Negative conversion tool Negative Lab Pro has released a version 2.2 update it calls ‘the most rigorously developed update’ to date, bringing with it a ‘new engine, easier editing tools, and breathtaking color and tone reproduction’
For those unfamiliar with Negative Lab Pro, it’s a plug-in for Lightroom 6 and Lightroom Classic that adds a specific toolset and workflow for converting negative film scans. It rids the need for hand-editing curves and manually accounting for scan densities, making it easy to go from scan to final image in a matter of minutes through its own graphic interface within Lightroom. Below is a year-old introduction to how Negative Lab Pro works:
With that out of the way, let’s get on to the new features Negative Lab Pro 2.2 brings to the table.
First up, Negative Lab Pro 2.2 features an entirely rebuilt engine that ensures the entire workflow can be done with Raw file formats and is non-destructive. Now, rather than there being multiple layers of adjustments atop the image, all conversions and adjustments are made directly to the Raw negative scan (if you convert the scanned negative into a Raw file format upon import). In theory, this should mean there isn’t any loss of quality when multiple adjustments are made on top of one another.
A screen recording showing how the curves will intelligently adjust based on the adjustments made to scans.
The new engine also features what its developer calls ‘Multilayer Auto-Generating Integrated Curves,’ which is a fancy way of saying the plug-in is able to intelligently adjust the curves to preserve the tonality and scans as adjustments are made. Negative Lab Pro developer Nate Johnson provides an explanation for how this new technology works:
‘The new engine has its own processing pipeline with 9 internal processing layers working together seamlessly under the hood. Internally, I can define, order and combine each layer in the way that makes the most sense for film processing. For instance, color balancing happens earliest in the pipeline, so your color balance remains stable even if you drastically adjust your tones. Negative Lab Pro then auto-generates up to 42 curve points in real time (14 integrated points for each color channel), which are then fed directly into Lightroom’s curve control.’
Put simply, this new development should result in ‘purer tones and colors’ in your negatives, even as adjustments are applied.
Another benefit of the redesigned engine is improved color stability. Now, adjustments made to the image — such as contrast, brightness and more — won’t affect the color balance of an image. Nate demonstrates in the comparison images below the difference between Negative Lab Pro version 2.1 and version 2.2 when making changes to contrast:
A collection of new tools have also been added to Negative Lab Pro 2.2, including film-specific color temperature and tint sliders, a new color picker, range control for highlights and shadows, and new tone profile families, which provide different baselines for getting started with editing your scans.
The integrated temp/tint sliders that use the new 2.2 engine.
If you’re using Negative Lab Pro 2.2 with Lightroom Classic, the update also adds new LUT-based emulations. Unlike Adobe Lightroom 6, Lightroom Classic has integrated 3D Lookup Tables. This capabilities allows the new LUT-based emulations to make ‘incredibly nuanced adjustments to color and tone reproduction,’ which should result in more accurate film stock emulations.
The best part is, in the case of most scans edited with previous versions of Negative Lab Pro should automatically be converted to the rebuilt engine in version 2.2. So, unless you want to make more precise edits with the new engine, you shouldn’t have to go back and manually re-edit all of your scans.
Negative Lab Pro version 2.2 is free for anyone who currently has a license. If you’re trying out Negative Lab Pro for the first time, you will be able to convert 12 images for free before you’re required to purchase a license.
Negative Lab Pro 2.2 is available to purchase for $ 99. The plug-in receives consistent updates and to date, all past updates have been free so long as you own a license. Nate does note, however, that at some point there may be paid updates or extras available for purchase.
You can find out more information about Negative Labs 2.2 in Nate’s incredibly comprehensive update post. on the Negative Lab Pro forums.
Adobe has announced a new Advanced Color Grading feature will soon be available inside Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic.
The new Color Grading panel is inspired by the Lumetri Color panel used in Adobe’s Premiere Pro video editing software and replaces the previous Split Toning panel. Unlike Split Toning, which only allows you to adjust the highlights and shadows, the new Color Grading panel takes it one step further, allowing you to also adjust the coloring of the midtones.
In addition to adding midtones, the panel is also redesigned. It now uses a three-wheel system, not unlike the color wheels often seen in professional video editing programs. Each wheel works alongside a slider to provide complete HSL control for highlights, midtones and shadows. There’s also a global color wheel for more general adjustments, as well as a blending slider to help boost or reduce your adjustments, depending on the look you’re going for.
Adobe doesn’t mention when we can expect to see this filter in Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Lightroom Classic, but does say it’ll be showing off more of this new panel at this year’s virtual Adobe Max conference, which is taking place on October 20–22.
The post Take Control of Color Adjustments in Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
With all the sliders, options, and numerical values to tweak in Lightroom, there is no end to the editing possibilities at your disposal. Sometimes, you just want an easy way to make your images stand out and shine without all the hassle of adjusting dozens of individual options.
Fortunately, you don’t need to go overboard with editing to do some really incredible color adjustments in Lightroom. Three basic parameters can work wonders for your images: the Hue filter adjustment, as well as the Saturation and Vibrance sliders.
Along with White Balance, Hue is one of the most basic color adjustments you can make to a photo. Strictly speaking, Hue refers to the actual color of an image or a part of the image. It’s one of the building blocks of a photo that, along with Saturation and Luminance, affects your pictures on a foundational level.
The HSL panel in the Develop module lets you adjust the Hue of various colors. Essentially, you can make the reds shift from purple-ish to orange-ish. Or change your greens to be more yellow or teal.
Hue allows you to precisely control the overall appearance of your image, but the HSL panel works on an all-or-nothing basis. Moving the sliders affects the hue of every red, orange, yellow, and so on across the entire photograph.
Nikon D500 | Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II | 200mm | 1/500 sec | f/4 | ISO 3600
Hue works well in a picture like the red cardinal above because the colors are clearly distinct and separate. Adjusting the Hue slider for the color red will affect the bird but nothing else because there are no other reds in the picture.
A recent update to Lightroom turbocharges the Hue editing tool by also allowing it to be used with filter adjustments. You can make precise Hue adjustments using the Radial and Graduated filters as well as the Adjustment Brush. These are incredibly powerful tools that help you get the precise color adjustments in Lightroom that you were never able to get before.
Hue can now be edited using the Adjustment Brush, Radial Filter, and the Graduated Filter.
The usefulness of this new approach to Hue adjustment is amazing, and using it could hardly be simpler. Just create a new filter or Adjustment Brush, then click and drag the Hue slider to change the colors of the portion of your image affected by the filter or the brush.
The top of the color rainbow stays locked in place while the bottom shows you the degree to which your colors are being changed. For precise control, check the Use Fine Adjustment box or hold down the Alt key (or the Option key on a Mac), which reduces the effect of your left-to-right dragging to give you finely-tuned adjustments.
