I remember the first time I went to edit beach photos in Lightroom.

I honestly thought it was going to be easy.

In fact, I thought TAKING beach photos would be easy. With the sand being a clean, reflective surface, I didn’t see how taking beach photos would be that complicated.

But, my ego certainly got the best of me.

Even being a semi-experienced photographer at the time, beach photos weren’t exactly a walk on the beach.

I would even go to say that taking beach photos brought me back down to reality and made me realize that I still have much to learn about photography.

So, what about taking beach photos is so hard?

And, can’t you just edit them to make up for bad photos?

Light on the beach will be your best or worst enemy.

If you know nothing about natural light and how to compensate for it when taking beach photos, then taking a great photo is going to be a challenge.

Utilizing the light that you have is your first task.

Being able to study the light and how to looks hitting the water, your subjects, and the sky will all tie into how your photos will turn out.

Then you have your camera settings.

Choose the wrong settings, then you are going to have a blown out sky or a dark subject if you don’t know how to go about it.

But, I am not here to take you down a beach lighting rabbit hole. Today I simply want to share with you how to edit beach photos in Lightroom.

But, if you’re want to learn more about beach lighting, here’s a short, fun guest tutorial on taking beach photos (and the best settings to choose). You’re welcome.

How to edit beach photos in Lightroom.

First and foremost, I highly recommend using Lightroom Classic versions to do this.

For one, it’s the classic version of Lightroom. It has more bells and whistles and there are many more things that you can do that the other versions don’t offer.

Secondly, it’s just easier to edit – especially fine-tune editing – on a computer.

The mobile Lightroom versions have their time and place, but if you want to be able to edit quicker & better, than using a computer is just – well, EASIER.

So, with that said, I will leave you to it, in video form.

Here’s a simple, fast, and fun way to edit beach photos in Lightroom. Happy learning!

Become even more creative with your Lightroom editing with the help of our Lightroom Presets.

These presets were created to bring out color, vibrancy, and extra flare while still retaining color-balanced skin tones INSTANTLY.

Which set of presets will suit your individual style?

If you found these tips helpful, here are some more resources that you might enjoy:

New to Lightroom presets? Get started with this step-by-step guide and download this FREE starter pack.

What’s your editing style? Here are 5 Lightroom editing styles that you can easily replicate.

Getting started with Lightroom: These are the best import settings that you should be choosing.