In this video we’ll take a look at 5 of my favorite Lightroom Classic tips that most people don’t know.
About Me
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Thanks Matt. Some great tips, especially the last one – match total exposures. That will come in handy when creating panos with images that do not have identical exposures. Wish I knew that one a few years back.
Just joined. Great instructor with easy to follow directions. Really looking forward to future tips and webinars.
I tried to access the last webinar but was too late. Would you consider having them available at all times?
Hi Matt, great content, thanks a million for sharing. With regard to ‘match total exposure’, I’m finding it a little ‘hit and miss’. Do I need to turn off ‘Auto Sync’ first? Currently the images don’t always match my ‘most highlighted’ choice. Hope that makes sense! Keep up the good work ??????
Hi, can you explain a little more how “matching exposure” is not the same as synching photos? Thanks, Peter
Hi Peter. If you have 3 photos (one dark, one kind of dark, and one bright), Match Exposure will match them to the one you choose so they all look relatively the same – even thouugh the settings of each photo in the basic panel may differ. If you take the same three photos, and edit one and sync the rest they will all synce to whatever one you edited. And the settings in the basic panel will be exactly the same. Thanks.
I have appreciated and enjoyed your teaching for quite a few years! You still “rock”! Thanks for some great tips!
Excellent tips! Thank you!
Thank you so much. This is time saving in post processing.
Thanks Matt, to my surprise they were all new to me too. Good stuff!
Hi Matt,
Thank you for great LR tips. No I didn’t know any of them and always learn so much from you.
Much appreciated.
Great tips!! Did not know any of these!! Subscribed!!
C’est clair—net—& précis— un vrai pro de l’information et de la formation….BRAVO et MERCI !!! Au plaisir !!!
Matt, great stuff and teaching style !
I taught Photo (darkroom and then digital too, for 40 years. I always enjoy your teaching style Matt! Kudos.
I thought I knew it all. I did not. Thanks 🙂
Great, all 5 hints were new to me and I have been using Lightroom since it first came out.
Thank you
Vibeke
Sorry but if a neophyte here..how do I subscribe?? Is there a link simewhere.
Great training video. Easy to follow and comprehend.
Love the matc exposure hint that I’ll be very handy as I do a lot of sunrise/sunset work
just thought i would mention it would have been better to light yourself from the front of you not from behind
Hi Lance. If you look there is a catchlight in my eye which comes from the light up front. There is also a hair light above me lighting my hair and shoulders. Thanks.
Tip #5 is especially useful for those times when you forgot to reset your bracketing back to zero after an evening of shooting.
Then go out to shoot the next day and wonder why your exposures always are over and underexposed. The camera is still bracketing as you are shooting different scenes. Been there done that. This tip will allow you to get them all back in one swoop.
Hi Matt,
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I can’t get the auto mask feature to work. When I hold the Command key down with my brush, it still spills over unless I’m really careful. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Julie. Make sure there’s a firm and contrasty edge or it won’t work.
Thank you, Matt. I didn’t know these things and I look forward to using them. You explain things so well.
Still a new beginner. Will use tips as soon I understand more.
Thank you
Thank You – more very valuable tips!
Thank you Matt, your brilliant when it comes to editing
I use Lightroom for all my photos but I never fail to learn something new from you!
Thanks very much for the tips and toolkit Matt!
Thank you Matt. I always learn something new from you.
Thanks, Matt. Valuable tips.
Bill
Thanks Matt, your vid is easy to watch and precise. Learn some new tricks from your vid no matter how much time I spent on watching online tutorials on LR.
Update on my question: yes there is something that I needed to do: the cmd tip only works if you make sure that the automask box is not ticked before you start. Then if you use the adjustment brush in combination with cmd then ‘bobs your uncle’ the automask works really well. Who knew that life could be that simple?
