It is tough to overestimate the significance of keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom or in some other enhancing program. Shortcuts assist us pace up and optimize our enhancing workflow. You can discover the tutorial devoted solely to essentially the most helpful keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom right here.
There are additionally keyboard keys that don’t act precisely as shortcuts as a result of they work together with current instruments and serve the aim to change or prolong their default capabilities. I name these “Keyboard Modifiers.”
One of essentially the most highly effective keyboard modifiers in Lightroom is the Alt (PC), Option (Mac) key. By utilizing the Alt/Option key in numerous areas of Lightroom, we will prolong this system’s usefulness and even the practical vary of the assorted enhancing instruments.
In immediately’s tutorial, I’ll clarify how one can prolong the performance of various areas of Lightroom utilizing Alt/Option keyboard modifiers.
Develop Module
I all the time begin with the Develop Module as a result of that is the place I spend the vast majority of my time. It can also be the place the Alt/Option modifiers are essentially the most helpful and efficient.
Solo Mode
In the Lightroom Develop Module, there are 9 most important enhancing panels. When you open all of those panels, it’s straightforward to get misplaced endlessly scrolling as you attempt to discover the suitable enhancing slider on your wants. Solo Mode helps you eradicate muddle by permitting you to have just one enhancing panel open (prolonged).
When Solo Mode is energetic and also you open any of the enhancing panels—just like the Split Toning, for instance—it closes all the opposite panels. Solo Mode is essentially the most helpful when your display actual property is restricted like when utilizing a laptop computer.
To activate Solo Mode, press the Alt/Option key and click on the header of any enhancing panel. To deactivate Solo Mode, hold the Alt/Option key pressed and click on any of the enhancing panels once more.
I exploit Solo Mode 99% of the time, even after I use a desktop laptop with a big monitor. Solo Mode retains my UI neater.
Now, let’s dive into every enhancing panel and the instruments within the Develop Model to see how we will prolong their functionalities through the use of the Alt/Option modifiers.
The Basic Panel
Reset Sliders
The most typical and hottest use of the Alt/Option secret is to reset a number of enhancing sliders to their default values. This performance works in nearly all of the panels together with the Basic Panel.
By holding the Alt/Option key down, the brand new choices (Reset Tone and Reset Presence) seem. By clicking the “reset options,” you’ll reset all of the enhancing sliders to zero.
Show Highlight Clipping
By holding down the Alt/Option key whereas dragging the Exposure, Highlights, or Whites sliders, you possibly can see if any areas of the photograph have clipped highlights.
The white space of the preview signifies that every one three shade channels (purple, inexperienced, blue) are blown.
The purple, inexperienced, and blue areas present that just one channel is clipped.
The cyan, magenta, and yellow areas point out that two out of three channels are clipped.
This performance is extraordinarily helpful when evaluating if the overexposed areas of the picture may be recovered. As a basic rule, if just one channel is clipped, there’s a good likelihood of recovering it. But when two or three channels are clipped or blown, you might be most certainly out of luck.
Show Shadow Clipping
By urgent the Alt/Option key whereas dragging the Shadows or Blacks sliders, you possibly can see the areas of the photograph with clipped shadows.
The black areas of the picture point out that every one three shade channels have clipped shadows.
The purple, inexperienced, and blue areas point out that just one channel is clipped.
The cyan, magenta, and yellow areas point out that two out of three channels have clipped shadows.
The Tone Curve Panel
In the Tone Curve Panel, you possibly can alter the tone curve through the use of the Region Sliders. If you want higher precision, you possibly can edit the tone curve straight by altering the form of the curve for the person shade channels (purple, inexperienced, blue) or the mixed channel.
Reset Region Sliders
By urgent the Alt/Option key when utilizing the Region Sliders, you possibly can entry the choice to reset all 4 Region Sliders to the default values (zero).
Access Fine Tune Adjustments
When enhancing the tone curve straight, the Alt/Option modifier works in another way. The Alt/Option key modifications the sensitivity of the mouse motion and lets you make extra refined changes. This works extraordinarily properly when mixed with the Shift key, which constrains the mouse motion to solely the Y-axis.
HSL/Color Panel
In the HSL/Color Panel, the Alt/Option modifier has just one operate—it resets the enhancing sliders to zero. The panel has 24 complete enhancing sliders. It can be a chore to reset them one after the other.
This is the panel the place I exploit the reset choices essentially the most typically.
Split Toning Panel
You can reset the Highlights and Shadows whereas holding down the Alt/Option key.
Visualizing the Split Toning Effect
Hold down the Alt/Option key whereas shifting the Highlight Hue or Shadow Hue sliders to see the colour you chose at 100% saturation earlier than you dial it up. Once once more, this can be a very helpful visualization device that I exploit very often.
Detail Panel
The enhancing sliders within the Detail Panel assist you take management of sharpening the picture and decreasing any digital noise.
By holding down the Alt/Option key, you will have entry to the Reset Sharpening and Reset Noise Reduction choices.
Visualizing Sharpening Effect
By holding down the Alt/Option key and shifting the Amount slider, the photograph turns right into a black and white preview that lets you higher assess the sharpening results.
When you press the Alt/Option key and drag the Radius or Detail slider, the picture preview turns to a impartial grey and solely the areas affected by the sharpening are proven in white. This is priceless.
The Masking enhancing slider helps you decrease the impact of sharpening by narrowing the affected space. The mixture of the Masking enhancing slider and the Alt/Option secret is essentially the most helpful visible helper in the complete Detail Panel. It reveals the world affected by sharpening in white and retains the unaffected areas in black. This is one of the simplest ways to restrict the sharpening impact to the sides and go away the flat areas just like the sky or water unaffected.
