Sometimes the Lightroom workspace is distracting.
That’s exactly why Adobe made Lights Out mode.
This feature allows you to dim or black out the Lightroom Classic workspace so that just your photo is visible on screen.
There are two levels to Lights Out, one where the screen is partly covered or dimmed, and the second which completely blacks out the rest of the screen. This is super handy when you want to eliminate distractions and focus only on the image you’re selecting or editing.
How to Use It
The Lights Out Function is another quick shortcut I use often. The simplest way to cycle through the levels of Lights Out is to press L. Here’s an example:
Of course, you can also do this through the menus: Windows > Lights Out
Customizing the Lights Out Level
There are another few features of the Lights Out function that you can control. Though the menus: Preference > Interface > Lights Out
First, you can change the color! Black is Lightroom’s default Lights Out mode, but you can change that to 5 shades of white, gray, and black. Personally I like using white to replicate what you often will see in online viewing.
You can also change the dim level.
Quick Gallery Viewing
One of the main reasons I use this feature is to do a basic slideshow for clients so they’re not distracted by the rest of the Lightroom interface or thumbnails.
Cropping
In the editing process, I like to use the partially dimmed Lights Out mode for cropping. I can more easily get a feel for what I’m cropping out, while still seeing the parts of the image I’m removing. And you can easily move to cropping the next photo by clicking Command + Arrow Key to speed up your cropping process.
Love this Lightroom tip and want to see more? Click here!
A big thanks to Amanda Donaho Photography for allowing me to share their catalog in this tutorial!
