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Tag: module

Shortcuts for Lightroom’s Develop Module

Posted on by Navanee Viswa

Knowing some key shortcuts makes one’s job a lot easier and faster. It makes your work process faster and your job a lot more comfortable. In our previous article, we had discussed some key shortcuts to know while working in the Library module of Lightroom. So naturally, this article will focus on the next module- the one with a lot of action- the develop module of Lightroom. So, what is the Develop module? It is the part of Lightroom that lets you, literally, develop your image into one that looks magical and enticing. It is the part of Lightroom that allows you to process your image into something much better. So, knowing a few key shortcuts for this module will help you a lot in the long run.

View All Lightroom Develop Module Shortcuts

Like in the Library module, “Ctrl + Alt + /” on the Windows or “Command + Alt + /” on the Mac will take you to a window that shows all the shortcuts applicable for the Develop module only. This is helpful when you quickly want to refer the shortcut for a particular process.

Develop Module shortcuts.
Develop Module shortcuts.

Display Options

Some people don’t like the hindrance of a hundred panels on the left and right, while processing an image. So, is there a way to hide all those panels from view? Yes. TAB 

: Press the Tab key on your keyboard to hide the side panels from view. Press the Tab key again to view the panels.

F : Press the F key to enter full-screen mode. Now, work without any disturbance!

L : While working on the image, press the L key to dim the lights surrounding the image. This highlights the image area and helps you to view your progress better. Press the L key again to remove light completely from the surrounding area. And press the L key again, to bring the lights back on.

Dim lights . These settings can also be changed in Preferences.
Dim lights . These settings can also be changed in Preferences.

Adjustment shortcuts for Basic Panel

If you are in the habit of using your keyboard in Develop module, then you should know some of these keys to control the entire basic correction panel only.
1. Press period (.) or comma (,) for selecting a slider (e.g., Exposure)
2. Then press plus (+) to increase the value and press minus (-) to decrease the value of the same.
3. Now press period (.) to go to the next.

Basic Correction Panel
Basic Correction Panel

Tip:

You can save any of the local adjustment tool settings as a preset which can be used for any of the tools. For example, if you are a portrait retoucher, you may want to save your favorite skin-softening settings as a preset. You can do that by clicking “Save as a preset” at the bottom of the local correction tool set. Likewise you can save any kind of settings which you may use often.

 

Save settings as Preset shortcut.
Save settings as Preset shortcut.

Auto Tone & Auto White Balance

Most of the time, you start with and finish with the Auto Tone in Lightroom specially if the photos are family or friends photo or even vacation documentation collections. When you don’t want to spend a lot of time setting your WB and retouching:

  1. To set Auto WB:”Ctrl + Shift + U” on Windows ; “Command + Shift + U “ on Mac
  2. To set Auto Tone:”Ctrl + U” on Windows ; “Command + U “ on Mac

Cropping And Straightening

The Straighten Tool within Crop tool can be used to straighten out a photo by drawing a line across the horizon that should be a straight. The crop will automatically adjust itself so this line. This is useful if the horizon line is not leveled or you want to straighten against a pillar or vertical line. If you have many photos that need leveling or straightening, you can speed up the process by using this shortcut: Just press R to go to the crop tool. Now to straighten with the keyboard rather than accessing the Straighten Tool by clicking on the icon in the panel, just hold down the Command (Mac) / Control (Win) key and the straighten tool will appear. From there just draw the line and the crop will adjust. This is a quick way to straighten a photo without needing to click on the tool itself.

Cropping and straightening.
Cropping and straightening.

Tip:

O : Show Cycle Crop grid overlay.

Shift + O : Show Cycle Crop grid overlay orientation.

