How to Edit Photos in Lightroom

Clicking the shutter is just part of creating a beautiful, final photograph.  The other half is photo editing, also known as post production.  One of the most popular photo editors out there is Adobe Lightroom.  This popular application is available for both desktop and mobile and has powerful photo editing capabilities.

You can modify the simple elements of an image, like the exposure, contrast, color temperature and much more with Lightroom.  You can also do advanced photo edits, like split toning, perspective correction, vignetting, and much more.

The great thing about Lightroom is that there are hundreds of free resources for learning the software.  One of our favorite resources is the Lightroom Workshops Website.  While the site is still new, the content they put on their website is high quality, with easy to follow content.  The website is a great go-to option for all things Lightroom.  For example, if you’re looking for great opinions on the best Lightroom Presets or even just step-by-step processes for renaming images, that is a great resource that you’ll want to bookmark.

One of the best things about Lightroom is that it’s accessible and intuitive for all types of photographers, from amateurs to professionals.  It’s the industry standard for professionals, but almost anyone can use it.  The mobile version comes with a free version that limits some of the features and a paid (full version).  I would recommend starting with the free version and then graduating to the paid version of Lightroom as your skills progress.  You can even create panoramas and HDR effects in Lightroom. Portrait retouch?  No problem.  And with each major update, the software is only getting smarter and more powerful.

My recommendation is to take it one step at a time.  Don’t get discouraged if you don’t understand each and every feature and tool within Lightroom.  Just start with adjusting exposure, brightness, contrast, etc to start getting better photos.  As you learn and improve, start using the Lightroom Workshops website that I mentioned to learn more tips, tricks, and techniques.

With the right Lightroom skills, you actually won’t need Photoshop, which will be a huge time saver as you continue on your photography journey.  Actually, this may be the last photo editing software you need!  We hope you enjoy and happy photo taking!