Why should I batch edit photos in Lightroom?

Whether you’re importing photos from a professional photoshoot or from an afternoon hike with your family, you’ll most likely encounter a lot of images in need of the same basic edits and tweaks. In Lightroom, batch editing is a quick way to synchronise your edits across multiple selected photos and videos.

An example showing three different photos being adjusted at once.

Streamline your editing workflow.

Save time by adjusting settings, including exposure, contrast and colour — for all your media at once.

Use your favourite presets.

Presets are a pre-made set of edits that function like a filter, instantly enhancing your photos. Use Lightroom presets to apply one set of changes to all of your media to create a specific look and mood.

A before and after photo with a preset applied. The before photo is colourised and the after photo is black and white.
An example showing a photo and video being edited in the same batch.

Edit both pictures and videos.

You can make the same changes to both your photos and your videos — all in the same batch.

Work smarter with AI masking.

Want to brighten every subject in your pictures or darken every shot of the sky? AI masks can identify the same elements in different images, so you can adjust them to your specifications.

An example of an AI mask used to identify a person as an object in a photo.

How to batch edit in Lightroom.

Lightroom has a few great options for applying your edits across multiple photos.

Copy and paste edits from one photo to another.

Once you’ve applied edits or a preset to one photo, the best way to batch edit in Lightroom is to copy those edits and paste them onto the rest of the photos in your batch.

An example showing photos being edited as they are imported into Lightroom.

Apply changes to a batch of photos as you import them.

To apply changes to a group of photos as you import them into Lightroom, go to Preferences › Import. Then change the Raw Default option from Adobe Default to a preset of your choice, including customised presets you’ve created from your own set of adjustments.

How to batch edit in Lightroom Classic.

There are three additional ways to apply your editing settings across multiple pictures and videos in Lightroom Classic.

A screenshot of the Library module in Lightroom Classic.
Apply During Import panel superimposed on three different photos.
Sync button superimposed on five different photos.

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Discover more features in Lightroom.

There’s more to Lightroom than just batch editing. Explore tutorials to help make your photos and videos shine.

Design the perfect preset.

Learn how to create your own customised preset to give multiple images the same look and feel.

Create your own colourised presets

Make targeted changes with masking.

Explore how masking tools can help you make edits to particular portions of your image.

Learn how to use masking

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