Create Virtual Copies

For those of you aren’t aware of what virtual copies are, read our previous article on the significance of virtual copies in Lightroom, to know more about their uses. Now, for those of you use virtual copies regularly, did you know that “Ctrl + ‘ “ on Windows or “ Command + ‘ “ on Mac will create a new virtual copy? Yup, it’s that easy. You don’t have to right click the image and select “Create Virtual Copy” every time. Make work faster, use the shortcut!

Create a new virtual copy.
Create a new virtual copy.

Paste Settings from one image to another

Shortcut: “Ctrl + Alt + V” for Windows or “Command + Option + V” for Mac. Transfers all the adjustment settings from the selected photo onto the current photo. When you have images that require similar processing, this is the most valuable and time-saving shortcut!

Screenshot 2016-06-27 16.57.28
Paste settings from one image to another.

Export your Image

So, the easiest way to export your image is to press “Ctrl + Shift + E” for Windows or “Command + Shift + E” for the Mac.You can export photos using the same settings from the most recent export session that was set manually, including modified presets. Use “Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E” or “Command + Option + Shift + E” and export the image with the previous settings saved. Easy!

Now, need to mail the image to the client for approval? Need to show your boss before printing? What do you do? Use “Ctrl + Shift + M” or “Command + Shift + M” to email the image directly from Lightroom to the recipient.

Export settings.
Export settings.

We hope this article was helpful to you. Please share your comments below and let us know if we have missed out on any other interesting shortcut.

 

How to Create a Collage in Lightroom

Posted on by Arnel Hasanovic

A single image can be great for most purposes, but what happens when you do not have any other software besides Lightroom to make a collage or multiple images in one file or even edit with amazing warm tones? Sometimes it’s great to use for displaying your work or even making a contact sheet for your customer. So today, we are going to learn how to take images you like and how to make a collage in Lightroom.

1 – Starting Point

I first start out by culling my photos down to the select few that I think I might want to put in a collage. The way I generally rate my favorites is by giving the images a 5-star rating, you can do this by simply hitting the #5 key on your keyboard. Once I have gone through and selected all of my favorites, I then go to the Filter section (right above your film strip and select “Filter based on rating” and click the 5th star. We have an article on how to select the different image using things such as keywords. You can see below on my film strip that I only have images and each one is rated with 5 stars.

arnel hasanovic collage lightroom tutotial header

2 – Print Module

The second step in our How To Make a Collage in Lightroom tutorial is to get to the next step we have to go into the Print Module, which is at the top. Once you click the module, you will see a screen similar to this. This is where the rest of the steps will take place.

arnel hasanovic collage lightroom tutotial header

3 – Layout Style

Under layout, style selects the Custom Package option. This will allow you to create your own layout and it will not be a single image. To get the images into the layout, start pulling the images from your film strip on the bottom into the canvas space.

arnel hasanovic collage lightroom tutotial header

4 – Exporting

Once you have the image in place how you want them, then it’s time to export. If you try going to File> Export, what will happen is the image selected in your filmstrip will the image exported and not your actual collage. To get around this problem, you have to go to the Print Job section and select “JPEG File” under the ‘Print to” section. This will enable you to export a JPEG anywhere on your computer.

arnel hasanovic collage lightroom tutotial header

5 – Saving

When you have made all of your selections in the Print Job section, then you can export your file. To export the collage all you have to do is “Print to File…”, which will open up a dialog box allowing you to select the location where you want to export your finished file. And this is the final step in our How To Make a Collage in Lightroom tutorial.

arnel hasanovic collage lightroom tutotial header

6 – Conclusion

As you can tell the module is mostly aimed at printing the image, but this is a nice little workaround to be able to make a collage without having to leave Lightroom. This article was aimed at making JPEG collages, but obviously, it can also be printed out. The steps are the same except for the settings needed to print the image. There are a lot of options to dig into when it comes printing and you can experiment to find what works best for you! – And if you want to add a stunning effect to these collages, don’t miss this guide on how to create an old 1800’s retro effect; the ideal companion for vintage layouts! Read here to know more about lightrooom and for presets, check this link.

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