Lightroom CC Tutorial — Edit Anywhere, Any Device (2025)

1. Lightroom CC vs. Classic — Quick Reference

Before diving into the tutorial, here’s what you’re getting in Lightroom CC versus Classic:

• Cloud-first: All photos automatically sync to Adobe cloud — accessible everywhere
• Simpler interface: Cleaner layout, fewer panels, less initial overwhelm
• Full RAW editing: Complete Basic panel, Tone Curve, HSL, Color Grading, Masking
• AI Masking: Select Subject, Select Sky, Select People, Objects — all present
• AI Denoise: Available in CC (as of 2023)
• What’s missing vs. Classic: Book/Slideshow/Print/Web modules, tethered shooting, Develop History panel, soft proofing, some advanced catalog tools

For most photographers — especially beginners and mobile-first shooters — none of what’s missing matters. CC has everything needed to produce professional-quality edits. For the full feature comparison, see Lightroom Classic vs CC.

2. The Lightroom CC Interface

Lightroom CC has a simplified, icon-based interface across all platforms (desktop, web, iOS, Android). On desktop:

• Left sidebar: Photos view (your main library grid, organized by date), Shared Albums, and Deleted photos
• Center: Photo grid or Loupe view
• Right sidebar: All editing panels — Edit (main editing tools), Crop, Healing, Masking, Red Eye, Optics (lens corrections)
• Top bar: Import button, activity indicator (sync progress), search, and account settings

One thing to know immediately: Lightroom CC has no concept of “modules” like Classic does. Everything is in one view — you’re either in the library grid or editing a single photo. Click on any photo to open it for editing; click the grid icon (top-left) to return to your library.

3. Importing Photos in CC

From a Camera or Memory Card

Connect your camera or card reader. Click the Import button (bottom-left, or File → Import Photos). Select the photos you want to import, confirm the destination (your CC cloud library), and click Import. Photos upload to your Adobe cloud immediately — available on all your devices as soon as they finish syncing.

From Your Hard Drive

Same process: File → Import Photos. Navigate to the folder on your drive. Select photos. Import. Note: Lightroom CC copies photos to the cloud — it does not leave them managed locally by default. Original files can be stored locally as well (go to Preferences → Local Storage to set a local copy path), but the cloud is the primary storage location.

From Your Phone

On the Lightroom mobile app: tap the blue camera icon to capture directly in the app (which captures RAW or DNG on supported iPhone and Android models), or tap Add Photos to import from your phone’s camera roll. These photos sync immediately to your CC cloud library and appear on your desktop within minutes.

Storage Consideration

The Adobe Photography Plan includes 20GB of cloud storage. With RAW files, this fills fast — 20GB holds roughly 500 full-resolution RAW files from a modern mirrorless camera. For heavy shooters, upgrade to the 1TB plan (+$10/month) or manage storage carefully by removing photos you no longer need.

4. Editing in Lightroom CC

Click any photo to open it in editing view. The Edit panel on the right contains all primary tools.

The Edit Panel Sections

Lightroom CC organizes tools in collapsible sections. Here’s what each does:

Light

Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks — the fundamental tone controls. Functionally identical to the top of Classic’s Basic panel. Work top to bottom: fix exposure first, then recover highlights and shadows, then set your whites and blacks.

Color

White Balance (Temperature + Tint), Vibrance, and Saturation. Use the eyedropper for auto white balance correction. Use Vibrance (not Saturation) for color boosting — it protects skin tones from oversaturation.

Effects

Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze. Same functions as Classic: Texture for micro-contrast detail, Clarity for stronger midtone contrast (use carefully on portraits), Dehaze to remove atmospheric haze or add drama to skies.

Detail (Sharpening + Noise)

Sharpening controls (Amount, Radius, Detail), Noise Reduction (Luminance and Color sliders), and the AI Denoise button for RAW files. For most photos: Sharpening Amount 40–60, Masking at 60+ to limit sharpening to real edges.

Optics (Lens Corrections)

Enable Lens Corrections and Remove Chromatic Aberration — check both on every photo. Same automatic lens profile correction as Classic. Vignette controls are here too.

Geometry (Transform)

Perspective and geometry corrections. “Auto” button levels horizontals and verticals automatically — essential for architectural and interior photos.

Tone Curve

Full tone curve with parametric (drag-region) and point curve modes. RGB channel editing for color grading. Same functionality as Classic.

Color Mixer (HSL)

Hue, Saturation, and Luminance for eight color ranges. Identical to Classic’s HSL panel. Use Luminance to darken blue skies; use Saturation to target specific color adjustments.

Color Grading

Three-wheel color grading for Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights. Same tool as Classic. Push Shadows toward teal and Highlights toward warm amber for the cinematic split tone look.

