Introduction
The Book Format
The Fast Track for New Lightroom Users
Workflow Order
Index
Digital Appendices
Keyboard Shortcuts
Links
Multiple Formats
Windows or Mac?
Talk to Us!
Installing & Extending Lightroom
Minimum System Requirements
Installing & Opening Lightroom
How do I install Lightroom?
How do I open Lightroom?
What happens the first time I open Lightroom?
Can I change the splash screen?
How do I change the language?
Do I have to be online to use Lightroom?
Can I use Lightroom on multiple computers?
How do I uninstall Lightroom?
What happens to Lightroom if my subscription expires?
Do I have to share Desktop App Usage Information with Adobe?
Keeping Lightroom Updated
How do I check which version I’m currently running?
How do I find out what’s changed in an update?
Should I install a new update as soon as it’s released?
How do I update to the latest version?
How do I upgrade my catalog?
How do I roll back to an earlier version?
Plug-ins
How do I install a plug-in?
How do I uninstall a plug-in?
How do I use a plug-in?
Before You Start
Catalogs vs. File Browsers
Why does understanding the catalog matter?
What do I need to remember?
Designing Your Workflow
The Lightroom Workspace
The Top Bar
Module Picker
Identity Plate
Activity Center
Title Bar & Full Screen Modes
Panels & Panel Groups
Showing & Hiding Panel Groups
Showing & Hiding Panels
Solo Mode
Panel Preferences
Disclosure Triangles
Preset Pop-ups
The Filmstrip
Breadcrumb Bar
Preview Area
Filter Bar
Toolbar
Workspace Troubleshooting
Where’s the Toolbar gone?
Where’s the Filter bar gone?
Where have my panels gone?
How do I show missing dialogs?
Import
Where are my photos?
Where should I store my photos?
Import Basics
The Import Dialog
How do I automatically open the Import dialog?
Is there a simpler Import dialog?
Source panel
Why do the folders keep jumping around when I click on them?
How do I import from multiple folders or memory cards in one go?
Can I use the operating system dialog to navigate to a folder instead of using Lightroom’s Source panel?
Previewing and Selecting Individual Photos
How do I select only certain photos to import?
Why are some photos unavailable or dimmed in the Import dialog?
How do I change the preview size?
Can I change the sort order?
Can I filter the photos?
How do I select specific file types?
How does Lightroom handle Raw+JPEG pairs?
Can I see a larger preview before importing?
How do I use Assisted Culling during import?
Import Method
Why can’t I select Move or Add?
File Handling panel
Why do I have to create previews? Why can’t I just look at the photos?
What type of previews should I build?
What does Don’t Import Suspected Duplicates do?
What does the Make a Second Copy option do?
How do I add imported photos to a collection while importing?
What do Don’t Import Rejected Images and Import Auto-Stacks to Collection do?
File Renaming panel
How will you name your photos?
Which characters can I use in my filenames?
How do I rename the files while importing?
How do I build a filename template?
How do I add additional padding zeros to sequence numbers?
What’s the difference between Import#, Image#, Sequence# and Total#?
Where do I enter custom text and start numbers?
Apply During Import panel
What Develop settings should I apply in the Import dialog?
How do I add copyright metadata to my photos?
Should I apply keywords in the Import dialog?
Can I remove existing metadata?
Destination panel
What’s the best way to organize my photos into folders?
Why not organize the photos by topic?
Why use a date-based folder structure?
Can I adapt a dated folder structure to suit me?
How do I select a Destination folder?
How do I create a new folder?
I’ve chosen Copy or Move—how do I organize the photos into a folder structure that suits me?
How do I pick a date structure?
Why are some of the Destination folders in italic?
How do I avoid incorrectly nesting dated folders?
How do I create a manual shoot-based folder structure?
Can Lightroom reorganize my photos after they’ve been imported?
Saving & Reusing Import Settings
How do I create Import presets, and what do they include?
After Pressing Import
Troubleshooting Import
Why can’t I see my photos in the Import dialog?
What does this error message mean?
Tethered Shooting & Watched Folders
Which cameras are supported by the built-in Tethered Capture?
How do I set Lightroom up to use Tethered Capture?
How do I capture photos using Tethered Capture?
How do I set Lightroom up to use a watched folder?
Library – Viewing Photos
Viewing Your Photos in Grid View
Thumbnail Options
Selections
Why aren’t my actions applying to all of the selected photos?
Can I see a list view?
Sort Order
How do I change the sort order?
How do I drag and drop into a custom sort order?
Why can’t I select Custom Order?
Viewing Your Photos in Loupe View
Zooming In on Photos
Info Overlay
Status Overlay
Loupe Overlay
Playing Videos in Loupe View
Viewing Your Photos in Survey View
Viewing Your Photos in Compare View
Distraction-Free View Modes
Why has everything gone black?
Can I fill the screen with my photo?
Secondary Display
How do I choose which screen displays the primary and secondary windows?
Why do shortcuts and menu commands only apply to a single photo even though I have multiple photos selected on the Secondary Display Grid?
Quick Develop
Library – Previews
Temporary Embedded Previews
How do I extract embedded previews from the images?
How can I tell that I’m viewing an embedded preview?
How big are embedded previews?
How do I replace an embedded preview with a standard preview?
Standard & 1:1 Previews
What should I set as the Preview Size and Quality?
When does Lightroom automatically build standard or 1:1 previews?
How do I manually build standard or 1:1 previews?
Can I delete the entire preview cache?
How do I automatically limit the size of my preview cache?
How do I delete 1:1 previews manually?
Smart Previews
When are smart previews useful?
How do I build or discard smart previews?
How do I check which photos have smart previews?
Working with Previews When Originals are Offline
What can I do if I only have standard or 1:1 previews?
What can I do with smart previews?
What requires the originals?
Image & Preview Problems
Lightroom appears to be corrupting my photos—how do I stop it?
Why is Lightroom changing the colors of my photos?
Why doesn’t the Library module preview match the Develop module preview?
Why do I just get gray boxes instead of previews?
Lightroom says my preview cache is corrupted—how do I fix it?
Library – Catalogs
Managing Catalogs
How do I find my catalog on the hard drive?
What do the catalog files contain?
How much space does Lightroom’s catalog take up on my hard drive?
How do I rename my catalog?