To illustrate how this works, here is a picture of two yellow flowers. Adjusting the Hue using the HSL panel would allow me to change the yellow of both flowers. Using a Hue Adjustment Brush lets me change the color of one single flower. This is a maneuver that used to require jumping over to Photoshop and using multiple layers and tools, but can now be accomplished in mere seconds in Lightroom.
To change the color of the flower in the foreground from yellow to red, all I have to do is click the Adjustment Brush and paint in a new adjustment over the yellow flower. Then click and drag the Hue slider to the left, and you have an instant red flower.
The Auto Mask option helps ensure that my edits stay within the yellow flower. I can also hold the Alt key (or the Option key on a Mac) to erase parts of the adjustment that I don’t want.
Transforming the flower from yellow to red took me less than 15 seconds in Lightroom. All I did was use an Adjustment Brush and change the Hue.
Using the Hue adjustment with a Radial Filter or Graduated Filter follows much of the same process as the Adjustment Brush. Apply a filter and adjust the Hue accordingly to change the colors of a portion of your image. These additions to Hue options in Lightroom are a bit like selective color editing, where most of a picture is black and white with one portion displayed with color.
Hue adjustments for the filters and Adjustment Brush go one step further by giving you total control over individual colors in specific parts of your pictures. If you haven’t yet tried it, I recommend checking it out and seeing how easy it really is! And if you want even more control over your color adjustments in Lightroom, there are the Saturation and Vibrance sliders to look at.
Saturation and Vibrance
These two sliders can go a long way towards giving your photos an extra degree of refinement. However, they are often misunderstood and misused. They both complete the same basic function, in that they make the colors of a photo punchier or more exaggerated. Where they differ is in the method used to adjust the images and the way the colors are adjusted.
Saturation is kind of a blunt instrument, like editing your image with a hammer. It allows you to adjust the intensity of all the colors in a photo equally, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it gets you the result you are aiming for. It’s easy to overdo it with saturation, though, so adjust carefully.
Vibrance takes a more intelligent and subtle approach. This slider analyzes the colors of an image that are already saturated and, therefore, don’t need much adjustment. When you move the slider to the right those colors are generally left alone, as are common skin tones. The result is an image that feels punchier without being overwhelmed with color.
Adjustments with portraits
The image series below shows the difference between these two sliders. The first is an unedited RAW straight out of camera.
Nikon D750 | Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II | 180mm | 1/500 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 1600. Original unedited RAW photo, no color adjustments.
Adjusting Vibrance up to a value of +60 makes the background colors more noticeable and also punches up the blue clothing. Faces and hands are relatively untouched, as are some of the clothing colors like orange and green that don’t need much adjustment.
Same photo, but with Vibrance +60. The image feels more lively and dramatic without being overbearing.
In contrast, the Saturation color adjustment in Lightroom ramps up every color indiscriminately. The final image looks like it was run through a series of poorly-implemented social media filters and is a little jarring and unpleasant to look at.
This is the original image, but with the Saturation increased to +60. This picture feels overprocessed and unpleasant.
This example is a bit of an exaggeration, though! Saturation is a perfectly acceptable adjustment, as long as you use it carefully. Generally speaking, ramping up Saturation to such extreme values will not yield the best results. I like to keep it around the +5 to +15 range, which gives a more subtle effect and makes all the colors pop just enough to stand out while not being overbearing.
Another way to take control of color adjustments in Lightroom without getting too complicated is to lower Saturation and Vibrance.
Nikon D750 | 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II | 200mm | 1/250 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 220. Original unedited RAW, no color adjustments.
Lowering the value of Saturation and/or Vibrance can give your images a subdued look, almost like a sepia filter. I like this effect on portraits, and if you shoot for clients you might find this to be a useful adjustment to keep in your back pocket when editing. Many people like a desaturated look, because it can feel comforting and a bit nostalgic.
This is the same image, but with Saturation decreased to -45. Lots of clients like this type of appearance for portraits.
When working with portraits, I find that little Vibrance and Saturation adjustments in Lightroom go quite a long way. Generally, I do just a little bit of one or both and don’t exceed a value of +10. It might not seem like much, but those small edits can give your images that little extra push to really stand out.
Working with nature images
Vibrance and Saturation color adjustments in Lightroom really come in handy when working with landscapes, flowers, animals, or anything else in nature. Here’s where I like to put my foot on the throttle and really push the sliders a lot more than I would with portraits. Rather than jarring and unpleasant, the results are often dramatic and even captivating.
I shot the photo below in Minnesota just south of the Canadian border, just as the sun was coming up. The image looks fine, but it’s a little bland and doesn’t quite convey the emotion I want the viewer to experience. Thankfully, a little Saturation and Vibrance can fix it.
Fuji X100F | 23mm | 1/125 sec | f/8 | ISO 5000. Original unedited RAW, no color adjustments.
Bumping Saturation up to +55 yields a much-improved image, albeit with a few tweaks that still need to be implemented. Colors are richer, contrast is greater, and the scene is much more similar to how it was when I was standing among the trees listening to the birds chirp overhead.
+55 Saturation has improved the photo quite a lot.
Even though the picture is better with increased overall Saturation, adding some Vibrance gives it just the final touch it needs. I would never add this much Vibrance and Saturation to a portrait or street photograph. When working with shots of nature, these adjustments can make a huge difference without feeling ostentatious or overbearing.
Adding +30 Saturation brings out the colors in the background trees while keeping the foreground intact.
The best of both worlds
If you really want to get creative with Vibrance and Saturation, you can use a combination of both adjustments, but not in the way you might thing. Color adjustments in Lightroom are all a matter of personal preference, but one trick I like to use, especially with people in everyday life and not necessarily formal portraits, is to raise the vibrance while lowering the saturation.
Nikon D750 | Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art | 40mm | 1/180 sec | f/1.4 | ISO 360. Original RAW with no color adjustments.
Some of the best editing can be almost invisible. I lowered Saturation while raising Vibrance, which shifted everything just enough to give the picture a low-key-but-slightly-enhanced look. It’s a small but noticeable edit when compared to the original, and shows how using both adjustments together can yield impressive results.
+57 Vibrance combined with -22 Saturation gave me just the look I was aiming for.
This technique combines Saturation and Vibrance for a result that is more than the sum of its parts. The entire image feels a little more subdued and welcoming, while important colors are emphasized just a little more. The end result is, like a lot of good adjustments, subtle but effective.
Image editing doesn’t have to be complicated. While there are many tools and options for color adjustments in Lightroom, often just these simple basic features will get the job done just fine. I particularly like the new Hue tools and the unparalleled freedom they offer photographers.
If you have not yet tried this, or if it has been a while since you played around with simple Saturation and Vibrance, you might be surprised at how much these can do to make your images go from just okay to absolutely astonishing.
