Back to Basics – Part 3: The Ultimate Lightroom Workflow Order for Underwater Photos (2025 Edition)
Updated for Lightroom Classic v15.0, Lightroom (Cloud) v9.0, Lightroom Mobile v11.0+, Photoshop v27.0, and Adobe Camera Raw v18.0
🌊 Introduction – Why Workflow Order Matters Underwater
If you've followed Parts 1 and 2 of this Back-to-Basics series, you've already laid a rock-solid foundation.
Part 1 showed how to organize and protect your Lightroom catalogs, folders, and backups.
Part 2 optimized your hardware so Lightroom and Photoshop run fast and reliably—ready for RAWs, AI, and significant exports.
Now it's time to bring everything together and get ready for the final stage of our editing journey. In Part 3, we're going to explore Lightroom's internal workflow—the precise sequence that Adobe's powerful engine follows when processing your edits. Understanding and sticking to this sequence is the key to achieving those clean, vibrant underwater images you're aiming for.
Because underwater lighting behaves quite differently from above water, editing out of order can lead to some unwanted side effects. You might end up with clipped color channels, muddy tones, or loss of fine detail, which can be frustrating after all your hard work. Thankfully, Adobe's 2025 Develop pipeline is more innovative and sophisticated than ever, but it's essential to use it in the correct sequence to make the most of its capabilities.
In this section, we'll go through the workflow step by step, guiding you on how to use Lightroom's tools effectively to achieve vibrant, clear underwater photos. Stay with me, and you'll build the skills to process your underwater images professionally, consistently producing excellent results.
⚙️ Understanding Lightroom's Editing Engine
Lightroom is a non-destructive, parametric editor that you can rely on for editing your photos without permanently changing the original files. Every adjustment you make, whether it's moving a slider or applying a mask, is stored as detailed metadata instructions. This means your edits are flexible and non-destructive, allowing for easy tweaks and reversions. When you export your photo, Lightroom processes the stored instructions and applies the edits in a specific internal order.
Interestingly, this order differs from how the adjustments are displayed on your screen, which can be confusing at first. Still, it is all part of how Lightroom efficiently handles image processing behind the scenes. Understanding this helps you better grasp Lightroom's powerful yet user-friendly nature, making your editing workflow smoother and more predictable.
That sequence, optimized in 2025 for the latest AI modules, is:
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Lens Corrections & Geometry
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Global Tone & White Balance
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Presence (Clarity, Texture, Dehaze)
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Detail (Noise & Sharpening)
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Color Mixer & Point Color
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Color Grading
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AI Masking & Local Adjustments
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Effects (Vignette, Grain)
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Calibration
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Export & Output
When editing underwater, this order mirrors how light travels through water: fix optical distortion → recover tone → restore color → define detail → direct the viewer's eye.
🧭 The Ultimate Lightroom Workflow Order – Underwater Adaptation (2025)
| Step | Tool / Panel | Purpose Underwater | Shortcut | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lens Corrections & Transform | Correct dome-port distortion and fringing | Cmd/Ctrl + 6 | Classic, Cloud (auto in v9.0) |
| 2 | Crop & Straighten | Lock composition before tonal work | R | All |
| 3 | Basic Panel (WB → Tone) | Recover natural reds and balance exposure | W (WB Selector) | All |
| 4 | Presence (Texture / Clarity / Dehaze AI) | Enhance structure with new Tone Priority AI | – | All |
| 5 | Detail (AI Denoise + Sharpen) | Clean ISO noise using the ACR v18 engine | Cmd/Ctrl + 5 | Classic, Cloud |
| 6 | Color Mixer & Point Color 2.0 | Fine-tune hues with new Luminance control | Cmd/Ctrl + 3 | All |
| 7 | Color Grading Wheels | Create mood & depth | Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + U | All |
| 8 | AI Masking | Target subjects/background/water | Shift + W | All |
| 9 | Effects (Vignette / Grain) | Final eye control | Cmd/Ctrl + 7 | All |
| 10 | Calibration | Depth-based global color tuning | – | Classic only |
| 11 | Export / Share | Output & archive | Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E | All |
🪸 1. Lens Corrections & Transform
Start where the light starts—your optics.
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In LrC v15.0, enable Remove Chromatic Aberration and Enable Profile Corrections.
