# want to learn Lightroom?



## Ian.B (Sep 12, 2015)

That made Victoria rush in to open the thread 

Sorry to those selling presets 

So you want to learn how to edit _YOUR_ photos in Lightroom? Then leave presets alone and do the editing yourself. The best way to learn is to do more yourself. The more you do the more you learn and the more you know  those sliders the more individual you can make _YOUR _photos.

Of course you could always make a virtual copy and add a preset to that;  and then work out how to get a similar effect. 

Notice I have said "want the _*learn*_ LR". I fully realize there are those who don't have the spare time in our crazy rush-around world and presets (yours or purchased) will save you time but try not to rely on preset to do everything.

And a time saving tip: slow down and think more to take less photos. Less photos means less time and frustration sorting and filing which leaves more time to learn how to edit your better photos.

The above is from recent person experience


before LR





after LR (only)


Olympus EM1/20mm (=40mm) Panasonic lens
My actual final photo was stretched a little in PSCS2 (in flickr) but this is a LR forum


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## Replytoken (Sep 12, 2015)

Ian,  

Were you banished from the Church of Spray and Pray? :bluegrin:  Can't Google just pick my best images for me?

All in all, a good reminder.  But I do have to admit that LR does have a somewhat steep learning curve, and folks sometimes need a bit of guidance to make their way along that curve.  And that is why we have folks like The Queen.  But I agree that there is no substitute for experience.

--Ken


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## Ian.B (Sep 13, 2015)

Replytoken said:


> Ian,
> 
> Were you banished from the Church of Spray and Pray? :bluegrin:  Can't Google just pick my best images for me?
> 
> ...


 yep; it was a good book for me to get an understanding and even then I walked away from LR several times. These days youtube has so many good and free tutorials which are also very helpful. However my point is not to just click the presets; imo we need to fiddle with those sliders ourselves so we can understand editing. Bit like photography; use program only or learn to adjust the dials. 

Those who think LR is a bit tricky just wait until you get into PS and _ALL_ the variation available  

I know a bit; but still learning about the develop part; the library part is mostly a set and forget  and I have never really used the print part or the other stuff. IMO; editing is the part we need to understand mostly. 

 Another drama we make for ourselves is having _too many_ editing programs 

Happy editing


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## Hoggy (Sep 13, 2015)

Personally, I don't even understand the use of the develop presets..  Well, at least MOST of them anyways.  Every image is so different that presets are fairly useless IMO.  It may be that some can get you close to where you want to take the image, but one can do that in a few seconds anyways by changing the sliders themselves.  Settings will then be tailored for each image that way, as well.

What really blows my mind though, is why people would _pay_ for presets.  I guess it's like you say - for the people that don't want to take the time to learn to use the sliders and tools for themselves..  Or maybe they use them while learning or something.

As you say, the best way is to learn to use the tools themselves - and then they can be like me and wonder why the heck people would ever _pay_ for LR develop presets.


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## johnbeardy (Sep 14, 2015)

Hoggy said:


> Personally, I don't even understand the use of the develop presets..  Well, at least MOST of them anyways.  Every image is so different that presets are fairly useless IMO.



I agree. A small number make sense.



Hoggy said:


> What really blows my mind though, is why people would _pay_ for presets.



I'm more appalled that people ask money for presets they've "developed". 

John


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## Johan Elzenga (Sep 14, 2015)

There is nothing wrong with develop presets. They can be very useful for things that apply for many images, such as a sharpening preset for a certain camera, or a noise reduction preset for a certaain camera when used at a certain ISO. You should make your own presets, however. I do think it's rather silly to pay money for a couple of slider movements.


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