The post Take Control of Color Adjustments in Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
The post How to Use a Split Tone Style in Lightroom Mobile for a Consistent Instagram Feed appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
Have you ever seen an image and immediately known who took it? That’s because the photographer has a unique style.
If you want to make your own images recognizable for your clients and followers, you might want to try a split tone style.
Keep reading to learn how this works.
Snapshot taken with the default camera app on a Redmi Note 8.
Style
You can create your own style through many different elements, from lighting and composition to a particular way of post-processing.
Using this technique, you can keep your images consistent. That way, the viewer feels like all your images belong together and associates the images with you and your brand. This works for your portfolio, your website, and your Instagram feed.
Split tone
When you assign a certain tone to the shadows and a different tone to the highlights, it’s known as a split tone. The full white and full black will always remain untouched. But the highlights will be cool while the shadows will be warm.
Let me show you what I mean with this gradient:
You can also change the ratio between highlights and shadows. On these next gradients, see how the same split tone colors give a different effect when you adjust the split tone balance:
This is just an example, but you can use any combination of colors that suits your style and brand. For that, you can create a color palette.
Choose a color palette
A color palette is a range of colors used in a particular context. These colors need to work well together and reinforce your style.
There are different theories you can use to create your color palette. You can go for a monochromatic scheme or a complementary one. If you’re not sure, there are some great tools to help you. You can check out Adobe Color or Color Hexa.
Just like a filter, different split tones may look better on some images than others. Having a color scheme gives you the flexibility to apply different split tone combinations while maintaining your style.
Split tone style
Almost every program has a feature or a way to do split toning: ACR, Capture One, Photoshop, Luminar, Lightroom, etc. Also, many apps allow you to do split toning on your phone: Photoshop Express, Lightroom Mobile, and VSCO Cam. Choose whichever fits best into your workflow.
In most cases, the split toning interface is similar from program to program. You’ll have two gradients: one for the highlights and one for the shadows. You’ll also have a balance slider.
I’m going to show you how to split tone in Lightroom Mobile, because it’s the program I find most comfortable. Also, because Lightroom Mobile allows you to save your split tone effect as a preset.
Both split toning and preset functionality are included in the free version of Lightroom Mobile, so you can follow along without getting a subscription.
Split toning in Lightroom Mobile
When you have your image open in Lightroom Mobile, you can see the menu at the bottom. Scroll to the right until you find Effects.
Once you open the Effects tab, on the top right you can find Split Tone. This will open the gradients for the highlights and shadows. Below these gradients, you’ll find a slider to control the split tone balance.
Move the highlights, shadows, and balance values until you’re satisfied.
In the color palette section of this article, I was telling you that there are different ways to split tone. Here you can see an example of split toning using a monochromatic scheme (the center photo), and another that uses complementary colors (the right photo).
Make it a preset
To keep your split tone style consistent without having to remember the specific values every time, you can create a split tone preset. That way it becomes a one-touch edit you can apply to every photo.
To do this, click on the three dots in the top right. This will open a menu; from there choose Create Preset. Make sure that only the Split Toning option that you find inside Effects is checked. Otherwise, the preset will save additional edits that you might not want to replicate in other photos.
Then name the preset and tap on the check icon (in the top right) to save.
Next time you want to apply the split tone effect to a photo, just open it in Lightroom Mobile, go to Presets, then User Presets, and find the split tone preset you want.
You can also create different split tone presets that use variations from your color palette. That way, you can use the preset that fits each image best while maintaining the overall aesthetic.
Conclusion
Using a split tone style will help you maintain a consistent look in your images. This will make your account recognizable to your followers and let your clients know what they can expect from your brand.
It doesn’t matter which app or program you use; the important thing is that it’s easy to incorporate into your workflow.
Share your recommendations and experiences in the comments section.
The post How to Use a Split Tone Style in Lightroom Mobile for a Consistent Instagram Feed appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
The post Tips for Managing Digital Noise in Lightroom and Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
If you’ve ever set your ISO toward the higher end of your camera’s range, you will find that your photos don’t always turn out so great. Digital noise is generally noticeable in photos that have been taken with a high ISO setting. Managing digital noise is important when you move toward the limits of your camera’s ISO range.
In this article, we’ll take a look at various techniques, both in-camera and during post-processing, for managing digital noise.
Digital noise appears like colored sand scattered through your photos. It’s particularly noticeable in darker and lighter areas of your compositions when you’ve used a high ISO setting.
Noise varies from camera to camera depending on the quality of the sensor. You’ll have noticed it in photos made with your smartphone at night. When the light is low and the ISO is high, a phone or camera with a very small sensor is prone to producing a lot of digital noise. On higher-end full-frame cameras there’s not so much of an issue with digital noise until your ISO reaches the highest settings it’s capable of.
At first glance, digital noise may not be so noticeable. But when you enlarge an image made using a high ISO, it is easy to see noise speckles. These speckles are discolored pixels and pixels with an incorrect luminance value. They contrast with the surroundings in an unnatural way.
Digital noise in photos is not the same as grain. Grain is associated with film and has a different appearance than digital noise. Different types of film have different grain structures. Grain can be used to creatively enhance photos, whereas digital noise degrades an image.
Detail showing digital noise. Nikon D700 | 70mm | 1/100 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 6400.
Two types of digital noise
There are two types of digital noise that affect your photos when you use a high ISO setting. These are color noise and luminance noise.
Color noise, or chromatic noise, appears as discolored pixels that contrast with how the colors in a photo should look. It’s most apparent in the very light or very dark areas of photos taken at high ISO settings. Sometimes this type of noise is difficult to eradicate. The best approach can be to simply convert your photo to black and white.
Luminance noise shows up as pixels that are brighter than they should be. When you raise the ISO setting on your camera, the pixels on the sensor become amplified and distort. Think of it as like turning the volume on your stereo up too high to the point that the sound distorts.
How can you avoid digital noise in photos?
The most surefire way to avoid digital noise is to keep your ISO setting low. This is not always possible, especially when photographing in low light conditions.
Raising your ISO increases the risk of adding unsightly noise, but it also allows you to choose a narrower aperture and faster shutter speed.
Getting sharp photos of action at night requires a fast shutter speed. And an easy way to achieve this is by raising your ISO setting. So it’s not always possible to avoid noise. Managing digital noise when you post-process your photos then becomes necessary. There are various tricks and tools you can use to do this.
Try this exercise to discover the highest ISO setting you are comfortable using on your camera:
Find a reasonably dark place to take photos of a static subject, such as a room with the drapes drawn or outside at night. Set your camera on a tripod, or on a firm surface where it won’t move.
You can set your camera to any exposure mode you’re comfortable with, but you must set your ISO to manual. And if you use your camera’s manual exposure setting, balance your aperture or shutter speed before each shot (so your meter is always reading zero).
