How to Improve Image Quality in Lightroom

If you have photos that look soft, grainy, low resolution, or a little dull, Lightroom can help you bring them back to life. With a few smart adjustments, you can improve clarity, remove noise, boost detail, and even use Adobe’s newer AI tools to double your image size and clean up low light shots.

Whether you are editing on Lightroom Desktop or Lightroom Mobile, this guide will show you how to improve image quality in Lightroom using Super Resolution, Denoise, Dehaze, sharpening, masks, and a simple workflow you can repeat on every photo.

What Affects Image Quality in Your Photos

Before you start editing, it helps to understand why a photo might look “low quality.” Most problems fall into a few common categories.

1. Soft or Low Resolution Images

Photos can look soft or low resolution when they are heavily cropped, zoomed in too far, or taken on an older phone or camera. Screenshots and images saved from social media also tend to lose detail and sharpness.

2. Grain and Digital Noise

Indoor photos, night shots, and high ISO images often have visible grain. This noise makes the photo look rough and less professional, especially in shadows and skin tones.

3. Flat Contrast or Hazy Light

Photos taken in fog, haze, or very soft light can look flat and low in contrast. Even a sharp image can feel low quality if it has no depth or separation between subject and background.

4. Wrong White Balance or Color Cast

Harsh yellow indoor light, cool blue shadows, or green color casts can make photos feel muddy and unclear. When color is off, the entire image looks less sharp and less polished.

5. Compression and Re-Uploads

Images that have been texted, downloaded from social media, or repeatedly exported at low quality can show compression artifacts that reduce detail and clarity.

The good news is that Lightroom has powerful tools to improve all of these issues. Below is a step-by-step editing workflow you can use to improve image quality in Lightroom on almost any photo.

Step-by-Step: How to Improve Image Quality in Lightroom

Step 1: Fix Exposure and White Balance First

Every quality edit starts with proper brightness and color. If the image is too dark, too bright, or the white balance is off, everything else will be harder to judge.

Use the Exposure slider to bring the overall brightness to a natural level.
Use Highlights and Shadows to recover detail in bright or dark areas.
Use Temp and Tint to correct the overall color cast, or try Auto White Balance.

Improve image quality in Lightroom with white balance and exposure fixes by Lou And Marks

Correcting exposure and white balance alone can make a photo look much cleaner and higher in quality. If you use free utility presets like a Color Cast Fix Pack or Auto White Balance Fix, this step becomes very quick and consistent from photo to photo.

Step 2: Use Lightroom Super Resolution to Boost Detail

If your image is low resolution or heavily cropped, Lightroom’s Super Resolution feature can help. Super Resolution uses AI to double the image size and add extra detail, which gives you more pixels to work with for sharpening and printing.

How to use Super Resolution in Lightroom Desktop:

Right click on your photo and choose Enhance.
In the Enhance Preview window, check Super Resolution.
Click Enhance to create a new high resolution version of your photo.

Super Resolution is especially helpful for:

Older images that feel small or soft
Heavily cropped photos
Phone photos that you want to print at a larger size

Improve image quality in Lightroom with super resolution by Lou And Marks

This is one of the best ways to increase resolution and improve image quality in Lightroom before you start sharpening and noise reduction.

Step 3: Use Denoise on Grainy or Low Light Photos

Lightroom’s newer Denoise option can dramatically improve noisy images while keeping important details intact. It is ideal for indoor photos, night shots, or any file with visible grain.

How to use Denoise in Lightroom Desktop:

Right click on your photo and choose Enhance.
Select Denoise.
Use the slider to choose your noise reduction strength.
Click Enhance to create a cleaned up version of your image.

Once Denoise runs, you will see a new file that looks smoother and cleaner. You can still fine tune noise reduction in the Detail panel if needed, but Denoise often does most of the heavy lifting for you.

Step 4: Add Clarity and Texture Carefully

After you improve resolution and noise, you can bring back local detail with Clarity and Texture.

Clarity increases midtone contrast and makes edges feel more defined.
Texture enhances fine detail such as hair, fabric, or landscape texture.

For most photos, a small increase (for example between +5 and +25) is enough. Too much clarity or texture can make images look harsh or overly processed. On Lightroom Mobile, you will find these sliders in the Effects panel.

