Lightroom Basics
The complete Lightroom Classic workflow in seven tutorials, in the order a real shoot moves: import and organize, choose selects, edit the RAW files, retouch, apply a look, export for clients and the web — plus shooting tethered straight to your computer.
For the very beginner, we start in Lightroom as if you were using the program for the first time. We cover all of the features and functions you’ll need to get your images imported and organized fast and efficiently.
Lightroom | Workflow & Productivity | Easy | 1.25 hours
213 Sample Images
Master our tried and tested workflow for managing and organizing images after a photoshoot. Learn how to import and cull images, apply ratings to choose selects, apply edits, and export so that you can quickly deliver to a client.
Lightroom | Workflow & Productivity | Easy | 1.25 hours
213 Sample Images
Take advantage of the power of shooting in RAW. Apply local and global edits, correct exposure and white balance, and learn the workflow for sending images over to Photoshop for more in-depth post-processing.
Photoshop, Lightroom | Workflow & Productivity | Easy | 1.25 hours
213 Sample Images
Making local adjustments in Lightroom can help rescue details and remove distractions. From skin retouching to adjusting exposure, we’ll cover all the bases and show you how to do so while only affecting a specific part of your image.
Lightroom | Selections & Masking | Easy | 45 mins
213 Sample Images
Lightroom Classic is a versatile program with many tools to color and style your images. Follow along as we demonstrate how to use these tools, save and apply presets, and we even show you how to create HDR images and panoramas!
Lightroom | Color & Tone | Easy | 1.5 hours
213 Sample Images
Learn our professional workflow as we take you through Lightroom to export and deliver images quickly and hassle free. Learn how to organize your images and folders, save time with presets, and protect your work with watermarks and metadata.
Lightroom | Workflow & Productivity | Easy | 1.25 hours
213 Sample Images
Make sure you’re getting the images that you and your clients want while helping your photoshoots run smoother than ever. We break down how to shoot using tethered capture in Lightroom.
Lightroom | Photography & Lighting | Easy | 30 mins
5 Sample Images
What You’ll Learn
Lightroom Basics follows one shoot through the whole pipeline. Seven tutorials, each covering one stage, in the order the work actually happens — so by the end you have not just learned Lightroom Classic, you have practiced the exact sequence you will repeat on every job.
- Import, organize and add metadata Getting photos into a catalog you can still search two years later, with the metadata that makes clients and stock sites possible.
- Choose selects and learn workflow Filtering and favoriting a full shoot down to the keepers — the round-based culling method working photographers use.
- Edit RAW photos The Develop module, and the handoff to Photoshop for the edits Lightroom cannot make.
- Retouch and improve photos How far Lightroom’s own retouching tools go, and how to get the most out of them before opening Photoshop.
- Apply coloring, styles and presets Building a consistent look and applying it across a set.
- Export for clients and the web Sizing, sharpening, watermarking and the export presets that make delivery a one-click job.
- Shoot tethered Capturing straight into Lightroom Classic with the camera connected to a computer — the studio workflow clients expect to see.
Who This Series Is For
Photographers who use Lightroom as a place to move sliders but not as a system. If your catalog is a junk drawer, your culling takes longer than your shooting, or exporting for a client still involves guesswork, this series fixes the pipeline end to end.
It is also the most workflow-focused of the Lightroom collections — the only one that covers tethered shooting and client delivery. For a free fundamentals series, start with Intro to Lightroom Classic; for the full editing-depth sequence, the Lightroom Learning Path goes further into masking and grading.
What You Need
- Lightroom Classic Any recent version. The catalog, culling and export workflow is stable across releases.
- Your own shoot Recommended — the workflow sticks fastest when practiced on photos you care about.
- A tethering cable Only for the tethered shooting tutorial, and only if your camera supports it.
Photoshop appears in the RAW editing tutorial for the handoff, but nothing here requires it.
How Long It Takes
Seven tutorials, one per stage. Watched in order at one or two a week, the series takes about a month — but the better way to use it is to run your next real shoot through it stage by stage.
The order matters here more than in most collections, because each stage hands its output to the next, exactly as a real job does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a PHLEARN PRO membership?
Yes. This is a PRO series, so all seven tutorials are included with a membership.
Lightroom Classic or the cloud version?
This series is Lightroom Classic — the version built around a local catalog, which is what the organizing, culling and tethering workflows depend on.
How is this different from Intro to Lightroom Classic?
Intro is a free fundamentals series about learning the software. Lightroom Basics is about running a shoot through it — the same tool, taught as a business workflow, including tethering and client delivery.
Do I need studio equipment for the tethering tutorial?
Just a supported camera and a cable. The tutorial covers the setup from zero.
What comes after this series?
The Lightroom Learning Path for editing depth — AI masking, dodge and burn, advanced grading — on top of the workflow you now have.
Where to Go Next
Start the Series
Begin at the beginning of the pipeline: importing and organizing. Every later stage depends on it.
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