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Lr (Cloud) v9.0 now runs Auto Lens Profile Correction on import; verify the profile in Settings → Lens.
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Use Guided Upright for horizon or wreck alignment.
Pro Tip: Do this before cropping. Transform recalculates geometry and can unexpectedly trim edges.
🐠 2. Crop & Straighten
Press R the 'Compose' button before making any tone edits. This ensures that Lightroom accurately calculates the exposure and histogram values based on your final frame, giving you a clearer view of your editing adjustments. You can also choose from different grid overlays, such as the rule of thirds or diagonals, to help you compose your shot precisely. If you're using the mobile version (v11.0). In that case, the Compare View feature lets you instantly compare your before and after images, making it easier to see the impact of your edits and ensure you're achieving the look you want.
Staying organized and informed is key to excellent editing, and these tools are designed to enhance your workflow seamlessly.
Pro Tip: A Slight upward angle toward the light adds drama and a natural gradient for Color Grading later.
💡 3. Basic Panel – Tone & White Balance
The underwater color naturally shifts toward shades of blue and green because water absorbs different wavelengths of light. To improve the overall appearance and accuracy of your images or footage, it's best to address the color shift early in the editing process. This way, you can achieve a more realistic or aesthetically pleasing result that matches what the human eye would see in that environment. If you need detailed steps for fixing this in your editing software or camera settings, I'm happy to guide you through the process!
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Select the White Balance Eyedropper (
W)→ click a neutral sand spot. -
Warm Temperature (+400 to +900 K).
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Add Magenta (+10).
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Adjust Exposure (+0.3 to +0.6).
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Pull Highlights (–30 to –60).
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Lift Shadows (+40 to +60).
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Moderate Contrast (+15).
Pro Tip: Use your own custom "15 ft / 50 ft / 90 ft" WB presets, created from real dives, to standardize color recovery.
🌫️ 4. Presence – Texture, Clarity & Dehaze (Tone Priority AI)
Exciting news for 2025! Dehaze AI has been upgraded not only to separate luminance and color components, but also to do so more effectively. This advancement makes the backscatter removal process much safer and more reliable, ensuring higher-quality, cleaner images. Whether you're a professional or a hobbyist, this update is designed to help you achieve better results with confidence.
If you have any questions about how it works or how to make the most of this feature, feel free to contact me. I'm here to help you get the best out of your tools!
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Texture +15 adds micro-detail to coral.
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Clarity +10 increases mid-contrast.
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Dehaze +15 to +25 cuts sediment fog without blue-shift.
Pro Tip: Apply before AI Masking so masks analyze cleaner edges.
🔬 5. Detail – AI Denoise and Sharpening
Powered by ACR 18.0, AI Denoise now runs up to twice as fast, making the noise reduction process quicker and more efficient. Plus, it automatically writes a new DNG file that includes an embedded noise profile, helping you achieve cleaner images with less effort. Whether you're a professional photographer or an enthusiast, this latest update enhances your workflow, giving you faster results without sacrificing quality.
Recommended:
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Denoise Amount ≈ 40 – 60 %
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Sharpening: Amount 40 | Radius 1.0 | Detail 25 | Masking 50 (
Alt/Option)
Photoshop v27 Integration: Smart Denoise AI reads the same profile for round-trip consistency.
Pro Tip: Denoise before any local masking; cleaner gradients = better AI edge detection.
🎨 6. Color Mixer & Point Color 2.0
Point Color 2.0 now offers an exciting new feature: Luminance control for each sampled hue. This enhancement, available in Cloud v9.0 and ACR 18.0, provides users with more precise control over their color adjustments. Whether you're fine-tuning images or exploring creative possibilities, this added functionality makes your workflow more flexible and empowering. With Point Color 2.0, you get not only advanced color sampling but also the ability to customize luminance levels for every hue, giving you greater mastery over your visual projects.
Typical Underwater Adjustments:
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Red Hue –10 | Saturation +15
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Orange Saturation +20
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Blue Luminance –25
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Aqua Saturation –10
Mobile v11's Adaptive Underwater Presets can automatically apply them as a starting point.
Pro Tip: Use Point Color for selective fin or coral correction instead of broad HSL sweeps.
🎞️ 7. Color Grading Wheels
Boost your mood and add more depth to your work or surroundings, all without going overboard or oversaturating. It's about finding that perfect balance to enhance your experience seamlessly.
