5 Lightroom Tools you should know!

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The order of your photo editing process matters, a lot! And in this video I go through some of the most powerful tools in Lightroom, and how and when I typically use them. This video is relevant no matter what software you use for your photography, it's just that i use Lightroom :)
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0:00 Intro
2:00 Why crop first?
06:04 Why clone second?
08:00 The breakwater
08:48 Gradients done right
10:23 Radial light
13:28 When to brush
15:30 Sponsor message
16:30 Print giveaway update
16:49 Next week...
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[@justin555666]

Been using LR for years and never noticed that the histogram reacts to crops. That tip is solid gold!

[@shortie8512]

I'd never noticed that either! So... I am guessing that things like straightening the image and applying transformation first is probably a good idea as this also affects the crop

[@jlafoon]

Same! Wow!

[@tomedward524]

Your histogram looks like a nice hill in the uk mine looks like the himalayan skyline 😭😂😂

[@tas6234]

Lmao why is this me as well🤦🏾‍♂️

[@phildoodler2199]

I always start my novels at page 84. Maybe that's why my photography is crap.

[@captinktm]

Well hats off to you young man, you are the first pro in the known world that has answered a question that I have asked well ......everyone. Which is, what order should you edit in. Never has anyone explained it so clearly. I had always thought there had to be some damage done by just diving in and mindlessly adjusting things. I even join a live YT show and asked on there and the answer was "Ho just start from the top" so well done. I would like to share your video if that's possible? Well of course it's possible, but I thought I should ask first.

[@RichardBO9]

Thanks James. I hadn’t noticed the histogram changing based on the crop. I will be changing my routine.

[@stewartlogie]

Sometimes I find it helpful to remove debris/distractions before cropping, particularly if it’s a big job and I’m using Photoshop. That gives the choice of more pixels to use in cloning out the unwanted ones and often makes for a better clone job. Then you can go back and do the crop as intended.

[@ShalevAbuhatzeira]

Just asked myself when you're going to upload the video of the weekend, and.... BOOM got the notification :]

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers mate :)

[@ShalevAbuhatzeira]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto just finished to watch the video, let me give you a big thanks for this video, I just came back from a trip and I got so much new information about this tools in the LR that help me now to get my photos even greater, so thanks again, best photography channel!

[@inagadda-davida7506]

Absolutely. Crop first.

[@hurleygreen927]

Appreciate the 5 Lightroom tools! THANKS!

[@franckbremeault-photograph2112]

Hi James. I share your opinion about all... and red eyes tool too! Very good teacher man, thanks.

[@ricwilki6254]

I do lens correction and remove chromatic aberration first. Cropping has just moved up to Nr 3 thanks to this video!

[@rafaelatakami8019]

I love your editing process. These tools are really the most powerful ones! Amazing video :)

[@davidshechter200]

Thank you, James! Consistency and following standards are keys to a desired result. This video reminds me of the quote by author Mark Twain - 'What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so.'

[@robertjochimsen]

The crop part was absolutely the best tip. I did not know it effected the histogram which is probably why some of my edits has taken a lot longer than they should ! The 2nd best tip was limiting the grad/radial filter it has stopped me a from using it several times cause it made a to huge dent in the looks i was going for. guess its time to go back to a few of my pictures ! Thanks for thies awesome tips.

[@enstromper]

One reason to do spot removal (or gradient filters) at the end is for performance reasons. If you have a bit of an old computer it takes a lot of power to recalculate the spot removal every time you tweak another setting.

[@therabbithat]

Excellent point AND to lower barriers to entry i want to point out it's not about the age of the computer it's about the specs the computer has + the operating system that's installed. My computer is from 2013 and I got it second hand, but it was a top of the range "business" computer first day, and it has a freshly installed OS, and it's fine working on large raw files. You have to wait a few seconds sometimes, but no freezing or crashing.

[@lamkaz810]

Very useful and logical information, thanks James ⭐🤗⭐

[@AdamDopierala]

really great video. refreshing to see some unique approaches to LrC tutorials. I agree, definitely the most important tools in LrC and not to mention the brush tool within the graduated filter and radial filter as well! cheers!

[@nejcizi]

I loved this vid it was one of the more helpful ones on editing that i could find

[@lorenamontoya9771]

Thanks for this video James. I've never considered doing the crop and spot removal first and it does make a lot of sense.

