How I Edit Photos in Lightroom

There are many photo editing softwares out there. But I always seem to come back to Lightroom to edit photos. I love how easy it is to edit the lighting, hence the name Lightroom. You have probably heard of Photoshop as well. If I want to edit a full person, or crop something in, or even create a collage photo, then I use Photoshop. But for this post I want to share how to edit photos using Lightroom.

How to Edit Photos Using Lightroom

Here is how my photo was taken.

First, I fix angles. Having clean, straight lines is more visually pleasing. You'll notice the first photo was angled a bit, so I cropped it so that the frame and table are in a straight line and not tilted.

Next, I increase the exposure, trying to stay around +1. But, be careful you don't overexpose your photos too much.

Then I play with the highlights. The highlights will be where the light is harshest. For example, in this picture the door is open so a lot of light is going to be coming through the door.  To soften the light I will take the highlights down. If you look close you can see there is a little more detail just outside of the door now.

Next, I play with shadows. This is a great way to get rid of harsh shadows. As you can see from the picture above, behind the basket there are shadows.

After I moved the shadows up you can see how the shadows are not quite as extreme.

Here is the before and after together.  If you noticed each step didn't necessary make an extreme change but all of them together make for a pretty awesome photo.  I like to try to only do subtle changes on my photos.  Drastically lightening one area or item can make the picture feel fake.

 

If you take a photo that needs to be sharpened you can up the contrast, clarity or play around with the blacks. You can see the difference in this photo.

 

It really comes down to your style and the look you like. I really like things to be bright and airy. This style can cause some of the details and sharpness to blend. Play around with it until you find your perfect balance!

Happy photo editing!

Brooke