Open a file that contains HDR data. This could be a single exposure raw file, a HEIF from a recent iPhone, or a file created from multiple exposures using the 'Merge to HDR' feature in Lightroom.
Select Edit > HDR.
Last updated on
22 December 2023
Learn how to import, edit, and export HDR photos in Lightroom on desktop.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays offer greater brightness and contrast than Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) displays. Photos optimized for HDR displays have brighter highlights and more detailed shadows, resulting in an increased sense of realism and greater impact.
Adobe Lightroom already offers related HDR features, such as Merge to HDR, which blends multiple photos to create an HDR photo. However, in previous Lightroom releases, the rendered results have always been limited to SDR. For instance, the final 8-bit pixel values were always limited to 0 to 255, and the on-screen results were restricted to the standard brightness range of the user interface.
Lightroom (version 7.0) now introduces HDR Optimization. With this, you have:
- the ability to view and edit HDR photos on compatible HDR displays.
- the ability to save HDR photos to disk and open them in Photoshop.
To use the HDR Optimization feature, you need the following:
- macOS or Windows system
- Supported HDR display. Recommended HDR displays for macOS include:
- Apple MacBook Pro 14” with XDR display (November 2021 or later)
- Apple MacBook Pro 16” with XDR display (November 2021 or later)
- Apple Pro Display XDR
- Apple MacBook Pro 14” with XDR display (November 2021 or later)
- Recommended HDR displays for Windows include VESA Certified DisplayHDR level 1000 or higher.
- Graphics processor (GPU) support. To verify, see Determine if Camera Raw is accessing the GPU.
- On Windows, enable HDR in the Display settings. For details, see HDR settings in Windows.
Lightroom (version 7.0) offers the following new HDR capabilities
- An HDR button in the Edit panel for allowing High Dynamic Range photo processing.
- Open and save photos in the AVIF or JPEG XL format.
- Open other HDR formats, such as 10-bit HEIF (.HIF filename extension) files from recent Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras.
- When you Export an HDR image, the HDR data remains intact.
Most options in the Edit panel work similarly in SDR and HDR modes. However, they may need different settings for optimal appearance.
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Once you select the HDR icon, the Histogram will be automatically shown. The right side of the Histogram displays the HDR data in the image.
When HDR is turned on for a photo, the Whites clipping indicator indicates which pixels are in the HDR range. Areas of the image highlighted in yellow are HDR pixels your monitor can currently display. Areas of the image highlighted in red are HDR pixels that your monitor cannot currently display.
Note:The dotted white lines in the Histogram denote parts of the image that are brighter than the White parameters. The gray bar at the base of the Histogram indicates the brightness level. When you decrease the brightness of your device, the gray line will increase and vice-versa.
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You can select the Visualize HDR checkbox to view the HDR data in your photo. You can also set the HDR Limit to Full, 1 stop, 2 stop, 3 stop, or 4 stop. Selecting the number of Stops helps in managing HDR display on other screens, like that of an HDR-enabled mobile phone.
Define the Stops and select Visual HDR to view HDR data in a photo.
Define the Stops and select Visual HDR to view HDR data in a photo. -
Enable Preview on SDR display to manage settings for devices that only have an SDR display.
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The Curve controls work on HDR images the same way they work on SDR images, but the controls are much expanded. The lower left quadrant of the curve represents the SDR portion of the image, and the other three quadrants are the HDR portion of the picture.
HDR Default
The HDR button is turned off by default. To enable it by default for supported HDR photos, navigate to Adobe Lightroom > Preferences > Import > select Enable HDR editing by default for HDR photos.
Lightroom supports the display of HDR content only in the Edit view. This includes side-by-side and split views. However, Lightroom currently does not support HDR display in other dialogs that display photo content, such as the Merge to HDR, Merge to Panorama, Export, or Enhance dialogs.
Even though the Export dialog box does not display HDR photo content, the photo will be exported in HDR if you have selected HDR-compatible export settings.
Note:
If Use Graphics Processor is set to Off in the Preferences dialog, you can continue to edit HDR photos, but the result will not be displayed correctly within the main image view.
