Adobe Lightroom is a photo organization and editing software that allows users to import, organize, edit and export images. It performs non-destructive editing on RAW and JPG files. Lightroom's key features include organizing images with keywords and metadata, performing basic edits like exposure and lens corrections, creating HDR and panoramic composites, and exporting images for printing or sharing. While it lacks some advanced editing tools found in Photoshop, Lightroom integrates well with Photoshop for further editing in a photo workflow.

1. Basics and beyond
ADOBE LIGHTROOM

2. WHAT IT DOES
• Import
• Organise
• Edit
• Export

3. WHAT IT DOESN’T
• True layers
• Graduated filter is a little like an adjustment layer
• True masks
• Adjustment brush is similar to mask + adjustment layer
• Content Aware
• Limited to dust spot removal
• Composites
• apart from HDR and panorama stitching
• True backup

4. IMPORT
• ALL images have to be imported to show in Lightroom even if they’re already on your PC
• Pick a folder naming convention and stick to it
• Don’t move or rename folders outside of Lightroom or Lightroom won’t know where the
images are.

5. ORGANISE
• Keywords are the key
• Use keyword hierarchies to save time
• Create keyword groups for related keywords
• Geotag images
• If your main camera doesn’t have GPS, your smartphone probably does. Take a
photo with your phone with GPS on, and import it along with images from your
camera. You can then easily work out location to tag your camera images.

6. FINDING IMAGES
• Search on keywords, metadata (eg lens) , rating
• Facial recognition
• Use collections and smart collections to group files instead of renaming or moving
• Doesn’t take up extra space
• Smart collections can’t change order of images but added automatically
• Collections add images manually but can rearrange order.
• Access offline files

7. EDIT
• Non-destructive editing
• Best with RAW files, but also works with JPGs
• Whatever you can do with ACR you can do with Lightroom
• Difference is Lightroom adjusts by percentages, ACR by specific value.
• HDR composites
• Panorama stitches
• Create presets to save time processing multiple images
• Use lens profiles if available to correct lens distortion
• Use virtual copies to keep different edits without taking up excessive disk space.

8. EDITING ESSENTIALS
• Dust spot removal
• Straightening
• Exposure
• White balance
• Lens correction
• Perspective

9. OPTIONAL EDITING
• Gradients
• Vignettes
• B&W conversion
• Adjustment Brush
• Dehaze

10. COMPOSITES
• HDR
• Panoramas

11. EXTERNAL EDITING
• Photoshop
• Other programs

12. WORKFLOW WITH LIGHTROOM AND
PHOTOSHOP
• Use Lightroom to import, keyword and do lighting fixes, dust spot removal.
• Use Photoshop to finish up with features like Content Aware, advanced filters
• (EG Nik filters can be used with both, but brush tool is not available in Lightroom)
• Export or print Photoshop edited image from Lightroom

13. EXPORT
• Use export presets for repetitive tasks
• Add watermark if desired
• Social Media
• Slideshows
• Printing
• Web Galleries

14. EXTENDING LIGHTROOM
• Older versions of Lightroom can support RAW files from newer cameras using free Adobe
DNG converter as an intermediate step.
• Plugins
• Tethering
• export
• Downloadable presets

15. THE END