9The Lightroom software is a powerful tool, especially with the release of new features, improvements and bug fixes on a regular basis make it even better. There are different things that one can achieve while using Lightroom software. The trick is, you need to grasp some few tips to make you easier and have fun while editing your photos and getting the best out of them.
To help you improve and get the best out of the Lightroom software, highlighted below are some of the tips that can help you maneuver around the program easily.
what is a lightroom preset
A Lightroom preset refers to a predetermined position of all if not some of the sliders in Lightroom. You can edit a picture to your liking and save the exact combination of slider position for future use.
1. Editing with Lights out
Do you know that you can edit a picture on Lightroom with lights out? Well, if you want to enter the lights out mode, simply hit the L key on your keyboard and it will effectively darken the whole Lightroom interface while keeping the focus on the subject on the center pane. Once done, you can hit the L again to exit the Lights Out mode. The beauty of working of working with lights out mode makes you focus on the subject without being distracted by other things.
2. Importing presets
For most designers and photographers, importing pictures has always been a painful task. However, with the new improvements on the tool, you can click on the + sign at the top right corner in the Presets panel and import the presets there.
Additionally, you can as well unzip the file, drag and drop it on the window and everything will take its course.
3. Copy settings
Do you want to quickly copy some settings and apply it to another photo? Well, that is easy. Right click on the image, select settings, and the copy settings. Once done, select the second image, right click on the image and to settings then paste settings.
4. Setting Crop Overlays
When creating overlays, you probably do not want to have the simple grid layout as a guide. You can cycle through different overlays by using the “O” key. Simply press the shift key + O. It is that simples, plus you can rotate the overlays the way you want.
5. Luminance
Luminance is one of the powerful features of Lightroom. It focuses on the lightness or reflective light to a certain color range. Through this tool, you can easily effect trails on an image that contains different colors and objects.
6. Incremental Develop Sliders
You can move sliders in the Develop module by hovering your cursor on any slider while pressing either Up or Down arrow key for fine-tuning. As well, you can use the shift key +Up key or down key to adjust the slider on large increments.
7. Show/Hide Panels
Do you require a little bit more room to work in Lightroom? It is simple. Hit on the Tab key on the keyboard to hide the left pane and right panes respectively on any of the modules.
Once done with your editing, you can hit Tab again and the panels will be back.
8. Virtual Copies
Do you want to create virtual copies of an image so that you can continue with more edits? Well, you can achieve this by selecting an image in the filmstrip and then right click on it and select Create Virtual Copy.
You are now free to work on both the original and virtual copy of the image independently. It is worthy to note that this does not create an actual copy of the image file, but just a virtual copy of it.
9. Increase Camera Raw Cache
Increasing a camera raw cache can help you speed up the Lightroom tool. While on the window, go to preferences and select the performance tab from the top toolbar. From there, you can increase the camera raw cache settings depending on available space and the number of images you have.