There is a lot to be said about the editing power of ACR and Lightroom! I tend to be more of a Photoshop gal myself, but there are a few things I do inside ACR to make my Photoshop time easy peasy. Keep reading (or watching!) to learn 5 quick, but super effective tricks to use in ACR OR Lightroom in under 5 minutes!

STRAIGHTENING TOOL

Have a crooked image?

Horizon line off?

Is your subject leaning against a slanted wall? (face palm, yes, that’s my shot in the video where I did that)

No worries! The straighten tool makes to straight for ya in like, 2 seconds! Just click on the tool (see below) Double click in your photo and double click again.? Done.

Time to complete= 5 seconds.

CLIPPING WARNINGS

These two little triangles by your histogram clue you in on if your image is too light or dark. (and while this won’t work ALL the time, it is a good indicator and a great place to start)

If one of those triangles is lit up it means your image is too light or too dark in areas. Use the exposure slider and push either way while watching those triangles to see if they turn back to black.

Time to complete= 20ish seconds

COLOR POP

Want a bit of extra color, but don’t want it to look overly saturated? Or worse yet, like your subject is lathered up in fake orange tanning cream? Don’t use that saturation slider- use the VIBRANCE slider located directly above it.? This will add in just a pop of color that you’re looking for!

Time to complete= 5 seconds

SHARPENING

Totally important to do, but sometimes, you don’t want your whole image sharp, just parts of it. First, click into the “details” section of your program. (If you look below you’ll click those double triangles) First , use the masking slider (4th one down) With the alt button held down start sliding, you see it turns black and white- that’s ok! Focus on just the white areas and stop sliding that slider when you see just the areas you want sharp. (makes a little more sense in the video) From there go back to that first sharpening slider and make your sharpening adjustments!

Time to complete= 60 seconds (ish)

SOFT CENTER LIGHT

Use the radial filter to create a sort of spotlight effect on your subject. Grab the oval in the top left hand side (see below) Then click in the middle of your subject and drag out. Use the slider that will pop up on your right to make brightening adjustments!

Time to complete= 60 seconds

And there you go! 5 easy (but effective) tricks in under 5 minutes! Give it a try and see how it turns out for you! And if you do, I’d love to see how it turns out for you! Make sure to mention or tag me @cozyclicks on Instagram so I can see what you’ve got!