Easy Lightroom Tips for Beginners: Boost Your Editing Skills
This article is packed with simple Lightroom tips for beginners that will help you get started without feeling overwhelmed.
When you’re just getting started, Lightroom can feel like a lot to take in – it’s a big program!
I remember feeling completely lost when I opened it for the first time – there were so many sliders and tools, and I had no idea where to begin.
But here’s the thing: you don’t need to learn everything all at once.
Lightroom has a ton of features, but it’s impossible to cover them all in one go.
Instead, these tips will give you a great foundation to begin editing your photos and building your confidence.
From using presets to getting organised, these tips are designed to make the editing process smoother and a bit more fun.
They helped me when I was just getting started, and I hope they help you, too.
Before we get started, I wanted to share my freebie with you if you’re also new to photography.
It’s my Free Landscape Photography Toolkit with you.
It covers the basic elements of exposure so you can start taking better photos – Fast!
It’s packed with practical tips and checklists to help you capture beautiful scenes with more confidence, starting NOW!
Now, let’s start with something simple that can spark your creativity and give your edits an instant boost: presets.
1 – Try Presets to Spark Creativity
Presets are pre-made adjustments that you can apply to your photos with one click, instantly changing the look and feel without manually tweaking individual settings.
They’re a fantastic way to kick off your editing in Lightroom.
Not only do they save you time, but they also give you a chance to see how different edits can transform your image without needing to figure it all out yourself.
If you’re new to editing, experimenting with presets can be a great way to learn.
As you apply them, take note of the changes to exposure, contrast, and colour. You’ll start to get a feel for what adjustments work best for different types of photos.
Over time, you can even tweak those presets to match your own style or create your own custom presets for future use.
Presets don’t just help with learning—they’re also a fun way to experiment and find inspiration when you’re not sure where to start.
Try a few different ones, and see how they can transform your image in seconds.
2. Keep Your Edits Simple
It’s tempting to experiment with every slider and tool in Lightroom when you’re just starting out, but keeping your edits simple is often the best approach.
Start by focusing on just a few key adjustments: exposure, contrast, and white balance.
These three settings alone can dramatically improve your image.
- Exposure: Adjust the Exposure slider to bring out more detail in the shadows or highlights, but try not to overdo it.
- Contrast: Use the Contrast slider to add depth by enhancing the difference between light and dark areas. Small changes here often make a big impact.
- White Balance: The Temperature slider helps you adjust the warmth or coolness of the colours, ensuring your image looks natural and true to the scene.
Focusing on these basic adjustments first will give you a solid starting point.
Keeping things simple ensures your photos maintain a realistic look while giving you room to grow as you learn more advanced techniques.
3. Learn to Use the Histogram
The histogram in Lightroom is a powerful tool that shows the distribution of light and dark areas in your image.
It might look complicated at first, but understanding the basics can help you make sure your photo is well-exposed.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the histogram:
- The left side represents the shadows (dark areas).
- The middle section shows the midtones.
- The right side reflects the highlights (bright areas).
When editing, check the histogram to see if your photo has a good balance of light and dark tones.
This will help you avoid losing important details in the shadows or highlights.
The goal is to have a histogram that’s well-distributed across the chart, without everything bunched to one side, as displayed by this example:
With a quick glance, you’ll know if your image needs adjustments to exposure, contrast, or brightness to bring out the best in it.
4. Go Easy on Clarity and Saturation
It’s really tempting to push the Clarity and Saturation sliders to the max for that extra punch, but less is definitely more here.
Overdoing these settings can quickly make your photos look unnatural.
Clarity: This slider adds contrast to the middle tones of your image, which can help give it a bit more definition. But push it too far, and your image can start to look a bit harsh. Try making smaller tweaks to bring out texture without going overboard.
Saturation: Boosting saturation can make the colours pop, but if you’re not careful, things can get a little too intense. A small increase will give your photo more life without making it look over-processed.
The trick with both of these sliders is subtlety. Small changes go a long way to keeping your image looking natural and polished.
5. Use Auto Settings as a Learning Tool
Lightroom’s ‘Auto’ button is often overlooked, but it can be a surprisingly helpful tool for learning the basics of editing.
When you press ‘Auto’, Lightroom automatically adjusts things like exposure, contrast, highlights, and shadows, based on what it thinks will improve your photo.
While it won’t always get things perfect, it’s a great starting point, especially if you’re unsure where to begin.
The key here is not to rely on ‘Auto’ for your final edit, but to use it as a learning tool.
Once Lightroom has made its adjustments, take a look at what’s changed.
Did it brighten the exposure or increase the contrast? By seeing which sliders it moves, you’ll start to understand how those settings impact your photo.
From there, you can tweak the adjustments to match your style or the look you’re going for.
It’s also a great way to gain confidence in your editing.
You can experiment with the ‘Auto’ adjustments, knowing you have a good baseline to start from.
Over time, as you get more comfortable with Lightroom, you’ll find yourself making those changes on your own, without needing the help of the ‘Auto’ button as often.
But when you’re just getting started, it’s a handy tool that takes some of the guesswork out of the process.
6. Organise Your Photos Early
One of the best habits to develop in Lightroom is organising your photos from the start.