Start with the lowest ISO setting. This is usually ISO 100. Take a photo of your subject. Then change your ISO setting to 200. Take another photo.
Repeat this process, doubling the ISO, until you have taken a series of images throughout the ISO range.
Study the photos on your computer. Zoom in to 100% and look at the digital noise. At what ISO setting does the digital noise appear to degrade image quality? The ISO setting below that point should be the maximum you use.
Post-processing programs and apps have functions that can reduce digital noise in photos.
The less noise apparent in a photo, the more successfully you can remove it. If you’re too aggressive with managing digital noise, your photos will appear soft and blurry.
Detail showing digital noise.
Reducing digital noise using Lightroom
In the Develop module in Lightroom, click on the Details Panel on the right side of the screen. Here you’ll see a number of sliders. The ones you want to use are the Luminance and Color sliders.
Start with Luminance slider and drag it to the right. Then slide the Color slider if you still see some noise. Watch what’s happening to your image as you do this. You don’t want to slide it further than you need to. The further to the right you move these controls, the softer your image becomes.
The amount you need to adjust the sliders will vary from image to image.
Detail with noise reduced. Note the position of the Color and Luminance sliders.
Reducing digital noise using Photoshop
If you prefer using Photoshop, you’ll still find good controls for managing digital noise.
In the top menu select Filter>Camera Raw Filter. In the new window that opens, select the Details icon (it’s the two triangles). Here you have the same two sliders as in Lightroom: Luminance and Color. Slide them to the right only enough to get a satisfactory result.
Detail of unprocessed image showing noise reduction tools in Photoshop.
You can further reduce noise by selecting Filter>Noise>Reduce Noise from the top menu.
Applying the noise reduction filter in Photoshop.
Photoshop allows you more flexibility in reducing noise. You can isolate the problem areas with masks or multiple layers. This can help retain detail in important areas of your compositions.
Try this noise reduction technique
When you are photographing a static subject and have your camera on a tripod, take two or more photos.
Open two of the photos in separate layers of the same file in Photoshop. Once you’ve done this, the easiest way to reduce the noise and retain clarity is by changing the blend mode of the top layer. The Multiply blend mode usually works well. You can also experiment with Overlay and Soft Light blend modes.
Conclusion
Whenever I’m taking photos, I try to maintain the lowest ISO setting possible to avoid digital noise. In many low light situations, using a higher ISO setting is necessary to take photos without extra lights.
Each camera model manages digital noise differently. Use the experiment I outlined in this article to ascertain the highest ISO setting at which you are comfortable shooting.
Managing digital noise is now easier than ever. Cameras have more advanced sensors than early digital cameras had. And imaging software has also evolved to be better at managing digital noise.
The post Tips for Managing Digital Noise in Lightroom and Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
The post A New Adobe Lightroom Update Just Deleted Customers’ Photos and Presets appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Last week, Adobe released Lightroom 5.4.0, a routine update meant for the iPad and iPhone Lightroom app.
But it soon became clear that the update was far more than users bargained for when customers who installed Lightroom 5.4.0 found that their photos and presets had disappeared.
Lightroom users immediately reported their situation on forums, explaining the data loss and asking Adobe for help.
One user wrote, “After the automatic update to Lightroom mobile 5.4…my whole library is lost.” Another wrote, “I can’t believe I lost 2+ years of edits due to the Lightroom mobile update.”
Note that presets were also affected; a Redditor explained how, upon launching Lightroom, “Not only were most of my photos gone, but also hundreds of my presets, some of which I worked on for the past couple of years.”
Adobe soon issued Lightroom 5.4.1, as well as an official response:
“Some customers who updated to Lightroom 5.4.0 on iPhone and iPad may be missing photos and/or presets. This affected customers using Lightroom mobile without a subscription to the Adobe cloud. It also affected Lightroom cloud customers with photos and presets that had not yet synced to the Adobe cloud.
A new version of Lightroom mobile (5.4.1) for iOS and iPadOS has now been released that prevents this issue from affecting additional customers.
Installing version 5.4.1 will not restore missing photos or presets for customers affected by the problem introduced in 5.4.0.
We know that some customers have photos and presets that are not recoverable. We know how frustrating and upsetting this will be to people affected and we sincerely apologize.
Some customers affected by this issue might be able to use iPhone and iPad backups to recover photos and presets.“
Many users were understandably upset upon learning that their photos and presets were unrecoverable. It seems that much of the data is gone forever, though a few users did manage to regain some or all of their missing data via device backups.
While it’s deeply frustrating that Adobe would make such a mistake, this error hammers home the importance of having multiple backups of your photos at all times. I recommend having at least three, including at least one physical backup (e.g., an external hard drive), as well as a cloud-based backup. And, once you have the backups, you must update them regularly; it’s the only way to ensure that your precious images stay safe!
Now over to you:
Were any of you affected by this Lightroom update? If so, were you able to recover your images? And for those who weren’t affected, do you plan to change your image backup practices? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post A New Adobe Lightroom Update Just Deleted Customers’ Photos and Presets appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
After updating to Lightroom version 5.4 on iOS and iPadOS, numerous users found that photos and editing presets that had not yet been synced to the cloud were missing. Worse yet, Adobe has confirmed that affected users and Adobe itself will be unable to retrieve the missing data.
After reports of lost photos spread around the web on places such as our own forums, Reddit and Adobe’s own forums, Adobe representative Rikk Flohr published a response on the afternoon of August 18. It reads:
‘We are aware that some customers who updated to Lightroom 5.4.0 on iPhone and iPad may be missing photos and presets that were not synced to the Lightroom cloud.
A new version of Lightroom mobile (5.4.1) for iOS and iPad OS has now been released that prevents this issue from affecting additional customers.
Installing version 5.4.1 will not restore missing photos or presets for customers affected by the problem introduced in 5.4.0.
We know that some customers have photos and presets that are not recoverable. We sincerely apologize to any customers who have been affected by this issue.
If you are affected by this issue, please refer to the information in this forum thread.’
Adobe has not issued any additional comments about the incident, nor has it disclosed an estimate of how many users were affected by the issue ahead of the release of Lightroom 5.4.1. When we contacted Adobe this morning, a representative said they have no further statements at this time.
In a thread originally started by Lightroom user Mohamad Alif Eqnur on Adobe’s forums, numerous users chimed in with their own experiences of lost photos, including multiple users who shared that they had lost purchased presets.
Affected customers are understandably very upset, especially given that Adobe’s fix only acts to prevent the issue from happening to additional customers, rather than offering users a solution to restore missing photos and presets.
When issues like this occur, and if it can happen to a giant in the industry like Adobe it can happen to any company, it stands as a reminder that it’s critical to have multiple backups of your images. Further, it’s a good idea to save edits of your photos as sidecar files, so even if a catalog becomes corrupted, you will retain your edit data. These sidecar files can even be read by Adobe Bridge.
