The Develop module in Lightroom includes controls for globally
adjusting the color and tonal scale of your photos, as well as for
making local adjustments. All the adjustments you make in Lightroom
are nondestructive. With nondestructive editing, your original file
is not altered, whether it’s a camera raw file or a rendered file
such as a JPEG or TIFF. Your edits are stored in Lightroom as a
set of instructions that are applied to your photo in memory. Nondestructive
editing means you can explore and create different versions of your
photo without degrading your original image data.
Because edits are stored in Lightoom as instructions, you do
not need to save them in the traditional sense. When you print or
export your photos, for example, the adjustments are included. You
only need to save your changes if you want them to be available
to Adobe Bridge or Camera Raw. See Synchronize Lightroom metadata with Camera Raw and Adobe Bridge.
View full size graphic
The Develop module
- A.
- Presets, Snapshots, History, and Collections panels
- B.
- Histogram
- C.
- RGB values
- D.
- Tool strip
- E.
- Adjustment
panels
- F.
- Navigator zoom controls
- G.
- Toolbar
Photos in the following formats can be edited in Lightroom: camera
raw (including DNG), JPEG, TIFF, and PSD. Applying adjustments to
photos is a subjective and individual process. Use the following
steps as a guide for editing photos in the Develop module.
1. Select a photo to edit.
Select
a photo in the Library module and press D to switch to the Develop module.
To switch to a different photo in the Develop module, choose it
from the Collections panel or the Filmstrip.
2. Evaluate the photo.
Use
the zoom controls in the Navigator panel to inspect your photo and
the Hand tool to reposition the photo in the viewing area. When
you move the pointer over the photo, the RGB values under its position
appear in the toolbar. Use the Histogram panel as a visual guide
for measuring color tones, as well as to preview shadow and highlight
clipping. You can even drag in the histogram interface to make tonal
adjustments to the photo. See Adjust images using the histogram.
3. Make global color adjustments.
By
default, the Develop module displays panels for making global adjustments to
photos on the right side of the window. You can make Develop module
adjustments in any order, but a common approach to using these panels
is to start at the top and work down. Starting with the Basic panel,
you can adjust the white balance, tonal scale, and color saturation
of a photo, including Clarity and Vibrance. You can refine global
color and tonal adjustments in the Tone Curve and HSL/Color/B&W
panels, and you create special effects or colorize monochrome photos
in the Split Toning panel. See Adjust image color and tone.
4. Reduce noise and apply sharpening.
Use the Detail panel to reduce noise and adjust
the sharpness in a photo. Use the Lens Corrections panel to correct
perspective distortions caused by the camera lens. See Reduce image noise, Sharpen a photo, and Correct lens distortion and adjust perspective.
Use
the Before/After button in the toolbar to see the results of your
edits, or simply press \ to cycle between before and after views.
Use the History panel to return to any previous edit. Click the
plus sign (+) in the Snapshots panel to capture any editing state
that you can return to at a later time.
5. Retouch and correct flaws.
At
any time, use the Crop Overlay, Red Eye Correction, and Spot Removal
tools to crop and straighten your photo and to remove red eye, dust,
and spots. To apply a postcrop vignette or film grain effect, use
the options in the Effects panel. See Adjust crop and rotation, Remove red-eye, Heal spots and blemishes, Apply a postcrop vignette, and Simulate film grain.
6. Apply local color adjustments.
Color
correct specific areas of a photo by using the Adjustment Brush
tool or the Graduated Filter tool. See Apply local adjustments.
7. Apply adjustments to other photos.
You can apply edits from one photo to many others.
For example, apply a set of edits to all of the photos from a specific
shoot that require the same global adjustments. You can copy and
paste them, or synchronize them. When you copy or synchronize corrections,
Lightroom allows you to select the specific edits that you want
to apply to the other photos. You can also use the Painter tool
in the Grid view of the Library to apply Develop settings from one
photo to another. See Apply Develop adjustments to other photos.
