In this Adobe Lightroom tutorial we’ll show you six fundamental edits that you can apply to any picture you take.
One of the main difficulties when learning how to use an image editing tool, a new camera, or almost any new technology, is how to get started. Let's face it, the best part of having a new thing is using it, not reading about it.
Most of us don't want to sift through the manual and spend hours learning every feature of our new purchase, we just want to get to grips with a few fundamentals and dive in.
The problem is, how do we know what those essentials are? With Adobe Lightroom, there are so many features and tools that beginners can quickly become lost.
SEE MORE: Adobe Lightroom 5 Review – is this the game-changer you’ve been waiting for?
In this Adobe Lightroom tutorial we'll run through six essential Lightroom features that can be applied to most, if not all, of the photographs you shoot.
We'll explain the process of importing an image, applying essential tonal tweaks, selectively adjusting parts of the image, cropping to improve composition, sharpening, and finally exporting.
This is a workflow that, regardless of the image content, you'll find is the backbone of most Lightroom image editing. What's more, mastering these Lightroom essentials creates the confidence to go on and explore other more advanced tools.
SEE MORE: Killer Lightroom tips – 10 things you never knew you could do in Adobe’s software
Lightroom edits for any image: 01 Import the image
Importing an image simply tells Lightroom where it is stored on your computer. Open Lightroom, then click the Library Module. Either click the Import button and find the image using the source options, or simply drag it into the Library interface. Select the file and hit Import.
SEE MORE: 8 mistakes every photographer makes using Lightroom (and how to avoid them)
Lightroom edits for any image: 02 Basic adjustments
Click Develop from the list of Modules, then go to the Basic panel on the right. Work your way down through the sliders. Having a full range of tones from black to white improves most images, so hold Alt and drag the whites slider until just before pixels appear. Repeat with the blacks.
SEE MORE: Lightroom Lens Correction – how to fix common lens and perspective problems
Top Tip – Use Auto Import!
If you want to bypass the Import dialog altogether, you could simply set Auto Import so Lightroom always knows where to find your files.
Go to File>Auto Import>Auto Import settings, then choose a folder to 'Watch' (such as your Pictures folder). Now whenever you copy images into the stated folder, Lightroom will automatically import them. If you like, you can even choose to automatically apply presets and colour settings.
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