40 Lightroom Tutorials to Master Post Processing
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Adobe Lightroom is a powerful digital darkroom tool that can help you take your photographs to the next level.
Whether you’re looking to improve your landscapes, retouch a portrait, color-correct images, correct exposure, or just apply some cool special effects, there’s a Lightroom tutorial that can help you achieve your goals.
In this article, we’ll provide 40 Lightroom tutorials to help you master post-processing.
Adobe Lightroom Tutorials
There’s no doubt that Lightroom is a powerful post-processing tool. But, like any software, it can be daunting to know where to start and what techniques to learn. That’s why we’ve put together this roundup of 40 Lightroom tutorials — from the basics to more advanced techniques.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your skill set, there’s something here for you!
So grab your copy of Lightroom and get ready to improve your post-processing skills!
Also, check out our collection of the best free Lightroom presets.
A Complete Lightroom Tutorial for Beginners
This comprehensive beginner’s tutorial by Photography Life is a complete guide for anyone who is starting with the software from square one. It covers all the basics from importing a photo, file types, organizing your images, folder names, the Library and Develop modules, how to process a photo, and walks you through export settings in Lightroom.
Creating a Workflow in Lightroom Classic
Editing your images can be time-consuming and tedious — especially when you have thousands of photos. But using a workflow will help you save even more of that precious time and speed up your computer’s processing time, too. This tutorial by Photofocus takes you through the process of creating a workflow in Lightroom.
How to Create a Dramatic Portrait Effect in Lightroom
Not all portraits call for a soft and pretty finish. Sometimes, you want them to look rough, grungy, intense, and dramatic! That’s where this tutorial comes in. It will walk you through the steps to take a portrait from dull to dramatic.
How to Process a Sunset Landscape Photo in Lightroom
If you’ve ever wondered how a professional photographer’s landscape photos always look so good, it’s because they almost always use post-processing to improve contrast, clarity, and color. Those simple edits turn otherwise dull images into lovely landscapes. Learn how to do it yourself with this tutorial.
Using HSL to Boost Colors
The Hue, Saturation, and Luminance (HSL) Panel is one of the best ways to boost the saturation and adjust colors in your photos. This tutorial is full of tips for using the HSL Panel to boost saturation, color grading, and make hue adjustments.
How to Whiten Teeth in Lightroom
It’s easy to whiten teeth in Adobe Lightroom using the software’s pre-installed teeth whitening preset but, since not all teeth require the same amount of whitening, this simple tutorial from Digital Photography School takes you through the steps for using the preset and customizing it for your individual needs.
How to Smooth Skin in Lightroom
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to touch up and smooth skin in Lightroom, this tutorial will show you a three-step process. First, you’ll learn how to remove blemishes. Next, you’ll reduce wrinkles. Finally, you’ll learn how to smooth and soften the skin — and all in a matter of minutes.
Quick Lightroom Portrait Retouching Trick
When retouching a portrait and the subject has a very prominent mole or scar, should you remove it? No, but there is something you should do. This tutorial will walk you through the steps to not remove a mole, but to reduce it, so that it’s still part of the person’s facial characteristics, but doesn’t distract from the overall portrait.
A Practical Guide to the Lightroom Histogram
To truly master Lightroom, you must master the Lightroom histogram. This guide takes you through everything you need to know about the histogram and a step-by-step tutorial on how to incorporate it into your editing workflow. The result is that you’ll be able to easily enhance your photos without clipping your highlights and losing detail in your shadows.
A Complete Guide to Dodging and Burning in Lightroom
Although Lightroom is used for digital photography, the terms “dodge” and “burn” are left over from the old film days. While the process is much easier now, the end result is basically the same. This comprehensive guide will teach you different ways to dodge (lighten) and burn (darken) using Lightroom.
How to Upscale a Photo Using Super Resolution in Lightroom Classic
In the past, it was not a good idea to increase the size of an image — you would lose a significant amount of quality by doing so. But, technology continues to amaze, and a recent addition to Adobe Lightroom Creative Cloud, Classic, and Adobe Camera Raw called “Super Resolution” now allows you to effectively double the size of a photo without sacrificing quality. This tutorial shows you how to do it if you’re using Lightroom Classic.
How to Create a Grainy Matte Effect in Lightroom
The matte finish is a popular trend in photography these days, so it’s a good idea to know how to create it — especially if you’re taking on portrait or wedding clients, many of whom tend to go after the trends. This tutorial takes you through the editing process for creating a grainy matte effect in Lightroom.
