8 creative ways to use Lightroom to transform your photos on desktop, mobile and web

Adobe Lightroom is a comprehensive photo editing tool, but there’s more to learn about it than you think you know. Here are some of the unique ways I use Lightroom.

1 Lightroom integration with Frame.io

Camera-to-cloud (C2C) technology connects new Canon, Nikon and Leica cameras to the Adobe Frame.io cloud via Wi-Fi tethering, and Lightroom is also integrated with Frame.io.

Previously, Frame.io was only used for managing video assets, but in the myriad of Adobe feature updates in 2024, Frame.io now supports photo assets and file management. With the introduction of photography to Frame.io, there is now direct integration between Adobe Lightroom and Frame.io for overall file organization across all areas.

Through automatic and manual transfer from C2C, you can easily link your photo files from Frame.io to Lightroom for editing.

2 Smart Albums in Lightroom CC

Lightroom CC introduced better search capabilities in 2024. Called Smart Albums, this feature helps you discover photos from different brands and types.

Using Smart Albums allows me to create dynamic searches based on specific criteria within a photo or image file. There’s been a feature called Smart Collections in Lightroom Classic for a while, and Smart Albums in Lightroom CC is similar—though smarter in its search options.

To add a smart album, select + under albumsthen Add a smart album. From there you can choose the criteria you want to include in the search type. These can be things like the camera model used, where the photo was taken, the rating you applied to the photos, and more.

Your smart album can be used to search for specific things, such as all the 3-star photos of your children that were taken in Rome with your Canon camera. Dynamic Smart Albums update with all photos that meet these criteria, so I don’t have to manually search for them.

In Lightroom CC, you can now preview presets before applying them to your photos. Previously, you had to select a preset and apply it to see what it looked like on the image – this slowed down your processes and sent you back if the preset didn’t meet your expectations.

I batch apply presets to my photos, which saves time applying my signature look to a block of images. Previously, you had to copy and paste the style to multiple images. But now I save a lot of time with a batch application.

Finally, you can star any preset in Lightroom as a Favorite, helping you access your favorite and most used presets more quickly.

4 Adobe Camera Raw Adaptive Profile (Beta)

Adobe Camera RAW is a separate but attached software to Lightroom. It predates Lightroom, but is now typically used as an intermediary between Lightroom and Photoshop for editing RAW images in Photoshop.

There are some beta features in Camera RAW. These are adaptive profiles that use an AI and ML (machine learning) model to edit photos while maintaining the integrity of the original RAW file.

At the time of writing, adaptive presets are only available for noise reduction and HDR editing. Using them, your image will retain authentic texture, noise, and color, while AI and ML technologies enhance the same features.

Adaptive Preset Denoise analyzes your photo and applies denoising to the correct areas of the image while preserving the integrity of other areas. You can shoot at ISO 16,000 and the noise reduction works wonders without too much smoothing.

5 Quick actions on the Lightroom website

The Lightroom web app often receives updates before the desktop app, and often before the mobile app as well. One of those updates is the Quick Actions tools, which work much like presets. These are preset adjustments that you can apply to your images, such as “Warm Pop”.

Quick Actions use smart technology to analyze your images and present contextual presets based on the content in your photo. For example, if a photo is of a person smiling, suggested Quick Actions will likely include teeth whitening, skin smoothing, and the subject sipping.

Quick actions can be modified using Customizable adjustments. This allows you to further refine the results of the action by adjusting adaptive masks and parameters, allowing you to quickly create the best photos.

Quick Actions go hand-in-hand with Adaptive Presets, which again analyze your photo and offer presets that work for each specific photo.

6 Nuisance removal using generative removal

Generative AI is a big part of Adobe’s latest tools found throughout the suite, such as Photoshop’s Generative Fill. Lightroom uses Generative Removal as part of the Quick Actions toolset, which allows you to remove unwanted parts of an image with great detail.

The technology and power of Adobe’s artificial intelligence tools make Generative Remove a successful removal tool that works in seconds and hardly misses. At the time of writing, it’s only available in Lightroom on the web, but it’s expected to follow on desktop and mobile in the future.

7 Lens Blur on Lightroom Mobile

There are several quick actions for mobile devices for Lightroom Mobile users. They are part of the premium plan which costs $9.99 per month.

Lens Blur Quick Action is a great way to transform your ordinary photos into something that looks more professional.

The results are similar to using a high-aperture lens for background bokeh, and you can choose the shapes of the blur as the tool takes effect. This provides a creative and fun way to add flair to your photos right from the palm of your hand.

8 Object detection for accurate selection

Making precise selections on Lightroom Mobile can be tricky, especially from a phone that can’t use a stylus or a phone with a smaller screen.

Object Detection in Lightroom Mobile can be turned on or off. When turned on, it allows Lightroom to detect and outline objects found in your photos when you make selections or use generative AI features.

You can use it for generative fill, allowing the tool to target specific objects with greater precision, or you can also use it for selective removal with generative fill. This detects areas that need to be removed and preserved with greater precision.

Lightroom offers powerful tools across its desktop, mobile and web apps with seamless integration with Frame.io and Camera RAW. Its cross-platform approach, great pricing options, and ever-evolving features make it a game-changer for transforming your images—if you know how to choose the right tools.