Once you've finished editing a photo in HDR mode, select Export > Custom Settings. In the Export settings, specify the Image Type and check the HDR Output box.
Supported non-Raw HDR file formats include:
- AVIF
- JPEG
- JPEG XL
- TIFF
- PSD
- PNG
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Use JPEG for sharing and web applications, such as online web galleries.
- Use TIFF or PSD for workflows where additional HDR work is required, such as compositing.
Note:
The HDR Output box isn't shown for JPEG. When saving JPEGs with HDR edits, Lightroom saves an SDR image with HDR details preserved with a Gain map. Web browsers and other apps that support gain maps can display these files as HDR on HDR displays; older browsers and apps will display the SDR image.
The new AVIF and JPEG XL format offers several advantages over JPEG, including higher bit depth support and smaller file sizes, making it a great choice for HDR photos.
When the HDR Output feature is enabled, Lightroom (version 7.0 and later) supports opening and saving photos using AVIF, JPEG, or JPEG XL.
When you save HDR images in JPEG, it reads the screen used and renders SDR or HDR images accordingly.
Lightroom currently supports three color spaces when editing, opening, or saving a photo in HDR mode:
- HDR sRGB (Rec. 709)
- HDR P3
- HDR Rec. 2020
These are HDR-enabled versions of the existing sRGB, Display P3, and Rec. 2020 color spaces. sRGB has the smallest color gamut, and Rec. 2020 has the largest.
When editing a photo in HDR mode, the histogram is split into two parts- an SDR section on the left and an HDR section on the right. A vertical gray line between the two parts indicates the SDR white level, the white of the user interface. If the histogram extends to the right of this divider, the photo contains HDR content and will require an HDR display to show correctly.
The dashed gray vertical lines mark zones above SDR white in increments of 1 exposure value or f-stop.
RGB color readouts use the 0 to 100 % range for pixel components within the SDR range. However, they use the exposure value (or f-stop) convention for values in the HDR range. For example, a value of +0.5 means 1/2 stop above graphics white. This convention applies to both live and sampled readouts. Yellow values indicate pixels within the display's current capabilities, and red values indicate pixels beyond the display's current capabilities.
Curve values are remapped into the 0-100% range in HDR with SDR remapping to the 0-50% range when the HDR button is selected.
Note:
You can also select the Show Histogram option from the Menu icon to view the histogram in Lightroom.
The highlight clipping warning indicator (small triangle button in the upper-right corner of the histogram) uses the same color scheme as the histogram's HDR range. Yellow indicates highlight areas in the HDR range that are within the display's current capabilities, and red indicates pixels beyond the display's current capabilities.
In addition, the Visualize HDR option provides a color-coded visualization of different HDR ranges in f-stop increments. To toggle this option, right-click the histogram and select HDR Ranges from the context menu, or select the Visualize HDR checkbox in the Light panel.
When an HDR photo is viewed on an SDR display, it must be adjusted or tone-mapped to preserve its appearance as closely as possible. The High Dynamic Range section provides additional options for previewing a photo on an SDR display and adjusting its appearance. These controls affect how Lightroom saves an HDR photo when the HDR Output box is unchecked in the Export dialog. They also influence the appearance of the filmstrip thumbnail in the Lightroom dialog and for previews in other apps.
You can copy and paste HDR edit and SDR preview in preset and sync settings. Select the three-dot menu > Choose Edit Settings to copy and select the High Dynamic Range checkbox.
Google Chrome supports AVIF photos and the proper display of HDR photos.
This makes it possible to make standard web galleries that contain HDR photos. It's recommended to use Chrome version 116 or later.
Other apps on your macOS system, such as Finder, Preview, and Safari, may not currently support reading AVIF or JPEG XL photos. Even if they do, they may not support displaying HDR content. The same is applicable to apps on other platforms, such as Windows, Android, and iOS.
Third-party software support for HDR photos is currently limited but constantly expanding. For now, HDR photos exported from Lightroom as JPEG or AVIF will display correctly in Google Chrome 116 or later when viewed on an HDR display.
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