Using Lightroom HSL Sliders for Better Portraits, Nature Photos & More (VIDEO)

Lightroom’s HSL sliders are really easy to make use of that it is slightly shocking that so many photographers ignore them when enhancing their work. In the event you’re amongst that camp, at present’s fast tutorial will probably change your thoughts.

Because the acronym HSL suggests, these easy sliders allow you to shortly modify the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance of a photograph. By utilizing these instruments in tandem you’ll shortly improve a photograph—usually turning a ho-hum shot into one that actually grabs consideration.

The video under is episode seven of a 20-part collection explaining primary Lightroom ideas for photographers of all talent ranges. It solely takes instructor Klaire Dixius 5 minutes to clarify what HSL sliders do, and put them to work.

Whereas his lesson is focused at portrait and wedding ceremony photographers, the methods you may be taught can be utilized to boost nearly any photographs you shoot. Dixius says HSL changes might not be crucial for each edit, however they’re extraordinarily useful in sure conditions—like in her instance of an environmental portrait the place vivid inexperienced grass biases pores and skin tones of the bride and groom.

Dixius pulls up the HSL sliders, discovered inside Lightroom’s Develop Module, to exhibit the fast repair. The panel allows you to observe colours individually, however Dixius explains why she prefers to look at all of them directly. She notes additional that, “After I’m attempting resolve coloration casts on pores and skin, I am actually these orange and yellow areas.”

You may see how she eliminates the unnatural inexperienced hues on this picture by “doing the alternative.” In different phrases, she brings down the reds to a worth of -10 whereas barely dropping Saturation and barely rising Luminance to lighten the impact. She additionally decreases yellow Luminance and Saturation.

Dixius additionally explains of fine-tune your outcomes by utilizing Lightroom’s Hue Slider. Then she supplies an instance of how Lightroom’s HSL sliders could make a giant distinction when taking pictures photographs indoors. The instance here’s a bride and her father dancing on a hardwood ground with a decidedly orange tone that gives an unnatural solid to the pores and skin tones of her topics,

What makes HSL instruments really easy to make use of is that you would be able to merely experiment by shifting the sliders, whereas watching the results in your display screen, till you obtain the precise look you are after. Sometimes the aim is a pure wanting picture, however easy particular results or totally different moods will also be achieved.

After watching this fast lesson check out Dixius’ YouTube channel the place you may view previous and future installments of this well-liked Lightroom collection.

And do not miss the tutorial we posted from a high professional lately, explaining  a easy Lightroom methodology for remodeling boring cityscapes into superb Blue Hour photographs.