When you first use the app, you’ll notice a lot of tools that you might not know much about initially. However, knowing what they do is crucial for reducing the learning curve as much as possible.
This article will identify 12 terms you should familiarize yourself with when using Lightroom for the first time.
1. Clarity
Clarity is one of the first tools new photo editors use—and it’s not uncommon to see beginner edits overuse the feature. The tool primarily affects the mid-tones, increasing how clear the images look. You will find it particularly useful when photographing buildings (here’s how to avoid common mistakes when photographing architecture).
If you move the Clarity slider to the right, you’ll add more of it to those parts of the image. On the flip side, pushing it further to the left will flatten more of your mid-tones’ textures.
2. Texture
Texture is another crucial Lightroom tool, and you will use it when trying to enhance specific areas of your photo. Adding textures to your photos is a good idea if you photograph materials like blankets and sweaters. Similarly, you might want to use it to make wood and fur look clearer.
You must be careful when using the Texture slider; too much will make your image look unrealistic. Try to increase or decrease in increments of 5-10 until you find your desired result.
3. Exposure
You can adjust exposure in your camera, and getting your picture right in a technical sense before uploading it to Lightroom is a good idea. However, the outcome you get from your camera isn’t always optimal when you upload it and begin editing.
When using the Exposure slider in Lightroom, you’ll add more light to your image when moving it to the right. And when sliding to the left, you’ll do the opposite. Overexposure isn’t always bad; there are actually some creative ways to use overexposure.
4. Dehaze
Dehaze is an incredibly useful tool for making your photos clearer. Shifting the slider to the right will remove unwanted mist, smoke, and haze. As a result, you’ll bring out the other parts of your image.
You can also use the Dehaze slider to add haze to your picture if you move it to the left. Doing so is particularly useful when capturing foggy landscapes and making moody shots on a misty morning. And if you’re trying to showcase a warm summer’s day, you might also want to move it to the left.
5. Tone Curve
The Tone Curve tool is a lot of fun to play with. Using it will increase or decrease the light in specific parts of your pictures, giving you more control over how your photos look and feel.
If you’re new to the Tone Curve tool, spend a little time in Lightroom tweaking different parts of the picture. You can add additional points to avoid overdoing your edits; deleting them is also straightforward.
6. Color Wheel
Once you’ve gotten used to making basic color adjustments, you might want to double down on honing your photography style. Color grading is one of the most powerful tools for doing this, and you will find four separate color wheels in Lightroom.
Lightroom’s three main color wheels cover the mid-tones, shadows, and highlights. When you move the circle in the middle, you’ll add more of that particular color to your photo. For example, you might want to add orange or yellow for golden hour shots.
You also have a universal color wheel, which affects the entire picture. Besides adjusting hue and saturation, you can also add or remove luminance.
7. Lens Correction
When you upload your photo to Lightroom, you might notice a couple of subtle issues. For example, the picture might look a little distorted. Fortunately, fixing this is easy; Lightroom has a one-click option for correcting problems caused by your lens.
Once you’ve enabled lens corrections, you can choose from various options for your camera manufacturer. If your specific lens doesn’t show up, you can always pick another correction profile that does a similar job.
8. Noise Reduction
Unless you’re specifically going for a grainy look, having a picture with excessive grain is pretty annoying. When using Lightroom, you can use the Noise Reduction tool to fix grain issues; you’ll also find alternative options for reducing noise in your colors.
Your image will look smoother when you reduce the noise, and you can control this in more depth when you use the Smoothness slider.
9. Profile
One of the first corrections you’ll make to a RAW file in Lightroom is altering the camera profile. Depending on your camera manufacturer, you’ll see a broad selection of color and black and white profiles.
In addition to your camera-matching profiles, you’ll find a selection of Adobe-created ones. Moreover, you can pick various themes—such as vintage and modern.
10. Healing Brush
Sometimes, you’ll notice a couple of annoying extras on your pictures—such as spots. With Lightroom, you can edit these using the Healing Brush tool.
You can choose how big your healing brush is and have the chance to make it more or less transparent. When clicking on a specific part of your image, Lightroom will attempt to find a matching area.
11. Masking
You’ll probably know about sharpening if you’ve used basic photo editing tools before. And while it can be a very useful tool, you must also remember that it will affect your entire photo when using it. Fortunately, you can control how much of the picture you sharpen.
The Masking slider lets you determine which areas you’d like to sharpen. If you move the slider further to the right, less of your picture will get sharpened. It’s particularly useful for fixing corners and edges on buildings, cars, and other objects.
12. Geometry
Geometry is important if you want to change specific elements in your photo. You can straighten your picture based on straight lines in the image yourself, and you can also add or remove distortion.
In the Geometry section, you can rotate your photo and offset parts of it.
Lightroom Sounds Complex, but Learning How to Use It Is Easy
Adobe Lightroom is an excellent photo editing platform, regardless of how advanced you are. The more you use it, the quicker you learn all its key features. The basic ones are more than enough to get you started.
You can use many of the tools mentioned with JPEG files, but RAW is better for making in-depth edits and adding camera profiles. Many of the features mentioned are available on both Lightroom for desktop and mobile.