Do I need to do any regular maintenance?
Where should I store my catalog?
How do I move my catalog?
Single or Multiple Catalogs
Should I use one big catalog, or multiple smaller catalogs?
Is there a maximum number of photos a catalog can hold?
How do I create a new catalog or open an existing one?
How do I remove catalogs from the list of recent catalogs?
How do I set or change my default catalog?
How do I delete a spare catalog?
Importing & Exporting Catalogs
How does Export as Catalog work?
How does Import from Catalog work?
Are there any limitations when importing and exporting catalogs?
How do I merge multiple catalogs into one larger catalog?
How do I split a catalog into multiple catalogs?
How do I transfer photos between catalogs?
Troubleshooting Catalogs
Why is my catalog empty or missing my recent photos?
Why can’t I open my catalog?
How do catalogs become corrupted?
How do I prevent catalog corruption?
Lightroom says that my catalog is corrupted—can I fix it?
Library – Backup
Back Up Your Catalog
How do I back up Lightroom’s catalog?
Should I turn on Test integrity and Optimize catalog each time I back up?
What does Lightroom’s catalog backup include?
Where are the backups stored?
How often should I back up the catalog?
I haven’t got time to back up now—can I postpone the backup?
How do I run an extra backup on demand?
Can I delete the oldest backups?
How many catalog backups should I keep?
Why does Lightroom say it’s unable to backup?
Should I also write the metadata to the files as an extra backup?
Back Up Your Photos
How do I back up my photos?
I back up photos using the Import dialog—isn’t that enough?
Back up the Extras
How do I show hidden files to find my preferences and presets?
Restoring From Backups
How do I restore a backup of my catalog?
How do I restore part of my backup catalog?
How do I restore a backup of my photos?
What happens if I'm restoring to a new hard drive?
What happens if my photos aren’t in the same folder structure?
What happens if the filenames are different?
Test it!
Backup Checklist
Library – Files & Folders
Folders Panel
How do I set up a folder hierarchy?
How do I hide parent folders?
How do I switch between a composite folder view and a single folder view?
Can I change the way the folders are displayed?
How do I search for a specific folder?
How do I use color labels with folders?
How do I mark folders as favorites for easy access?
Changing the Folder Structure
How do I create a new folder or subfolder?
How do I move a folder on the same drive?
How do I move folders to another hard drive?
How do I reorganize photos into dated folders?
How do I rename folders?
How do I rename a drive?
How do I delete folders?
I’ve added new photos to one of Lightroom’s folders, so why don’t they show in my catalog?
How does the Synchronize Folder command work?
Managing the Individual Photos
How do I delete fuzzy photos?
How do I find out where a photo is stored on my hard drive?
How do I move or copy photos between folders?
How do I duplicate files?
How do I rename one or more photos?
Why are some of the rename tokens missing?
How do I rename photos back to their original filename?
Can I search and replace in filenames?
Missing Files
How do I know that Lightroom can’t find my photos?
What else can cause photos to disappear?
Lightroom thinks my photos are missing—how do I fix it?
How do I prevent missing files?
It says The selected folder or one of its subfolders is already in Lightroom. Do you want to combine these folders? Do I say yes or no?
It says The file is associated with another photo in the catalog. How do I fix it?
How do I check my catalog for missing files?
I accidentally deleted my photos from my hard drive and I don’t have backups! Can I recover them using Lightroom’s previews or smart previews?
Moving Lightroom to a New Computer
Set up your folder hierarchy
Check your backups
Transfer the files
Install Lightroom on the new machine & open the catalog
Relink any missing files
Check your preferences and presets
Reload any disabled plug-ins
Cross-Platform Move
Saving Metadata to the Files
Should I write to XMP?
Which of Lightroom’s data isn’t stored in XMP?
How do I write settings to XMP?
Should I allow Lightroom to update the capture time in raw files rather than XMP sidecar files?
Should I check or uncheck Include Develop settings in metadata inside JPEG, TIFF, PNG and PSD files?
How do I read the metadata from the files?
When resolving metadata conflicts, is there a way to preview what will happen?
How do I avoid metadata conflicts?
Library – Organizing Virtually
Collections
How do I create a collection?
How do I add photos to an existing collection?
How do I remove photos from a collection?
How do I delete photos from the hard drive while viewing a collection?
How do I rename, duplicate or delete a collection or collection set?
How do I see which collections a photo belongs to?
How do I organize my collections into sets?
How do I search for a specific collection?
How do I use color labels with collections?
Can I convert folders into collections?
What are the Quick Collection and Target Collection?
Stacking
How do I create a stack?
How do I view the photos inside a stack?
How do I change the stack cover photo?
How do I remove photos from a stack?
Why can’t I stack photos?.
How do I apply metadata to photos hidden inside a stack?
Can I automatically stack sets of photos by capture time?
Library – Metadata
Rating Photos
How do I rank my photos?
Which photos are worth keeping?
What does Refine Photos do?
How do I use color labels?
Metadata Panel
Where’s the rest of my metadata?
How do I enter metadata for my photos?
How do I add or change metadata for multiple photos at once?
Can I prepend text before or append text after the existing metadata?
How does Auto Sync break all the usual rules?
Why would I use the Edit Only view? I can’t see the existing metadata!
How do I sync metadata to multiple photos?
How do I replace or even remove metadata?
Which photos are updated if I select…?
When would I use each Metadata mode for best performance?
How do I create and edit a Metadata preset?
How do I correct the information Lightroom’s trying to autofill?
How do I change the date format and units of measurement?
What are the symbols at the ends of the fields?
Can I add notes to my photos?
Editing the Capture Time
How do I fix the capture time?
Which Edit Capture Time option should I use?
How do I sync the times on two or more cameras?
How do I change timestamps on scanned photos?
Library – Keywords
Keyword Basics
What kind of keywords should I assign to my photos?
What’s the difference between the Keywording panel and the Keyword List panel?
How do I add my first keywords?
Should I use a flat or hierarchical keyword list?
Creating & Applying Keywords
How do I apply keywords to photos using the Keywording panel?
How do I apply keywords to photos using the Keyword List panel?
Which options should I select when creating or editing a keyword using the Keyword List?
How do I use the Painter tool to add metadata such as keywords?