The post Become a Better Photo Editor with the New Lightroom Mobile ‘Discover’ Feature appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
Every time you see a photo that strikes you as beautiful, brilliant, or breathtaking, you are only witnessing the tip of the iceberg. In nearly every case, the photo is the end result of dozens, even hundreds, of edits made by the photographer. From simple cropping and white balance to in-depth editing like curves and color mix, these edits are what turn an ordinary image into a work of art.
Unfortunately, such edits on a photo have been impossible to see. But, thanks to the recent addition of a ‘Share Your Edit’ feature in Lightroom Mobile, you’re now able to view the behind-the-scenes edits made to images.
Nikon D750 | AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II | 200mm | 1/4000s | f/22 | ISO 100
One of the best ways to grow as a photographer is to learn from others. Find out what works for photographers you admire and respect, and then adopt those techniques into your own workflow. This is the foundation for almost any trade, craft, or artistic pursuit. Yet, for photographers, this knowledge is often locked away behind a door. People can see the end result, but not the process.
The Discover feature in Lightroom Mobile solves this by giving you access to a worldwide community of artists who have willingly shared their editing process. There are hundreds, even thousands, of photo communities online that let you view pictures and share your own. However, none of these—not Instagram, Flickr, SmugMug, or anything else—let you see the editing process. You can only see the final image, which isn’t much use if you want to know how the photographer edited their photo to actually create the picture.
This is Lightroom Mobile’s ace in the hole: Because the Discover feature is part of the same software used to edit the images being shared, it allows for a level of freedom unmatched by any other photosharing site. In minutes, you can be learning from experts and professionals all over the world to see how they have edited their pictures, and you can adopt their techniques into your own workflow.
Discovering the Share Your Edit feature
Accessing the Discover option requires nothing more than a few taps on your mobile device. Open the Lightroom Mobile app and then tap on the icon that looks like a globe. If you hold your device vertically the icon will appear at the bottom of your screen along with the Discover label.
Tap the globe icon at the top left to access the Discover feature.
What you see next might remind you of many other photosharing apps, but dig a little deeper and you’ll see so much more. Scroll up and down to see more photos, and tap the heart icon in the lower right corner of any picture to mark it as one that you like. In the lower left corner, you will see the profile photo of the photographer who shot the picture. At the top is a list of categories for you to explore: Featured, New, Abstract, Landscape, Nature, and more.
So far so good, right? If the point of the Lightroom Mobile Discover feature is to help you find photos (or photographers) that you like, then there’s not much to distinguish this from any other photosharing app. The real fun begins when you tap on a photo to see the edit history.
Learning from the edits
When you tap on a picture it’s almost like stepping through a time machine or, more accurately, into a classroom.
Nearly every photo in the Discover feature lets you look at the edits that were made to it.
Lightroom Mobile now shows you the picture you tapped on, along with a blue bar at the bottom of your screen that fills from left to right. As the bar moves, the picture changes right before your very eyes, almost as though you’re watching it being edited in realtime. And, in a way, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Tap the Edits button at the bottom of the screen or just press and scroll upwards on the photo to load the entire editing history of the image. This is where the Lightroom Mobile Discover feature rockets into the stratosphere and becomes an amazing tool for photographers who want to learn from others, not just be inspired by their photos.
Scroll up and down through the list of edits to see them applied in real-time.
After tapping the Edits button you are presented with a scrolling list of every single edit that the photographer applied to the photo. Scroll to the top to see the initial import, and then slowly scroll down to watch the image change before your very eyes as each individual edit was applied. Lightroom Mobile shows you each particular edit along with the specific number for each individual adjustment.
This linear edit history lets you look over the shoulder of the photographer, watching every edit they made and seeing how each decision changed the image. The Discover feature lets you stand in a room with thousands of photographers, learning from each of them as you see how they arrived at their final images.
Looking through the edits to a photo is like being in the same room as the photographer while the image is being refined.
One limitation you will quickly realize is that this feature only shows you the edits. You are not allowed to change any of the editing values and, as a result, alter the image in any way. However, you can save the edits as a preset so you can use them in your own photography.
Click the three-dot icon in the top right corner and then tap Save as Preset to download the edits to your own Lightroom app. You can then apply these edits to any of your photos and adjust any of the parameters that you want.
Most edits can be shared as presets, unless the photographer sharing the edits has specifically forbidden it.
The Lightroom Mobile Discover feature has a few more tricks up its sleeve to help you get inside the mind of photographers who have shared their images. Tap the Info button to see additional details that the photographer has shared about the image. This often includes a title, written description, keywords related to the subject, EXIF data, and camera information. All this is extraordinarily useful for anyone who wants to learn more about a particular photo beyond just how it was edited.
Share your own
After diving into the Discover feature and learning more about how other photos were edited, you might be inclined to share your own images and edits. You can do this easily from Lightroom Mobile with just a few taps.
To get started with sharing your images to the Discover community, just open Lightroom Mobile and tap on any of the images in your library. Then tap the Share icon in the top right corner.
Tap the Share button on any of your images to upload the picture (and your editing history) to the Discover feature.
Then click the Share Edit option.
Note that as of this writing (July 2020) this process is still in Beta. Adobe will no doubt improve and refine it over time, and the exact steps might change.
Share Edit is still in beta as of July 2020, but it works very well.
The next screen prompts you to enter some information about the photo. This is similar to Instagram and other photosharing sites, but keep in mind that the point here is to help other photographers learn more about the photo. You aren’t competing for likes or upvotes; you’re sharing valuable information along with your edits to help a larger community of photographers learn more about their craft.
The more you write in your title and description, the more helpful other photographers will find your image.
It helps to be as descriptive as possible in your title, description, and category sections. That way, you are not only helping other people learn more about your photo; you’re helping them to discover it, as well, by using categories that are similar to hashtags on other photosharing sites.
Finally, choose whether you want your edits to be saved as presets. I always recommend enabling this option because of the sharing mentality that makes the Lightroom Mobile Discover feature so valuable. If you have benefitted from viewing edits that other photographers have made, it’s nice to respond in kind by sharing your own edits, as well.
I don’t recommend including location information, which is turned off by default.
I recommend enabling the Save as Preset option to let others save your editing process to use on their own images.
After you have all the basic information about your photo ready to go, tap the checkmark icon in the top right corner. This uploads your image, editing information, title, description, and categories to the Discover feature.
I get a kick out of heading to the Discover feature right away to see my images show up in the stream of new photos.
Tap the OK button and then head over to the Discover feature to see your image in the New section. Soon other photographers will start viewing it and learning from your edits! To see all the images you have shared with the Discover community, along with the number of likes each photo has gotten, tap your profile icon.
Keep in mind that the point of Discover is not to get likes but to learn and help others do the same. Thus, the number of likes on each of your images is almost entirely irrelevant and I recommend not paying attention to it all.