[@ashstubbings2603]

Another of your videos which makes perfect sense to me, and points to the fact that, on the whole, I'm doing it right! Cheers James, my good man!

[@MJFventures]

I'm thinking about investing in lightroom, you've just made my mind up 👍

[@jamieward10000]

Great video james! I'll definitely be using these tips!

[@brianbracher]

Another enjoyable and informative video James. I just love your humour and you always make so much sense, in my my opinion anyway! With so much time on our hands I like idea of looking back at some of my old favourites to see how they could be improved with new editing ideas. 👍

[@LeviFiction]

Love videos like this because they always give me something new to think about both in my own processes and what features I should look at. I don't have the $10/month to spend on Lightroom but it's not the software, it's the process that's important. And this does inspire me to be on the look out for features or comparisons that I can make better use of in my own editing. I don't think any of my software options provide an equivalent to Range Masks, which I am currently temporarily envious of :D, but I can always do that in a more advanced editor later. The crop hint was definitely something I'd never really thought of before. So thank you. I greatly appreciated this video.

[@nidibouphotography]

Bidge-watching all of James Popsys back catalogue. Checked. Really enjoyed that.

[@fabiovanroon1524]

Great video and tips! Thank you!

[@alllovelain]

this was great, very useful, but it raises some personal problems I have with modern photography, which seems more about photoshop/lightroom than actually shooting (and this goes for videos as well): 1. color grading is awesome because even with the correct settings your photo isn't going to look exactly how you saw the scene, but many people go too far. 2. I really, really hate it when people add in things that weren't there like birds or clouds. part of the fun of photography for me is finding the best possible shot and appreciating it for what it is, otherwise I'd feel like the Bogdanoff brothers getting another dose of silicone pumped into their cheeks. I like capturing what's really there and how I saw it and nothing more. not saying people should start viewing it how I do, I understand it's a business for many and you gotta do what you gotta do to make money, and I'm certainly not saying it's easier than my method, I think they're equally hard in different ways, if anything mine just takes more time which professionals do not have to spare.

[@davidcoleman2868]

Superb video again James. You've just moved me on to yet another level. I was a straight to Dehaze and Clarity man, but I get now get the importance levels. Certainly going to try isolating some of my photo features from now on. Another good day at the office 👍🏻👍🏻

[@jimfok4343]

Very timely. My photo buddy and I were just talking about our processes in editing. Thank you for sharing yours and your reasoning. -Elaine

[@kalisti2323]

you're the best James, thanks!

[@bhargavchaudhari4811]

Excellently explained!!

[@jhonnybakkenphotography]

Love your video, some really great tips, was aware of a few, but it's so nice to see how powerful they really are. Your work flow really got me thinking about my own, so I've turned right now. no problem seeing the gain for my own processing. Thanks' for kicking my butt!!

[@kittyclerico18]

Really practical tips. I confess to cropping later than sooner. Will definitely change my routine.

[@markspurgeon8084]

Definitely convinced me to crop at the start, your logic is convincing 👍

[@ChristineWilsonPhotography]

Me too, been using lightroom since version 1 never noticed the crop and histogram issue , good point !

[@dirragon1]

Great reminder. I used to use the radial filter religiously, and kinda got away from it because I tend to use the brush tool with luminosity mask 99% of the time now, but seeing that usage of the radial filter really reminded me why I used to love it. Among the other great things in the video. I'd give this multiple likes if I could. Cheers.

[@joycady8325]

Oh, thank you for these great tips on editing! I am a crop first person :)

[@mauiToast]

Great video, great justifications for your methodology, and I ALWAYS enjoy your humor!! You are hilarious!

[@kylekrulikowski2588]

thanks for the tips! gonna use the brush tool like all the time now that I've seen an example

[@videobyjnt]

Great video and tips. I’ve been using Elements and am able to apply a lot of what you teach. I’m planning on making the switch to LR soon. Really enjoy your channel.

[@RobMatthews21]

Great video for us newbies. Thank you. Can you do one on removing unwanted objects like the tree in the foreground in this video?

[@skidogallard]

Aw man I can't believe I missed that print giveaway, congrats to all the winners! Those lucky folks are sure to enjoy their prints, I love my print of Glenfinnan Commute.

[@manuelcastro2130]

Wow, excellent tips!

[@appaketa]

Great video full of really useful stuff. Looking forward to what you say about the tripod, it fits in really well with my other PD clips and straps.

[@just2cameraguys]

I've been doing it wrong. Great tips. Thanks.