Viewing Keywords
What do the symbols in the Keywording panel mean?
What does the Keyword Tags pop-up in the Keywording panel do?
What do the symbols in the Keyword List panel mean?
Is there a quick way of finding a particular keyword in my long list?
How can I keep certain keywords at the top of the list?
Editing Keywords
How do I edit a keyword?
How do I delete a keyword from a single photo or all photos?
How do I merge keywords?
How do I create or change the keyword hierarchy?
Why aren’t all of my keywords showing in the Keyword List?
Importing & Exporting Keyword Lists
How do I create my keyword list using a text editor or spreadsheet?
How do I export my keyword list?
How do I import a keyword list?
Library – Face Recognition
How do I face tag people?
Indexing Faces
How do I index my whole catalog?
How do I stop indexing?
How do I re-index a folder or collection?
Why didn’t the indexing find all of the faces?
People Keywords
How should I organize my people keywords?
Can I convert existing keywords to People keywords?
Can I add additional information about people, such as their birthday?
How do I keep my people keywords private?
Viewing Faces & Adding Names
How do I navigate the People view?
Why are the thumbnails unavailable or too dark?
How do I change the sort order?
How do I add a name to a face?
I made a spelling mistake—how do I fix it?
Does rejecting a name suggestion take another guess?
What do I do with people I don’t recognize?
How do I access the photos of a single person?
Drawing Additional Faces
How do I draw missing faces on the photo?
Should I draw round the backs of people’s heads?
How do I name people in Loupe view?
How do I delete face regions?
Library – Filtering & Smart Collections
Filtering Your Photos
How do I filter my photos to show photos fitting certain criteria?
How do I use Attribute filters?
How do I use the Metadata filters?
How do I view only the photos with the parent keyword directly applied, without seeing the child keywords?
Can I select multiple options from a single column, creating an OR filter?
How do I select multiple options within the Metadata filter columns, creating an AND filter?
How do I add additional columns?
How do I use Text filters?
How can I use the Text filters to do AND or OR filters?
How do I search for a specific filename?
Can I combine Text filters, Attribute filters, and Metadata filters?
How do I lock filters, so they don’t disappear when I switch to another folder?
Can I save the filters I use regularly as presets?
Assisted Culling
How do I use Assisted Culling?
How do I analyze the selected source?
How do I analyze the entire catalog?
How do I completely disable Assisted Culling?
How do I decide which filters to use?
What thresholds should I set for Subject Focus or Eye Focus?
How do I use the Eyes Open criteria?
When would I check Reject photos without people’s eyes?
What do the Reject options do?
How do I view the results of the AI analysis?
Can I override the AI’s choice of Selects and Rejects?
Why would I use the Batch Actions?
Where does Stacking fit into Assisted Culling?
How is Assisted Culling different in the Import dialog than in the Library module?
Using Smart Collections
How do I create complex smart collections?
How do I duplicate a smart collection?
How do I transfer smart collection criteria between catalogs?
Map locations
Map Basics
Viewing the Map
Why is the map offline?
What do the different icons mean?
How do I view the photos attached to each location marker?
How do I avoid accidentally moving a marker?
How do I select the map style?
How do I search for a specific location?
How do I show or hide the overlays?
How do I use the Map Filter bar?
Can I view the location in my web browser?
Saved Locations
Why use saved locations?
How do I create a saved location?
Editing Locations
How do I mark photos on the map?
How do I find photos I haven’t tagged yet?
How do I move a photo or group of photos to a different location?
How do I delete location information?
Tracklogs
How do I create a tracklog using my mobile phone?
Which tracklog formats can Lightroom understand?
How do I import my tracklog and match it with the photos?
How do I apply a timezone offset?
Why won’t my tracklog import?
My camera time doesn’t quite match the tracklog—how do I fix it?
Address Lookup
Should I turn on address lookup in Catalog Settings?
Will address lookup overwrite my existing location data?
Why are the Location fields dimmed or italic?
How do I make the lookup data permanent?
Why is address lookup not working?
Can I use more advanced geocoding facilities?
Develop – Introduction to Editing
Why are you editing your photos?
Which photos should you edit?
Learning to Edit
Why should I learn to edit using sliders?
When might I use profiles and presets?
How fast will I perfect my editing?
What should I avoid when editing my photos?
Getting Started with the Basic Panel
Auto
Advanced Auto for Raw – Adaptive Profiles
Non-Destructive Editing
Simple Editing Examples
Develop – Image Analysis
Why analyze photos before starting to edit them?
Analyzing the Image—Technical Faults
How’s the exposure?
What can I learn from the histogram?
How’s the dynamic range?
Are the highlights and/or shadows clipping?
How’s the color?
How sharp are the details?
Is there noise?
Is there moiré patterning?
Are there any optical distortions?
Is there chromatic aberration or other fringing?
Is the horizon straight?
Are the lines straight?
Are there any sensor dust spots?
Output
Does the photo need to fit a specific aspect ratio, for example, a frame?
Does it need to match the color of another photo?
How big is the photo going to be?
Analyzing the Image—Artistic Intent
The Purpose
Light & Contrast
Color
Detail
Optical Distortion
Geometric Distortion
Sensor Dust
Output
The Story
The Mood/Emotion
Simplifying the Scene
Visual Mass
Developing Your Own Style
Why is having my own style important?
Purpose
Story
Mood/Emotion
Simplify
Draw the Eye
How do I start to develop my own style?
Develop – Tools
The Toolstrip & Sliders
The Toolstrip
Working with Sliders
Undo & Reset
How do I undo my last action?
How do I reset Develop settings?
AI Tools
Why do I end up with ghosts and other artifacts in my images?
How do I avoid needing to update AI?
How can I tell that AI updates are needed?
How do I update the AI Edits?
How do I update multiple photos at once?
Which tools use AI?
Before / After Preview
How do I show the Before view?
How do I display the Before and After views side by side?
Can I just turn off a single panel?
Why doesn’t the Before view always match the default settings?
How do I revert to the Before state?
Presets
How do I preview presets on my photo?
How do I apply a preset?
What does the Amount slider do?
Can I apply multiple presets to the same photo, layering the effects?
Why are some presets in italic? Or why are some presets missing on some photos?
How do I mark some presets as favorites?
How do I install downloaded Develop presets?
