Editing Cheat Sheet: 10 Recipes for Editing in Lightroom (2024)

Lightroom Editing Recipes

Everyone loves a good before and after example, but sometimes, they can leave you wondering exactly how a certain edit was achieved using a particular preset. In this blog post, I will dive a bit deeper into several edits and tell you exactly how I achieved my final image.

Of course, it is important to remember that presets can and will act differently on various images. By that I mean, the quality, color, and direction of your light, the choices you make during exposure, and the true-to-life colors existing in your original image will all play a role in how a preset impacts your image.

However, this Lightroom editing tutorial will show you how presets, workflow sets, brushes, and filters can all be used to create beautiful, and easy, edits.

LightroomRecipe #1

It is always good to start with a well-exposed image. On the top is the original, SOOC (straight out of camera) image. The final edit was achieved with one preset and two brushes.

• Starting Preset: Wildheart 01from theThe Wildheart Collection.
• Increased the Exposure to +.35.
• Finally, I used the Portrait - Skin Smooth Brushalso from thePerfect Portrait Brushesover her face. I also used Portrait - Eyes Whiten and Portrait - Teeth Whiten Yellow to whiten her eyes and teeth.

A quick beautiful edit using just a couple of clicks and presets!

LightroomRecipe #2

Here is another edit with the same image. Thesteps for this edit are as follows:

• Starting Preset: Wildheart 09from theWildheart Collection.
• Next, I used thePortrait - Add Lightfrom thePerfect Portrait Brushesjust over her face.

Again, this edit took just a couple of seconds!

LightroomRecipe #3

This final edit of this image shows a warmer, moodier edit. The steps for this edit are as follows:

• Starting Preset:Reverie from theDark and Moody Collection
• To finish this image up, I used thePortrait - Add Lightbrush from the Perfect Portrait Brushes over theface just like in the last edit to keep the face the subject. I also added the Portrait - Add Warmth brush over the wedding dress to counteract some of the blue tones that appeared.

This edit took just a few seconds!

LightroomRecipe #4

Here we have another well exposed, unedited image on theleft with the final edit on the right. For this edit, we went with a subtle pop of color. The steps for this edit are as follows:

• Starting Preset: Salted 07from theSalted Collection.
• Next, I increased the exposure just a little bit (+.15).

From start to finish, this edit took aboutone minute (and most of that was picking the preset I wanted to use)!

LightroomRecipe #5

Here is another variation on that same image, this time using a preset from theLight and Airy Millennium Collection as our base. This edit gave us blue-toned greens with a slight bit of desaturation. The steps for this edit are as follows:

• Starting Preset:Pearldustfrom theLight and Airy Millennium Collection.
• Then Ireduced the Amount slider above the Presets Panel to 89.

These two clicks took just a couple of seconds!

LightroomRecipe #6

This next edit will take this image in a slightly different style. Here I used the Dark and Moody Collection to create a clean, moody edit.

The steps for this first edit are as follows:

• Starting Preset:Fijifrom theDark and Moody Millennium Collection.
• Next,I used thePortraits - Fix Casts Redbrush from thePerfect Portrait Brushesover the shadow areas of the skin to reduce a little redness that popped up with the preset.

This was a very easy edit, taking less than a few minutes!

Lightroom Recipe #7

For our next edit, I went for a more bold, slightly matte edit. The steps are as follows:

• Starting Preset:I addedSouth Beachfrom thefrom theLight and Airy Millennium Collection.
• Next, I increased the exposure to +.50 since the images was slightly underexposed to begin with.
• Finally, I added a few touches using the Perfect Portrait Brushes.I used the Portrait - Eyes Whitenover the whites of her eyes andthe Portrait - Skin Smoothover her skin.

This edit was finished in just a couple of minutes!

LightroomRecipe #8

For this next edit, I went with a warmer edit. The steps are as follows:

• Starting Preset:I addedWildheart 01from the Wildheart Collection.
• Next, I increased the exposure to +.50 since the image was slightly underexposed.
• Finally, I added a few touches using thePerfect Portrait Brushes.I used thePortrait - Eyes Whitenoverthe whites of her eyes andthePortrait - Skin Smoothover her skin.

This edit was super quick - just a couple of minutes!

LightroomRecipe #9

This next edit was created using the Clean Edit Portrait Workflow. This collection was created specifically to allow you to layer presets together to create a custom edit.I am starting this edit with a well-exposed base image. These are the steps for the edit.

• Starting Preset: Base 2 | Rich ColorfromtheClean Edit Portrait Workflow.
• Next, I added Curve 6 | Deep Matte and Split Tone | All Warm all from the following sections in the Clean Edit Portrait Workflow.
• Finally, I adjusted the white balance slightly warmer and decreased the highlights to recover a bit more of the color in her dress.

This edit took under two minutes!

LightroomRecipe #10

This edit was also created with the Clean Edit Portrait Workflow. This collection allows for endless combinations and completely custom edits.

• Starting Preset:Pretty Mixer | Fav 5fromClean Edit Portrait Workflow.
• Finally,then I useda couple of brushesincluded inthis collection: PRETTY | Eye and Teeth Whitener on the whites of the eyes and PRETTY | Skin Smootherover the face—not including the eyes, nose or mouth.

Thiswas an incredibly quick edit!

I hope this blog post gives a better understanding and a more in-depth look at how I use the variousLightroom Presets and Brushesfrom Pretty Presets to create gorgeous, polished images.

Do you have any questions or comments about my 10 Lightroom Editing Recipes?Leave us a comment below- We would LOVE to hear from you, And PLEASE SHARE our post using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!