[@jacobmurphy3665]

Good choice on the tripod!!

[@andrewnewton56]

Very useful tips, thank you :)

[@JFW5358]

Even as a Lightroom user since it first came out, I've picked up some things I'd not considered before. Thanks James.

[@Bill.Pearson]

Ah...The perfect way to start a Saturday morning--with my bagel and James' waffles. Perfect.

[@robc7792]

No one's putting down carpets anymore, its all solid oak floors and designer tiling nowadays!!! Great video as usual and really like your perspective and independent thinking on all things photo!!

[@DaveAdams222]

I do a lot of pet photography. As of the new neural processing updates, the red eye tool also works on dogs and cats when their eyes do that annoying "Laser Vision" thing in low light or with flash.

[@playingreverie5488]

I seriously love your videos 🙌🏼 your videos flow so fluidly 👏🏼 Can’t lie, I also always learn something new each time I watch your videos ☺️ Anyways, awesome stuff and thank you for all your hard work 🙏🏼 P.S. A tripod!? Lol

[@LFPG100]

Good tips. Thanks!

[@EmAstonish]

I LOVE my PD Tripod. Awesome performance, small form. Perfection

[@AliasJimWirth]

Good stuff. Thanks

[@pitcher888]

Great video as usual, love it

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers Mark :)

[@josueguillen4491]

Hi James, really enjoyed this video

[@chrichro1613]

good one mate! cant wait for a video when your out though(even locally).

[@sigsegv111]

actually this was great ... I did with cropping exactly what you said ... I was always cropping at the end of the process and indeed, now tried something and seems (well, rather certainly) you're right !!! thank you James !!!

[@williamschultz8198]

I'm telling Emily you bought that tri-pod!

[@wrmarhoffer]

I agree with almost always cropping before making other edits on the portion of the image you wish to keep. The exception would be when using a noise reduction plug-in software such as Topaz DeNoise AI, in which case Topaz recommends applying the noise reduction software prior to cropping the image.

[@RahulSharma-iq9lc]

Thank you!

[@hamsterneckliving]

The range mask in the filter... wow.

[@gerryphilpott9766]

Thank you for this. I just start teaching myself lightroom and always assumed you start at the top and go left to right and then down. Glad you confirmed that isn't such a bad idea. Did I miss it, but I didn't see the link for your separate video on the gradient tool? I've been using that but probably at 30% of it's potential, and same with the radial filter. Keep up the great videos!

[@MC4IOSgamer]

Not sure if you intend to but you end up being quite hilarious while being entirely deadpan. Love your videos! Quite informative and well put together

[@mountains_and_moors]

James - I bought a TRIPOD!!! Loving my Gitzo Mini Traveller 😁😁😁 Agree, tweak the exposure and always crop first 👍🏻😉

[@tjsinva]

Good points! 🎯👍 Hope you can get outside soon.

[@lylestavast7652]

right click on the histogram and you can get the L*a*b values instead of RGB... float your mouse around and you can tell values for the brightness, which comes in handy if you're doing prints...

[@NickBarang]

Super useful, thank you for this. It gave me some ideas for my own editing process which is, shall we say charitably, somewhat less well-structured?

[@randomstuffman01]

Good info. I use Silkypix for Panasonic. Thanks. toronto canada

[@3runjosh]

Apple mail has always been a weird one in terms of consistency with the rest of the OS lol. Unusual for a company like Apple. GOod video thanks mate

[@kandronid]

Check out „spark“ to replace your mail app. There are a lot of alternatives on the appstore and you can now also set them as the default.

[@bigshotmedia]

Bravo!!!!

[@CookedLight]

You brushed us off at the end 😂 have you tried using a graphics tablet and pen? I find it more natural when making selections and brushing.

[@carolynzannoni3859]

Can't wait to see that tripod video 😁

[@paulbarnard5267]

Looking forward to the video about that tripod , especially how you justify it 😀. Do I see a potential evolution in tour shooting style?

[@barrynoon1812]

Nice one James. Good to know I'm not the only one who crops at the start of an edit! I use Capture One as I object paying a monthly subscription lol. The only additional tool I use is lens correction prior to the crop. Still enjoyed seeing your work flow. Regards Barry

[@bigshotmedia]

Wall looks good...

