Here’s how my image looks after these exposure adjustments: Step 2: Adjust The White Balance Just a slight adjustment here to reduce the amount of contrast in your photo. Be careful not to go overboard with this, or your image may appear too washed out. Going to the shadows and blacks sliders, move them to the right to lighten the darkest areas in your photo. Next, you need to soften some of the shadows. Of course, if your image is already too bright, you can skip this step. To brighten your overall photo, begin by increasing the exposure slider just a bit. This is quickly done using the Exposure, Shadows, and Blacks sliders. The Basic Panel is home to all of your exposure and contrast adjustments within the Develop Module of Lightroom.įor a rustic editing style, the goal is to brighten your photo while softening the shadows. Similar to any edit you create, you must start by adjusting the exposure. For this first example, I will be using Adobe Lightroom Classic. The steps below will serve as a general outline to achieve this look in your photos. How To Give Photos A Rustic Feel In Lightroom I get it, this might seem like a lot of steps, but I promise you it’s easy! With the simple workflow that I break down below, you can achieve a rustic-looking edit in minutes! Let’s get started. Experiment with the Calibration adjustment to refine colors.Add a slight vignette within the Effect Panel.Add a blue or green hue with Color Grading.Use HSL to slightly desaturate any dominant colors.Lift the shadows to soften the contrast.Adjust the white balance tint to favor green.Adjust the white balance to a warmer color temperature.Slightly brighten your photo with the exposure slider.Here are the basic steps for creating a rustic looking image in Lightroom:
Although there are many apps you can make this effect in, Adobe Lightroom and the free Lightroom Mobile app are the two best tools for the job. Similar to a film-style edit, rustic editing styles use soft contrast and color grading to create a unique atmosphere in the image. This editing style softens the tones in your image to give it a cozy and welcoming feel. Giving your images a rustic feel is the perfect aesthetic for family photos, weddings, social media, and more.