Simple Tips for Using the Lightroom Adjustment Brush Tool
Sometimes you need to make an adjustment to a certain area of your photo, not to the entire image. That’s what Lightroom’s Adjustment Brush is for and this tutorial from Cole’s Classroom is full of tips and tricks for getting the most out of it.
How to Create a Light Leak Effect in Lightroom
Light leaks, when done correctly, can create a vintage aesthetic and add interest and character to your image. It is always best to capture it in camera, but when you can’t — good news — you can add a light leak in Lightroom! This detailed tutorial from Shutter Pulse takes you through all the steps for exactly how to do it.
How to Straighten Your Horizons in Lightroom
Nothing kills a great photo faster than a crooked horizon. This quick and easy Photofocus step-by-step tutorial shows you how to straighten your horizons using Adobe Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom Mobile.
How to Correct Saturation in Photos with Lightroom Classic
Saturation, or the intensity of the color in your image, is one of the color corrections you’ll want to learn if you’re planning to edit a lot of RAW files in Lightroom. This helpful tutorial shows you how to correct saturation in your photos using Lightroom Classic.
How to Edit Backlit Photos in Lightroom
When you shoot a backlit photo at the Golden Hour, you end up with a dreamy, hazy, golden light, but you often lose important detail and vibrance. Luckily, you can add it back in using Lightroom! However, it’s not as easy as adjusting white balance and contrast. This tutorial will show you just what you need to do.
The Lightroom Masking Tool: A Guide to Lightroom’s Masking Features
In October 2021, Adobe released some revolutionary new masking tools for Lightroom, that have the potential to completely change the way you edit photos. This step-by-step guide takes you through everything you need to know about the new amazing tool for masking.
Applying Subject and Sky Masks in Batch Edits in Lightroom
The previous tutorial was a bird’s eye view of Lightroom’s new masking tool. This tutorial, however, zeroes in on the Subject and Sky Masks and shows you how to apply them to a batch of photos. This new feature will dramatically reduce the amount of time you spend editing your images.
Easily Select Subjects and Skies in Low-Light Images with Lightroom Classic
Using the same new, impressive sky masking tool from the previous tutorials, this Photofocus tutorial shows you how it will work with a low-light image. The step-by-step guide takes you through two different methods of selection, so you’ll be able to learn different ways to use the new tool.
Vintage Effect in Lightroom
One effect many new photo editors love to learn is how to apply a vintage film look to their digital photography. There are many different ways to achieve the look, and this tutorial from Photography Planet will show you one of them.
Create a Vintage Film Effect in Lightroom
As we mentioned before, there are many different ways to achieve a vintage film look in Lightroom. And here’s another one! This is another great tutorial by Photography Planet, who takes you step by step through the process of duplicating this classic, old-fashioned film look with photos shot on digital cameras.
How to Build a Film Style Look in Adobe Lightroom
As you can tell by the number of tutorials on the subject — recreating the old film look is highly desirable. There’s just something about that grain, the rich color, the warmth, that we don’t get with digital. But we can certainly get close! Here’s another fantastic film tutorial.
How to Remove Lens Vignetting in Lightroom
Oftentimes, we add vignettes to the edges of photos to bring attention to the center. But sometimes, you might want to remove an existing vignette. Would you know how? This great tutorial by Lightroom guru Scott Kelby shows you two different ways to remove vignetting (darkening in the corners) from your photos.
How to Create a Clean, Bright, and White Look in Lightroom
“Light and airy” is another popular editing trend in photography these days. This tutorial shows you how to perform the basic edits to achieve this look, such as fixing white balance, manually lightening dark areas, and giving everything an ethereal glow.
How to Create an Orange Blue Travel Influencer Look in Lightroom
If you’re wondering how the travel influencers on Instagram achieve the look that’s trending these days, this tutorial will show you how. First, create a more tropical sky. Then, you’ll alter the colors of green leaves so they have an orange hue. And finally, increase shadow contrast for incredible detail that will make you stand out from the rest.
How to Create a Signature Look for Your Photos with Lightroom Classic
If you’re a professional photographer, it’s important to have a signature style — one that defines your work and is consistent from one photo to the next. That way, your clients can rely on the look and quality of your work when they hire you. This tutorial will teach you how to create a signature look for your photos, and how Adobe Lightroom can help you do that.
