Recommended Lightroom Tutorials

[RDSChicago]

Just getting into photography. I have a Leica CL and several native lenses. I’ve been using Apple Photos for post-processing and everyone suggests I switch to Lightroom. Any advice as to which version I should get and how I can best learn how to use the program, such as live or virtual courses, YouTube videos, etc.?

 

[RichardC]

Youtube is full of free resources many of whom will be delighted to help you buy their Lightroom presets and overpriced courses.

However, if you are starting from scratch, my recommendation would be a subscription to LinkedIn Learning. In my country, this is free in the first month - you might be presented with different options in the USA. The longer courses are structured with a beginning, middle and end and are not full of advertising.

Theresa Jackson's stuff is easy to follow. Richard Harrington's is comprehensive but I found him less watchable. Marianne Kost and Deke McLelland are excellent tutors.

Don't rush ahead. If the course recommends you download a picture and practice as you watch, then do just that.

When starting lightroom from scratch, decide which place you are going to keep your pictures (mine is 'all photographs' on one drive which is backed up regularly). If you subsequently move a picture, do so in Lightroom's file manager NOT Windows or MacOS.

Also, when Lightroom suggests you back up your edits before you close the program, do it! Your edits are a set of instructions which Lightroom applies to your RAW files. The actual files remain exactly as you shot them.