How to Edit Photos in Lightroom (2026 Guide)

Lightroom has been the go-to photo editor for photographers since 2007 — but the Lightroom of 2026 is almost unrecognizable from its origins.

Adobe has integrated powerful AI tools that automate tedious tasks, while keeping the precise manual controls professionals rely on. Whether you’re editing a single portrait or batch-processing 500 wedding photos, Lightroom handles it all.

This guide covers Lightroom Classic (the desktop powerhouse), with notes on Lightroom CC where relevant. By the end, you’ll know how to import and organize photos efficiently, master essential editing tools, leverage AI features that save hours, and export for any purpose.

Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC: Which One?

Before we start, let’s clear up the confusion. Adobe offers two versions of Lightroom, and they’re quite different:

Lightroom Classic stores photos on your hard drive, offers a complete catalog system for organizing thousands of images, and works entirely offline. It’s the choice for professionals, wedding photographers, and anyone editing large volumes of photos.

Lightroom CC (sometimes just called “Lightroom”) stores photos in Adobe’s cloud, syncs automatically across devices, and has a simplified interface. It’s ideal for casual photographers who want to edit on their phone and computer seamlessly.

This guide focuses on Lightroom Classic, but about 90% of the editing techniques apply to both versions.

Step 1: Importing Photos into Lightroom

Every Lightroom workflow starts with importing your photos. Connect your memory card or navigate to your photo folder, then click Import in the bottom-left of the Library module.

You’ll see three import methods:

• Copy — copies files to a new location (recommended for most photographers)
• Move — moves files and deletes originals from the source
• Add — references files in their current location without copying

For the import settings, choose Standard previews for a balance of speed and quality. Enable Build Smart Previews if you edit on a laptop that won’t always have your external drive connected.

Pro tip: Create an import preset that includes your copyright metadata and a subtle base develop preset. Every photo will start partially edited before you touch it.

Step 2: The Develop Module — Where Editing Happens

Press D or click “Develop” to enter the editing workspace. The right panel contains all your editing tools, organized from top to bottom in a logical order.

The Basic Panel (Start Here)

The Basic panel handles roughly 80% of your edits. Work through it in order:

White Balance: The Temp slider adjusts cool (blue) to warm (yellow), while Tint handles green to magenta. Use the eyedropper tool on something neutral gray for automatic correction.

Exposure: Controls overall brightness, adjustable from -5 to +5 stops. Get this roughly correct before moving on.

Contrast: Increases the difference between light and dark tones.

Highlights and Shadows: These are your recovery tools. Pull Highlights left to recover blown-out bright areas; push Shadows right to lift dark areas without affecting the entire image.

Whites and Blacks: Set your white point and black point. Hold Alt/Option while dragging to see clipping — any color that appears is losing detail.

Texture: Enhances mid-tone detail. Great for landscapes and architecture; use negative values to smooth skin.

Clarity: Adds contrast to mid-tones. Powerful but easy to overdo — use sparingly on portraits.

Vibrance: Intelligent saturation that protects skin tones. Almost always preferable to the Saturation slider.

Tone Curve

The Tone Curve offers more precise contrast control than the Basic panel. The classic “S-curve” — lifting shadows slightly while dropping highlights — adds pleasing contrast. The individual R, G, and B curves let you create color grades.

HSL/Color Panel

Control individual colors with precision:

• Hue shifts colors (make orange skin less orange, shift blue sky toward teal)
• Saturation controls intensity per color
• Luminance adjusts brightness per color

Common uses: Drop blue luminance for dramatic skies. Shift orange hue slightly for more natural skin tones. Desaturate greens for a muted film look.

Step 3: AI-Powered Editing (Game-Changers)

These features have transformed Lightroom over the past two years. If you learned Lightroom before 2023, pay close attention — this is where the magic happens now.

AI Denoise

Access via Photo > Enhance > Denoise. This AI-powered tool removes noise from high-ISO photos while preserving detail in ways that were previously impossible.

Before AI Denoise, high-ISO photos (ISO 3200+) required manual noise reduction that inevitably smeared fine details. Now, one click and 30 seconds of processing gives you clean images that look like they were shot at ISO 400.

Use it on any photo shot at ISO 1600 or higher. Start with Amount at 50 and increase for severe noise. The tool creates a new DNG file, preserving your original.

AI Denoise: Before and After

Lens Blur

Added in 2024, Lens Blur uses AI depth mapping to add realistic bokeh to any photo. You can simulate f/1.4 background blur from an f/4 lens, separate subjects from busy backgrounds, or create depth in smartphone photos.

Find it in the Lens Blur panel within the Develop module. Enable it, set your blur amount, and adjust the focal range if the AI doesn’t detect your subject perfectly. Use the included brush to refine the selection.

Lens Blur: Before and After

Generative Remove

The newest addition, Generative Remove uses cloud-based AI to remove objects and fill in complex backgrounds intelligently. Select the Remove tool, paint over the unwanted object, enable the “Generative AI” toggle, and wait for processing.

It’s perfect for removing power lines, tourists in the background, trash, or any distracting elements. For complex scenes with detailed backgrounds, it outperforms traditional Content-Aware tools.