[@Martin-nu6ym]

Once I started to use 40+ Meg resolution cameras I began to crop rather quickly - my old computer does not like to deal with all the pixels. :p Imagine the fun I have with stacked pixel shift images for macro. Another important editing tool I use in LR (or ACR) is the Profile in the Basic settings. For example, I have profiles for my infrared photos for me to see immediately the channel swapped colors. And Adobe happens to provide profiles for color and B&W that can very quickly speed up the post processing.

[@RealRaynedance]

But 84 is even, James. Also, having a preference for editing order and what tools you think are the most powerful for you is why I love that Capture One lets you rearrange them, separates them into tabs, and lets you remove tabs entirely if you don't need them.

[@iphoneography]

Nice video, cheers :)

[@DigitalImageStudio]

Applying spot heavy spot removal and lens corrections early will slow screen updates down, it's unfortunate but I do try to apply lens correction as late as practicable in my PP.

[@TheWardenet]

Nice video bud.

[@MonsieurFromLondon]

Got a few "ooooh" out loud! Now going outside with my camera to practice more editing skills later

[@danielhenzphotography]

Still locked down or just bad weather? Looking forward to outdoor videos, as you, probably. Wonder what you think about the tripod. I like the idea behind it a lot. Had the aluminium one, but is is pretty heavy and still expensive. Don't think the carbon one is much lighter

[@candyjolicoeur6470]

Thank you for the guidance with regard to the order of operations. Just one question - in the first image you cropped the image but ended up cutting a tree in half on the left edge. Is it a consideration or am I over analyzing?

[@piteshmistry9957]

Great video James!! When I saw most of the photos you were showing were almost square shaped, was that on purpose because of being sponsored by squarespace? lol

[@orphanuprising]

I knew the red eye tool was there, but my brain has blocked it out cuz I've literally never clicked it. I don't even see it anymore.

[@robdalziel7056]

Me too!

[@nelsbondephoto]

Try pushing the dehaze slider all the way to the right before using the spot removal tool. You will see all the spots easily. Don't forget to put the slider back to 0.

[@LaylaVaughan]

Hi James, I remember you seemed to like Luminar 4 a while back. What about that, or other software you've tried that you like, keeps you coming back to Adobe Lightroom?

[@NickHaigh]

I mainly use Photoshop, I do use Lightroom but very lightly! I agree with exposure & WB first, but cropping is very last thing I do, as photoshop you can no longer use the history tool after cropping, so the healing brush etc will not work if you want to go back.

[@ijclarkphoto]

I really need to get used to using those tools more...particularly like the use of the radial filter with the sky to increase exposure and add warmth...need to do that more! PS I think you accidentally linked to some boyband dude on your end screen :)

[@unbeholdenmind]

How do you go from editing a photo to printing it? I think I remember you saying that you don't use a calibrated monitor so how do you do it? Print and adjust the edit and print again or is there a trick to it?

[@kapilbhallafoto]

Good opinion

[@robertnelson3179]

Thanks. Going to give the process a try today on a picture or two. Good thing Tom H slipped in some sheepies

[@Halfpint71]

I wasn’t aware of the luminosity mask thingy in the gradient tool. So thanks for that. 👍 Tripod!???? It’s like I don’t even know you anymore!

[@andyblessett1282]

😂😂

[@ellyelzinga01]

I also feel like the most important tools are right at the top at Lightroom. And I also have never used the red eye tool, I probably never even had a look at it 😅

[@olivierparlephoto]

Thank you James for this workflow! Where did you do your global adjustemet ? Did you forget to mention when you use the basic, curve, details, etc.. panels ? Is it at the very end after the brush tool ? That would be a bit late for me to edit global adjusment after local ones.I watched the video twice without noticing that. Now I Did a videdeo to help me learn and discover mor this workflow. And Thanked you in it. Just wanted tp let you know about that !

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

When you started the video by observing that Adobe likely had a board meeting about their tools layout, I thought a Camera Conspiracies-style boardroom skit was coming. Which you could totally pull off.

[@Adrizzle]

Have you ever considered trying out some lightroom alternatives like On1 Photo Raw, Exposure X6, or Capture One? Obviously Lightroom is integral to your workflow, but would be interesting to get your thoughts on some of these other tools out there. There are many of us who are amateurs and don't want to subscribe to Adobe's pricing model

[@peterreber7671]

YT channel 'J Christina' has a video series on how he explored replacing Photoshop and Lightroom with either free tools or with one-time purchase ones. The series is called 'cutting the cord' IIRC.