

Lightroom isn't the only tool for importing, managing and editing large groups of photos. (I'm usually leery of "auto" fixes, which work sometimes but more often don't.) I tried this on one of my photos and it worked as advertised. If you shot a house and the camera was slightly off kilter, click the new "Level" tab in the "Lens Corrections" section and Lightroom will fix it. Adobe hasn't announced pricing for Lightroom 5.)īeyond the retouching, Adobe also added a feature to automatically fix the perspective of your photo.


The tools work as advertised and are worth the price of the upgrade (whatever that might be - Adobe currently charges $149 for the software, but it's available online at various outlets for $69.99.

As a photographer who brings 1,000 plus images into Lightroom every weekend, I will greatly appreciate the ability to do this sort of work within the app. In my tests this week, the Lightroom clone and heal tools were almost as effective as Photoshop - about 95% there. Since Adobe makes both programs, going back and forth between the two is simple - but it's even easier to do it all in one place without having to leave at all. The tools can remove wrinkles and facial lines with a few clicks effectively or get rid of unwanted objects in your photos without having to do what was necessary previously - head over to the more full-featured Photoshop, which starts at $399.99. The retouching tools - known as the "clone" and "healing" brush - have been greatly expanded to cover a wider range of the image. The tools were there previously, but way more limited. LOS ANGELES - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is my go-to software for transferring images from my camera, sorting and doing a quick edit on them before turning to full-on Photoshop for retouching and other more substantial fixes.īut with the new version, out just this week, Lightroom is starting to morph into the best version of Photoshop "lite" yet.Ī beta of Lightroom 5, which is available as a free download (it expires June 30) at, has added several features since last year's Lightroom 4, but the most significant is the ability to do more serious retouching within the app.