Conclusion
The Lightroom Mobile Discover feature is still in its infancy, and I’m excited to see where Adobe takes it in the coming years. Even though it’s still a bit rough around the edges in a few places, it’s an incredibly useful tool for learning more about the editing process. I hope you give it a chance and, if you learn anything from it, I’d love to have your thoughts in the comments below!
The post Become a Better Photo Editor with the New Lightroom Mobile ‘Discover’ Feature appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
The post Creatively Using the New Lightroom Hue Control appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
Shop for items online and you’re often offered color choices. Would you like that hat in red, orange, blue, green, tan or teal? Click on the item, select your desired color, and the item will change to reflect your color choice.
Now, how about if you could selectively change the color of items in your photos without affecting other colors in the image? Maybe you bought the orange hat, took a photo of yourself in it, and wished you’d instead picked the blue one. No problem, don’t return the hat; you can change its color in your photo with the new Adobe Lightroom Hue Control.
One photo, many color variations using the Lightroom Hue Control tool.
Global versus local adjustments
Reach for the Exposure slider in the Develop Module of Lightroom, and slide it left and right. You will see the entire image get lighter or darker. Any of the other sliders will affect the image similarly. Controls which affect the entire image are called global.
What if you want to adjust just a portion of the image? Brighten up that one tree, do some dodging and burning, bring up the saturation of a sunset, make adjustments that affect only certain areas?
To you so you need to be able to make local adjustments. Lightroom offers three tools with this capability: the Adjustment Brush, the Radial Filter, and the Graduated Filter. Using those tools to add masks to the image will then allow you to apply the effects of the other sliders to just the masked areas.
Adobe photo editing programs
Choose your weapon: Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop, or Adobe Camera Raw.
In discussing the use of the Lightroom Hue Control, I’ll be using the Adobe product I typically work with: Lightroom Classic. (The new logo now shows LrC.)
This is the version that runs on your local computer and stores images on your own hard drives. There is another version that Adobe simply calls Lightroom (LR). It has a slightly different interface and stores images online in the “cloud.” Then there is Photoshop (PS) with its accompanying tool, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Both versions of Lightroom have the new Hue Control, as does Adobe Camera RAW, so what we cover here can be done with any of those programs.
(Just a gripe with Adobe: Could you not have avoided confusion and named these programs differently?)
Wouldn’t Photoshop be better?
Before we discuss how to change colors in an image using the Lightroom Hue Control tool, I want to briefly address the Photoshop devotees in the crowd. More than a few times when I’ve told seasoned editors that I use Lightroom to edit my images, they will scoff and tell me that “real” photo editors use Photoshop. So let’s get this out of the way, especially as we discuss changing colors in an image.
I will be the first to admit that Photoshop has more sophisticated and precise tools, the ability to make selections, create layers, use color channels, and bring much greater control to what we’ll be showing here. However, Photoshop also has a much steeper learning curve. It also requires more steps to accomplish the task. Can you do a better and more precise job changing the colors of things in a photo with Photoshop? Most likely. But can you often get acceptable results with Lightroom (LrC, LR, or ACR)? Learn the techniques in this article and then you tell me.
What is hue?
Ask a child to hand you the red crayon from the box and they can probably do so. They know what the color “red” looks like. But in the digital photography world, we have different ways of describing color.
Cameras can only “see” three colors: red (R), green (G), and blue (B). And there are only 256 values of each.
That’s why you can describe any color by its RGB value. Pure red is 255, 0, 0; pure green is 0, 255, 0; pure yellow (a combination of red and green) is 255, 255, 0.
In the printing world, where inks and pigments are used to make colors, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) are the primary colors, and any color can be created with a CMYK combination (i.e., red is 0, 100, 100, 0).
One way of defining digital color is using the HSL model: Hue, Saturation, and Lightness (or Luminosity).
There is another way of describing color, and that’s the one we’re interested in when using the Lightroom Hue Control. This uses a Hue (H), Saturation (S), and Lightness (or Luminosity) (L) description. Here, hue is synonymous with what we typically call color. Saturation refers to the intensity of the color, with zero saturation being shades of gray. Lightness/Luminosity is how light or dark the color is, with zero being black and 255 being pure white.
A new hue for you
So what we’re able to adjust with the Lightroom Hue Control is just that: the hue. We can make an orange hat blue without changing the saturation (S) or lightness (L). In doing so, we retain the tone and texture in an image while changing its hue/color (H).
Making it local
Lightroom has had tools for globally adjusting color in an image, such as the temperature and tint sliders and the HSL/Color controls, for some time. But those tools worked globally or had limited control over color. With the newest version of Lightroom released in June of 2020 (LrC 9.3, LR 3.3, ACR 12.3), the ability to combine hue adjustment with other tools was added. Now, color can be controlled much more precisely, exactly where you want it, and in combination with other tools. Local control is the ticket.
If you’ve installed the latest version of Lightroom (LrC) or LR or ACR, you will now see this tool.
When, where, and how to use local hue adjustments
Perhaps a good way to learn how to use the new tool is to work through a photo and use it to selectively change some colors. We’ll use the image below of my grandson, William, (who to me in this shot looks like the Peanuts cartoon strip character Linus in the pumpkin patch awaiting the arrival of the “Great Pumpkin.”)
This is the edited photo of William (aka “Linus” in this setting). These are the original colors of the image.
The hat trick: Step-by-step
Let’s take this step by step and change the orange hat to blue using the Lightroom Hue Control.
There are three local adjustment tools in Lightroom: The Graduated Filter, The Radial Filter, and the Adjustment Brush.
We want local adjustment control, and I mentioned Lightroom has three tools that allow this: the Adjustment Brush, the Radial Filter, and the Graduated Filter. The Adjustment Brush is the best choice for selecting only the hat.
Select the Adjustment Brush, and turn on the mask overlay by hitting “O” on your keyboard or by checking the box that says Show Selected Mask Overlay.
Use the Adjustment Brush to roughly paint over the hat. Have the overlay on to see what you’re doing. Here I’ve made the overlay green to see it better.
Start painting over the hat with the Adjustment Brush. You may find that the overlay is red and hard to see on the orange hat, so you can cycle through the overlay colors by tapping Shift and O on your keyboard. I’d recommend turning the mask overlay green, which is much easier to see on the orange hat.
You are going to refine your selection in a minute, so for now, don’t worry about being precise.
Refining your selection
In Photoshop, we would likely make a selection of the hat using the tools provided. And once the hat was selected, we would see what has come to be called the “marching ants” dashed outline of our selection. Don’t look for the ants in Lightroom. There are no “selection” tools here. Instead, we use what are called masks to define where we want our effects applied. There are several ways to refine our selection. They are:
Use the add and erase features of the Adjustment Brush. You can add to the mask simply by brushing where you want. This is the default and you will see a “+” symbol inside the tool indicating you are adding to the mask. Want to erase or subtract parts of the mask? Hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac), and the + will turn to a – symbol, indicating you are now subtracting from the mask. Zooming in close and working with a small brush will allow you to fine-tune the mask.