Calibration

Camera-level color calibration. Available in CC — useful for the calibration panel color grading technique covered in our Teal and Orange tutorial.

5. AI Masking in CC

Click the Masking icon in the editing toolbar (looks like a circle with a dashed outline). Lightroom CC has the full AI masking suite:

• Select Subject: Automatically isolates the main subject. Click once, add adjustments.
• Select Sky: One-click sky selection. Darken it, color grade it, add dehaze.
• Select People: Per-person masks for Face Skin, Body Skin, Eyes, Lips, Teeth, Hair — identical to Classic’s People masking.
• Select Background: Inverse of Subject — everything except your subject.
• Objects: Paint over any area; AI detects edges and creates a precise selection.
• Linear Gradient / Radial Gradient / Brush: Manual masking tools.

Masks can be combined with Add and Subtract operations. The workflow is identical to Classic — there’s no feature gap in masking between the two versions.

6. Presets in Lightroom CC

Presets in Lightroom CC work the same as Classic — hover to preview, click to apply. CC has a built-in set of Adobe presets plus any custom presets you import.

Installing Custom Presets in CC

On desktop: click the three-dot menu in the Presets section → Import Presets → select your XMP files. They appear in a “Imported” folder in the Presets panel.

Presets sync across all your devices automatically — install on desktop once and they appear on your phone and tablet within minutes. This is a genuine advantage CC has over Classic’s opt-in sync.

Creating Presets in CC

Edit a photo the way you like it. In the Presets panel, click the three-dot menu → “Create Preset.” Name it, choose which settings to include (deselect Exposure and White Balance for maximum flexibility), and save. The preset is immediately available on all your devices.

7. The Mobile App Workflow

Lightroom CC’s mobile app is a genuine powerhouse. The free version has limited tools; the paid version (included with any Creative Cloud Photography Plan) has the full editing suite including RAW editing, all sliders, AI masking, and cloud sync.

Shooting RAW on Mobile

The Lightroom mobile app has a built-in camera (tap the blue camera icon). On supported iPhone and Android models, it captures photos in DNG (RAW) format directly — giving you Lightroom’s full RAW editing latitude even on photos captured with your phone. For maximum quality, use the Lightroom camera rather than your phone’s stock camera app when you know you’ll want to edit.

Editing Workflow on Mobile

The mobile editing interface mirrors the desktop CC version — same panels, same sliders, slightly reorganized for touch. For efficient mobile editing: apply a preset as a starting point, adjust Exposure and White Balance for your specific photo, use Select Subject to brighten or enhance your subject, then export directly to your camera roll.

Auto Settings

Tap the “Auto” button (wand icon) and Lightroom applies AI-powered automatic corrections to Exposure, Highlights, Shadows, White Balance, and more. It’s surprisingly good as a starting point — not always perfect, but often 70% of the way there in one tap. Useful for rapid editing when you just need good-enough results quickly.

8. Sharing and Exporting from CC

Sharing Albums

Create a Shared Album (in the left sidebar) and invite others via a link. Clients can view photos in a private online gallery without needing a Lightroom account. You can allow them to rate or comment on photos, which feeds back into your Lightroom library. No additional software or delivery service needed for client proofing.

Exporting Files

Right-click any photo → Export. Or click the share icon at top-right. Export options:

• To Camera Roll (mobile): JPEG export directly to your phone’s photo library for sharing
• Custom Export (desktop): Specify file type, size, color space, and quality — same as Classic but with fewer preset slots
• To Social (mobile): Direct share to Instagram, Facebook, and other apps

For most social media: JPEG, sRGB, 2160px long edge, Quality 85. For print: TIFF or JPEG at 300 PPI, Adobe RGB color space.

9. Managing Storage in CC

Storage management is the most important ongoing task in Lightroom CC. Check your usage at lightroom.adobe.com → Account → Storage.

Saving Storage

• Delete rejected photos from CC: They go to a Deleted folder (retained for 60 days) before freeing storage. Permanently delete them after review.
• Smart Previews: Enable “Store a Copy Locally” for active projects only. Older archived work can be cloud-only (streaming on demand) to save local disk space.
• Smartphone sync: Go to Lightroom app Settings → Cloud Storage → turn off “Auto Add” for your phone’s camera roll if you import everything and that’s creating duplicates.

When to Upgrade to 1TB

If you shoot RAW regularly on a dedicated camera, you’ll outgrow 20GB within a few months. Upgrading to 1TB ($19.99/month total for the Photography Plan with 1TB) is worth it if Lightroom CC is your primary app. Alternatively, use Lightroom Classic for your main camera work (local storage, no cloud limit) and CC for mobile-captured photos only.