ERIC KIM

5 Tips to Simplify Your Photography Workflow in Adobe Lightroom (Desktop)

Here is a general overview of my Lightroom (desktop) workflow currently looks like:

Download free ERIC KIM PRESETS, to play along!

Lightroom Workflow Tips

Some basic tips:

  1. Keep your workflow as simple as possible. Lately, I’ve just been shooting in JPEG with Fujifilm XF10 in SR+ mode to simplify my photographic workflow, which has been great. Faster importing of photos, smaller file sizes, and quicker image-selection process (photos are quicker to load)
  2. Don’t just share photos to Facebook or Instagram: Upload your own photos (first) to your own blog (preferably your own self-hosted WordPress.org blog — you can use bluehost.com to signup).
  3. Also keep your photos synced in Dropbox (I use Dropbox pro, for 1 TB of cloud storage). Syncs far better than Google Drive or Apple Drive, and also can be used across all devices (Android, iOs, etc).
  4. Use Presets to speed up your workflow, and then after applying presets, just adjust the exposure and contrast a bit.
  5. There is no perfect workflow; don’t seek to “improve” your workflow, seek to SIMPLIFY your photographic workflow. Enjoy the experience of processing your photos, and keep shooting!

Keep experimenting with Lightroom, have fun, and keep it super super simple!

ERIC

Screenshots of my Lightroom Desktop Workflow

An overview of my current workflow process (Fujifilm XF10 on SR+ mode in JPEG)

  • Import photos
  • Importing Fujifilm XF10 (JPEG) photos shot in SR+ mode
  • Start from the last photo, and look at my photos in reverse chronological order
  • Press “E” to enlarge photo
  • Press “L” once to turn off the lights
  • Press “L” one more time to turn off the lights completely
  • Shift+Tab hotkey to collapse side windows
  • Press “L” twice to turn off lights completely
  • When I like a photo, press “P” to Pick the photo
  • Pressing <- on keyboard, looking through photos, and “Picking” (P) photos I like
  • Applying different presets in Develop (hotkey “D”) mode
  • Before preset
  • After Eric Kim MONOCHROME 1600 v2 preset
  • Before preset (JPEG)
  • After preset (Eric Kim CHROMA v12)
  • Before preset
  • After Eric Kim Monochrome 1600 v3 Preset
  • Before preset
  • After preset, while also increasing exposure
  • Filter your photos based on ‘flagged’
  • Command+A (to select all)
  • Export photos, and rename file names
  • Scroll down, and make sure that after exporting, it ‘shows in finder’

Then after exporting all the photos, I upload them to my WordPress Blog:

  • Command+A (to select all), then drop the photos into my ‘Upload New Media’ section, for ‘Add New’
  • Photos start to upload; simply wait.

Exported JPEG photos:

Here are the photos I exported:

Adobe Lightroom Workflow, Editing, and Post-Processing Articles

FREE ERIC KIM Lightroom Classic CC Workflow PDF Visualization

lightroom-classic-cc-workflow-eric-kim-annette-kim.png DOWNLOAD PDF: Eric Kim Lightroom Classic CC Workflow Visualization by Eric Kim Annette Kim HAPTIC

Learn more Lightroom Workflow Hacks

ultimate beginner guide mastering photography udemy eric kim.jpg For more Lightroom workflow hacks, enroll in my Udemy course: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography“.

How I keep a photograph in Lightroom (OSAKA EDITION)

How to Use Lightroom in 10 Minutes For Beginners

Lightroom is one of those pieces of software in which you only need to know how to use 10% of it for 90% of the functions. If you’re a newbie to Lightroom, don’t get overwhelmed. Here is an easy 10-minute start to Lightroom. To start, I recommend using hotkeys. It will save you a lot of time down the line. Here are the hotkeys:

Lightroom Hotkeys

  • Shift + Tab : Collapse all side windows
  • F: Full screen
  • G: Gallery/Grid View (whatever you want to remember by)
  • E: Enlarge
  • D: Develop
  • L: Turn off the “Lights”
  • Command (or Ctrl) + [ ] : Rotate the image Left or Right
There are a lot more hotkeys, if you want to see them all while you have Lightroom open, press Command (or Ctrl) + ?. Or Google: “Lightroom Hotkeys.”

My Lightroom workflow

This is my basic Lightroom workflow:
  1. Insert SD Card
  2. Click ‘Import’
  3. Apply Eric Kim Preset upon import (Eric Kim 1600 Monochrome)
  4. Press Shift+Tab to collapse side columns
  5. Press “L” twice (to turn off the lights)
  6. Scroll through images with trackpad to look for favorite photos
  7. Press “P” to Pick my favorite photos
  8. In the bottom-right corner, turn Filter into “Flagged”
  9. Press “D” to Develop the photo, and make basic edits
  10. Press “G” to go back to the Gallery view
  11. Press “Export” button in bottom-left corner
  12. Choose folder to extract image, and make JPEG 80%.
  13. Find JPEG image, and upload to social media/website/etc.

How do I know what my best photos are?

contact cindy v-2 Learn how to choose your best photos:

1-hour Lightroom Tutorial