LIGHTROOM EDITING MADE EASY | From Beginner to Pro

Showing three different levels of edit on two photos, from beginner to pro.
SQUARESPACE - Get 10% off (and 14 days free): www.squarespac...
Get my latest composition ebook here - www.nigeldanso...
KZbin viewers get $100 off Mastering the Art of Landscape Photography - www.nigeldanso...
The last few copies of Spirit of Luskentyre Book - www.nigeldanso...
Seascapes Book - geni.us/seascapes
Sign up for my FREE newsletter here - geni.us/nigeln...
A massive thanks to Rick for the help with editing this video - / rickbebbington
Where I get my AWESOME MUSIC - geni.us/amazin...
Kase Filters (my fav filters) - geni.us/Kase | And use code NIGEL for 5% off
Instagram (follow my daily stories) - / nigel.danson
NIKON GEAR (Main STILLS camera)
Current landscape camera - Nikon Z7 - geni.us/nikonz7
Awesome telephoto lens - Nikon 70-200m f/2.8 - geni.us/nikon70200
Great ultra-wide angle lens - Nikon 14-30mm f/4 - geni.us/1430mm
Hiking mid lens - Nikon 24-70mm Z f4 - geni.us/nikon2470
Sharpest mid lens - Nikon 24-70mm Z f2.8 geni.us/2470mm28
Very long lens - Nikon 500mm F5.6 - geni.us/nikon5...
FILM GEAR
AWESOME DRONE - geni.us/dji_ma...
Nikon Z6 - geni.us/z6nikon
Nikon 20mm Z F1.8 - geni.us/nikon2...
Nikon 24mm Z F1.8 - geni.us/nikon24mm
Nikon 50mm Z F1.8 - geni.us/nikon5...
Nikon 85mm Z F1.8 - geni.us/nikon8...
OTHER PHOTO GEAR
Clever camera strap (peak design) - geni.us/PDstrap
Microfibre Cloths - geni.us/microf...
Rab Downpour Pants - geni.us/rainpants
Awesome sensor brush - geni.us/brush4...
GorillaPod - geni.us/Kb9mV
The great printer I use Canon P1000 - geni.us/cIIc
Great bag for hiking - Tenba 24L - geni.us/orPwh
Great bag for travel (carry on) - Tenba 32L - geni.us/tenba32l
Super light Benro Travel Tripod UK - geni.us/Benrot...
A must have for tripod (L bracket) - geni.us/myLbra...
Lightweight tripod - Benro Mach3 Carbon Fiber Tripod - geni.us/benrom...
Paper I use for all my prints - Fotospeed - geni.us/fotospeed Use DANSON10 to get 10% off your paper.

[@badgerlandcouk]

Back in the day, I might spend a day shooting a roll of film with 36 images on it, then spend the best part of a day down in the darkroom, cropping prints, and using different dodge and burn methods and different filters to get the desired level of contrast control. Although Lightroom is much more sophisticaed than the old darkroom methods, it's still great to see how you approach your images and what you do with an initial raw file to obtain a print that you are happy with. It's so useful to see how people use Lightroom in action and how they obtain superb genuine photographic images.

[@tobias1991o]

You're my favourite youtube-pro-photo-guy. I reference you often.

[@KS-IM]

I like your edits and how you explain them. I found your channel a half year ago and it improved my photography so much ! 😊

[@andrewmurphy2688]

Interesting to hear your explanations for why you choose to edit specific areas of the photo. Editing small areas instead of universal edits is so rewarding when you see the image you had in your head when you take the photo.

[@macsprotte1436]

Your way of editing is so rewarding to watch! Great.

[@andreafranzius3189]

Holy smokes, Nigel, this is a terrific editing tutorial! Complex sublety at the highest level is the name of your editing game, and it really shows. I admire your incredibly measured eye for every detail and aspect with nothing overdone, and your love and analyses of landscape paintings also shine through. Love your work, as always!

[@raegmaen3]

One of the most useful videos on editing I have seen in quite some time. Thank you very much! 😊

[@NigelDanson]

Glad it was helpful!

[@pentax-paul.]

There are some really useful tips there , i am 6 months into shooting raw and manually editing in Lightroom Cloud rather than my old way of jpeg and hitting auto edit ... learning a lot from you, thank you . 😊

[@TheSmartWoodshop]

Very good, Nigel! 😎🤙 Do more of these, as the process/flow of your editing is both educational and interesting.

[@JakeWalksAmerica]

This is one reason why it's a good idea to save your RAW images. I've gone back and made some great photos out of what I once thought were trash :)

[@davidcrighton3431]

Another excellent video. Good to see not so much the actual working steps, but more the thought process behind the steps. 👏👏👏

[@jackconboy3013]

This was thought provoking and required lots of time to process. We all have our editing style but it is good to be exposed to your style. I think this video will change my approach a bit. Thank you. Great job!

