Despite having a lot of competitors, Adobe Lightroom is still the best photo-editing app. Yes, you need to pay for access, but its suite of features makes it worthwhile. Photo editing apps come and go, but Lightroom remains the industry standard for a reason.
10
Lightroom Has Better Options to Create and Use Presets
Presets are one of the best ways to edit more efficiently, and you can create different presets for various photography styles. For example, you can film and analog presets for more of a vintage look.
You can find presets in other editing tools, such as Canva. However, they’re nowhere near as good as Lightroom’s. Moreover, it’s easier to save your own presets in Lightroom compared to other apps. Another advantage is that you can sell your Lightroom presets if you develop a unique style.
9
Seamless Editing on Mobile and Desktop
Many photo-editing apps are good on mobile or desktop. However, few offer a consistent user experience across both. Lightroom offers a great user experience whether you use it on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, making it stand head and shoulders above its competition.
You can choose between Lightroom Classic and CC on a computer. In some cases, you might even want to use both Lightroom versions together.
Lightroom CC, meanwhile, is available on desktop and mobile. The app is very responsive on both platforms, even if you edit RAW files (which are more demanding than JPEG).
8
Color Calibration for Each Photo
Color calibration is one of the best ways to make your photos stand out. It’s also ideal for correcting colors that might not look as they should on your camera. This tool changes the hue and saturation for different elements, and you can also add a green or magenta tint.
You can find this tool in Camera Raw, too, but Lightroom is more user-friendly. This feature is only available in Lightroom Classic; if it ever comes to Lightroom CC, I’ll switch to Lightroom CC immediately.
7
Simple JPEG and RAW Editing
Many photo editors only let you edit JPEG and PNG files. While these are fine for the average casual photographer, you get nowhere near as much freedom as you would when tweaking RAW images instead. Lightroom, however, offers a consistent experience—regardless of your preferred format.
Editing JPEGs in Lightroom gives you less flexibility, but you can still create amazing pictures. You can do this with presets; however, it’s also possible to make your photos look better with color grading and other features. Moreover, you have more control over editing the saturation and vibrance than in other apps.
6
It’s Easier to Categorize Photos
The more you use any photo editing app, the more overwhelmed you’ll become—unless you effectively organize your images. Unfortunately, many tools aren’t great in this respect (especially if you use the free plan). Thankfully, Lightroom makes organizing and categorizing images very simple.
Making albums is one of the easiest ways to keep your images together. Lightroom CC is ideal for this; you can drag and drop your pictures into a new album.
The star rating feature is also handy. You can rate images 1-5 stars, depending on how much you like them or where you wish to use them. You can also flag images that require particular attention.
5
The Histogram Is a Huge Editing Time-Saver
Understanding and working with histograms in Adobe Lightroom is one of the easiest ways to achieve better lighting and contrast in your pictures. However, these graphs aren’t just good for checking levels. In Lightroom Classic, you can move different parts of the histogram to change how your picture looks.
Moving the histogram is particularly helpful if parts of the image are overblown or too dark. Unfortunately, you can’t drag the histogram in Lightroom CC, but nonetheless, you’ll still find it useful to work with.
4
A Good Mix of Advanced and Beginner-Friendly Features
When choosing a photo editing tool, it’s important to pick something that you can continue using as your skills improve. Many popular editing apps are designed for beginners, which is fine in the beginning—but at some point, you might feel like the software is limiting you.
Lightroom balances beginner-friendly and advanced tools very well. While you have common sliders like exposure, contrast, and saturation, you also have more complex features like Tone Curve and masking. Many top-level professional photographers use Lightroom, which tells you what you need to know about its scalability.
3
Lightroom’s Auto-Enhance Is More Accurate
Though you shouldn’t rely on the Auto tool, knowing that your tool has an accurate one is beneficial. Lightroom’s automatic adjustments will make your images look more realistic compared to some tools. The feature works for mobile and DSLR pictures.
Related
When I Use (and Don’t Use) Auto-Enhance on My Smartphone Photos
Auto-enhance can save a dull photo, but it can also ruin a great one. Here’s how I determine when to use this feature and when to avoid it.
2
You Can Use the App Offline
Online-only photo editors are nice because you don’t need to download an app. In many cases, these tools are also free. However, you’ll encounter problems when your internet connection stops working. You’re also in trouble if you want to edit your pictures but are in a place without reliable Wi-Fi.
In contrast, you can use Lightroom offline. So, if you’re often distracted when editing, you can always switch off your internet connection.
Although you can use Lightroom offline, you’ll occasionally need to use it online to ensure that issues don’t occur with your subscription.
1
Lightroom Lets You Use Lens Profiles
Have you ever edited your pictures in an editing app and wondered why they look distorted? It’s probably because your lens isn’t correctly formatted within the editing tool. The good news, however, is that Lightroom has lens profiles to help you solve this.
Although you won’t find every lens, you can at least browse to see if any resemble your smartphone or camera. It’s possible to get rid of elements you can’t control as well, such as chromatic aberration.
In addition to lens profiles, you can use camera profiles for more accurate editing.
Lightroom has a comprehensive suite of features, and as your editing improves, you’ll likely use it for the long run. The fee is small, considering the many benefits, and the app is fantastic for smartphone and DSLR editing.