It might seem like an extra step when you’re eager to jump into editing, but trust me – it’ll save you a lot of time in the long run.
Lightroom offers several ways to keep things in order, and it’s worth getting comfortable with these early on.
- Flags: Use flags to quickly mark your best (or worst) shots. For example, you can flag your favourite images and reject the ones that didn’t turn out as planned.
- Stars: If you want a bit more flexibility, use the star rating system. You can rate your images from 1 to 5 stars to help rank them based on quality or how much editing you think they’ll need.
- Colour Labels: For even more organisation, use colour labels to categorise your photos. You might choose one colour for photos that are ready to edit and another for images that still need work.
Setting up these systems from the start makes it much easier to find your best shots when it comes time to edit.
It’s especially useful if you’re working with a large number of images from a shoot, and you’ll thank yourself later when everything’s neatly organised.
7. Save Your Favourite Edits as Presets
Once you start finding editing settings that work for you, save time by creating your own presets.
If you notice yourself using similar adjustments on multiple photos – like tweaking the exposure or boosting contrast in a specific way – you can save those settings as a custom preset for future use.
This way, you won’t have to redo the same edits over and over.
How to Create a Preset in Lightroom:
- Edit Your Photo: Make the adjustments you want in the Develop module.
- Go to the Presets Panel: On the left side of your screen, find the Presets panel.
- Click the ‘+’ Sign: At the top of the Presets panel, click on the ‘+’ sign.
- Choose ‘Create Preset’: Select ‘Create Preset’ from the menu.
- Save Your Settings: Name your preset and choose which settings to include.
- Apply with One Click: The next time you’re editing similar photos, simply apply your saved preset with one click.
It’s a great way to speed up your workflow, especially if you’re working on a series of images that need a consistent look.
Plus, as you develop your editing style, these custom presets will reflect your preferences and help you maintain a cohesive feel across your photos.
8. Crop Last
One of the simplest but most effective editing tips is to save cropping for the very end of your editing process.
It might be tempting to crop first, especially when you already have a composition in mind, but by waiting until the end, you keep all your editing options open.
Why crop last?
Well, when you’re adjusting things like exposure, contrast, or white balance, it’s often helpful to see the entire image.
You might end up changing your mind about the composition or find new details you want to highlight after making other edits.
Cropping too soon can limit your creative flexibility.
Once you’ve applied all your edits, you can then crop to perfect the composition or remove any distracting elements.
That way, you’re sure your final image reflects the best possible version of your work.
9. Export with the Right Settings
After editing your photos, exporting them with the right settings is key to making sure they look great, whether you’re sharing online or printing.
Lightroom offers plenty of options when exporting, so it’s important to choose the right ones depending on where your photo will be displayed.
- For Social Media: When exporting for social media, like Instagram or Facebook, it’s a good idea to export at a lower resolution so your files upload quickly and look good on screens. JPEG is usually the best format, as it keeps file sizes small while still maintaining quality. You’ll also want to choose the sRGB colour space, which is widely supported on all social platforms.
- For Web: If you’re posting photos on your website or a blog, keeping the file size small while maintaining good quality is important. Similar to social media, exporting as a JPEG with a web-friendly resolution works well here too.
- For Print: When it comes to printing your photos, you’ll want to export at a higher resolution to make sure they look sharp and detailed. Choosing a larger file size and the appropriate colour space for print ensures your images come out looking professional.
Taking the time to choose the right export settings will help your photos shine, whether they’re viewed on a screen or printed out.
10. Practice Regularly
Like anything new, getting comfortable with Lightroom takes practice.
The more you experiment with different settings, the faster you’ll learn what works best for your photos.
Don’t be afraid to play around with the sliders and tools, even if you’re not sure what they do at first – every adjustment helps you understand the software a little better.
Try editing different types of photos too. A landscape shot might need very different adjustments than a portrait or a close-up of details.
The more variety you work with, the more confident you’ll become in finding the right edits for any situation.
Remember, the goal isn’t to perfect every photo right away, but to keep learning and improving as you go.
The more time you spend in Lightroom, the easier it will be to develop your own editing style and workflow.
Bonus Tip: Learn From Others
If you’re looking to dive deeper into Lightroom and see how others approach editing, I highly recommend checking out Anthony Morganti on YouTube.
Their tutorials are easy to follow and packed with helpful tips that will take your editing skills to the next level.
Watching how others edit can give you fresh ideas and inspire new techniques you can try out in your own workflow.
Conclusion
I hope these Lightroom tips for beginners have made editing feel a little less overwhelming.
It’s perfectly normal to feel a bit lost at first, but just remember – you don’t need to learn everything in one go.
By focusing on the basics and practising regularly, you’ll start feeling more comfortable with Lightroom in no time.
And don’t be afraid to experiment. There’s no one “right” way to edit, and the more you play around with settings, the more you’ll develop your own style.
Whether you’re working with presets, getting familiar with the histogram, or just keeping your photos organised, each step helps you get more comfortable.
Most of all, have fun with it!
Editing should be just as enjoyable as taking the photos in the first place.
That’s it for now – Keep Clicking
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