Lightroom Tips for Photographing Small Rooms

Photographing small rooms is tough. It’s easy to get tight, dark, or distorted shots. But with the right Lightroom adjustments, you can make even the smallest spaces look open, bright, and welcoming.

If you want more editing help, also see:

• How to Edit Indoor Photos in Lightroom Without Losing Natural Light
  
• Best Lightroom Settings for Interior Photography
  

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Why Small Rooms Are Challenging

You’re working with tight spaces, mixed lighting, and often no space to back up. Common problems include:

• Dark corners
• Blown-out windows
• Weird color casts
• Barrel distortion from wide lenses

Lightroom Tips for Photographing Small Rooms

1. Correct distortion with Transform tools.
2. Balance exposure carefully.
3. Lift shadows to show details.
4. Reduce highlights to save windows.
5. Adjust White Balance for natural colors.
6. Use gentle contrast with Tone Curve.
7. Fix color casts in Color Mixer.

1. Correct Lens Distortion

Wide lenses help you fit everything in but can bend walls.

• Go to Transform panel.
• Use Auto or Guided for straight verticals.
• Fine-tune Vertical and Horizontal sliders.

2. Balance Exposure

Small rooms can be dark overall with bright window spots.

• Use Exposure slider in small steps.
• Avoid blowing out highlights.

3. Lift Shadows

Corners often go too dark.

• Increase Shadows to show hidden details.
• Don’t flatten the photo completely.

4. Reduce Highlights

Windows are often too bright.

• Pull Highlights slider left.
• Keep window detail without making it gray.

5. Adjust White Balance

Small spaces can get weird color casts from multiple light sources.

• Use eyedropper on a neutral area.
• Tweak Temp and Tint for natural light.

6. Add Gentle Contrast with Tone Curve

Flat edits make small rooms feel dull.

• Create a soft S-curve.
• Lift Shadows gently.
• Drop Highlights slightly.
• Avoid harsh, crunchy contrast.

7. Fix Color Casts with the Color Mixer

Mixed lighting can make colors weird.

• Go to HSL/Color Mixer.
• Target problem colors (Orange, Yellow, Blue).
• Reduce or shift hues slightly.

Example Lightroom Settings Table

Adjustment	Suggested Range	Notes
White Balance	Eyedropper/manual	Neutralize mixed lighting
Exposure	+/- 0.2	Small, careful tweaks
Highlights	-20 to -50	Save window detail
Shadows	+30 to +50	Open up corners
Tone Curve	Gentle S-curve	Soft, natural contrast
Color Mixer	Subtle corrections	Fix odd color casts
Transform	Auto/Guided	Straighten lines

Consistency is key in interior photography, and we’ve shared some simple Lightroom tricks to help you get there in this article.

Use Presets for Faster Edits

Want to skip all these steps? Our Interior Presets for Lightroom pack is designed to handle tricky small-room challenges with one click.

They’re great for:

• Brightening tight spaces
• Fixing color casts
• Balancing window light

For even more options, check our Lightroom Real Estate Presets for full property shoots.

Final Thoughts

Small rooms can be a pain to photograph, but Lightroom gives you the tools to make them look spacious and bright. Take your time, fix distortion, balance your light, and keep things natural.

If you want more editing help, check:

• Best Lightroom Settings for Interior Photography
  
• How to Edit Indoor Photos in Lightroom Without Losing Natural Light