What’s the difference between *.lrtemplate presets and *.xmp presets?
How do I create my own preset?
How do I create an ISO adaptive preset?
How do I organize my presets into folders or groups?
How do I update, rename, or delete Develop Presets?
Why won’t Lightroom let me rename, move, or update a preset?
How do I hide presets I don’t use very often?
How do I share my presets?
Should I check ‘Store presets with this catalog’?
Copying Settings to Similar Photos
Sync
Copy and Paste
Previous
Auto Sync
Why won’t my white balance sync?
Can I make relative adjustments, for example, brighten all selected photos by 1 stop?
What does Match Total Exposures in the Settings menu do?
Develop – Starting from Raw
Why is editing a raw file more flexible than editing a JPEG/HEIC?
Editing Raw Files
Why doesn’t the photo look the same as it did on the camera?
Why are my photos darker than they were on the camera?
Are there any other camera settings that Lightroom understands?
If I use my camera’s reduced-resolution raw file format, can Lightroom apply all the usual adjustments?
Which of Lightroom’s tools behave differently on rendered files?
Profiles
How do I select a profile?
How do I mark my favorite profiles?
What’s the difference between the Adobe Raw profiles?
How do I emulate the camera settings using the Camera Matching profiles?
What are Adaptive profiles?
What are Creative profiles?
Where are my custom DNG profiles?
Why are profiles available for some photos but missing on others?
How do I filter my profiles?
How do I hide or delete profiles?
How do I install downloaded profiles?
How do I create my own profiles?
What’s the difference between profiles in the Profile Browser and presets in the Presets panel?
Defaults
Why would I change the default settings instead of using a preset?
How do I set my own defaults?
What’s the difference between Adobe Default, Camera Settings and Preset?
How do I apply different default settings to each ISO?
What happens if my preset only applies certain settings?
Develop – Tone & Presence
Basic Panel Slider Order
Exposure
How do I set the Exposure slider?
Global Vs. Local Contrast
How do I increase contrast?
How do I decrease contrast?
Highlights and Shadows
How do I set Highlights and Shadows?
Whites and Blacks
How do I set Whites and Blacks?
Texture Vs. Clarity
How do I set Texture?
How do I set Clarity?
Dehaze
How do I set Dehaze?
HDR Editing
What are the pros and cons of editing in HDR?
What hardware do I need to view HDR photos?
What type of photos can I edit in HDR?
How do I enable HDR editing?
Should I change the HDR Limit?
What do the extra sections in the Histogram mean?
What does Visualize HDR do?
Why does the photo look worse when Preview for SDR Display is checked?
Tone Curves
How do I read a tone curve?
Why use curves?
How are Tone Curves different to the Basic panel?
How does the Tone Curve change when editing in HDR?
What’s the difference between the parametric curve and the point curve?
How do I adjust the standard parametric tone curve?
What are the triangles at the bottom of the parametric tone curve?
How do I use the Targeted Adjustment Tool?
How do I use the point curve?
When would I adjust the Refine Saturation slider?
How do I invert a negative photo?
Develop – Color / B&W
White Balance
How do I set the white balance?
How do I use the White Balance eyedropper?
How do I keep the eyedropper turned on?
Can I change the eyedropper averaging?
How do I adjust for mood?
How do I handle mixed lighting?
How do I adjust white balance for infrared photos?
Vibrance vs. Saturation
What’s the difference between the Saturation and Vibrance sliders?
How do I set the saturation?
Black & White
How do I decide which photos to convert to B&W?
Why should I correct the color first?
How do I convert photos to B&W?
How do I convert to B&W using profiles?
How do I change the B&W Mix?
How do I know which color channels to lighten or darken?
How do I use the Targeted Adjustment Tool to adjust the B&W Mix?
How do I create a B&W photo with some areas in color?
How do I create an infrared effect?
How do I finish off the B&W photo?
Color Mixer – HSL & Point Color
What’s the difference between the HSL Mixer and Point Color?
What does HSL stand for?
What’s the difference between HSL and Color in the Adjust pop-up?
How do I use the HSL Mixer and its TAT tool?
How do I see which colors I’m adjusting?
How do I add a Point Color swatch?
How do I use the Variance slider to increase or decrease color contrast?
How do I adjust the color of the selected swatch using HSL?
How do I see which areas of my photo are being affected by my adjustments?
How do I fine-tune the range of colors being adjusted?
How do I use Point Color to adjust a very specific color range?
How do I edit existing Point Color swatches?
Color Grading
How do I use the Color Grading panel?
What’s the difference between Blending and Balance?
What happened to Split Toning?
What color combinations work well for B&W photos?
What color combinations work well for color photos?
What is Cinematic Color Grading?
How do I enhance colors using Color Grading?
Be Subtle
Color Calibration
When might I adjust the Shadow Tint?
Why do the Calibration sliders change all of the colors in the photo instead of just their named color?
How might I use the Calibration sliders?
Develop – Detail
Why are my photos softer and noisier in Lightroom than in other software?
How can I ensure that the preview is accurate?
Sharpening
What is multiple pass sharpening?
How do the sharpening sliders interact?
Noise Reduction
What does the Denoise checkbox do?
How do I use the Manual Noise Reduction sliders?
Enhancing Detail on Special Photos
When would I enable Raw Details?
Does the Denoise tool work better than the normal Noise Reduction sliders?
How does Super Resolution increase the resolution of my photos?
Why are some of the options unavailable?
Do the checkboxes use as much space as the old Enhance tool that generated DNGs?
How can I make the Enhance tool run faster?
What should I do with the separate DNGs created by the old Enhance tool?
Develop – Distortion
Lens Corrections
How do I select the correct profile for my lens?
Why is the lens profile not selected automatically?
How do I set a default lens profile?
In the Setup pop-up menu, what’s the difference between Default, Auto & Custom?
How do I apply lens corrections to new photos by default?
How do the Amount sliders interact with the profile?
Why is the lens profile available for some photos and not others, using the same lens?
How do I know whether my lens profile’s built in?
What are my options if my lens profile isn’t available?
What’s the difference between the Distortion/Vignetting sliders on the Profile tab and the Manual tab?
Chromatic Aberration
How do I fix Chromatic Aberration or colored fringes?
How do I remove localized fringing?
