This is how lens correction works in Lightroom
As of version 3, Lightroom supports lens corrections. With this option, you can easily remove image distortion caused by the camera lens used.
Carry out a lens correction in Lightroom afterwards
You can easily lens correct large collections of photos in Lightroom using a preset:
- First select any photo and then switch to the »Develop« module. If you've previously edited the image in Lightroom, you'll need to delete these changes first. To do this, click on "Reset".
- Go to "Lens corrections" and check "Activate lens corrections". Lightroom automatically recognizes the lens used from the Exif data of your image and carries out the correction. You can see the change immediately on the screen.
- Find out which lenses are supported by Lightroom as standard here.
- To create a new development specification, click on the plus sign next to "Specifications" on the left side of the screen. Enter a unique name such as "Lens correction camera XY" for the new specification. Then click on "Select nothing" and mark "Lens corrections" so that all checkmarks are set there. The process version should also have a catch. Now save the default with »Create«.
- Now you can select several photos in the library and select the created template in the "Ad hoc development".
Set lens correction as the default in Lightroom
If you have a large number of images, it is of course tedious to always carry out the correction afterwards. You can therefore set the lens correction as standard:
- Select any image again and click "Reset" to remove all changes.
- In the "Develop" module, check "Activate profile corrections".
- Select "Develop, set default settings" in the top left menu.
- Click on "Update to current settings". This will apply the profile to your camera. If you are working with multiple cameras, repeat this step with images of each camera you are using.
- For future imports, Lightroom now automatically corrects the lens.
Extra tip: Reset automatic lens correction in Lightroom
On slow computers, however, automatic lens correction can lead to reduced performance, since every single image has to be processed. If this is the case for you, reset the change via »Develop, set default settings« and click on »Restore Adobe default settings«.
You can download a current trial version of Lightroom here. We will show you how to align images in Lightroom in the next practical tip.