[@wendidonaldson1051]

Always appreciate your tips on editing, Nigel! Thank you!😊

[@jimwlouavl]

I love watching you edit. I hadn’t thought of intersecting a sky and linear grad mask.

[@danielbastos1885]

Great, great video on editing, Nigel! Many thanks for sharing you thoughts and teachings!

[@valentinjimenez9499]

Fantastic video Nigel. I think the crop tool is the most powerful and the one I am most afraid to use. It seems that if you crop an image, although it may seem like a contradiction, you lose part of the "quality", when in reality you can increase it.

[@walterwiniana]

Thanks again Nigel for your awesome editing tips. 👍🏼

[@mendesvideo]

Hello, Nigel. Your videos are always so instructive and inspiring. This one is particularly useful, specially for people like me who already have some familiarity with Lightroom. I must confess though that I always get lost in the middle of the Photoshop bit. Thanks ever so much.

[@mariebird01]

Wow! You make the images ‘pop’ but still look natural. What an amazing difference! I am a total novice in Lightroom, am afraid of ruining the original and not being able to retrieve it! Thank you Nigel. I’ll look at some more of your hints and tips on Lightroom. They’re set at the right ‘pace’ too.

[@rocketmanab]

You can always right-click on a photo, then 'Create virtual copy', and work off of that. Then you'll always still have the original :)

[@nsg6225]

In lightroom you never lose the original, it stays on your hard drive and you export your edited version/ as many versions of the original as you wish.

[@jb-xc4oh]

Its not natural, its fake. Its nice graphic art but no longer a photograph.

[@guillmunoz7474]

Fabulous video Nigel, it is certainly worth keeping. It is by far, the best description of your LRC process you have ever given and from which I have learned many things. Thank you for your hard work, you have certainly encouraged me to become more knowledgeable with LRC and PS tools, and just keep working at it.

[@FraggleHammer]

Really helpful explaining your throught process behind each action and the reason for it. Thanks Nigel!

[@anneliesesullivan-wilson1038]

Post processing always baffles me in knowing what to do with all the features ... you help me so much 😊

[@NotAnotherYoutubePhotographer]

Great video, Nigel! Really like the tip with the blur in Photoshop, first time I’ve seen that but a clever way to add that extra little something to an image.

[@JeffreyTadlockPhotography]

Really liked seeing the different "levels" of editing applied to the same image! Thanks for the video!

[@keithsanders6554]

I am a keen Lightroom user and am aware of the filters but it is always good to see you using them and your explanations which are so clear.

[@engi6297]

That glow effect blew my mind. Amazing video, thank you.

[@wolfgangwiesinger9593]

Nigel, that is the kind of videos I like most. Great! The very last step cold be an Orton effect.

[@marycarron5118]

This is an excellent video on editing, one of the best I've seen. It includes something for every level yet also something to aim for. I consider myself to be in the intermediate category and love to experiment but I often feel I overdo the editing. You have assured us that simple is good too and that there is always room for improvement. It really all depends on what we want to achieve.

[@stevebanks484]

Thanks Nigel. Judging by your categorisations I would say I’m probably an intermediate with Lightroom, though occasionally I think I can be a little clumsy (though I’m sure some of it goes back to the basic photography skills, or lack of). There are a couple of things I have gleaned from this video that I can use so I look forward to trying them. Many thanks for the guidance 👍

[@kristopherjwolff]

Editing is definitely somewhere I struggle, so these videos are wonderful for me. Thanks! 🙏♥️🏞️📷

[@DouglasBurke-z5i]

Phenomenal video Nigel!!....learned a lot from watching this video..loved how you broke it out and showed each step of the process..as Arthur said below the hardest part is knowing when the right time to stop is....

[@chrisprideaux151]

Fantastic video Nigel, I’m personally somewhere between beginner & intermediate so you’ve really highlighted (no pun intended) where I need to focus to improve my editing further.

[@davidliao942]

Awesome, Nigel. Beautiful shots and incredible edit secrets. Thank you for sharing and teaching.

[@henrichzubcak]

Thank you for sharing this kind of video. Really great job. One of the best I hav seen in a while.

[@ianevans9957]

A great video Nigel, really enjoyed your hints and tips and hopefully will give some of my images better look.

[@artiedoc]

Excellent Nigel …a great instructional video on the process especially the “pro Tweaks “ …I’m always tweaking but it’s nice to see your process especially when you think you’re done …you never are 🤣The hardest part is knowing when to stop ….

[@73mactat]

Great video, this simple exercise has improved my editing no end, thankyou.

