new layout.

4. Add A Photo Caption

The caption button is right next to the caption box in the Layout dialog box.
This is the only button you need to press, but be careful when pressing it.

It will automatically select the best caption for each photo based on its
similarity. However, if you need to change the caption, you need to repeat the
process from Step 3, using the same photo.

5. Add All Your Images

This is the last step: Add all your photos to your gallery. After you click Add
All, Lightroom displays all the photos. Click OK to save the changes.
Your web gallery is now ready to go!

Now that you have created your web gallery, you can share it with other
users, view it, and share it.

Saving Your Images For Web

To make the process easier, here are five steps you can follow to prepare your
images for posting to the web:
1. Change Your Default Image Format
If you have a lot of photos on your computer, changing the format of your
default image file can make the process of uploading a lot quicker. The most
common format of an image file that you can create in Photoshop,
Lightroom, and Capture One is called JPG, which is commonly used to post
images online.

You can save space on your computer by changing the file format of your
image file from JPG to PNG, and often the PNG format will require less
storage space on your computer, at least initially.
You can change your image file format in the Develop Module by right-
clicking your image and selecting “Image Format.” From there, click “Select
New” and you can select the new format you want.

Once you have selected the new format, you can then drag it over to your
document window and drop it in your document. The benefit of dropping the
image in this way is that you can easily open and edit the image in the photo
editing program of your choice.
Once you have created your PNG or JPEG image file, you can upload it to
the web.

2. Upload

Instagram and Flickr both offer image hosting. Both sites offer free and paid
options, with the free option being more likely to attract users.
Flickr has images in the “PNG” file format, while Photobucket is hosted on
WordPress and supports JPG, PNG, and PNGEx formats.

When you upload your images to one of these sites, you’ll need to click on
the “Upload” button in the upper right corner of your page.

Once you click on the button, your image will begin downloading and then a
new upload form will open on your browser. When you’re done editing your
image, you can click “Submit” in the upload form and your image will be
uploaded to the photo-sharing site.

3. Upload to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Facebook and Twitter both offer to host with their platforms. With Facebook
you’re permitted to upload JPEG and JPG files, while Twitter permits you to
upload both JPEG and GIF files.
Twitter also consent to uploading images in PNG and GIF formats as well as
in PDF format.

You can use Facebook’s upload form to upload all of your images to their
website. Facebook will give you the option to upload up to 10,000 images.

When you’re ready to post your images to Facebook, you can upload the files
you want to post on Facebook to your post library.

4. Upload to Google+ Photos

Google+ has a tool for uploading to Google’s photo-sharing service. When

you’re uploading photos to this service, you’ll be able to upload JPEG, GIF,
PNG, and JPG files. When you’re done uploading, you can post a link back
to your website for your visitors to view the photos.

If you upload to Google+, you will be able to link your Twitter and Facebook
pages from the Google+ pages.

5. Upload to Tumblr

Tumblr also has an image uploading tool, but it isn’t free. You will have to
pay to upload your images to Tumblr.

There are a few different options you can use to upload your images to
Tumblr. If you use WordPress, you can upload your images to your posts by
opening up your “Media Library” in WordPress and uploading your images
there. When you’re done with the upload, you can navigate to the “Post
Albums” link at the top right of your page and select the photos you
uploaded.

However, if you’re using a blogging platform that isn’t WordPress, you’ll

need to find a way to upload your images to your blog.

To upload images to your Tumblr blog, you’ll need to use the site’s uploads
tool. Once you find the “Upload” link, you can upload your images from
there.

Saving Your Projects

If you wish to save your edited photos in Lightroom Classic, you can either
import them into Photoshop CC’s Develop Module and then save them as
Lightroom Classic, or you can manually create an alias to import those exact
settings you wish to save as.

Step 1: Go to Photoshop Lightroom window.

Step 2: Click in the Lightroom CC panel, “In [your option], select [select
option]…”

Step 3: Press [TAB] to change your selection to “Import as (Manual)”, where

“Import as (Manual)” is the option that you want to use.

Step 4: Next, click in the Lightroom CC panel, “Save As [saved version of

Lightroom CC]…” where “Save As” is the option that you want to use.
Step 5: Click on the second icon in the new window.

Step 6: Choose your Lightroom Classic alias as “Save as [Lightroom Classic

alias]…” You can choose whatever alias you would like, but keep in mind
that if you want your edited photos saved in Lightroom Classic, you’ll need
to create an alias first.