Hi Matt, Thanks for your update on these quick tips. However, I am encoutering a problem in that when I hold down the command button (Mac) with the adjustment brush I find that the mask does not operate and I end up with the adjustment overspilling the intended area and having to go back and use the erase setting to try to contain the mask. Am I expecting too much of this tip or is there something in the settings that I am missing? I am trying to keep the + inside the object being masked. Thanks.
Hi, Matt. Your second tip sounded interesting, but when I click on the circle of the gradient tool and use the alt key (pc), I see two arrows and not a plus sign. When I drag, the positioning of the gradient changes, not the sliders. Do you know what I am doing wrong?
P.S. Like everyone else, by the way, I love your videos–thank you for doing them.
It is the Control Key not the Alt Key
Never mind, it i the ALT key
As usual, great tips! I hope to test these out on some of my recent photo adventures.
As always, great tips.
Thanks
All 5 were new – U da Man – thanks Matt
Excellent!
Thanks for the great information Matt
Thanks!! Another great series of quick tips.
Thank you. I have shared this with my Digital Darkroom students at Santa Barbara City College. 🙂
VERY USEFUL TIPS!
So useful,thank you.
Thanks Matt! Great tips. As a hobbyist I fine these tips useful, I can only imagine that a professional would appreciate the efficiency boost even more.
Thanks, Matt.
Always great information, Matt. Love your tips!
Great tips as always.
Good batch of tips Matt – Thank you.
Like some others here, I thought “Well this will be a nice review of tips I already know.” But no–they were all new to me, even #2.5. Thanks for making this video.
Great tips! Straightforward and concise. Thanks.
Many thanks Matt. Great to watch and something new for me.
Thanks Matt. You always have new things and explain them well
Dammit Matt! Every time I think I finally have Lightroom sorted, you come along and show another detail I never suspected was there.
I have to say that your abilities as an instructor place you way above just about everyone else in the field.
Great tips Matt. Some I didn´t know that you explained (as usual) simple and clear. Thanks
Nice job Matt looking forward to your other classes!
Thanks Matt for the tips. Especially liked the Match Total Exposure.
Thanks a million Matt, great tips as always. Next time you are bored(!j, how about a compilation album of all your tips, with a PDF reference so we can access a specific tip quickly. Definitely something I would happily pay for.
Thank you Mat!
A great idea, that would be helpful!
Ooh, yeah! Here’s to Matt getting bored again! 😉
Thank you for all you do for us. I can always learn a new skill when you are the Instructor.
Wow These tools continue to evolve and it is easy to miss these. Thank you, I learned something from you on all 5+ tips. Definitely need to get back into my photography through the pandemic. Thanks Matt, as always
Some very useful time savers!
Thanks Matt. Your tutorials and handy hints are always so informative. Love that you keep it at a level suitable for “older” ladies who are not as tech savvy as others ! Love all of the courses that I have so far purchased too. Cheers from Annette in the Land of Down Under.
Fabulous Matt. I so appreciate your hints that assist our workflow.
That was great Matt! Thank you.
Nice job Matt. I only knew one of the five. (The Match Total Exposure)
And the trick with the straightening while cropping I think I learned from you, except the dragging left and right was new.
Keep them coming!
Thanks Matt! Great tips as always. These were all new for me and will be very helpful.
Thank You again, Matt – more new tips. You are my favourite instructor, I so enjoy your instructions, so easy to understand.
Great tips, thanks Matt. I really appreciate them but don’t edit often enough these days to remember which tips are on which videos. Do you have any compilation or listing of them that you would share?
Regards to Diana and the boys.
Joan
Anither great video carrying so much new information to me. Thank you for making these and sharing, such a pleasure to be taught by someone who is such a great teacher.
thank you so much! love your teaching style!!
Thanks heaps Matt, always find your teaching instructions very easy to follow, and these tips are so great for extending our knowledge and enjoyment with photography and editing. Thank you
Outstanding -love your teaching!!
Great tips, I always find new things when I watch your videos.
