The Photographer's Guide to Adobe Lightroom

The Photographer's Guide to Adobe Lightroom

by Marcin Lewandowski
Released July 2022
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781801070102

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Book description

Get better at Adobe Lightroom to streamline post-production and focus on creativity with the help of this illustrated guide

Key Features

  • Manage, edit, and post-produce photographs in one place with the help of this full-color guide
  • Adopt a non-destructive approach to working with seemingly infinite copies of photographs with different looks
  • Increase productivity and make your creative process easier with Lightroom's functionality and additional tools

Book Description

It takes talent to be a great photographer, but in the digital era, it also takes a level of technical proficiency. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic was designed as a one-stop solution for photographers to perfect their final products on a desktop-focused workflow, which includes local storage of your photos in files and folders on your computer. Knowing how to efficiently navigate through Lightroom means that you’ll be able to concentrate on being creative instead of wondering “what does this button do”.

Complete with step-by-step explanations of essential concepts and practical examples, you will begin with importing photographs into Lightroom. You’ll focus on how to sort through, sequence, develop, and export ready files in various formats, or even design a book and create gallery-ready prints. Next, you will learn how to make informed decisions within Lightroom and how to approach your work depending on the set of photographs you are working on. This guide also illustrates real-life usage and workflow examples that are not just for aspiring professionals, but also for artists and amateurs who are still getting to grips with the technical side of photography.

By the end of this book, you'll be confident in importing, editing, sorting, developing, and delivering your photos like a professional.

What you will learn

  • Import photographs from different sources
  • Understand how to create and refine edits
  • Use and manage catalogs, folders, and collections
  • Develop photographs using all available tools
  • Prepare files for print and online viewing
  • Create slideshows and book layouts

Who this book is for

This is a book for photographers who’ve used Lightroom in the past but need a structured approach to start making the most of its advanced features. If you’re a beginner who’s willing to invest a bit of time in understanding Lightroom’s basic functionality, you can use it just as well – but you may need to look at a few external sources along the way. Essentially, this photography book is for anyone who wants to become proficient enough in Lightroom to make better decisions and focus on creativity instead of the software.