Step 5: Sharpen the Image With Masking

Sharpening is one of the most important steps when you want to make photos look clearer and more professional. The key is to sharpen edges while protecting smoother areas such as skin.

In the Detail panel:

Increase the Amount slider to add sharpening.
Adjust Radius and Detail for the strength and type of sharpening.
Hold the Option or Alt key and drag the Masking slider. White areas will be sharpened, black areas will be protected.

Improve image quality in Lightroom with sharpening mask by Lou And Marks

Masking is what keeps sharpening focused on edges instead of skin texture. This is especially helpful for portraits and product photos where you want crisp detail without rough grain. If you use a Sharpening preset or pack, you can apply a good baseline sharpening and then adjust slightly for each image.

Step 6: Fix Skin Tones for a More Polished Look

Clean, natural skin tones make every photo look higher in quality. Lightroom makes it easy to target skin using masks and color adjustments.

Use a Subject mask to select the person in the frame.
Reduce saturation slightly in the orange and red color channels if skin looks too intense.
Increase luminance slightly in the skin tones for a soft, flattering glow.
Add a touch of negative Texture to smooth skin gently.

Even small changes to skin tone can transform a photo. If you use a Skin Tone Balance preset or pack, you can apply a consistent starting point for all of your portrait edits.

Step 7: Use Dehaze to Remove Fog and Cloudiness

When photos look flat, hazy, or low in contrast, the Dehaze slider can make a big difference. Dehaze restores contrast in the midtones and can recover detail in foggy or low contrast scenes.

Increase Dehaze slightly to cut through haze and add depth.
Combine with Contrast and Blacks to fine tune the result.
Use a lower amount for portraits to avoid making skin look too dark or harsh.

Improve image quality in Lightroom with dehaze fix by Lou And Marks

Dehaze is especially helpful for landscapes, travel photos, and backlit scenes that feel washed out. A small adjustment often makes the image appear sharper and more defined, even before sharpening is applied.

Step 8: Improve Specific Areas With Masks

Masks are one of the biggest differences between beginner edits and professional quality edits in Lightroom. Instead of applying every adjustment globally, you can target the areas that need the most help.

Some helpful masking ideas:

Subject mask: brighten the subject, sharpen the face and eyes, and refine skin tones.
Background mask: reduce clarity, lower highlights, or slightly soften texture so the subject stands out.
Sky mask: add Dehaze, contrast, or saturation to bring back detail and color in the sky.

Improve image quality in Lightroom with light radial masking by Lou And Marks

Using masks gives your images more depth and a polished, editorial look without over-editing the entire frame.

Step 9: Add Depth With the Tone Curve or Contrast

Once your detail, noise, and color are under control, you can use the Tone Curve or Contrast slider to give the image dimension.

Create a gentle S-curve in the Tone Curve to deepen shadows slightly and lift highlights.
Use small Contrast adjustments to avoid blowing out highlights or blocking shadows.
Check the histogram to make sure you are not clipping too much detail.

A good curve can make a photo look more three dimensional and refined, which directly improves the perceived image quality.

Step 10: Crop, Straighten, and Clean Up Distractions

Image quality is not just about pixels. Composition also affects how professional a photo looks.

Use the Crop tool to straighten horizons and vertical lines.
Crop in a bit tighter to remove empty or distracting edges.
Use the Healing tool to remove dust spots, small objects, or visual clutter.

Even a simple crop and straighten can make a photo feel much more polished and intentional. Here is the final before & after edit after improving the image quality in Lightroom with these quick fixes:

before and after image with improved quality after lightroom fixes by lou and marks presets

Using the Photo Fix Collection for Faster Quality Improvements

If you want a faster way to improve image quality, a utility preset collection can save a lot of time. The Photo Fix Collection is designed as a finishing step to refine contrast, color, clarity, and detail while keeping skin tones natural.

You can apply a Photo Fix preset after your main edit or over any other preset to:

Clean up color and whites
Add gentle clarity and depth
Balance highlights and shadows
Enhance detail without making the image look harsh

Many photographers and creators use a favorite aesthetic preset first, then apply a Photo Fix preset as the final polish for a consistent, professional finish across their entire gallery.

Free Lightroom Tools That Help Improve Image Quality

In addition to Lightroom’s built in adjustments, you can also use free preset packs to solve specific quality problems quickly. These are especially helpful if you edit a large number of images and want a repeatable workflow.

