- For photographers who have a large image library, Lightroom offers a powerful tool to add keywords. For example, if you shoot a number of photographs of beaches, all photographs of beaches could have the keyword "beaches." In addition, they could be keyworded by location, such as Miami or San Francisco or Maui. Time of day is another good keyword. By using key words, it would be easy to find all photographs taken at night on the beach in Maui. By adding a date range, finding a specific image is easy.
- Lightroom offers a wide range of default image presets. Image presets are used to add pre-defined effects to an image. For example, if you wanted to simulate the highly saturated colors and intense contrast of Fuji Velvia, there is a preset available for Lightroom. Other presets might be various black and white photographic techniques, including sepia toning, split toning, cyanotype or platinum printing. Lightroom offers non-destructive editing, so your original file remains unchanged. The filters and changes are applied to a new file allowing various versions of a photograph to be tested. Non-destructive editing also means that you can easily undo an effect at a later date.
- Lightoom is an excellent tool for raw file manipulation. Raw files are proprietary files produced by many mid- and high-end cameras that allow for certain camera settings to be changed after a photograph has been captured. For example, if the white balance is too blue for your taste, it is easy to adjust the overall white balance of the image to your satisfaction. In many cases, an error in exposure can be corrected by increasing or decreasing the exposure in Lightroom. As with image presets, all changes are non-destructive so your original file remains intact.