Geometric Transforms
How do I fix the perspective?
What do the different Upright buttons do? Which one should I use?
How do I use Guided Upright?
When do I need to press Update?
How do I reduce the effect of the Upright correction?
What do each of the Transform sliders do?
How do I hide the grid?
What’s the difference between syncing Upright Mode vs. Transforms?
Develop – Lens Blur & Effects
Lens Blur
How is Lens Blur different from blurring a mask?
How do I apply Lens Blur?
Which Bokeh style should I choose?
How do I change the focus point and focus range?
When should I enable Visualize Range?
How do I refine the depth map?
Post-Crop Vignette
What’s the difference between Highlight Priority, Color Priority and Paint Overlay?
How do the Post-Crop Vignette sliders interact?
How do I decide on the best vignette settings?
How do I move the vignette off-center?
Grain
How do the Grain sliders interact?
Develop – Crop
Crop Basics
How do I resize the crop?
How do I crop a vertical portion from a horizontal photo?
Should I check Constrain to Image?
How do I reset the crop?
Straightening & Rotating
How do I straighten a wonky horizon?
How do I rotate by 90°?
How do I flip photos?
Aspect Ratio
What is aspect ratio?
Why do I need to select the right ratio for prints?
How do I crop to a specific size?
How do I select a standard crop ratio?
What’s the difference between As Shot and Original?
How do I create a custom aspect ratio?
How do I lock my crop ratio?
Can I set a default crop ratio?
The Crop Overlay
Can I hide the overlay?
How do I change the Crop overlay?
How do I choose which ratios to show in the Aspect Ratios overlay?
Develop – Remove & Red Eye
Remove Tool Basics
Which mode should I use?
How do I remove a small, simple distraction using Heal mode?
How do I remove a larger or more complex distraction using Generative Remove mode?
Creating Selections
How do I select the right brush characteristics?
What’s the difference between clicking and dragging when creating a repair?
How do I draw a straight line when creating a repair?
How do I resize a circle spot?
How do I edit my Remove mode selection?
How do I use Detect Objects to create a selection quickly?
When should I adjust the Opacity?
Choosing Replacement Pixels
In Heal or Clone mode, how do I choose the source of the replacement pixels?
In the standard Remove mode, how do I choose the source of the replacement pixels?
In Generative Remove mode, how do I choose which AI version to use as replacement pixels?
Why is Generative Remove replacing the object instead of removing it?
Why am I getting a ghost of the object I removed?
Editing Existing Repairs
How do I reselect an existing repair?
How do I switch an existing repair to a different mode?
How do I move a repair?
How do I use Visualize Spots to find dust spots quickly?
How do I ensure I don’t miss a spot?
How do I delete an existing repair?
What happens when I copy Generative AI repairs to other photos?
Retouching Examples
How do I handle complex distractions?
How do I retouch faces?
Distraction Removal
What does Reflection Removal do?
How do I use Reflection Removal?
What does People Removal do?
How do I use People Removal?
What does Dust Removal do?
How do I use Dust Removal?
Which tools use Generative AI?
Red Eye & Pet Eye Correction Tools
How do I remove red eye?
How do I remove green pet eye?
Lightroom’s Red Eye Correction tool can’t lock on to the red eye—is there anything I can do to help it?
Develop – Masking
Why would I use the Masking tools rather than editing a photo in Photoshop?
How do I get started with the Masking tools?
Organizing Masks
How do I create new masks?
When I try to create a new mask, why are some of the tools unavailable?
How do I edit an existing mask?
Is it worth renaming my masks?
How do I delete masks?
How do I automatically delete empty masks?
Can I temporarily turn off masks without deleting them?
Why might I duplicate a mask?
How do I move a mask?
Does the order of the masks matter?
Can I move the Masks panel out of the way?
Masking Tools
How do I show the mask overlay?
Why does the overlay show up when I’m creating a new mask, even though Show Overlay was disabled?
When are the different mask overlays useful?
How do I change the color of the Color Overlay?
What’s the difference between the pin icons?
How do I show or hide the pins?
AI-Based Selections
What kind of AI-based masks can I create?
How do I create a Subject, Sky or Background selection?
How do I create an Object mask?
How do I create a People selection?
How do I create a Landscape selection?
How do I invert an AI-based selection?
Can I refine an AI-based mask to reduce halo effects or add details it missed?
Why do I end up with ghosts in my masks?
Brush
How do I create a new brush mask?
How do I erase brush strokes?
How do I choose the size and softness of my brush?
What’s the difference between Flow & Density?
How do I move brush strokes?
What does Auto Mask do?
Why are there small dots or speckles on my photo?
Why is nothing happening when I brush over the photo?
Linear Gradient
How do I create a new Linear Gradient?
How do I edit an existing Linear Gradient?
There used to be a brush and eraser tool in the Linear and Radial Gradients? Where’s it gone?
Radial Gradient
How do I create a new Radial Gradient mask?
How do I edit an existing Radial Gradient?
Range Masks
How do I create a Color Range selection?
How do I create a Luminance Range selection?
How do I create a Depth Range selection?
I’m trying to edit an old photo but Lightroom wants me to update an existing Luminance or Depth mask. Do I have to?
How do I restrict the range mask to a specific area of the photo?
Combining Mask Types
Why might I add to an existing mask?
Why would I subtract from an existing mask?
What’s the difference between the brush eraser and a subtract brush selection?
What does intersect mean?
I have a mask that’s made up of multiple selections. How do I invert the whole mask?
Does the order of the masks or selections matter? Can I rearrange them?
Can I move or copy selections to other masks?
Copying Masks to Other Photos
Can I save masks as presets?
Can I copy masks to other photos?
Setting Sliders
How do I set default slider settings?
How do I fade the effect of an existing mask?
How do I use the Masking slider presets?
How do I create a Masking slider preset?
How do I install Masking slider presets?
How do I dodge and burn?
How do I add local contrast?
How do I adjust the white balance?
How do I make localized HSL adjustments?
How do I apply a color tint?
Can I adjust Vibrance instead of Saturation?
How do I sharpen selectively?
How do I reduce noise in a smaller area, or only in the shadows?
How do I add extra grain to some areas of the photo?
How do I remove local color fringing?
How do I reduce Moiré?
How do I enhance a portrait?