Another option is to check the Auto Mask box as you paint with the Adjustment Brush.
A fairly new addition to Lightroom is the Range Mask tool. You have the option to use Color or Luminance to create your mask. Because the hat we are masking is all fairly close to the same color orange here, a range mask should work well.
Think of Auto Mask as an edge detection tool. Check the Auto Mask box and then use the Adjustment Brush to add (+) or subtract (-) from your mask.If the Adjustment Brush shows a + sign, you can add to the mask. Hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac) to remove portions of the mask.
Home on the range
So let’s refine our selection of the hat with the Color Range Mask. Here are the steps:
Select the rough mask that you’ve already created. Then choose Color from the Range Mask dropdown.
An eyedropper tool will appear next to the Range Mask menu. Click to pick it up, then bring it over the hat.
Click the left mouse button and drag a small square over a portion of the hat to select a range of the orange colors. (Don’t worry about your mask overlay. It’s selecting the colors underneath.)
When you let go of the mouse button, the mask will be refined to now cover only the color range you selected. (A tip here: Put the eyedropper back when you are done with this range selection.)
To better see what was selected, hold down the Alt (Option) key on your keyboard and click the Amount slider for the Range Mask. You can drag the slider to refine the mask even further while doing this. Moving the slider to the right will increase the range of the selection; moving the slider to the left will decrease the range.
The Range Mask will allow you to refine your mask using Color or Luminance.Using the eyedropper tool in the Color Range Mask, drag a box including samples of the color you wish to mask. Alternatively, click a spot, hold down Shift, and click another spot to choose multiple sample areas. When you let go, the mask will be refined.To better see what the Range Mask has selected, hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac) and click and hold the Amount slider.
A whole new hue
Once we’re happy with our selection, it’s time to change the color. Here’s where we will use the new Lightroom Hue Control. Here are the steps:
It’s best to turn off the overlay option so you can better see the color shift, so press “O” on the keyboard. The overlay will disappear, but as long as the pin for your selection is still selected, you’ll be working with the right selection.
Go to the rainbow-like Hue control slider. You will see the top slider is set at the existing color; in our case, this is orange. Now, drag the bottom slider toward the color (on the top slider) you wish to change to. You will see the color change in the masked area of the image as you do this. Release the mouse button when the color gets close to the new color you want.
To further tweak the color, check the Use Fine Adjustment box. Now drag the slider left and right to refine the color as you like (it will barely move).
You may find you need to refine your mask if areas were missed or overflowed outside your desired area. Use the methods outlined above to fine-tune your mask further.
With your mask selected, use the Hue slider to choose the new color you want.
Further tuning
While your mask is still selected, most of the rest of the Lightroom sliders can be used and will affect only the area in that mask. For example, if the new color is too light or dark, the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks sliders can all be used. You may want to explore what some of the other sliders can do for the newly recolored area.
You may want to use some of the other sliders in Lightroom to refine your new color. Most will work locally within your mask while it is selected.
When you are finished with all the tweaks and recoloring, don’t forget to click the Done button.
Here’s a Before and an After. Notice I also changed some of the diamonds on his sweater using other masks, each done the same way.
Multiple masks and recolored areas
If you need to recolor another area of your image, simply make new selections and repeat the same process:
Make a rough selection with the Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter, or Radial Filter. Do this with the overlay on to see where you’re working.
Fine-tune your selection
Change the hue as desired. Check the Use Fine Adjustment box to get the color you want.
Further fine-tune your area with the other sliders in Lightroom
Not just for clothing color changes
In the example above, the color change to the hat was pretty dramatic; we took it from the original orange color to the complete opposite complementary color on the color wheel (blue). Sometimes, though, you only want a subtle change. Perhaps you want to change the shade of green on the leaves of a tree, take out a color cast on a certain object in your shot, or slightly change the color of portions of the sky.
You might also want to omit the step of refining a mask, and simply use the Adjustment Brush, change the color with the Hue slider, and start painting. Subtle color changes to portions of your image might be a way to get the look you want.
The camas blooms are probably closer to the blue shade in the before shot, but for dramatic effect I used the Lightroom Hue Control technique here to make them more purple.
Snapshots along the way
When working on an image in Lightroom and trying new things, it can be a good practice to make Snapshots as you go. That way, if you want to go back to any point in your editing process, you can.
Click the + symbol in the Snapshot panel (or use the shortcut Control/Command + N), give the snapshot a name, and then continue your work. Later, you’ll be able to go back to the snapshot if required. Perhaps you want to show the various color versions of an item but don’t want to save multiple files. Change the color, make a snapshot, change it again, make another snapshot, and so forth. Later, you can bring up the image, go to the named snapshot, and see that color version.
A real plus of Lightroom is being able to make multiple versions without making multiple copies of a file. Work through your image, make multiple color versions, and use the Snapshot feature to save each color variation (all in the same file!). Also, notice here what a nice job the Color Range Mask did of selecting the background color of the blouse and allowing me to change it to purple while retaining the color of the flowers in the pattern.
Color your world
As Adobe adds new tools to its products, we have new ways of editing our photos. We can better achieve the creative looks we like and even have various versions of the same image (all without having to take multiple photos or make multiple copies of an image). I hope you’ll give the new Lightroom Hue Control a try.
And then post some of your before/after images in the comments. I look forward to seeing your creativity.
The post Creatively Using the New Lightroom Hue Control appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
The post Photo Editing with Lightroom Mobile appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
Lightroom Mobile has been around for many years, with the earliest version dating all the way back to 2014. While it is not as popular as its traditional desktop-based counterpart, Lightroom Mobile has grown into a capable and feature-packed editing tool that can hold its own against many other programs.
Editing with Lightroom Mobile isn’t quite the same as editing on Lightroom Classic. But if you take the time to learn, you’ll find that it is up to almost any task you can throw at it.
Nikon D750 | 200mm | 1/4000s | f/22 | ISO 100
The first thing to understand when working with Lightroom Mobile is that it’s not just a mobile version of Lightroom Classic. Lightroom Mobile was written from the ground up to work with phones and tablets, and that meant Adobe had to re-imagine the entire user interface.
Design considerations were also made for the types of edits that people are likely to do on a mobile device. Screen size, touch targets, editing, and navigation; no stone was left unturned when Lightroom Mobile was developed.
As such, using Lightroom Mobile involves a jarring transition for people used to the desktop version, though if you have a mobile-first workflow you might be used to it. Even so, understanding a few basic tips and techniques for editing with Lightroom Mobile can improve your workflow a great deal.