Table of contents

  1. The Photographer's Guide to Adobe Lightroom
  2. Contributors
  3. About the author
  4. About the reviewers
  5. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Download the table of keyboard shortcuts
    5. Download the high-resolution images
    6. Conventions used
    7. Get in touch
    8. Share Your Thoughts
  6. Section 1: Importing Images into Lightroom and Exploring the Library Module's Structure and Tools
  7. 1
  8. An Overview of Lightroom Classic
    1. Introducing Lightroom
    2. Looking at a simple sample of a Lightroom Classic workflow
    3. Getting familiar with the Lightroom interface
      1. Library module
      2. Develop module
      3. Map module
      4. Book module
      5. Slideshow module
      6. Print module
      7. Web module
    4. Customizing Lightroom
    5. Summary
  9. 2
  10. Bring It All In – Importing Photographs into Lightroom
    1. Opening Lightroom for the first time
      1. Our first and last catalog
      2. Setting up general preferences before starting the import dialog
    2. Understanding the import dialog functionality
      1. Default view
      2. The left panel
      3. The top panel
      4. The right panel
      5. The Bottom Tool tab
      6. Hitting that Import button
      7. Import Preset
    3. A few tips and tricks to remember
    4. Summary
  11. 3
  12. Tools Available within the Library Module
    1. An introduction to the Library module and its workspace
      1. The left-side panel
      2. The right-side panel
    2. Editing photographs – all the tools you'll ever need
      1. Getting to know the toolbar
      2. Getting to know the Filmstrip toolbar
    3. How I edit
      1. The big one – editing a large selection of photographs
      2. The not-so-big one – everyday edits from shorter commissions
      3. Special treatment of edits with additional requirements
    4. Summary
  13. 4
  14. Folders and Collections
    1. A brief overview of folders and collections
      1. Folders
      2. Collections
    2. The Collections tab
      1. Sort by Name versus Sort by Kind
      2. Show Collection Filter
      3. Create Collection…
      4. Create Smart Collection...
      5. Create Collection Set…
    3. Right-click menus – an overview of functionality for different collection types
      1. Right-click options for collections
      2. Options unique to smart collections
      3. Edit Smart Collection
      4. Differences and similarities between collections and smart collections
    4. Using collections
    5. Summary
  15. Section 2: Developing Photographs in Lightroom Classic
  16. 5
  17. An Introduction to the Develop Module
    1. Looking at the Develop module options
    2. Tools on the right-side panel
      1. Histogram
      2. Local adjustment tools
      3. Basic
      4. HSL/Color
      5. Color Grading
      6. Detail
      7. Lens Corrections
      8. Transform
      9. Effects
      10. Calibration
      11. Previous and Reset
    3. Tools on the left-side panel
    4. Summary
  18. 6
  19. A Detailed View of the Develop Module's Functions
    1. Histogram
    2. Local adjustment tools
      1. Crop Overlay
      2. Spot Removal
      3. Red Eye Correction
    3. Basic
      1. Treatment
      2. Profile
      3. White Balance
      4. Tone
      5. Presence
      6. Vibrance and Saturation
      7. Tips for adjusting sliders
    4. Local adjustments – Masking
      1. Brush
      2. Linear Gradient
      3. Radial Gradient
      4. Color Range
      5. Luminance Range
      6. Depth Range
      7. Additional masking tools
    5. Tone Curve
      1. Parametric Curve
      2. Point Curve
      3. Examples of usage
    6. HSL/Color
      1. HSL/Color tool controls
      2. Hue
      3. Saturation
      4. Luminance
    7. Color Grading
    8. Detail
      1. Sharpening
    9. Noise Reduction
    10. Lens Corrections
      1. Profile mode
      2. Manual mode
    11. Transform
    12. Effects
      1. Post-Crop Vignetting
      2. Grain
    13. Calibration
    14. Additional information and functions outside the right panel
    15. The left-hand side of the Develop module
    16. Summary
  20. Section 3: Exploring the Export, Print, Book, and Slideshow Modules
  21. 7
  22. Get Them All Out of Lightroom – Exporting for Work and Leisure
    1. Exporting images
    2. The Export Location tab
      1. Export To
      2. Existing Files
    3. File Naming
    4. Video
    5. File Settings
    6. Image Sizing
    7. Output Sharpening
    8. Metadata
    9. Watermarking
    10. Post-Processing
    11. Creating presets
    12. Summary
  23. 8
  24. Get them All Out – Using the Print and Book Modules
    1. Exploring the Print module
      1. The right-side panel of the Print module
      2. The two options at the bottom of the right-side panel
      3. The left-side panel of the Print module
    2. The Book module
      1. The left-side panel of the Book module
      2. The right-side panel of the Book module
    3. A few tips and tricks not mentioned earlier in the chapter
    4. Summary
  25. 9
  26. Slideshow, Map, and Web Modules
    1. The Slideshow module
      1. The left-side panel
      2. Right panel tabs
      3. The toolbar
      4. Exporting the slideshow
    2. The Map module
      1. Left-Side Panel
    3. The Web module
      1. The left-side panel
      2. The right-side panel
    4. Summary
  27. 10
  28. Final Notes and Summary
    1. Second window
    2. Tethered capture
    3. Lightroom
    4. Recapitulating the Lightroom Classic modules
      1. The Library module
      2. The Develop module
      3. The Map module
      4. The Slideshow module
      5. The Web module
      6. The Book and Print modules
    5. Summary
  29. Table of Keyboard Shortcuts

Product information

  • Title: The Photographer's Guide to Adobe Lightroom
  • Author(s): Marcin Lewandowski
  • Release date: July 2022
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781801070102