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Shadows → Blue/Cyan (Hue ≈ 210°, Sat 10).
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Midtones → Warm (Hue ≈ 30°, Sat 15).
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Highlights → Golden (Hue ≈ 45°, Sat 20).
Pro Tip: Shallow reefs = warm midtones; deep wrecks = cool shadows. Save as a preset per depth.
🧠 8. AI Masking – Selective Adjustments
You can now access a variety of mask types: "Subject, Background, Water, and Object", giving you more flexibility and control in your projects. Plus, our v15 engine has been improved by 30%, resulting in quicker processing times. It now also tracks color gradients more accurately, ensuring more precise, high-quality results. These updates are designed to make your work smoother, more efficient, and even more creative!
Typical Workflow:
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Select Subject → Enhance Exposure (+0.2).
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Invert Mask → Apply Dehaze (+10) to background.
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Add Water Mask → Lower Blue Luminance (–10).
Pro Tip: Combine Water Mask + Point Color for precise hue control of open-water areas.
🌟 9. Effects – Finishing Touches
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Post-Crop Vignette –20 to –25 | Midpoint 50
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Grain 0 (for clean water)
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Final Dehaze +5 (optional)
Pro Tip: Skip film grain underwater; natural particulates already add texture.
⚗️ 10. Calibration – Advanced Color Control
Exclusive to Classic. Fine-tune sensor response by depth:
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Red Primary Sat +5
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Green Primary Hue –10
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Blue Primary Sat +10
Save as profiles ("Shallow," "Mid," "Deep") for consistent batch editing.
🚀 11. Export & Sharing
Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E.
Web: JPEG sRGB | Quality 90 | Long Edge 2048 px
Print: TIFF 16-bit AdobeRGB | 300 ppi
Output Sharpening: Standard for Screen
Watermark: Subtle, lower corner, 30 % opacity
Pro Tip: Export both TIFF and JPEG versions for magazine submissions—same metadata, different size.
📊 Workflow Summary (2025 Underwater Edition)
🧭 Why Following This Order Works
Every time you make an edit, it builds on the last one, creating a smooth, efficient workflow.
Following Adobe's internal order for these edits helps prevent unnecessary data re-rendering, saving time and reducing errors. Plus, it helps ensure your color mapping remains consistent throughout the process, delivering reliable, professional results every time.
Feel free to ask if you need more tips or clarification. I'm here to help you work smarter and achieve the best possible outcome!
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Colors stay true, and masks remain clean.
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Noise and sharpening don't fight each other.
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Exports match across devices and apps.
🪸 Oceanic Explorer Quick Checklist
✅ Lens Corrections
✅ Crop & Straighten
✅ Tone & White Balance
✅ Presence (Dehaze AI)
✅ AI Denoise & Sharpen
✅ Color Mixer / Point Color 2.0
✅ Color Grading
✅ AI Masking
✅ Effects
✅ Calibration
✅ Export / Watermark / Backup
🌐 Related Posts & Next Steps
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🧱 Part 1 – [Getting Organized in Lightroom: Catalogs, Backups, Folders & Collections Explained (2025 Edition)]
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⚙️ Part 2 – [Hardware Configuration Checklist: Optimizing Your System for Lightroom (2025 Edition)]
Next in this series: Part 4 – Creating Consistent Color with AI Tools at Depth.
📣 Call to Action
🌊 Join my Underwater Lightroom Mastery course waitlist to learn how to apply this workflow step-by-step on real dive images.
🌊 Want to learn more? Sign up for my upcoming training course at RobertHerb.com or reach out at bob@robertherb.com
🟦 And don't forget, new blogs drop weekly at Robert Herb Photography Blog
👉 www.RobertHerb.com | 📧 bob@robertherb.com
✍️ Author's Note
Written by Robert Herb – Empowering underwater photographers to capture and enhance the beauty of our oceans since 1978.
Until next time, dive smart, shoot steady, and edit with intention.
- Bob Herb
Stay tuned for more in-depth insights into underwater photography. Let's dive deeper into the art and craft of capturing the marine world! If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Get ready for an exciting underwater photography adventure! For more details on my upcoming online training course, check out my "Training" page at RobertHerb.com or email me at bob@robertherb.com.
Sincerely,
Bob Herb
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