Edit Photos in Lightroom Mobile: Make Your Photos Look Amazing
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Jump to a step in the video (7)
Click a time to play the video from there.
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
You can edit photos in Lightroom mobile in a few taps, from a quick crop to local adjustments that turn an average phone shot into a photo worth posting.
The photo in the video is an old wagon in Genoa, Nevada, shot on a Google Pixel 3. The original was flat and dull. A few minutes in the app made it look amazing.
This tutorial is for anyone who edits on a phone and wants more than a filter. If the app is new to you, the free Lightroom course for beginners covers every tool.
The video was recorded in 2018 in Lightroom CC mobile. Adobe has since renamed the app Lightroom, and every panel it uses is still in the current version of Lightroom mobile.
You can follow along in Lightroom on the desktop or on the web, or in Camera Raw inside Photoshop. The same adjustments and controls are in all of them.
By the end, you will be able to edit photos in Lightroom mobile from crop to export. That means fixing light and color, sharpening only the edges, and brightening one spot with a gradient.
Key Takeaways
- The Light, Color, Effects and Detail tabs are global. They change the entire photo. Local adjustments change only the area you mark, so do the global work first.
- Tap and hold the photo to see the before. Release to see the after. Double tap any slider to reset it.
- Vibrance adds the most saturation to the pixels that have the least, and it protects skin tones. That makes it safer than Saturation.
- The Masking slider in the Detail tab limits sharpening to the edges. Tap and hold the photo while you drag it to see the mask. White gets sharpened and black is left alone.
- Current versions of Lightroom mobile no longer have a Selective tab. The Radial Gradient, Linear Gradient and Brush live in the Masking panel.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Step 1: Crop the Photo in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 2: Light Adjustments in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 3: Color and the Color Mixer
- Step 4: Effects and Detail in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 5: Local Adjustments in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 6: Linear Gradient and Brush Edits
- Step 7: Save the Photo for Instagram
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Edit Photos in Lightroom Mobile Anywhere
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to straighten a photo and switch to a 1:1 crop for Instagram
- How the Light and Color tabs control the whole photo, and how to check the before and after
- How to target one color with the Color Mixer
- How to sharpen with the Masking slider so only the edges get sharper
- How to brighten one area with a Radial Gradient and a Linear Gradient
- How to save the finished photo to your phone
Requirements
Before you start
- Lightroom mobile on iOS or Android, the 2018 version shown in the video (then called Lightroom CC mobile) or the current version
- A photo shot on your phone, like the wagon photo in the video
Step 1: Crop the Photo in Lightroom Mobile
Open the app and tap All Photos to see everything you have added. Tap the photo you want to edit. The editing panels sit along the bottom of the screen.
Tap the Crop icon. Tap and drag on the photo to rotate it and straighten the horizon. Drag the handles to crop it.
The wagon photo is headed for Instagram, so it gets a square crop. Tap the Original icon to see the aspect ratios and choose 1:1.
Drag the corner handles to set how much of the photo stays. Then tap and drag inside the crop to position the photo. Tap the checkmark to commit the crop.
Note: Adobe redesigned the Crop and Geometry tools in Lightroom mobile in February 2026 for smoother scrolling and zooming. Your crop screen may look a little different from the 2018 video. The rotate, the handles and the aspect ratio list are still there.
Step 2: Light Adjustments in Lightroom Mobile
With the crop done, move on to the global adjustments. Global means the setting affects the entire photo. Local adjustments, which come later, affect only the area you choose.
The video uses four global tabs. Here is what each one controls and what the wagon photo gets from it.
| Tab | Sliders used in the video | What it did for the wagon photo |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Exposure, Highlights, Shadows | Brought detail back into the sky and the dark areas |
| Color | Temp, Vibrance, Color Mixer | Warmed the photo and deepened the blues, oranges and yellows |
| Effects | Clarity, Dehaze, Vignette | Added midtone contrast so the photo pops |
| Detail | Sharpening, Masking | Sharpened the edges and left the smooth areas alone |
Tap the Light icon. These sliders control the luminosity of the photo, which is how much light is in it. Drag Exposure to the right to add light and to the left to take it away.
In the video, Highlights goes down to bring detail back into the sky, the brightest part of the photo. Then Shadows goes up to bring detail into the darker areas.
Your photo will need different settings. Watch the photo, not the numbers.
Tip: Double tap any slider to reset it. Tap and hold the photo with one finger to see the before, and release to see the after.
Note: Current versions of Lightroom mobile also have a Presets panel. Its Recommended category suggests looks for your photo in groups like Subtle, Strong, Cool, Warm and Cinematic. A preset is a starting point. The sliders in this tutorial are how you tune the result.
Step 3: Color and the Color Mixer
Tap the Color tab. Drag Temp to the right to warm up the photo.
Next, raise Vibrance. Vibrance is a smart way of adding saturation. It adds more to the pixels that have the least, and in portraits it protects skin tones.
Scroll to the top of the list and tap the Mix icon to open the Color Mixer. Pick a color, like Blue, and you get three sliders: Hue, Saturation and Luminance. Drag each one and watch the sky change.
In the video, the blues get a little more Saturation and a little less Luminance, which darkens the sky. The Oranges control the bottom half of the photo. They get more Saturation and less Luminance too.
Then the Yellows. Drag Hue to the left to make them warmer, raise Saturation and lower Luminance. Tap and hold to compare, then tap Done.
Tip: The Color Mixer shifts a color that is already in the photo. To turn an object a completely different color, paint it with the Brush in Step 6 instead.
