Five Lightroom Sliders You’re Using Wrong (VIDEO)

Lightroom features a variety of simple sliders that are designed to streamline the image-editing process for beginners and more experienced users alike. When used properly these straightforward tools are a big help for balancing exposure, color, contrast and saturation so that your edits appear natural and intentional.

But here’s the rub: Sometime these sliders behave differently than what you’d expect, and image quality will suffer as a result. We’ll bring you up to speed on doing this right with the following 12-minute video from image-editing expert Gerard Needham.

Needham’s promise is this: “I’m going to show you five Lightroom sliders that you’re most probably using wrong with regards to getting a balanced-looking image while avoiding that overprocessed look—even if you’ve been editing for years.”

Along the way, Needham includes a few quick bonus tips like how to create that long-time Leica look that’s a bit soft overall but includes sharp and dramatic “micro contrast.” The video kicks off with two familiar sliders, Exposure and Contrast, that most people think are straightforward but almost always use them in isolation.

Needham says that this duo of sliders may be Lightroom’s most powerful options, and they greatly compliment one another when employed in harmony. Unfortunately, they also have the potential to fight against one another when applied carelessly or in the wrong manner. As you’ll learn there’s a no-brainer solution.

Next on the list is discussion of the Vibrance and Saturation sliders that may seem to function in similar ways, but they actually offer different benefits with regard to the overall color balance you achieve. In other words, it’s not a matter of either or, but rather understanding how to use them in tandem in the correct sequence.

There’s much more to learn as the eye-opening video proceeds, and by the time it concludes you’ll want to update your everyday Lightroom workflow accordingly.

Be sure not to miss the Photoshop primer we featured with another post-processing expert who reveals six beginner-friendly Curves tricks that will effortlessly transform every image you edit.