[@Bert-Hoogveld]

Excellent video, Nigel! Not only to learn from, but also to see some of my development as a Lightroom Classic user. In the beginning when I saw you explaining your edits, I thougt: 'wat is this complex1'. But now I see that I am reasoning in what tools to use where for, which is a less beginner or intermediate style of tools usage. Thanks again, Bert.

[@gulloacastro]

This is one of your best videos - Thanks!

[@chantallabelle8571]

Great video! I improved my editing by watching your video. I am using more and more masks with confidence! Thank you.

[@alicel8928]

Really helpful process to see and learn from. Thanks for going through. So useful for artistic process, developing an eye and skill for bringing out the gold already there. Brilliant. Thank you.

[@ianpinion4997]

Very interesting video and a real eye opener. I think the significant difference between the three different skill levels is developing the ability to look at an image and knowing what processess you need to use to take what your captured through it how you want to present the final image. In the beginning you just do know the full extent of the processing power within the editing program you're using, but as our knowledge increases over time we become more adept at finding and using the tools hidden in plain sight in front of us. I thought I'd learnt some pretty advanced techniques on a processing course I did with David Clapp back in 2015, but with every update of the software in between, I'm sure there's probably at least three more courses worth of material to learn.

[@DeanneProbst]

Super helpful video, Nigel. Thank you!

[@carollemarchand1299]

Very interesting seeing the progression between each level. As Devin highlighted below, going back on our older processed images and reworking them is a great way to realize how much our post processing knowledge improves over time. In fact, each update versions of Lr and Ps open new possibilities and make it possible to enhance our creativity. I really enjoyed this video. :))

[@sarahbatsford4791]

Ooh learnt afew things here & very much liked your approach.

[@rayl801]

Great video Nigel. You are one of my favorite landscape photographers, and I benefit greatly from the LR processing instruction and artistic insights. I have to admit that I do get a bit lost in the specific mechanics of using the specialty tools when you are flying through the expert pro tools, and it would help me if you had taken it at a bit slower pace, but I understand that you don't want to drag it out too long. Thanks again for these videos, they help a lot.

[@orcaspest]

What a difference. This was great, thank you!

[@rolsonn]

Thanks Nigel I did find a few more very good ideas to enhance specific ares in a photo.

[@Pengranger]

Really great Nigel. Looking forward to The Photography Show.

[@timmcneillyphotography]

This was really good, thanks Nigel!

[@randyschwager2515]

Great info! Very helpful! Thanks for taking me along!

[@russellyeley2561]

Thank you for the video. Always look forward to your videos.

[@sutv6754]

A fab learning experience. Bravo Nigel.

[@ingabett]

Watching this video made me realise how much more I can edit a photo! I’m new to Lightroom, only have the beginners version because I didn’t know if I would like it. I was a bit disappointed when I got some photos I had developed by Saal digital, not by the quality but by the fact that I should have edit my photos more. There’s one in particular that I really like, it’s off a heavy snowfall, when I got it back it was to mehh. It was an expensive lesson 😅. Going to see if I can do anything more to it, thanks to this video. Thank you for sharing!

[@ccn6558]

Wow - I didn't realize you could use two masks together like that!!! And luminance masking still eludes me. Thank you for a great video.

[@conorbmcgovern]

Great video. Makes me want to go back and look at old photos and re-edit in LR.

[@garryhughes3837]

Another fantastic video. Thanks Nigel. I also feel that "Gaussian Blur" is much more aesthetically pleasant than "Glaussian Oasis." It makes the image (Brit) pop much more.

[@ajtafft]

Many thanks, (yet again!) Very interesting and I learned some useful stuff. I have to admit, call me thick, that I didn't really get the idea behind the "gaussian blur" component at the end. Is this to add a sort of "Orton effect"?

[@elongi]

Incrivel.Parabéns! Somos seus fãs aqui no Brasil!

[@atthewoodie3384]

So helpful! I love to see your editing.

[@bayricker]

Another excellent video on editing. Much easier learning from you than reading the Adobe books.

[@jpdj2715]

Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Richard Avedon would have loved this. Their lab-assistants would produce neutral/flat test prints from their (usually negative) shots. The masters then would annotate crop, and e.g. local dodge/burn. This would then be executed in print again. Potentially followed up by refinement. Now we do this all in Lightroom. Rather famous photographer Albert Watson, on his tour around Scotland for own-portfolio images, had himself driven around by/with three assistants. One to drive and carry gear, one to operate a notebook with Photoshop on a tripod TetherTable in a hoody, one to adjust the camera tethered into the notebook. And again, his way of working images is the same.