Develop – More Tools
Process Versions
How do I know which process version I’m using?
Which process version should I use?
How do I update the process version?
How do I update my presets to the new process version?
What do the other Calibration panel sliders do?
History
How do I use the History panel?
How long do the adjustments stay in the History panel?
Why might I want to clear the history?
Does clearing the history delete my edits?
How do I clear the history?
Versions—Snapshots & Virtual Copies
What is a snapshot?
What is a virtual copy?
How do I choose whether to use a virtual copy or a snapshot?
How do I create and manage snapshots?
How do I create and manage virtual copies?
Can I rename virtual copies?
Can I convert snapshots to virtual copies and vice versa?
Can I promote virtual copies and delete the master?
What do Sync Copies and Sync Snapshots do?
Photo Merge
How do I stitch a panorama?
How do I create an HDR file?
How do I merge multiple sets of photos at once?
Why use Lightroom for merging instead of Photoshop or other software?
What type of files do I need for merging?
What format are the merged files?
Should I edit the photos before I merge them?
What’s the difference between the Panorama projection options?
How do I fill in the transparent areas around the edges?
Where are the HDR editing options?
How many photos should I select for an HDR file?
Should I check Auto Align and enable Deghost?
How do I edit the HDR file after merging?
Reference View
How do I display a photo in Reference view?
Why does the Reference photo keep disappearing?
Histogram and RGB Values
Can I view the RGB values?
Can I view the RGB values using a 0-255 scale?
Can I display L*a*b* values instead of RGB?
Soft Proofing
What are color spaces or profiles?
What is soft proofing?
How do I enable soft proofing?
Why is my profile not available for selection?
Should I select Perceptual or Relative Colorimetric?
Should I check Simulate Paper & Ink when viewing my soft proof?
Can I change the background color surrounding the photo while soft proofing?
What’s the difference between the Monitor Gamut and Destination Gamut warnings?
What should I do if some colors are out of gamut?
How should I adjust the photo while viewing the soft proof?
How do I compare my proof adjusted photo with the original?
How do I save my photo after adjusting it for a specific profile?
How can I tell which profile I used for a particular photo?
Editing Videos
How do I trim videos?
Can I join videos together?
What do Capture Frame and Set Poster Frame do?
Can I view video metadata such as Frame Rate?
Can I edit the color and exposure of my videos in the Develop module?
Can I open my video into specialist video editing software?
External Editors
Integration with Photoshop
Opening Photos in Other Editors
Why might I use an external editor?
When in my workflow should I use Edit in Photoshop or other External Editors?
Setting External Editor Preferences
I have multiple versions of Photoshop installed. Which one will Lightroom use?
Which file format should I use?
Which color space should I select?
Why use a big color space when nothing can print that wide a range?
Should I choose 8-bit or 16-bit?
Which resolution should I select?
How do I change the file name and location?
Can I create different filenames for different editors?
Can I automatically stack the files?
Why does Lightroom keep putting the photos at the end of the current folder/collection?
Editing in Photoshop
Why isn’t Lightroom opening my photo as a TIFF or PSD file according to my preferences?
What’s the difference between Edit Original, Edit a Copy, or Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments?
What do the other options in the Edit In menu do?
Should I still use Merge to HDR Pro or Merge to Panorama in Photoshop?
Why do my photos look different in Photoshop?
Lightroom can’t find Photoshop to use Edit in Photoshop—how do I fix it?
Adobe Camera Raw Compatibility for Photoshop
What happens if I’m still using an older version of Camera Raw?
What’s the difference between Render Using Lightroom and Open Anyway in the Camera Raw mismatch dialog?
Setting Up Additional External Editors
How do I create my own external editor preset?
How do I edit an external editor preset?
Where have my external editors gone?
Can I open the raw file into another raw processor?
Export
‘Save As’ a copy on the Hard Drive using Export
Export To
Export Location & File Naming
Can Lightroom automatically re-import the exported files?
How do I handle existing photos with the same names?
Can I overwrite the original photos?
How do I change the filename while exporting?
File Settings & Video
Which file formats can I use to export photos?
Should I apply compression to the photos?
Can I export to a specific file size?
Which bit depth should I select?
What is Save Transparency?
How do I select the color space?
Which settings should I use when exporting HDR photos?
How do I export or save my edited videos?
Content Credentials
How do I apply content credentials?
Which option should I select in the pop-up?
Which credentials can I include?
How do I view the content credentials of images?
Image Sizing & Resolution
How big can I print my photo without visible pixelation?
How do I calculate the number of pixels I need for a specific print size?
What’s the difference between Width & Height, Dimensions, Longest Edge, Shortest Edge, Megapixels & Percentage?
What’s the difference between DPI, PPI, pixels per inch and pixels per cm?
What does the Don’t Enlarge checkbox do?
Is it better to upsize in Lightroom or in Photoshop?
Output Sharpening
Which Export Sharpening setting applies more sharpening—screen, matte or glossy?
Metadata & Watermarking
How do I select which metadata to include in my files?
How do I add a watermark to my photos?
How do I create a text watermark?
How do I create a graphical watermark?
How do I set the size and placement on the photo?
Can I place the watermark in a different place on each photo?
How do I save my watermarks?
Can I add metadata to my watermark?
Post-Processing
What are Post-Process Actions?
Other Export Questions
Can I save my Export settings as a preset?
What’s the difference between a highlighted preset and a checked preset?
Can I export using multiple presets at once?
Why are my adjustments not being applied to my exported file?
It gives an error message—Some export operations were not performed. The file could not be written. or The file could not be found. What went wrong?
Cloud Sync
What's the difference between Lightroom Classic and the Lightroom cloud ecosystem?
I use Lightroom Classic, so why might I want to use the Lightroom cloud ecosystem too?
Lightroom Mobile Basics
How do I navigate the Lightroom mobile app?
How do I import photos on mobile?
How do I automatically import all new photos from the Photos/Gallery app?
How do I import specific photos?
How do my photos sync up to the cloud from the mobile app?
How do I check sync status on mobile?
How do I pause sync on mobile?
What happens if I fill up my 20GB cloud space?
What can I do with my photos using the Lightroom Mobile app?
Syncing Lightroom Classic
How do I enable sync?
How do I choose which photos to sync to the cloud?