Step 7: After you have chosen the alias, click OK.

In the resulting window, click the “Save” button. If you do not see the “Save
As” button in the screenshot, you will need to go back to the Lightroom CC
“Import” panel and select your Lightroom Classic alias as a destination.

To test whether or not your images are saved as Lightroom Classic, click on
the thumbnail of the image that you wish to check. A new image should open
in Lightroom Classic. If you wish to manually update the Lightroom Classic
alias, you can either find the icon in the Lightroom CC interface or go to the
Import panel and select Lightroom Classic in the “Export to (Optional)
Lightroom Classic” section.

Note: If Lightroom CC is utilized, you will still be able to download the

Lightroom Classic version of your images.
 CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Avoid These Mistakes When Working With

Lightroom Classic
Some of the best tools in the photo editing workflow come straight from
Lightroom Classic.
#1: Using the High Pass filter without a High Pass tool in the edit filter panel
If you can apply a powerful Highpass filter with ease, you can also easily cut
it back to size. Put a High Pass tool in the edit filter panel, find the spot you’d
like to cut back to, and choose Color > Convert to Hue/Saturation.

The Hue/Saturation will give you a number, which you can then divide by 1.8
to make it lighter or darker. Simply divide it by 1.8, which should give you
the brightness/contrast you’d like.

The shortcut that I use is Ctrl + F6, which will set the Hue/Saturation to 1.8.

#2: Using the Dynamic Tone Mapping setting without a correct mapping of
values
Another mistake is using the Dynamic Tone Mapping setting without putting
values on the source. Oftentimes, I have a section of the image where I want
to slightly darken the image, but the ability to drag the curve around is really
powerful.

#3: Using the Levels tool without a basic histogram

If you don’t know how to do this right, you’re going to get skewed numbers.
Start with a white area that’s in the middle, and then start reducing the other
areas until the image becomes a lighter gray. With each step, look at the
image on the screen to make sure that your histogram doesn’t show that
you’re going lighter or darker than you’d like.

#4: Not setting the exposure tool correctly

When using an exposure tool, you want to make sure that you’re setting the
exposure with the lens itself as your light source, and not the white balance.
Many times, photographers will start tweaking the white balance using the
exposure tool, and then accidentally shoot with a very dark color temperature.
If you don’t know which setting to use for your lens, use the Lens Correction
tool to adjust the white balance. This will take away the unnatural colors from
the light that’s hitting the lens.
You can also use a histogram to compare the image with the white balance
settings. You can get a ton of information about your white balance settings
from this tool. If you’re not familiar with how to use a histogram, try visiting
the good folks at Photojojo.com. They have some helpful tools that will guide
you through this process.

#5: Using an AI Color Correction tool without a Color Balance tool

Most people know to use the Brightness/Contrast/Saturation tool with the AI
Color Correction tool. The thing that you should probably do is use the Color
Balance tool. This way you don’t have to constantly move the white balance
tool to see if your target looks okay, which can cause some issues in some
circumstances.
If you do choose to use the Brightness/Contrast/Saturation tool with the AI
Color Correction tool, make sure to turn the Clarity option off. The Clarity
option is useful if you don’t want to blur your image. But at this point, you
probably want to keep your image sharp.

#6: Not knowing how to make your adjustments uniform

If you have to merge an image, it makes it much harder to make the

adjustments uniform. This can lead to different areas of the image getting
different light, making it look less professional. You have to use a very light
touch when making your adjustments to make sure that everything looks
consistent.

Troubleshooting Guidelines
Vital troubleshooting tips to solve problems in Lightroom Classic
1. Click on the viewer in the upper right corner of the Lightroom Classic
Tools panel.

2. Click on the Desktop icon.

3. Click on the Help icon in the lower-left corner of the Lightroom panel.

4. Click on the link ‘Learn About Lightroom’

5. Click on the option ‘Review View Options’

6. Click on ‘Disable Static Noise’

7. Click on the Fix a Problem button

8. Re-activate Lightroom.

If this troubleshooting does not resolve the issue, you should be using a third-
party tool for troubleshooting. A lot of the troubleshooting steps are similar to
what can be found on the Oftensell.com website.

Lightroom’s automatic defocusing does not always work

Auto-focused magnification used in Lightroom Classic can cause visual
artifacts and it has the potential to do so when the contrast with surrounding
items is too high.

