steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether the sequence of operations makes a difference in Lightroom?
I thk we tend to do the operation in a similar order.

Does it matter?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Overall, in the final result, no.

You might help by providing some example(s) if you mean something specific. I'm assuming you're talking about the Develop module. It makes more sense to apply a lens profile correction before performing any crops, for example. It's also more efficient to adjust the blacks and whites before moving the contrast slider. Although WB is the first in the drop-down sequence, it many times is the last thing I adjust to "finalize" the K temperature in RAW and the color tint over all the other edits in the image.

Several Develop sliders interact. Take the whites and overall exposure and highlights as an example. I might push the whites to the right while holding the <ALT> key and watching for when the whites just begin to overload. You might then hold the <ALT> key and move the hightlights and / or exposure back to the left. Then, release the <ALT> and review the result and compare to the original. As you develop your knowledge and 'feel' for your own personal method of using the tools, you should develop a sense of efficiency rather than needing to tweek every interacting slider back n forth in a circle of updates.

I happened to be watching some LR u-tube videos this week. This one popped to mind from your question https://youtu.be/UD--UshBtUA The 'topic' of the presentation is batch editing, but if you watch her work method on the first individual image and then how she tweeks the edit in every image after syncing 'the look' from the first image, you can see an example the interaction of the sliders.

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Thanks for the tips... All helps the final image.

Selene03

Thanks for this explanation. It is more or less what I have been doing, but never really thought much about why I was doing it.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

In the beginning of LR...Adobe said something like "start at the top and work down" but this really does not apply when you can now change panel order. The thing to be aware of is not to make an edit and then make another edit that negates the prior edit. It does make sense to set a black and white balance first, as has been taught in PS classes, as this "sets up" the image for further editing. I'd recommend working within the Basic panel first and then moving on from there. Making as few edits as possible is always a good idea and I say this given that I might a lot of local adjustments in LR so the edits really do start to stack up. Sharpen last. I've always heard to not work with the noise setting, too, until last but the new Topaz denoise program says to use their program with your RAW image first and then edit, so things change over time.

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Thanks again. Helpful comments.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

There is a logical workflow that can be advantageous when post processing. Think of the effect of a slider in terms of how it works. For example, changing contrast affects the sharpness and potential noise. So rather than making noise and sharpness adjustments first, if you make the overall contrast adjustment first, the sharpness may not need to be changed or re-adjusted.

This advice can be more or less important depending on how exact your edits are and how much you want to readjust after making changes that could impact a previously adjusted slider. My Lightroom workflow always starts with lenses correction, then to the basic tab, correcting any white balance issues followed by exposure and then contrast. Then typically clarity and on to what is most needed. The next to last step is usually noise reduction as needed followed by color grading.

Different workflows are usually applicable for different final results. Sometimes cropping starts the whole process if you are concerned about correcting composition. Think logically for what you want to accomplish and how adjustments affect each other.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

YES. Adobe purposely arranged the Develop module tools in a very specific order. Start at the top and move towards the bottom. Then tweak from top to bottom. You'll find over time that it makes a lot of sense!

Otherwise, the Left to Right module arrangement is also deliberate. Here's generally what I do:

Import Images. I copy a card full of files to a specific folder on my drive that I create manually, in a place where I want it, and then import images in place. That's because I want to know I can find it according to a system I've had for 20+ years.

Scroll through images, one at a time, doing cull editing of obvious "failures". Scroll back through, rating my work with the stars system.

Develop Images. I select the 5-star-rated images, first, and edit them first. I'll use the sequence described above.

Export to Photoshop or Nik Plugins or other applications. I use a 16-bit TIFF in ProPhoto RGB color space. I bring the file back into LR in the same format, or as a PSD file.

Export to files. I use File —> Export to make images for proofing on screen, for social media, for training manuals, for lab printing, and other purposes. I've used just about every export feature in LR.

Print. (I don't use Map, Book, or Slideshow features of LR.) I design custom layouts and multi-up package prints myself, then print to a local networked printer. I can also print to files for reproduction at a service bureau.

I hope that helps... Note that I use LR for as much as I can. All my important images are in LR catalogs. It's the hub of my workflow for stills. Photoshop is for bitmap editing, Nik Collection is for quick effects.

I also use Graphic Converter X on the Mac to batch resize, convert funky obscure image file formats, and to pre-sort large numbers of files by using its slide show features. The slide show features let you send files to ten different folders with a simple keystroke, and since you view them full screen, it's easy to quickly find the best group photo, or the best moment in a sequence, etc. It's great when I have hundreds of frames, and I need just a handful of them to use.