Sharpening Pack: adds crisp detail with controlled masking and balanced sharpening settings.
Skin Tone Balance Pack: softens harsh color and creates more natural, flattering skin tones.
Noise Reduction Pack: gently smooths digital grain while preserving important detail.
Color Cast Fix Pack: removes unwanted yellow, green, or blue color casts that make images feel muddy.
Auto White Balance Fix Pack: quickly corrects overall white balance for more accurate color.

Download our Free Photo Fix Lightroom Presets to help improve your image quality.

These tools do not replace Lightroom’s sliders, but they give you a strong starting point so you can focus on small refinements instead of rebuilding every edit from scratch.

When Lightroom Cannot Fully Fix an Image

Lightroom can dramatically improve image quality, but there are limits. Extremely blurry, heavily compressed, or very low resolution photos may never look perfectly sharp, even with Super Resolution and sharpening.

If the focus is completely missed or the file has been resized and compressed many times, Lightroom can still improve the overall look through noise reduction, better color, and cleaner contrast, but it cannot recreate detail that is not there at all.

In those cases, think of Lightroom as a tool to make the image as clean, soft, and intentional as possible, rather than perfectly sharp. For future photos, try to avoid heavy digital zoom and review focus quickly before moving on to the next shot.

Best Lou & Marks Presets for Better Image Quality Overall

Once you understand how to improve image quality in Lightroom manually, the right presets can help you get those results faster and more consistently.

Photo Fix Collection

The Photo Fix Collection is the perfect finishing touch when you want to refine image quality. You can use it on its own or layer it over other presets to add clarity, depth, and better overall balance, especially on photos that started out low quality or difficult to edit.

Starter Bundle

The Starter Bundle is a great option if you are just getting comfortable with Lightroom and want presets that make your images cleaner, brighter, and more polished without a complicated workflow. It includes multiple styles that work on everyday photos, family images, and lifestyle content.

All Access Bundle

The All Access Bundle includes every preset collection and future updates, which gives you both creative styles and utility tools in one place. It is ideal for creators, photographers, and small business owners who want consistent, professional quality across all of their photos.

FAQ: Improving Image Quality in Lightroom

1. How do I improve image quality in Lightroom?

Start by correcting exposure and white balance, then use Super Resolution for low resolution images, Denoise for grainy photos, and a mix of sharpening, clarity, and Dehaze. Finish with masks, tone curve, and careful cropping for a polished result.

2. How do I make a low resolution photo clearer in Lightroom?

Use Super Resolution to double the image size, then apply gentle sharpening and clarity. Avoid pushing texture and clarity too far, and consider a Photo Fix style preset to bring everything together in a clean, balanced way.

3. How do I fix grainy photos in Lightroom?

Use Denoise to remove the majority of noise, then fine tune with the manual Noise Reduction sliders in the Detail panel. Balance noise reduction with sharpening and texture so the image stays clear without looking overly soft.

4. Can Lightroom make a blurry photo sharp?

Lightroom can improve slightly soft photos with Super Resolution, sharpening, and clarity, but it cannot fully rescue an image that is completely out of focus. You can still make a blurry photo look more intentional and artistic by improving color, contrast, and composition.

5. What is Super Resolution in Lightroom?

Super Resolution is an Enhance option in Lightroom that uses AI to double your image resolution and add extra detail. It is especially helpful for low resolution, cropped, or older photos that you want to print or edit at a larger size.

6. How do I use Denoise in Lightroom?

Right click on your photo, choose Enhance, select Denoise, adjust the strength, and apply. Lightroom will create a new, cleaner version of your photo that you can continue editing.

7. How can I improve clarity in Lightroom Mobile?

On Lightroom Mobile, use the Clarity and Texture sliders in the Effects panel, then add a little Contrast and Dehaze if needed. Combine these with Masks to sharpen only the subject and keep backgrounds softer.

The Takeaway

Improving image quality in Lightroom does not require complicated settings. With a simple workflow that uses Super Resolution, Denoise, Dehaze, sharpening, masks, and thoughtful color correction, you can transform soft, noisy, or dull photos into clean, detailed, professional looking images.

Once you are comfortable with these tools, presets and utility collections can help you move even faster and keep every gallery consistent. Your photos already hold the story. Lightroom and the right presets simply help that story look as clear and beautiful as possible.