Step 4: Effects and Detail in Lightroom Mobile
Tap the Effects tab. It holds Clarity, Dehaze and Vignette. Raise Clarity. It adds contrast in the midtones and makes the photo pop.
Tap the Detail tab and drag Sharpening to the right.
Sharpening on its own hits the entire photo, and you cannot see where. The Masking slider fixes that. It limits the sharpening to the edges.
On a phone there is no keyboard shortcut to show the mask. Instead, drag the Masking slider, then tap and hold the photo.
Anything black is left alone. Anything white gets sharpened. That is what you want.
Let go, then go back and adjust Sharpening. Tap and hold while you drag it and the photo turns black and white, which makes the sharpening easier to see.
Tip: In Lightroom on the desktop, or in Camera Raw, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) while you drag Masking to see the same mask.
Note: Current versions of Lightroom mobile add AI tools the 2018 app did not have. Lens Blur, under Edit > Blur, blurs the background behind a subject. Generative Remove, inside the Remove tool, erases an object and fills the gap. Generative Expand, added in August 2026, extends the edges of a photo, and none of the three are needed for this tutorial.
Step 5: Local Adjustments in Lightroom Mobile
With the whole photo fixed, it is time for local adjustments, which change specific areas. Swipe the panels to the left and tap the first icon, Selective. That is what the 2018 app calls a local adjustment.
Tap the plus icon and choose Radial Gradient. Tap and drag on the photo to place it. A red overlay shows the pixels you are about to affect. In the video, the gradient sits over the sun.
Tap the Light tab and raise Exposure to brighten that area. Raise Shadows too.
Tap the Color tab and drag Temp to the right, so the spot reads as a warm, bright sun. Raise Saturation as well.
In the Detail tab, add some Sharpness so that area is crisper. Every slider here affects only the red area.
Note: Current versions of Lightroom mobile no longer have a Selective tab, so tap Masking, create a new mask, and pick Radial Gradient, Linear Gradient or Brush. The panel also adds AI masks, Select Subject, Select Sky and Select Background, plus Color Range and Luminance Range. The Light, Color, Effects and Detail sliders work the same way inside a mask. For more on the Masking panel, see 7 Lightroom hidden gems.
Step 6: Linear Gradient and Brush Edits
Tap the plus icon again and choose Linear Gradient. Tap near the bottom of the photo and drag up so the gradient covers the bottom half. Drag the pin to reposition it.
In the Light tab, raise Exposure to brighten the ground, then lower Shadows to add contrast.
In the Color tab, raise Temp to warm that area even further.
In the Effects tab, raise Dehaze. Dehaze is usually for removing haze from a photo. Here it adds contrast and detail to the ground.
In the Detail tab, add a little Sharpness to the ground and the plants. Tap the checkmark to commit the changes. Tap and hold to compare the before and after.
The third local tool is the Brush. Tap the plus icon, choose it, and paint over any area. The same Light, Color, Effects and Detail sliders then apply only where you painted.
The wagon photo does not need it, so the video shows the Brush and then taps Undo. The Brush is the tool for recoloring one object. See how to change colors in Lightroom mobile for that walkthrough.
Step 7: Save the Photo for Instagram
Tap the three-dot menu and choose Save to Device. Tap OK. The edited photo lands in your camera roll.
Open Instagram and upload it like any other photo.
That is the whole workflow: crop, global adjustments, local adjustments, save.
Note: In current versions, the export lives under the Share icon. Save copy to device saves the photo with default settings. Export as lets you pick the file type, the dimensions and the quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
A global adjustment changes the entire photo. The Light, Color, Effects and Detail tabs are global. A local adjustment changes only the area you mark with a Radial Gradient, a Linear Gradient or the Brush. Do the global work first, then the local work.
Tap and hold the photo with one finger. Lightroom mobile shows the original while you hold and the edited version when you let go. It works at any point in the edit.
Double tap the slider. It jumps back to its default value. That is faster than dragging it back by hand.
The 2018 app in the video had a Selective tab for local adjustments. Current versions replaced it with the Masking panel. Tap Masking, create a new mask, and choose Radial Gradient, Linear Gradient or Brush to reach the same tools.
The Masking slider in the Detail tab limits sharpening to the edges. At zero the whole photo is sharpened, and as you raise it, smooth areas like sky and skin are left alone. Tap and hold the photo while you drag the slider to see the mask. White is sharpened and black is protected.
Saturation boosts every color by the same amount. Vibrance is smarter. It adds the most saturation to the pixels that have the least, and in portraits it protects skin tones.
In the 2018 app, tap the three-dot menu, choose Save to Device and tap OK. In current versions, tap the Share icon and choose Save copy to device or Export as. The photo lands in your camera roll, and you upload it to Instagram like any other photo.
Yes. Lightroom on the desktop, Lightroom on the web and Camera Raw in Photoshop all have the same adjustments and controls. The panels are laid out differently, but the sliders share the same names.
Edit Photos in Lightroom Mobile Anywhere
That is how to edit photos in Lightroom mobile. Crop, fix the light and color for the whole photo, sharpen the edges, then brighten the spots that matter with a gradient.
None of it needs a computer. The same panels are in Lightroom on the desktop and in Camera Raw, so what you learn here carries over.
Watch the full video above to see every tap in real time, and comment on the video with your favorite mobile editing app.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, learn how to change the color of anything in Lightroom mobile with the Brush.
Related Links
Final Image
Drag the slider to see before and after