Hi Matt
I see that over time I have not kept up with changes and improvements
Will have to purchase one of your vids to get back up to pace
Great Vid, much appreciated
Regards,
Gary
………AU
Excellent Tips Matt! Thank you for all your great information.
Thanks Matt. I appreciate all you do. Your tip on the magazine cover helps me tremendously. I am preparing a photo essay in honor of my recently deceased brother and I didn’t have a clue how to proceed. You are an outstanding instructor!
Pat
Thank you Matt! Excellent tips that are new to me. You are definitely my favorite person for watching editing tutorials!
Wow! All the tips are great but the Match Total Exposure is really going to come in handy. I have used sync with some frustration. So much better. Thank you.
I have a bone to pick with LR versus Bridge. I started out years ago using Bridge and still do some work there. I have found the short cut (shift, ctrl, R) that I use in Bridge to rename a batch of photos resets my photos in LR and if you have multiple photos selected it can make you want to pull your hair out. I use shortcuts so automatically without thinking and most are not a problem but this one has been. Can I change shorts in LR.
Thank you! These were great LR tips! Love your YouTube channel too!
Great tips.
Terrific tools! Thanks for clear, concise instructions!
Great tips, Matt. All new to me!
Great tips Matt!! I thought I knew Lightroom pretty well but I only knew one of these tips! You are a wonderful teacher and you get right to the point!! Thank you!!
Great tips, Matt! They are all new to me. Thank you!
Thank you, Matt! I’m about to decide that you are the only Lightroom teacher I need to watch! I learn so much more from you and appreciate that you don’t talk so much about yourself! It’s not that I don’t want to know about you but when I watch a video, I want the info first! Thanks for your short simple ways to “pay the bills” too. I have several of your offerings and will be watching for more!
Excellent tips Matt, particularly the gradient tool and match total exposure tips. Very useful.
Wow! Just when I thought I knew all the tools in LR that I need, you come along and show me something I need but didn’t know it. THANKS!
Outstanding tips are done in a perfect visual session.
Great tips, thank you so much. I would love to safe the video to my computer, is that a problem? Otherwise I have to write it all down. Three out of the five tips I would definitivly use. Keep on going. By the way, your language is very good to understand.
Hi. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If you’ve got a way to save them, you’re welcome to it. However, the site doesn’t offer them as downloads. Some people keep an Excel spreadsheet of Descriptions of Videos along with links so they can search when they want. Thanks!
Great tips, thank you so much. I would love to safe the video to my computer, is that a problem? Otherwise I have to write it all down. Three out of the five tips I would definitivly use. Keep on going. By the way, your language is very good to understand.
Matt thanks for the last tip. That will help me a lot.
One of your best LR tips videos! Those all have everyday uses. I only knew about match exposure but never had a solid use for it, your example is perfect! Thanks!
Mark, From one pollock to another, Great tips over the years, Too bad I can’t remember them
when I’m working in Lightroom.
Hidden within Lightroom (LR) are so many useful features, some of which are buried (or hidden) and therefore not accessible until you have revealed them. LR is a rich editing program and your revelations make it a stronger tool for photo-editing. Your explanations are like the Rosetta Stone for LR (and PS).
I am a subscriber to your channel and a customer of several of your courses. Still, I need to say thank you for your dedication to helping us understand and better utilize LR and PS.
Thanks Matt. The tips were great. I knew some of two, but not to the extent you showed us. You’re great too.
Fantastic as always Matt, thank you these amazing tips all very useful.
Great tips. Thanks
Brilliant, your the best of the best.
I have been a hardcore Lightroom user forever and definitely didn’t know anything about any of those tips. Thanks Matt!
Thanks Matt, always easy to understand your tips…they help me so much…
Always awesome, easy to follow tips!! Wish I could remember them when I edit a new batch pot photos!
Awesome tips, thanks for sharing. Keep em coming !!!!
Well, they were all new to me! Great tips that I can definitely use.
Thanks Matt
Great tips Matt I was aware of exactly ZERO of these tips!
