Lightroom: Develop Module Basic Processing

category: Lightroom • 1 min read

Lightroom 3 Develop Module: Basic Panel
  1. Enable the clipping indicators. The 2 are the top left and top right of the Histogram panel in the Develop module. The blacks clipping indicator is on the left, and the whites clipping indicator is on the right.
  2. Set the white balance with the Temp slider.
  3. With the Tone controls, use Auto for the global contrast. It’s usually a good starting point.
  4. Use the Exposure to brighten or darken the photo. I prefer to first zero out the Brightness, then adjust the Exposure for the general brightness.
  5. The Recovery restores the highlight details that have been clipped when adjusting the Exposure. Do the same with the blacks.
  6. Use the Fill Light to open the shadows.
  7. If you want more punch, use the Contrast.
  8. I usually increase the Clarity on landscapes and decrease the Clarity with portraits.
  9. The Vibrance boosts the colors like skin without clipping. For me it’s mostly between 15 to 40.

Lightroom LR_Howto