R.G. Loc: Scotland

I occasionally get invited by Adobe to suggest ways that Lightroom could be improved. Are there any features that you would like to see in Lr?

My wish list goes something like this:-

1) ALL tools would be available via the Adjustments brush.

2) Content Aware would be available as an option for the clone tool and for expanding the canvas. Plus adjustments for the clone patches (rotation, flip etc).

3) The Denoise tool would have an Edge Protection slider and the Denoise and Sharpen tools would have an editable mask - i.e. bits of it could be erased (deselected). Or as an alternative to using masks, all of the Details section tools could be applied via the Adjustments brush.

4) A Mid Tones slider.

5) A quick, accurate and easy way to change skies and backgrounds.

I realise that some of those wouldn't be possible in a strictly non-destructive editing environment, but it should be possible to have them as an option prior to exporting, or to have multi-stage, non-reversible editing as an option that can be implemented at any stage of the edit while leaving the original file intact.

My guess is that if Adobe aren't flexible in their approach they risk getting left behind by other software companies that do provide these and other features. It already sounds as though Affinity is a better proposition than Photoshop Elements, plus it costs less (I don't own Affinity but it seems there are a lot of happy owners). Affinity is just one example of competition for Photoshop, and Lightroom has its own direct competitors.

Your suggestions for improvements?

talborough Loc: Bellingham, MA, USA

Does Lightroom still use their proprietary Catalog? If so I would suggest a smaller, lighter version that does not (just use the native file system on the computer). I could learn a thing or two then.

Thanks for asking.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

It does indeed. And that's a suggestion I fully relate to (how did I miss that one? ).

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

I’d like to see saturate/desaturate adjustment brushes for individual colors.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I do not use Elements, but you appear to have suggested / invented a NEW editing programme. Why not get it registered, and make yourself a fortune.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Or put another way, the HSL tool could be available via the Adjustments brush (good idea ).

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thanks for the suggestion. If I don't do it, somebody should........

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I think they already have that - it's called Photoshop.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

One of the strengths of Lr is that it was a simplified but powerful tool - not as powerful as Photoshop but powerful enough for pro photographers. I believe that was the software engineers' remit when designing Lr. In other words it was intentionally simple. But in doing that they left it weak in certain areas. My suggestion is that they could still keep the same simplified environment but add considerably to its usability.

I also suspect that there's a certain amount of refinement in how most of the Lr tools work and that refinement isn't always obvious because it's transparent. If somebody wanted to design a replacement for Lr they would have to understand that refinement and be able to equal or better it.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

If something is moved to a different location, having LR be able to follow it there.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I wonder how many pages of comments and complaints have been generated because of that particular issue (as in "Help - where have my images gone?") .

kvanhook Loc: Oriental, NC

I would like to edit one photo without going into the catalog procedure. Sometimes you just want a quick look at one image.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

It sounds like that's what you could do by right-clicking on the file and selecting Open with...>Lightroom.

philz Loc: Rockaway Township NJ

Your wishlist was also mine and I found the solution by switching to On1 Raw. It does all those things without having to send to Photoshop

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I take your point, philz. I've used On1 and I would miss the simplicity and the familiar workflow of Lr if I changed over completely.