Understanding the interface
The first thing you will notice when editing a photo in Lightroom Mobile is that the interface is quite different from Lightroom Classic. Gone are the Library, Develop, and other modules. You will also not find the traditional panels like Basic, Detail, Effects, etc. In their place is a series of buttons and icons along with some words to tap on.
The basic editing interface for Lightroom Mobile. Most of the editing tools are on the right side and can be activated by touching and tapping.
All the icons may be a bit overwhelming at first, but if you start at the top left and work your way around clockwise things start to make sense. Tap the Edit button to switch between the different modes available to you.
Tap the Edit button to switch between modes. This is sort of like moving between the traditional Library, Develop, Print, and other modules in Lightroom Classic. However, these modes in Lightroom Mobile serve very different purposes.
These modes come in handy when you want to cull images, assign keywords, and otherwise speed up your workflow. They are not particularly useful for editing, but I do recommend familiarizing yourself with them by experimenting on your own.
Moving towards the top right you will see more icons. Tap the question mark to get help, the up arrow to share an image, and the cloud to see the sync status of your Lightroom Mobile images. The three dots inside a circle is where things start to get interesting, and where you can start to get an understanding of the depth of Lightroom Mobile.
The three-dots-in-a-circle icon lets you access some advanced features you might recognize from Lightroom Classic.
It’s important to keep your expectations in check; this is not Lightroom Classic. If you are looking for a mobile version of Lightroom that replicates the desktop version, you are in for a big disappointment. But if you want a solid tool that lets you do a lot of editing on your mobile device, this is where things start to get really interesting.
You can use the three-dot menu to copy/paste settings, create an editing preset, and even specify custom gestures by scrolling down and tapping the Settings button. You can also use the View Options button to toggle the histogram and show/hide photo information when editing.
Tablet vs phone
All the screenshots so far have been for Lightroom Mobile on a phone. The interface is similar on a tablet, but the added screen real estate puts a lot more information and options at your fingertips.
Lightroom Mobile on a tablet has all the same tools and options as on a phone. The added screen real estate allows for more information to be displayed, while editing tools are grouped slightly differently.
In terms of photo editing, the main difference between a phone and a tablet is that the global edits are grouped together in a single icon. The icon with three sliders in the top-right corner is where you tap to access global edits like Light, Color, Effects, Detail, Optics, and more. Tap any of these to get a series of sliders that you can adjust with your finger, and watch as your changes are instantly applied to the image.
The extra room on a tablet means you get a lot more information and options on the screen.
The larger size of a tablet means that you can see the entire photo as you apply your edits, with plenty of room to move sliders and adjust parameters. This is my preferred method of editing with Lightroom Mobile, though plenty of people like using a phone. Either way is fine, as long as you find an option that works for you.
Tapping to edit
The true depth of Lightroom Mobile is further revealed with the vertical column of icons on the right side. This is where you can dive deep into the editing tools and perform all manner of intricate adjustments similar to those in Lightroom Classic.
(Note that these same icons appear in a horizontal row at the bottom of your screen if you hold your phone in portrait mode.)
Already you can start to see the sheer volume of editing options available to you in Lightroom Mobile, but that’s not all. Tap and scroll on the vertical row of icons to reveal even more.
If the icons seem confusing, one trick you can use is to simply rotate your mobile device from landscape to portrait mode. This shows brief descriptions beneath each icon which helps if you ever start to feel overwhelmed.
The simplest way to learn more about these tools is to just start tapping them and experimenting. In true Lightroom fashion, none of your edits are permanent; the Undo button will always let you step back to your previous edit. The Reset button will erase all your changes entirely, and you can even step back in time to a specific version of your photo by using the clock icon just above the Reset button.
Selective and global editing
There are two basic types of edits in Lightroom Mobile: selective and global. Selective edits are adjustments applied to specific portions of an image. Global edits are applied to the entire image. If you were to compare it to Lightroom Classic, selective edits are tools such as the Graduated Filter, Radial Filter, and the Adjustment Brush. Global edits include any of the Basic Panel adjustments along with features such as Detail, Color, Effects, the Tone Curve, etc.
To illustrate the touch-based workflow inherent to Lightroom Mobile, my favorite example is the Selective Edit tool. Tap the round dot icon at the very top of the panel on the right side to bring up the Selective Edit interface.
Tap the blue “plus” icon in the top left corner to create a new brush or filter adjustment.
At this point, you might think you can start tapping on the photo. But, if you try it, nothing happens. Tapping on the icons on the right side doesn’t do anything either.
Why? Because before you can start editing, you have to create a new selective edit, which you can do by tapping the blue “plus” icon in the top left corner. This lets you select from three types of brushes: Adjustments, Radial Filter, and Graduated Filter. Tap to select one of these options.
After choosing a specific type of selective edit, tap and drag to apply it to your image.
Now you’re ready to start editing! Tap and drag your finger around the screen to see your brush or filter applied instantly with buttery smoothness. After your adjustment or filter is in place, tap one of the icons on the right side to add a specific edit: white balance, sharpness, etc. You might be surprised at how quickly you can do editing with Lightroom Mobile if you are used to the desktop interface, which can be a bit sluggish at times.
Use the icons on the right to choose what parameters are adjusted in the edit: white balance, exposure, etc.
At this point you might notice one common theme with all the pictures in this article: They are in landscape orientation. Lightroom Mobile lets you edit in either portrait or landscape, and the interface automatically adjusts according to how your phone is positioned.
Editing can be done in horizontal or vertical orientation, and the interface adjusts automatically based on how you hold your device.
After applying a selective edit, you will see a blue diamond appear on your image. Tap on that to bring up the selective edit, and also to see a red overlay which indicates where the edit was applied. As with Lightroom Classic, your selective edits can be altered at any time or removed altogether.
The key thing to remember about editing with Lightroom Mobile is that you can’t permanently mess anything up. Just like the standard desktop version of Lightroom, all your edits are nondestructive, which means you can revert to a previous state of your image at any time.
The Selective Edit tool is a great example of how the basic Lightroom Mobile workflow functions: You tap on an editing tool, and then tap to implement the edit or alter its parameters. Global edits function in the same manner, except they are applied to the whole photo and not just specific portions. It’s not too difficult once you get the hang of it, which for most people is a matter of mere minutes.
Fuji X100F | 23mm | 242s | f/16 | ISO 200
If you have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, Lightroom Mobile is included in the price, and I recommend giving it a try. Even if you just use it to speed up your workflow rather than in-depth editing, it’s still a powerful arrow to have in your photography quiver. Editing with Lightroom Mobile is a fun process that, while not quite on par with the in-depth options in Lightroom Classic, is certainly worth a look. Or a second look if it’s been a while since you last checked it out.
The post Photo Editing with Lightroom Mobile appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
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