Whenever you take a photo, no matter what the subject, it would be extremely unusual if it couldn’t be improved in some way by making local adjustments in Lightroom. Local adjustments affect part of the image. Whenever you carry out any processing action in Lightroom you are either making a l

If you’re a photo-fanatic, there is a lot to keep up with. New camera models are being announced way too often, firmware updates, fancy new lenses keep popping up, and on and on. I didn’t even mention software yet but now that I have, let’s see what’s new with our old pal Li

There’s a Triangle of Service that you may have seen before which goes something like this: You have three options available (cheap, quick, quality) but can only choose two. I first saw this on a sign in an automotive shop years ago, but it applies in almost any professional setting

Virtual Copies in Lightroom Imagine that you have just processed a colour image and you are happy with the result, but you’d also like to experiment with it a little. Perhaps you’re curious to see how it will look if you convert it to black and white. Maybe you’d like to apply a De

Most often you may strive to capture photos which most closely reflect the scene the way it looks to your eye. On the other hand, with having powerful editing software at your fingertips and an insatiable creative streak, sometimes you may find yourself experimenting with altering your images to cre

Reader feedback tells me that some people are confused by Lightroom’s Export process. I think the confusion is caused by not completely understanding how Lightroom works, especially when processing Raw files. So let’s start by recapping the process that a single Raw file goes through whe

New Lightroom users often get into trouble because of a lack of understanding as to how Lightroom works. Unfortunately the result of these misunderstandings is often that their precious photos are lost, either permanently or temporarily. When you are new to Lightroom it can help if you understand s

The Lightroom Loupe Info Overlay feature provides valuable information about your photos. Used intelligently it can help you find your photos, and can even help you improve your photography skills. I’ll explain what it is, how to enable and disable it, how to configure it, and some reasons wh

I hear it over and over, “I have a nice camera but my pictures just don’t come out as good as I expect.” What ensues is an interrogation first about equipment selection, settings, and general technique. More often than not when we finally get down to the nitty gritty, the fact is t

Don’t you hate when you realize that you spend more time in front of the computer than actually taking photographs? The realization is even more depressing when you are a travel and landscape photographer and, by definition, you are supposed to travel and discover the world’s beauty. Th

For those of you who have been following my Lightroom articles I thought it would be fun to test your knowledge. We’ll start with the Lightroom Library module because the work you do here, lays the foundation for everything you do inside Lightroom. Master the Library module and you’ll b

So you just installed Lightroom, now what? You could spend some time just playing around and learning through doing, but if you’re looking for a nudge in the right direction here are a few simple concepts that I wish I’d thought about before starting my own Lightroom journey –

You have probably seen several portrait retouching programs advertised in magazines or online, and wondered if they were worth buying. The answer is no. I have tried out quite a few, and the truth is that the Soften Skin preset in Lightroom does just as good a job as any of them. For most photograp

One of the most common questions I hear from people just starting out in photography is, “What program should I use to edit my photos?”. There are many free options such as iPhoto, Picasa, GIMP, and other commercial programs such as AfterShot Pro and Pixelmator but the most popular&

Lightroom is a powerful and complex program. It’s great to have shortcuts and fast ways to do things you do often. Here are ten Lightroom tips to help you out: Note: if you don’t yet have Lightroom check out this special deal Adobe currently have for dPS readers. #1 Check RBG values Did

If you’re over a “certain” age, you remember creating slideshows for friends or family members to see. The viewing process required a projector and a screen, plus a darkened room to enable people to see the projected slides properly. Thankfully, things have moved on since the

It seems that the majority of photos we see online or in print are presented individually. But if you have several strong images on a related theme, you may be able to create a stronger presentation by placing them together. The triptych – three images laid out side by side – is a tradi

Adobe makes life easier for Lightroom users by building in keyboard shortcuts. You probably know some of the more important ones by heart (e.g.: T to reveal or hide the Toolbar, to toggle between before and after views, and O to reveal the Adjustment Brush overlay). But I’m also betting there

One of my favourite portrait techniques is to isolate the model by using a short telephoto lens and a wide aperture. The idea is to throw the background out of focus and keep the subject sharp, so there is a clear distinction between the two. This creates beautiful bokeh and the illusion of depth.

I have to admit, I did not know about keywords in Lightroom, or their powerful uses, until a couple of years ago. During one of Julieanne Kost’s tutorials, I heard the terms and saw it being used in a very practical sense – a way to add specific descriptors to images