How do I sync collections?
Can I sync folders?
How do I check the sync status?
How do I pause sync?
Where does Lightroom Classic put the photos I added to the Lightroom cloud?
How do I change the default download location?
Where do I find my albums/collections created using the Lightroom cloud apps?
How do I share collections as web galleries?
How do I find photos that have Likes or Comments?
How do I see my friends’ comments?
How do I stop syncing a collection?
How do I remove photos from the cloud?
How do I remove videos from the cloud?
Sync Limitations
What are the limitations of syncing Lightroom Classic with the cloud?
Can I upload originals from Lightroom Classic?
Troubleshooting Sync
Why doesn't the All Synced Photographs count match the count in the Lightroom ecosystem apps?
How do I solve sync errors?
How do I get help from Adobe?
How do I completely disable sync and remove everything from the cloud?
What happens if the same photo changes on the desktop and mobile device while they’re offline, creating a conflict?
What happens if I want to sync a different catalog or I need to restore a backup catalog?
Advanced Workflows
What is the Single Source of Truth?
How do I decide which Lightroom version should be my single source of truth?
Output Modules
Book Module
Slideshow Module
Print Module
How do I create a 4” x 6” borderless print?
How do I print it?
How do I create a contact sheet?
How do I create a picture package?
How do I create a custom package?
Web Module
Troubleshooting
General Troubleshooting
1. The magic reboot
2. Check for Lightroom updates
3. Uninstall and reinstall Lightroom
4. Update the graphics card driver
5. Delete the helper file
6. Try a new catalog
7. Disable or remove plug-ins
8. Reset preferences
9. Try a clean user account
10. Ask for help!
Resetting Preferences
How do I automatically reset Lightroom’s Preferences?
How do I manually reset Lightroom’s Preferences?
What’s stored in Preferences?
Performance Preferences
How does the GPU help?
Which option should I select for the Use Graphics Processor preference?
Should I enable Use GPU for Preview Generation?
Should I enable Use GPU to apply dehaze and clarity adjustments while generating previews?
What settings should I use for the Camera Raw Cache preferences?
What should I select for the Video Cache Settings?
Should I check Enable hover preview of presets, history and snapshots in Loupe?
Should I enable Use Smart Previews instead of Originals for Image Editing?
Should I enable Generate Previews in Parallel?
When should I optimize the catalog?
Troubleshooting Performance
Opening Lightroom
Importing Photos
Building Previews
Viewing in the Library module
Applying Metadata
Moving/deleting photos
Loading in Develop
Editing in Develop
Exporting
Check for hardware and operating system problems
Multiple Computers
Can I use Lightroom over a network?
If I can’t use Lightroom over a network, how can I use it on multiple computers?
Lightroom Cloud Sync
Self-Contained Catalog
Semi-Portable Catalog
Copy/Sync (e.g. Dropbox)
Import from a Temporary Catalog
Split and Merge
Email & Publish Services
Emailing your Photos
Which mail clients are supported?
How do I set up email if my email client is supported?
How do I set up email if I use webmail or an unsupported email client?
Can I have multiple email accounts?
How do I set the size of the photos I want to email?
Can I save a custom email preset including extra settings, such as a watermark or a different file format?
How do I use Lightroom’s address book?
How do I keep a copy of my sent email?
Publish Services
How do I set up a Publish Services account?
Does it automatically publish changes I make to my photos?
How do I publish multiple collections at once?
How do I update my service with the changes I’ve made to my photos?
How do I mark photos as already published, so they don’t upload again?
I didn’t mean to remove a photo from a collection—how do I restore it?
I accidentally revoked the authorization on the website—how do I fix it?
Can I have the same account connected to multiple catalogs?
How do I view people’s comments?
What other third party plug-ins are available?
What can I use the Hard Drive option for?
Is Lightroom Sync a Publish Service?
Book Module
Book Basics
Working with Pages & Templates
How do I select a page template and add new pages?
How do I select a page?
How do I change the template for an existing page?
How do I rearrange the page order or insert a page?
How do I delete pages?
How do I start again?
How do I mark a template as a favorite?
Can I build my own templates?
Can I duplicate a page? Or can I copy the layout from a previous page?
Auto Layout
How do I use Auto Layout?
How do I create my own Auto Layout preset?
Why does it say there are no favorites?
What does Match Long Edges do?
How do I control which metadata is used for Photo Captions when using Auto Layout?
Why isn’t Auto Layout doing anything?
Working with Photos
How do I add or rearrange photo on a page?
How do I zoom into a photo?
What is Page Bleed?
Can I set it to automatically fit the photos to the cells without cropping, rather than filling the cell?
What does the exclamation point on the photo mean?
How do I remove a photo?
How can I tell which photos I’ve used so far?
Can I filter to see which photos are currently not used in my book?
When I’ve finished designing the book, can I still edit the photos in Develop?
Page Styles
How do I change the background color of my pages?
How do I add a graphic or photo as a page background?
How do I add a border around a photo?
How do I change the cover or spine color?
Adding Text
How do I add text to a page?
What’s the difference between Page Text, Photo Text and text cells on page templates?
What is Custom Text?
How do I automatically enter text based on metadata?
I’ve changed the metadata—how do I update the text in the book to match?
What’s the red square marker with a cross in the middle?
How do I position the text on the page?
What is the Text Safe Area?
How do I add automatic page numbers?
How do I add text to the cover and spine of the book?
Can I run a spell check?
Text Formatting
How do I change the font, size and color?
Why isn’t the font changing?
What are Tracking, Baseline, Leading and Kerning?
How do I use the Text Targeted Adjustment Tool?
How do I adjust the horizontal and vertical alignment?
How to do I split text into columns and adjust the spacing?
How do I change the text style on multiple text cells?
Can I save my text style to apply to other cells?
Saving Books
What’s an unsaved book?
How do I save my book?
How do I edit or add extra photos to my saved book?
How do I create a snapshot of my book, in case I make changes and want to go back to a previous version?
How do I save my book layout as a template for use on other photos?
Exporting & Printing Books
Who are Blurb and why are other vendors not available for printing books?
Can I view a soft proof of my Blurb book?
Which cover style and paper should I select?
How do I select quality, color profile, resolution and sharpening for a Blurb book?
What is the Logo Page?
