When I first starting using Lightroom several years ago, the main mistake I made was not understanding how important the import was. One of my missions at Pretty Presets, through the live webinars, the Lightroom Lab workshop, and the blog tutorials, is to educate new Lightroom users on the awesomeness of the Library and of file management, which includes the import process. All that said, here are three simple settings you should change (or check to make sure you have selected) today and why they will make importing and accessing your images easier the next time you import. Import Options in...

Lightroom was designed to easily manage thousands of images, but should we be housing thousands of images on our computer hard drives? Most users do not have the space and eventually must move images from their internal drive to an external drive. Some users, like me, cannot even temporarily house the images on their internal drive because they simply don't have the space. Almost every single image I import has to go to an external drive rather than only my internal drive. What is the point to all this? Well, why it matters is because where the images are housed...

Silhouettes are beautiful photos to create with clients.  A dark subject set against a beautiful sky is a stunning image!  (If you need to know how to photograph a silhouette, click over to this post!) But what happens when the sky isn't as exciting as you want?  Can that be helped in Lightroom? It certainly can.  Watch this video to learn how to enhance a silhouette sky in Lightroom or follow the steps below the video. Disclaimer:  This isn't going to work if your sky is totally blown out and there is no information to work with and add color...

The HSL panel in Lightroom isn't one that often gets talked about or sees lots of use—especially the Hue section of that panel.  Moving the sliders in the Hue Panel can create some interesting color shifts that are unnatural and crazy. But this tool also has some amazing super powers when it comes to subtly changing the color of the grass and sky to better fit your vision for the photograph. Watch this video or follow the steps below to learn how you can change dead grass to a more healthy green or over-exposed mid-day sun grass to a prettier...

This week's Editing Cheat Sheet is all about editing seniors, or any other subject your heart might desire, using the Limited Edition Summer Collection and the Color Luxe Workflow Collection together. I love using the different workflow sets offered by Pretty Presets in conjunction with my other Pretty Presets collections such as the Summer Collection because they really allow you to fine tune your edits to fit your own personal processing style. Here are some incredibly easy and varied edits using these two collections together. Love what you see? Add the Limited Edition Summer Collection and the Color Luxe Workflow Collection to your...

One of the questions we get asked a lot is about how to reduce the matte or haze effect of a preset. Some of the presets in our collections add a slight matte or haze effect to your image and it is easy to adjust if you know how. You can adjust the these effects using the tone curve!  Watch this video to learn how to adjust this effect or follow the steps below the video! Using the Tone Curve Both these effects are created using the Tone Curve Panel. The Tone Curve Panel is located just below the Basic...

We get asked frequently if it is possible to use Lightroom to create collages to share on social media and blogs.  The answers is a big YES!  Not only is it possible but it is simple to do once you understand how to set your settings and add your images.  And once you create a blog template, it is easy to save them for use next time! Follow the steps in the video or instructions below the video to easily create collages for your blog or social media! Getting Started To create a blog board in Lightroom's Print Module, you...

Did you know that you can edit video in Lightroom? In this tutorial, we will show you Lightroom's video capabilities, how to make basic adjustments, capture a still frame, and how to apply your favorite Pretty Presets to a video. Note - Keep in mind that Lightroom will only allow you to edit all the frames as a whole, so you will not be able to splice video clips together, and any adjustments you make to exposure and color tones will be applied to the video in its entirety. IMPORTING You import video the same way you would a photo,...

Here at Pretty Presets we are all about saving you time so that you can spend more time with those you love and less time on the computer.  Shortcuts are another way that you can save time in Lightroom. These 5 Lightroom shortcuts for the brush tools are MUST-KNOW! Adjustment Brush Tool Shortcuts K—Open the Brush Tool/Close the Brush Tool This is the most basic shortcut you need to know and it will save you from having to click the "Done" button or clicking "Close".  All you need to do is type the "K" key to open the Brush Tool and...

You love the look of your favorite presets, but have you ever investigated to see how they're created? Lightroom is a masterful tool and its split toning panel is one of many awesome elements. Here are a few things you might not know about split toning. Where is the Split Toning Panel? Split toning is located on the right hand side right underneath the HSL panel. (Hint: right click on any of the panels and select "solo mode" if you prefer to open one panel at a time. My OCD thanks me.   What Does It Do? Split toning affects...

  At Pretty Presets, almost everything we do is about saving time in Lightroom.  We want you to spend less time on the computer and more time with those that you love.  That is why keyboard shortcuts are so valuable in Lightroom. Get familiar with these must-know shortcuts for Lightroom's Develop Module and you will quickly be saving lots of time in Lightroom!  Develop Mode Shortcuts D—Develop Mode We'll start with the most obvious.  Since we spend so much time developing our photos in the Develop Module it is important to know how to get there with just a finger...

Recreating the look of film in digital photography is quite the trend at the moment! Many photographers edit in a style that replicates the look of film photos that have been printed and have aged over time. The thing is, when the photos were first printed, though, they didn't have the green and magenta shifts that have become so popular when recreating a "vintage" look in digital photography. I have written several tutorials over the years that address how to get that faded/distressed photo look, but today I want to talk about how to replicate the look of film straight...