In Lightroom Classic, if the contrast in an image is too high, it can cause a

phenomenon known as ‘the trailing stare effect’. This is a type of distortion
that causes the subject’s eye to stare in front of the main subject’s head, thus
distorting the person’s face. The cause of this distortion can vary and be due
to several factors, including lens design, the subject wearing glasses, or worn
lens elements. This can be very easily noticed when panning around a subject
during an image editing process and the left side of their face appears to be in
front of their neck.

An image with a tendency for trailing stare may be distorting one or more of
the following ways:

➢ Enlarging the shadows that shadow the face

➢ Eyeshadows that do not completely cover the face

➢ Focusing onto the skin while zooming in and out

The simplest way to discover the cause is to take a set of test images and look
at the results. This is likely a case of too-high contrast within the image,
which is a type of artifact that can be resolved by adjusting the contrast.

If this still does not resolve the issue, try using Lightroom’s automatic
defocusing when previewing the image. If that still does not resolve the issue,
one or more of the following factors may be causing the trailing stare effect,
as detailed above.

This is something of a last resort as if the problem is on a deeper level; your

only option is to contact your manufacturer to fix the problem.

Easy Tricks You Should Try

The simplest and most important things to understand in Lightroom are the
Basic tools of the program, as well as the key differences between presets and
advanced presets. In this section, I’m going to show you nine quick and easy
Lightroom tricks you Should Know.

1. Use the Frame Tool

What is the Frame tool? We’ll let you know! The Frame tool can be found at
the bottom toolbar. You can apply it to photos that are static or dynamic in
some way. When you select the Frame tool, it goes to the left (from the
bottom toolbar) and uses the currently selected layer as a frame. Once you
have clicked the area you want to keep as a frame, simply drag it to wherever
you want in the layer.

2. Using the Zoom Tool

Use the Zoom Tool to zoom in on the image. You can set it as a delay or rate
control.

3. Use Selective Black And White

Use the Selective Black and White tool to apply a black and white effect to
one or more sections in the image. After clicking on a black and white filter
or effect, use the square box to mark areas you want to black-and-white. You
can click and drag the square box to the desired areas.

4. Use the Filter Brush Tool

Use the Filter Brush Tool to adjust the Exposure, Shadows, Highlights, and
Highlight Tone, or select one of the other options.
5. Use the Color Picker Tool
Use the Color Picker tool to choose the color of the hues in the image.

6. Use the Luminance Picker Tool

Use the Luminance Picker Tool to increase or decrease the light sources in
the image.

7. Use Color Balance

Use the Color Balance Tool to fine-tune the color of the image to make it
more vibrant, or darker, depending on the scene.

8. Use the Hue/Saturation Tools

Use the Hue/Saturation tools to bring out a strong contrast or saturation of an
image.

9. Add Humidity
To make sure your photos look like they were taken in real life, you’ll want
to add a nice amount of humidity to the scene. Just open the file in the
Develop module and go to Edit > Adjustment Layer > Add. You can select
the amount of humidity, or click on the green arrow above the slider to
increase humidity, or the red arrow to decrease humidity.
Note: in Lightroom, when you edit photos you want them to be compressed.
Therefore, don’t increase the size of a compressed photo. Otherwise,
Lightroom will convert the file to a much larger size.
 CONCLUSION
Nowadays, most people are familiar with Adobe’s Premiere Pro and
Photoshop. That means they are familiar with Lightroom, too, but perhaps
not as often as they use those other programs. If you like using it as your
primary editing software, there is no reason to stop. With the release of
Lightroom CC, Lightroom is evolving to become not only more friendly to
professional photographers but also a great tool for all photographers.
Lightroom can be used for any type of editing. Whether you are editing raw
photos and images, creating multiple JPGs from a single image, or doing
advanced retouching, Lightroom has the features and functionality to fit your
needs. If you are an old-school Photoshop and you are looking for a modern
alternative, Lightroom classic could be the best bet for you.
In this book, we have discussed why Lightroom is one of the best options for
your photographic needs, accessing and understanding the Lightroom
interface and steps to effortlessly edit photos as a beginner to pro.
All photographers have to start somewhere. For many people, that starting
point is an entry-level Photoshop program. Lightroom comes with Photoshop
CC and is often found as a separate application. If you have used Photoshop
before, you know that it has many features, tools, and layers that are
exclusive to Photoshop. What if you want to use the same tools as Photoshop
but edit images differently than a full-blown editing program? That’s where
this guidebook on utilizing Lightroom comes into play.