Curves is certainly not one of those intuitive features of Photoshop (or Lightroom), or at least that was my perspective when I tried to figure it out on my own before I got formal training. Curves is used to brighten or darken tones in your image, and at a more advanced level, to do color correction [...]
If you photograph on negative film and scan it, you may want to invert the image in Lightroom. Or, perhaps you like the "film negative" look, and want to invert your positive digital images. In either case, if you have looked for an "invert" button in Lightroom, you will have found out that there is none. [...]
If you are looking to save time as you work a shoot, before you start developing it think ahead about which images are shot under similar conditions and therefore need similar adjustments, or which images you you want similar treatments for (e.g. black and white), and apply your changes to these groups of images all at [...]
In Lightroom you can restrict your crops to be a specific aspect ratio, such as 5×7, 8×10, or the same aspect ratio as your original. To do so, select the crop tool from the toolbar (R), click on the double up/down arrow next to the padlock to reveal the aspect menu, and choose your desired proportions. [...]
Did you know that the adjustment brush allows you to slowly build up the amount of change you apply to an image, and also slowly back off on a change you made? The secret is in the Flow and Density sliders. Density controls how much of the specified adjustment can be applied in total, and Flow [...]
You may have noticed that once you specify a crop in Lightroom and then try to move the crop frame, that it goes in the opposite direction from what you expect. Instead of thinking of yourself clicking and dragging inside the crop frame to move the crop frame, think of yourself as clicking and dragging inside [...]
I wrote a post recently about making snapshots while you work so that you can explore different versions of your image -- for example, a black and white and a color version -- with the goal of having just one version in the end. If you want to end up with two or more versions -- [...]
Have you ever worked on an image, been satisfied with your work, but then wanted to try some other things with the option to get back to what you had? Perhaps you want to compare different versions of your work to decide which you like best — for example, a color version, a black and white [...]
When I don’t take the time to use a tripod, my horizons are often not straight. Here’s an example: Crooked Horizon To fix this in Lightroom, in the Develop Module tool drawer underneath the histogram, click on the Crop Overlay tool (R). Crop options appear beneath it, and a grid is placed over your [...]
Take advantage of Lightroom 2's (or Camera Raw's) adjustment brush to create images that are part black and white and part color. I will start with the color image below, and convert all of it to black and white except the poster and the can. In the Develop module, click on the adjustment brush [...]
In overcast conditions, your images may have a blue color cast, as does this great snowman image shot by my friend Debbie Espinosa. It was shot with the camera on daylight white balance, so the camera did not adjust for the bluish color that overcast light has. What the image "should" look like is subjective. Blue [...]
The Post Crop section in the Vignettes panel of the Develop Module of Lightroom 2 (AND THE EFFECTS PANEL OF LIGHTROOM 3) allows you to add creative vignettes. It is called Post Crop, because the vignette will always adjust to any cropping you do, even if you crop after you create the vignette. Unless you have [...]