[@iamsilentobserver]

Thank you so much for the very useful tutorial

[@nickbailey202]

Thank you for this. It's very helpful to see the steps a professional takes to get the most from the shot. In future videos, would you mind minimizing the photo strip panel so the picture can expand and we can better see your edits?

[@jasonjeandron9380]

Thanks for reminding me of the Orton effect, it's been a while since I've applied it to my images.

[@jledvinka]

Really helpful - thank you Nigel 👍

[@SteveZodiac777]

Very useful tips - thanks for sharing!

[@Artur..L]

Great video. I love watching others' workflows - allow me to learn new stuff. Speaking of which, what's the purpose of adding gaussian blur here? Reducing noise or something else?

[@kushi1515]

Such a helpful video, thanks a lot Nigel, learned a lot here.

[@gailmager4147]

Nice to see the before and after, thx again. Still new to LR.

[@duncanwilson5170]

excellent video, I would add that I routinely snapshot when I make adjustments so that I can revert a step at a time if I don't like the result of an edit

[@centeioalves6515]

I'm really enjoying the videos on this channel, I still use Lightroom 5.7 but many of the techniques used in LRc I can use jo jo LR5, thank you for your work and sharing.

[@paulseymour7485]

Ex ellent !! Super editing instruction.

[@paulshaffer6492]

Wowsers.. so much to learn! 🤯

[@TheSilverDartRacing]

Thank you, learned some new technics

[@stigfloberghagenphotography]

That was a great video, Nigel . Thanks 👍

[@dougbraz5843]

Wow! LOVED this video (really like ALL of yours to be fair..), but this was very instructive especially to see the little extra "pro"touches that make all the difference. Just one question about the second image (slightly off topic, but...): what was your reasoning behind aligning the tops of the two islands? I am pretty sure that it was not accidental - at your level, especially - just curious as to why. Care to share the logic? Cheers!

[@guycl2381]

NDLM .... Nigel Danson Lightroom Magic ... :-) Kind regards, Guy.

[@DavidMaffin]

Really useful Nigel 👍 I have not been able to find the link to the other video you mentioned on settings for Gaussian Blur ….

[@shobinsebastian977]

Really needed these , thanks mate👍

[@ste528]

Fantastic Nigel!

[@GuilleSKS]

Nice video Nigel! How come that gaussian blur gives glow to the image, shouldn't it just give blur?

[@sundeepsembi6091]

Excellent tutorial, thank you

[@freeaccess5905]

Have you ever tried the Nik filters? I use them all the time, they are very powerful tools to do the type of edits that you discuss in this video.

[@timrosenburgh8597]

A very interesting video Nigel into how you edit your image's. The three ways from beginner to pro editing was was extremely helpful and explained very well. I would be interested in your opinion about the way i sometimes edit mine in Lightroom. I sometimes just hit the auto button and edit from there. Is this a good idea for a starting point?. Look forward to the next video.

[@pll66]

Such good information and stretches me to push my lightroom skills to a higher level! Would be really interesting to see side by side comparison of each level. One question - what trigger or method do you use to get yourself in the photo? Would like to start incorporating that into my photography but not sure how to accomplish it. Any feedback (from anyone) is greatly appreciated!

[@ukaszczekaa3061]

Hi Nigel, as always great video! Any chance you could mention what hardware do you use for photo editing? I'm after a new PC/laptop and browsing around. Thanks!

[@lindakarlin2980]

Excellent tutorial!!!!!

[@ZachGroney]

I need to watch these types of videos while editing because I always forget about all the minor tips and tricks when I'm in the middle of it.

[@romanpastierik]

hi Nigel, great video. Could you please talk about sharpening in some of the other videos? thx

[@markfarrand6556]

Great video as usual Nigel - Would you mind adding the Photoshop link you mention please

[@MartinFransson]

I really need to get better at working with those masks in LR... great video!

[@nldazuu]

Always interesting watching your KZbin lightroom edits. Just woundering why you don’t use the CMD+OPTION+ O when in develop module in Lightroom to chech if horizons or buildings are level….. keep ut the nice vlogs! Great learnings always! //Dave

[@matpez65]

Lovely edits and images Nigel, do you have the link to the video regarding the gausion blur

[@juanmm9297]

Very valuable information 🙏

[@Johnmell100]

Great video Nigel

[@marksanderson8015]

Great tips, thank you

[@ravenfallsphotography6254]

Nice work! My only question: while you were cleaning up that second image, why did you forget to clone out that jerk standing out there on the point, getting in the way? 😝 (Hi, Mads! 😂 )

[@cupneverempty]

Many interesting comments already. I’m interested in the type of monitor you are using in this video. Info please. Thanks for the LR class.

[@lindahudspeth8006]

Very helpful Nigel, thanks. Shame I couldn’t seem to see the link to the video on Gaussian Blur