Visualizing Noise Reduction Effect
Hold down the Alt/Option key whereas dragging the Luminance, Detail, or Contrast sliders. This reveals the picture in black and white so to higher consider the noise discount impact.
Lens Correction Panel
By utilizing the Alt/Option keyboard modifier, you will have entry to the next reset choices: Reset Amount, Reset Distortion, Reset Defringe, Reset Vignetting.
Visualizing Defringing
Once once more, the principle energy of the Alt/Option key within the Defringe part of the Lens Correction Panel is the flexibility to visualise the affected areas. As a rule, the chromatic aberration impacts small areas of the photograph across the edges. It is straightforward to overcook defringing and alter the colours of the adjoining areas.
Hold the Alt/Option key down whereas shifting the purple or inexperienced Amount sliders to see the areas affected by the enhancing sliders from mild gray to pure black. The unaffected areas of the picture are proven in white.
Hold the Alt/Option down whereas dragging the purple or inexperienced Hue sliders to visualise the vary of tones affected by the enhancing sliders.
Transform Panel
With the Alt/Option keyboard modifier, you will have the flexibility to reset the enhancing sliders within the following areas: Reset Upright and Reset Transform.
Effects Panel
The Reset Post-Crop Vignetting and Reset Grain seem if you maintain down the Alt/Option key.
Visualizing Vignetting
Hold down the Alt/Option key whereas shifting the Midpoint, Roundness, Feather, or Highlights slider to see the impact of vignetting if the Amount worth was set to +100 or to -100. This is a really helpful visualization device to correctly estimate the quantity and form of vignetting that’s required for any given photograph.
Calibration Panel
Hold down the Alt/Option key to entry the reset choices.
Crop Overlay
The Alt/Option key doesn’t invoke the reset choices within the Crop Overlay Panel as a result of the panel has a devoted reset button.
Crop to the Center
The Alt/Option key within the Crop Overlay Panel lets you crop a picture to the middle moderately than to the sting. This modifier migrated to Lightroom from Photoshop and Illustrator.
Spot Removal
In the Spot Removal Panel, the Alt/Option performs just one operate—it modifications the cursor from a rounded brush to a scissor icon. This lets you delete any pointless spots by clicking on them with the scissors.
Graduated Filter
In the Graduated Filter Panel, the Alt/Option performs two very helpful capabilities past the widespread reset capabilities.
Changing the Direction of the Gradient
First, you possibly can maintain down the Alt/Option key and drag the sting of the chosen graduated filter towards the middle to invert its impact to the opposite facet of the picture. This is extraordinarily helpful.
Adjusting Exposure
Second, you possibly can maintain down the Alt/Option key and transfer the mouse to the middle of the chosen graduated filter to alter the cursor to a two-headed arrow. You can now drag the mouse to the left or proper to extend or scale back the publicity worth. I exploit this operate very often.
Radial Filter
In the Radial Filter, the Alt/Option modifier works much like the Graduated Filter. You can use it to reset the 17 enhancing sliders to the default worth of zero in a single click on.
Changing Exposure
You can even change the Exposure worth of the chosen Radial Filter by dragging the mouse to the left or to the suitable. Do not overlook that you need to press the Alt/Option key and transfer the mouse over the middle of the filter earlier than you possibly can have an effect on the Exposure change.
Filter Brush
By holding down the Alt/Option key when the Filter Brush device is energetic, it alters its performance in two methods.
First, it modifications the Effect label to a clickable Reset button for a fast strategy to reset all of the enhancing sliders to zero.
Switching from Brush to Eraser
Second, it modifications the filter from the Brush Mode to the Eraser Mode. This is extremely helpful when retouching portraits. You can erase undesirable edits by merely urgent the Alt/Option key. Plus, you possibly can change the scale of the Brush and the Eraser independently utilizing the ] and [ shortcuts.
Setting the Default Develop Setting
When you are in the Develop Module and press the Alt/Option key, the Reset button at the bottom right corner of the UI changes to the “Set Default…” button.
By clicking this, you are presented with the following dialog box:
If you click the “Update to Current Settings” option, Lightroom will use the current settings as a default for any photos taken with that particular camera model. In my case, the Fujifilm XT2.
Let’s see when this feature might be useful.
Lightroom does not handle the Fujifilm RAW files very well when applying Sharpening. It produces unnatural, wormlike artifacts. I could set the Sharpening value to zero and hit the “Update to Current Settings” option. From that moment, all my Fujifilm XT2 files will have a Sharpening value set to zero during import. All my Sony images will have the Adobe default value of 40.
I do not use this feature at all.
Library Module
In the Library Module, the Alt/Option key does not produce as many new options or functions compared to the Develop Module.
Solo Mode
Hold down the Alt/Option key and click on the header of any panel (left or right) to set the entire panel to Solo Mode.
Quick Edit
In the Quick Develop Panel, press the Alt/Option key to access the Sharpening and Saturation controls, which are hidden by default.
Keywording
Hold down the Alt/Option key to add keywords to a selected photo by hitting the numbers on the keyboard.
Metadata
Hold down the Alt/Option key and click the arrow next to the GPS field to trigger Google Maps to open in your default browser with the selected location where the photo was taken. Please note that this will not work if the GPS field is empty.
Export Module
The only thing the Alt/Option key does in the Export Module is to enable or disable the Solo Mode.
Conclusion
I consider the Alt/Option Keyboard Modifiers to be some of the most useful and lesser known functions of Lightroom. I do not believe that you have to learn and memorize all of them. Simply adopt the modifiers that are the most useful and impactful to your workflow and stick with them.
Here is a list of my favorites and the ones I use the most often:
- Reset – It is easy to remember and works almost everywhere
- Adjustment Brush – Switches from Brush to Eraser
- Basic Panes – Shows Highlight clippings
- Spot Removal – Deletes unwanted spots