WOW! I learned soooo much in so little time! Truly remarkable information here! Thank you so much Matt for always bringing great resources to us in little tidbits that help move us forward in our conquest of digital artistry!
Great tips Matt!!!! All 5 of these were new to me. I’m a new subscriber to am going to create a folder to keep all of your notices in for future reference!!
Matt, thank you for more great tips.
Thank you for the tips. Your teaching technique is wonderful
Matt great session as always did not know these tips the way you put things across is superb making the subject easier to understand
You are amazing! Love learning from you!
I always learn something from your tutorials. Thanks so much!
A very neat set of tips; the typical Matt quality of teaching. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! from clear inside
As always, extremely useful tips to help short-cut a multitude of everyday requirements! Thanks so much for those, matt!
Wow, thank you so much. Very interesting techniques to use.
Thanks, Matt. I enjoy your tutorials. Please consider a tip on placement of the starting point of the Graduated Filter. I am never sure what is affected when I start at different places on or off of the photo.
Hi Bob. There is no right or wrong place. You just put it where it looks good on the photo which will be different for every photo out there.
Thanks for the tips Matt, now if I could just remember them all.
Really great tips! Thanks so much for the free stuff and you for sale products are great!
Wow! What great tips – especially the match exposure one. Thanks, Matt. Also, I really like your style of teaching.
Your style of teaching is so comfortable and non-intimidating which is why I watch everything you send out. There is so much more to learn in Lightroom. It always amazes me. Thanks, Gary-
Great tips Matt. I was not aware of 4 of 5. I would love to make a phony magazine cover like you did but I’m too lazy to do it myself. Do you know of any sites where I might find a ready made PNG file?
Hi Robert. I don’t but if you google “Photoshop Magazine Cover Templates” you should find some results: https://www.google.com/search?q=Photoshop+magazine+cover+templates&oq=Photoshop+magazine+cover+templates&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i8i30.4759j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Good luck!
I always learn something new in these tutorials, Matt. Thanks!
Thank you much for the latest tip! I really learn so much from them.
If this were part of a paid-for conference, that last tip on matching total exposure would be worth the price of admission!
does camera raw inside photoshopt also have the match total exposure function? for those of us that use camera raw in photoshop instead of lightroom
Hi Doug. No it does not.
Thanks Matt, This was great.
Wow! I’d never heard of the match exposure thing, but I like it. I’ve always used sync…but you’re right, I really want the exposure changed according to how much light is needed on each individual image, not to just some arbitrary number that I used. So, that was a good one.
I didn’t know about the color grading pallet either, so that’s handy. I did know about the amount slider for the graduated filter, but I didn’t know I could slide off the center dot – so that’s interesting too. Thanks for that. And the whole transparency magazine cover document. That’s really cool. Can’t wait to figure out how to use that one.
Thanks for taking time to video these tips. They were very helpful. 😀
Thanks Matt… I really didn’t know most of your suggestions in this video, and learned a lot of valuable techniques from it. As always, thanks, and keep them coming.
Thanks for the morning tips!
Absolutely wonderfully done with valuable tips to help this old guy get around a wee bit better in LR. I wish you were my neighbor. I have beer.
I always learn something from you. Thanks!
A couple there that I didn’t know – thanks very much!
Matching Total Exposure setting seems like it would be a requirement for making a panoramic so that all the shots are similarly exposed. I am eager to try it out.
I want to learn some shortcut tips of lightroom classic
Hi. It is not a requirement for that since the Panorama stitching technology already does that. Try it. Even if you throw 5 photos at it that are different exposures, it’ll do a great job at matching them automatically.
Great tips Matt! I’m very experienced with Lightroom and when I started watching I was expecting I knew them all but in fact, the first 3 were new to me! Thank you for sharing this!
You’re very welcome! 🙂
Matt you’re such good instructor!
Thanks 🙂
your teaching is so simple and clear. Great instructor!