How much will my Blurb book cost?
How do I send my book to Blurb?
How do I save my book as a PDF or JPEGs?
What’s the difference between Save to PDF and a Blurb PDF?
Slideshow Module
Slideshow Basics
Slide Layout & Design
How do I adjust the size of the photo?
How do I set the aspect ratio of the slides?
Why doesn’t the photo fill the photo cell?
How do I change the background of the slides?
How do I set the background color?
How do I add a border around the photo?
How do I add a drop shadow?
How do I add or remove a gradient or color wash on the background of the slide?
How do I add a background image to my slides?
Text Captions & Other Overlays
How do I add branding to my slideshow?
How do I use Anchor Points?
How do I add a watermark to my photos?
How do I add a text caption?
How do I reselect or delete a text field?
What is Custom Text?
How do I make the caption different for each photo?
How do I create my own metadata-based preset?
Why does the text field say <empty>?
How do I change the font for my captions?
How do I add shadows behind my overlays?
How do I display my star ratings?
Can I rate the photos while the slideshow’s running?
Playback Settings
How do I add blank slides at the beginning and end of the slideshow?
How do I add a music track to my slideshow?
Where can I download royalty-free music?
Can I add multiple music tracks?
How do I remove a music track?
Why is there an exclamation point next to the track name?
How do I fade the music track when I’m playing a video?
How do I set the timings for the slideshow?
Can I set different timings for different slides?
Can I change the style of transitions?
Can I advance the slideshow manually?
How do I set the order of the slides?
How do I select which monitor to use?
How do I play the slideshow?
How do I play a subset of my slideshow without creating a new one?
Saving Slideshows & Templates
How do I save my slideshow to edit or play again later?
How do I open my saved slideshow again later?
How do I edit or delete my saved slideshow?
How do I add extra photos to my slideshow?
How do I save my slideshow settings to reuse on another set of photos?
Exporting Slideshows for Use Outside of Lightroom
Which format should I use?
How do I export my slideshow as a video?
How do I export my slideshow as a PDF?
How do I export my slideshow as a folder of JPEGs?
Why are my photos missing?
Print Module
Export for standard lab prints
Print Basics
How do I create a 4” x 6” borderless print?
How do I print it?
How do I create a contact sheet?
How do I create a picture package?
How do I create a custom package?
Print Layout
How do I change the page size and paper orientation?
How do I set the page margins? Why won’t they go to 0?
How do I change the units of measurement?
How do I change the guides displayed on the page?
How do I adjust the contact sheet layout?
How do I change the order of the photos?
Why won’t my photo print without adding white borders along two edges or cutting off some of the photo?
How do I lay out a Picture or Custom Package or collage?
Be Inventive!
Print Design & Overlays
How do I set the background color?
How do I add a border?
How do I add my logo or Identity Plate to the page?
How do I add a watermark to my photos?
How do I add text to my page?
How do I display page numbers or crop marks?
Printing & Exporting
How do I print my layout?
What is Draft Mode Printing?
How high should I set the resolution?
When should I turn on 16-bit printing?
Which Print Sharpening option do I choose?
How do I set up my printer to match the preview I see on screen?
How do I install custom printer profiles?
Why do Page Setup, Print Settings and Printer buttons show the same dialog?
Why do Lightroom’s prints not match the preview on screen?
How do I create a JPEG of my print layout?
Can I print to PDF?
Saving Prints & Templates
How do I save my design to edit or print later?
How do I edit or delete my saved print?
How do I save my print layout to reuse on another set of photos?
Web Module
Web Gallery Basics
Web Gallery Layout & Design
How do I select the layout?
How do I personalize my gallery?
How do I change the gallery colors?
How do I change the thumbnail page layout?
How do I choose which metadata to display on the main image page?
How do I select the quality of the main photos?
Speed Tip
Saving Web Galleries & Templates
How do I save my settings as a web gallery?
How do I edit or delete my saved web gallery?
How do I add extra photos to my web gallery?
How do I save my web gallery settings to reuse on another set of photos?
FTP Settings, Templates & Galleries
Export for Web
File naming for the Web
Should I let Lightroom upload the gallery or use dedicated FTP software?
How do I set up Lightroom’s built-in FTP client?
I changed an existing gallery—why hasn’t it changed on the website?
How do I export to the hard drive to upload using FTP software?
Can I have multiple galleries on my website?
The Geeky Bits
Proprietary Raw vs. DNG
Should I convert to DNG?
Do I lose quality when converting to DNG?
Should I convert to Lossy DNG?
Why do some files get bigger when converting to DNG?
If I convert to DNG, can I convert back to the proprietary raw file format again?
Which preferences should I choose when converting to DNG?
DNG Defaults
How do I convert to DNG?
How do I update DNG files to take advantage of newer specifications?
Can I replace my full size proprietary raw or DNG files with smaller ones?
Should I convert other formats like JPEG or TIFF to DNG?
How do I update my embedded preview?
How do I find more information about the type of DNG file?
I embedded the proprietary raw file—how do I extract it?
How do I use the DNG Validation?
Flat Field Correction
When would I use Flat Field Correction?
What kind of calibration photo do I need?
How do I apply the correction?
DNG Profile Editor
Why is the DNG Profile Editor better than the Calibration sliders?
Why not create ICC Profiles?
Can I use the profiles on proprietary raw files, not just DNG?
How do I use the DNG Profile Editor? It looks complicated!
ColorChecker Passport plug-in
Custom Keyboard Shortcuts, Translated Strings and Other Text Hacks
How do I change keyboard shortcuts?
How do I edit the Translated Strings file?
Can I create a different dated folder structure automatically?
Jeffrey’s Configuration Manager
Can I have more than 5 digit sequence numbers when renaming?
Photoshop Actions via Droplets
The droplet runs, but it doesn’t save—what have I done wrong?
The droplet runs, but it keeps asking which JPEG compression to use—what have I done wrong?
The droplet doesn’t run at all—why not?
The droplet only works on some of the photos and then stops—what’s wrong?
In my droplet I used a Save for Web instead of a standard Save As—why won’t it overwrite the original file?
Importing From Other Programs
Import from Photoshop Elements
Import from the Apple Photos App
Import from iPhoto/Aperture
Register your book for additional benefits
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What happens next?
Index