Generative Remove: Before and After

Step 4: AI Masking — Select Anything Instantly

Masking — selecting specific parts of your image for targeted adjustments — used to be tedious. Now it’s a few clicks. Click the Masking icon (circle with dotted outline) to access these tools:

Select Subject: One click identifies and masks people, animals, or objects. Lightroom’s AI creates a precise selection around your main subject.

Select Sky: Instantly masks the sky for separate adjustments. Darken blue skies, add drama to sunsets, or balance exposure between sky and foreground.

Select Background: The inverse of Select Subject — masks everything except your subject for background adjustments.

Select People: When faces are detected, you get granular control. Select the entire person, or choose specific features: face skin, body skin, eyebrows, eyes (iris and pupils separately), lips, teeth, hair, or clothes.

For portrait retouching, try: Select Person > Face Skin, then reduce Clarity slightly and boost Shadows. Professional skin smoothing in seconds.

You can also combine masks. Want to adjust the sky but not where a tree overlaps? Select Sky, then subtract a brush stroke over the tree.

Step 5: Local Adjustments (Manual Masks)

When AI doesn’t get it right, or you need creative control, use manual masking tools:

Linear Gradient: Pull from the edge of your frame to create a gradual adjustment. Perfect for darkening skies, creating light falloff, or directional color grades.

Radial Gradient: Create circular or oval selections. Invert the mask and reduce exposure to spotlight your subject while darkening the surroundings. Or use it for controlled vignettes.

Brush: Paint your selection freehand. Hold Alt/Option to erase mistakes. Enable “Auto Mask” when brushing along high-contrast edges for cleaner selections.

Step 6: Sharpening and Noise Reduction

In the Detail panel, you’ll find manual sharpening and noise reduction controls.

For sharpening, start with Amount around 40-60, Radius at 1.0, and Masking around 30. Hold Alt/Option while adjusting Masking to see which areas will be sharpened (white) versus protected (black).

For noise reduction when AI Denoise is overkill, use Luminance to reduce grain and Color to remove color speckles. Most photos only need minor Color noise reduction.

Step 7: Lens Corrections

In the Lens Corrections panel, enable profile corrections to automatically fix lens distortion and vignetting. Most modern lenses have built-in profiles.

Always enable “Remove Chromatic Aberration” to eliminate color fringing on high-contrast edges.

The Transform panel fixes perspective issues like converging verticals in architecture. Try “Auto” first — it usually works. For manual control, use “Guided” and draw vertical and horizontal reference lines.

Step 8: Exporting Your Photos

Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + E to open the Export dialog. Your settings depend on the output:

For Web and Social Media:

• Format: JPEG
• Quality: 80-85%
• Resize: Long edge 2048px
• Sharpen for screen, standard amount

For Print:

• Format: JPEG or TIFF (16-bit for fine art)
• Quality: 100%
• Resolution: 300 PPI
• No resize, or set dimensions to match print size
• Sharpen for matte or glossy paper

Save your common export settings as presets. You can then drag photos directly onto presets for one-click export.

Lightroom Workflow Tips

A few techniques that save serious time:

Learn the keyboard shortcuts. Press G for grid view, D for Develop, R for crop, Q for spot removal, and \\ to toggle before/after. Use P to flag picks and X to flag rejects when culling.

Sync settings across photos. Edit one photo perfectly, select similar photos, then click “Sync” or press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S. Choose which settings to copy. This is Lightroom’s superpower for events and weddings.

Use Virtual Copies. Right-click any photo and choose “Create Virtual Copy” to try different editing directions without duplicating files.

Common Lightroom Mistakes to Avoid

• Over-sharpening: If you see halos around edges, reduce the Amount
• Crushed blacks: Check your histogram — don’t clip shadows completely unless intentional
• Over-saturation: Vibrance is almost always better than the Saturation slider
• Too much Clarity on portraits: It emphasizes skin texture and ages people
• Ignoring white balance: Get this right first; it affects every other adjustment

How to Edit Photos in Lightroom: Summary

The essential workflow: Import with smart presets, nail the Basic panel adjustments, use AI tools for heavy lifting (Denoise, Lens Blur, Remove), apply targeted masks for local edits, then export with appropriate settings.

The AI features added to Lightroom between 2023-2025 genuinely transformed photo editing. Tasks that once took 20 minutes now take 20 seconds. But understanding the fundamentals still matters — AI works best when you know what you’re trying to achieve.

FAQs

Is Lightroom Classic better than Lightroom CC?

For professionals and high-volume shooters, Lightroom Classic offers full catalog control, better performance with large libraries, and works entirely offline. Lightroom CC is better for casual photographers who want seamless cloud sync across devices.

Does Lightroom AI require an internet connection?

Generative Remove requires internet because it processes in Adobe’s cloud. AI Denoise, Lens Blur, and AI masking all work offline.

Can I edit JPEG files in Lightroom?

Yes, but RAW files give you significantly more editing flexibility. JPEGs are already processed by your camera, so there’s less data to work with when adjusting exposure or recovering highlights.

What’s the difference between Lightroom presets and manual editing?

Presets are saved editing settings you can apply with one click. They’re a starting point for your editing, not a replacement for understanding the tools. Most photographers use presets as a base, then fine-tune each image.

How do I batch edit photos in Lightroom?

Edit one photo from a series, then select the other photos you want to match. Use Sync Settings (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S) to apply your edits across all selected images. You can choose exactly which settings to sync.