How to Use LUTs in Lightroom
Lookup Tables (LUTs) have been popular in the video industry for a while and are starting to make their way into photography as a very quick way to apply edits and speed up your workflow. However, Lightroom doesn’t yet support LUTs right out of the box. This tutorial shows you how you can bring LUTs into Lightroom and start using them.
Create a Soft Pastel Look in Lightroom
This soft, matte, pastel effect works well with portraits and nature photos shot outdoors in natural light. If you like the look and want to learn how to create the effect, then check out this quick and easy step-by-step tutorial from Photography Planet.
How to Create a Lomo Effect in Lightroom
Lomography, or “Lomo,” usually refers to the art of photography taken with analog cameras. You can replicate the fun, vintage-style Lomo look in Lightroom, of course, and this super simple tutorial by Photography Planet shows you how to do it.
How to Blur the Background in Lightroom
While it’s better if you create the look in camera or Adobe Photoshop, if you want to use Lightroom to replicate the look of a photograph that was shot with a shallow depth of field, this step-by-step tutorial will show you how to do it using masking tools, filters, and reverse sharpening.
How to Use the Texture Tool to Enhance Detail in Lightroom
Lightroom’s Texture Tool is a powerful tool for bringing out details in your photographs, specifically in the mid-range color frequencies. This tutorial by Tuts+ shows you how to use this excellent tool to enhance and refine details in your images.
How to Create a Cinematic Effect in Lightroom
Photographs with a cinematic look are characterized by a strong vignette, slight desaturation, and added intensity. This quick and easy, step-by-step guide from Shutter Pulse shows you exactly how to create the look on your own raw original photos.
How to Create a Desaturated Cinematic Effect in Lightroom
If you’re looking for more instruction on creating that coveted cinematic color grade effect, we’ve got you covered! This quick guide by Picture Correct goes over adjusting contrast, highlights, whites & blacks, clarity, vibrance, and saturation to achieve the look.
How to Properly Sharpen Images in Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom includes advanced tools for sharpening your images. Located in the Develop module under the Detail tab, you’ll find an array of tools for sharpening and noise reduction. This Photography Life tutorial is all about using those powerful tools for sharpening.
How to Create Lightroom Presets
You use Lightroom to transform your RAW image into a beautiful photo and you want to save all those settings so you can easily apply them to other RAW files — but how? Well, creating your own Lightroom presets is easy and it’ll save you tons of time. Plus, you can even sell them! This tutorial shows you how to create Lightroom presets and how to export presets to your computer.
Creating an Adaptive Lightroom Landscape Preset
Presets are one of the best ways to speed up your post-processing workflow and recreate your signature style from one photo to the next. If you’re a landscape photographer, this tutorial will be of specific interest to you! It walks you through creating a Lightroom Classic landscape preset that specifically targets the sky and foreground so you can create beautiful edits with a single click.
The Difference Between Lightroom Presets and Creative Profiles
Lightroom has pre-installed Presets and Creative Profiles, and both of them change the look of your original file — so what’s the difference? This handy guide by Scott Kelby answers that question. You might be surprised by the answer!
How to Turn a Lightroom Preset Into a LUT Profile
Do you have a beloved Lightroom preset that you wish you could use for a video file? Well, it turns out dreams do come true! It is possible — by turning your preset into a Look-Up Table or LUT. This tutorial tells you all the steps it takes to convert a preset into a LUT and then apply it to a video.
Boosting Contrast in Lightroom with the Tone Curve Tool
Boosting contrast isn’t always as easy as just moving the contrast slider and calling it a day. If you want to preserve the softness of your perfect image, you might be better off using Lightroom’s Tone Curve Tool instead. Luckily for you, there’s a tutorial that shows you just how it’s done!
How to Create a Collage in Lightroom Classic
The Lightroom print module is useful for more than just printing your images — you can use it to create contact sheets or collages and triptychs for sharing on social media, too. This quick and easy tutorial from Photofocus shows you how to do it, including choosing the paper size, bleeds, photo borders, and adding text.
Try These Lightroom Tutorials Today
If you’re looking to take your photo editing skills up a notch, look no further than Adobe Lightroom. With this collection of tutorials, you’ll be able to master post-processing and create stunning images that stand out from the crowd. So what are you waiting for? Start learning today!
