Note: the video editing update discussed here is not available in Lightroom Classic and is considered a Premium feature in the mobile app! 

Content creators rejoice! This June, Lightroom (CC) welcomed two new exciting features for the cloud-based Lightroom 5.4 and the Lightroom Mobile app: Video editing and the "Amount" slider. These are a total gamechanger for editing branded content easily & seamlessly using tools you already know & love! 

We get asked a lot about matching video edits to photos and changing the strength of presets, so we're here to answer some questions about these exciting new features!

How Does Video Editing Work in Lightroom? 

Simply upload a supported video clip to Lightroom on your mobile device or desktop and get to editing! 

We're in the early days of video-editing in Lightroom and yet this upgrade is already super impactful and super easy to use! You can now use the same sliders that you use to edit your images, but in a slightly limited capacity. The Light, Color, Effects, and Crop/Trim panels are all available and only somewhat limited. 

You can't edit multiple clips together but you can edit video just as easily as you edit your images, save your edits as presets, and copy and paste your edits across multiple clips!! 

You'll have to get a hang of what features/changes are missing from your photo-editing workflow, but the process is just as easy functionally. One big help when attempting to apply the same presets to video as you would to your images, albeit in a limited capacity, is the new Amount setting. 

What Settings Can I Use to Edit Video? 

The Light Panel will allow you to adjust Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks. 

While the tone/point curve cannot be accessed, the color panel can!

The Color Panel will allow you to adjust Temp, Tint, Vibrance, and Saturation.You can also use the Color Mixer to adjust Hue, Saturation, and Luminance. And finally the sophisticated Color Grading tool is accessible for applying pro color edits to your video content. 

The Effects Panel is limited to Vignette and Grain 

The Crop icon will allow you to access Trim and Rotate settings:

Note: You will not be able to crop video in Lightroom mobile or Lightroom CC for desktop, so if editing video for social media purposes you will need it to be shot in your preferred aspect ratio, or you will need to crop it in a 3rd party app either before or after applying your edits in Lightroom. 

Can you Use Presets on Video? 

Finally, and surprisingly, the Presets menu is available for video editing on desktop and mobile. Meaning you can immediately apply your favorite Luxe presets for photos directly to video or even save your own video-modified versions!:

Do your video clips look drastically different from your photos so you're not sure if your favorite preset will look the same for video? No worries! We've just released two collections of video-optimized presets: Luxe Video Essentials & Brixton Video Essentials! 

If you do want to use an old favorite, it's import to note that due to the limited settings discussed above, a majority of your existing presets will have a "Partially Incompatible Preset" warning when applied to video clips, meaning some effects may not apply. (For example: if your preset relies heavily on the tone/point curve, you won't see much of a difference.):

How does the new Preset Amount Feature Work? 

The Amount Slider is a long awaited feature that allows you to adjust the strength or intensity of an applied preset! So if you ever loved a preset but thought it was too strong or weak for your purposes, you can now adjust this with a super simple slider! 

This is especially great for partially compatible presets which may be only giving you a soft version of your favorite edits, as you can now boost the effect with a simple slider. 

The Amount Slider will work for Photo or video in Lightroom CC and appears below the applied preset (on LR Desktop) or as accessed via the preset thumbnail (on LR Mobile). This slider also appears in Lightroom Classic at the top of your Preset Panel

How do these settings Look on Mobile? 

While these handy-dandy new updates will function the same way as they do in the cloud-based Lightroom for desktop, the UI is a bit different:

Here's how your limited Edit toolbar will appear in Lightroom Mobile when editing video clips (Trim, Presets, Light, Color,and Effects):

Here's how your Presets will work in Lightroom Mobile when editing video clips:

You will click the photo thumbnail preview of your applied preset (see the new slider icon over the preview for the selected "Fall Forest" preset?) to access the Amount Slider like so: 

Running into trouble? If you aren't yet seeing video-editing options in Lightroom mobile you may need to first update Lightroom manually in the App Store! 

Don't want that partially incompatible warning when editing video with presets? check out our video-optimized collections here: Luxe Video Essentials & Brixton Video Essentials! 

Will Editing in Lightroom Affect Photo or Video Quality? 

We get this question a lot, and the answer is: No! Video and Photo edited in Lightroom is not compressed or lowered in quality in any way, and applied edits are as-always nondestructive. The initial size, quality, camera profile, and existing attributes of your images/video clips will determine how changes to develop settings will appear when applied to your content. We suggest making sure your that your edits honor your images and goals, and that your export settings are appropriate to your intended medium. 

Can You Make Reels or TikToks with Lightroom Video Editing? 

As noted above, Lightroom CC only allows for the color processing and trimming of individual clips, and doesn't support a timeline feature for stringing multiple clips together. However, the best way this can be used for social media content is by editing all of your clips and images to match - and with the ability to apply the same preset or sync settings across photo and video this is now easier than ever! 

Your edited content can then be exported in bulk and uploaded to your favorite desktop editor like Premiere Rush or Pro, or your favorite mobile video editing app like VN, inShot, or CapCut! You can also arrange directly using Instagram or TikTok's in-app content editors. 

Have more questions about using these great new features with the Luxe Presets you already own? Reach out to our support team at support@theluxelens.com