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There are many photography apps on the market these days, so I can only imagine that it can be hard to find one that you’ll enjoy. You might have found yourself asking, Do I need to pay for an app to get the best option? Do I need something to do quick edits? Do I also need to think about being able to store and organize my photos? Adobe Lightroom is a powerful photo and video editor for managing and processing thousands of stunning images.

Thank you Tracey Jones for contributing this post to lifestylewithkris.com

As someone just starting in photography, you probably do not know the answers to these questions. You are likely to waste a lot of time (and money) trying to find the perfect app. So this blog is designed to save you that time and get you using the best app for photography, Adobe Lightroom.

Adobe Lightroom Is Free! 

The basic version of Adobe Lightroom is free, and you can get started at no cost. However, if you want to access some of the more advanced editing techniques, you will have to pay for certain features. Adobe has a variety of subscription options starting at $9.99 per month. The subscription gives you access to Adobe Lightroom on your phone and laptop, cloud storage, syncing, and more advanced editing options. If you are taking photos for your business, it is more than worth the investment.

Lightroom Cloud Syncing Features

Once you have edited an image and made it the best it can be, you may want to apply those same changes or presets to other images from the same photoshoot. I find this feature extremely useful as I am often switching from my phone to laptop. I often take photos on my phone, but I prefer to do editing on a bigger screen. With automatic syncing between devices, I do not have to think about transferring or moving the files. I can access them any time I need. Cloud sync can also provide an automatic backup of all your photos; so if you lose your phone, you don’t lose your photos. 

Lightroom offers RAW Support 

Most apps on your phone will only support JPEG file types. RAW files are much higher quality image file that allows for editing of your images. With Adobe Camera Raw, you can enhance raw images from many different cameras and import the images into various Adobe applications. Not only will Lightroom support these file types, but it also allows you to shoot in RAW format. There are very few photography apps on the market which do this. 

The Amount of Lightroom Editing Options

Within the edit mode of the app, there are 15 tabs at the bottom. Each of these tabs has different editing options.

• overall edits, (where you change the whole image)
• selective edits (where you can edit only part of the image)
• crop, transform, and straighten wonky photos
• change the lighting, the color, and details
• adjust the brightness of a picture, and bring out detail, texture, and clarity 

Batch Editing 

Another editing feature of Adobe Lightroom is batch editing. Batch editing is a powerful feature that allows you to apply edits to multiple photos. You can copy and paste your editing settings from one picture to another or a series of images. Batching speeds up your editing process and also ensures that all your photos have a cohesive look. You can buy and create Presets, which are saved versions of your editing settings which means you can edit the images with just one click. 

The Lightroom Camera

Adobe Lightroom is not just for editing and storing photos. It also allows you to take great pictures! The camera part of the Adobe Lightroom app is much better than the camera app on your smartphone, and it will grant you to use the manual settings features. The camera gives you more control over the images you are taking and allows for more interesting effects. To use it, tap the camera icon at the lower-right corner to turn on the in-app camera. In the capture interface, choose HDR mode from the menu at the lower-left corner of the interface.

Lightroom Storage and Organization

When you take lots of photos, you edit lots of photos. Adobe Lightroom provides photo management software that makes it easier and more efficient than ever to store images. I am yet to find a photo library system that rivals Adobe Lightroom. You can organize your photos into albums, and add ratings and keywords. Adobe Sensei’s machine learning recognizes the content of your image files, making it easier to get right to what you are looking for. There are many ways to sort your files, using the different view options and the search bar. 

Unlimited Undo Actions

Have you edited a photo, looked at it, and decided you did not like that edit? With Adobe Lightroom, that is okay! Keep playing around with it. You can undo your actions as many times as you would like. The undo action is neat because it gives you a chance to learn and try different editing techniques within the app. 

Watermarking and Digital Signature

Have you ever wondered how to add a watermark to your images before sharing them on social media? Adobe Lightroom makes it easy for you to do this when you export the file out of the app by turning on this setting. Adobe Lightroom also has a detailed customization tool for the watermark to make it look how you want. In the Watermark Editor dialog box, select a watermark style: Text or Graphic. You can specify any watermark effects and then save. 

Slideshow Presentations

Having photos on your phone makes it easy to show them off on the go. Adobe Lightroom makes it very easy to start a slideshow of your pictures with one tap. The automation of a slideshow presentation means you can hand your phone to the viewer and all they have to do is watch! No swiping or accidentally hitting the wrong thing. You can even select layout templates, choose transitions, and set playback options.

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So there we have it, 10 Reasons Why the Lightroom App is the best on the market. If you want to learn more about Lightroom and how to use it please check out Tracey Jones’ new Lightroom books. You can read more about Tracey below. Make sure to follow her on social media if you’ve been enjoying her photography tips/suggestions and have been finding them helpful.