Why Edit in RAW?

A RAW file is the unprocessed data your camera sensor captures. Unlike a JPEG, which has already been compressed and sharpened in-camera, a RAW file preserves maximum detail and gives you full control in post-processing. If you're not shooting RAW yet, switching is one of the highest-impact changes you can make to your editing workflow.

Adobe Lightroom (both Classic and the cloud version) is the industry-standard tool for RAW editing. Here's a practical, step-by-step workflow you can follow from the moment photos hit your drive.

Step 1: Import and Organise

Open Lightroom and use the Import dialog to bring in your files. During import, you can:

  • Apply a develop preset automatically (useful for lens corrections or a base tone)
  • Add copyright metadata to all files at once
  • Organise into folders by date or shoot name
  • Create a backup copy to a second location

Once imported, use the Library module to flag keepers, reject obvious misses, and star-rate your selects before you start editing.

Step 2: Lens Corrections and Transform

Before touching exposure, fix any optical distortions. In the Develop module, scroll to Lens Corrections and enable Remove Chromatic Aberration and Enable Profile Corrections. Lightroom will automatically apply corrections specific to your lens model. This removes barrel distortion and vignetting before you add your own creative adjustments.

Step 3: Set White Balance

White balance determines the colour temperature of your image. Use the eyedropper tool to click on a neutral grey area in the frame, or manually adjust the Temp and Tint sliders. For warm, natural skin tones, err slightly warmer. For clean landscapes, a cooler, neutral balance often works best.

Step 4: Adjust Exposure and Tone

Work through the Basic panel in this order:

  1. Exposure — Set the overall brightness. Watch the histogram: avoid clipping on either end.
  2. Highlights — Pull down to recover blown-out sky or bright areas.
  3. Shadows — Push up to reveal detail in dark areas without flattening contrast.
  4. Whites — Set the brightest point. Hold Alt/Option while dragging to see clipping.
  5. Blacks — Anchor the deepest shadows for richness and depth.
  6. Contrast — Fine-tune the midtone separation after setting the tone range.

Step 5: Colour Grading with HSL

The HSL / Color panel lets you adjust individual colours independently. Want more vibrant foliage? Boost green saturation and luminance. Need skin tones to look less orange? Reduce orange saturation slightly. This panel is one of Lightroom's most powerful and underused tools.

Step 6: Sharpening and Noise Reduction

In the Detail panel:

  • Apply sharpening with an Amount of 40–80 for most shots. Hold Alt while dragging the Masking slider to limit sharpening to edges only.
  • Use Noise Reduction (Luminance) for high-ISO shots. Start around 20–30 and increase until grain looks smooth without losing too much detail.

Step 7: Export for Your Purpose

Use File > Export and choose your settings:

  • Web / social: JPEG, sRGB, 2000px on long edge, quality 85–90
  • Print: TIFF or JPEG at full resolution, Adobe RGB, 300 PPI
  • Archive: Original RAW + DNG sidecar

Building a Consistent Workflow

The real power of Lightroom is non-destructive editing and batch processing. Once you've edited one image from a shoot, use Sync Settings to apply the same adjustments across similar frames — saving hours on large batches. Save your favourite starting points as Presets for faster future editing.