Adobe Lightroom is one of the most popular image editing tools on the market, and it’s got plenty of features that cater to hobbyist and professional photographers alike. Clarity is one of the most commonly used, and you’ll probably grow to love it soon after downloading the platform.

However, many beginner photographers have a large learning curve with Clarity—and many don’t use the tool to its maximum potential. But what even is it? Let’s find out.

What Is Clarity in Lightroom, and What Does It Do?

Clarity is one of the several slider tools in Adobe Lightroom, and you can find a similar feature in Capture One if that’s your preferred platform. The tool focuses primarily on your picture’s middle areas and adds another dimension to your file.

The extent to which you can use Clarity depends on the file type you upload. RAW files have much more detail to work with, meaning you’ve got more creative freedom in your editing.

Using the Clarity tool in Lightroom is easy. After opening the app, open the Basic tab. Then, slide Clarity left or right—depending on what you need to do.

screenshot showing the clarity slider in lightroom

When Should You Use Clarity?

You can use Lightroom’s Clarity slider in several situations, and we’d be here all day if we tried to explain all of them. To give you a taste of what you can expect, here are three instances when you should use the tool...

1. When You Want to Make the Main Subject Stand Out More

As you learn more about photography, you’ll begin thinking about various concepts and forms of composition. You’ll almost always have a main subject in your picture, and making them stand out is crucial for telling a good story.

If you want to make the main subject in your image stand out more, you might find the Clarity slider useful. You’ll especially find this to be the case if your lens was close to the most important part of the picture when you took it.

2. When You Want to Showcase Key Details in Architecture

photo of times square at night

Architectural photography is one of the trickiest genres to master. While many people think it’s as simple as pointing your camera in the direction of a building, that’s only a tiny part of the story. You’ll want to capture shapes, textures, and more.

Regardless of your building’s style, you’ll want to make the most important details stand out as much as possible. To do so, using the Clarity tool—and sliding it to the right—is one of your best starting points.

3. When You Want to Make Your Image Look Flatter or Sharper

Arguably the main reason why photographers use the Clarity slider is to make their pictures look sharper. And if that’s your goal, the tool is excellent for showcasing the most important details in your image.

On the flip side, you might have taken a picture that you feel looks too sharp. You’ll find that this is particularly common when working with textures like bricks. For instances where you want to reduce Clarity, you can move the slider to the left instead.

What Does Clarity Not Help With?

Although the Clarity slider is useful in several situations, it’s not a go-to solution whenever you need to fix an image. There are many situations where the tool will not help you as much as you’d like it to, and the three below are just the starting point.

1. Dehazing Your Image

photo of a city in the fog

Using the Clarity slider will remove some haze from your pictures, but probably not as much as you want. If you took the photo in foggy conditions, for example, bumping up the slider will make your image look weird and unnatural.

If you want to eliminate haze in your picture, you’re much better off using the Dehaze slider instead.

2. Bringing Back Details That Are Already Lost

While you’ll do much of your magic in post-production, you should still ensure that you take the picture correctly before uploading it to Lightroom. Many photographers accidentally overexpose their shots, resulting in lost details like clouds and skies.

Overexposure is something that even experienced photographers are sometimes guilty of; if you’ve let too much light into your picture, your best option is to try again with the same settings.

When taking photos, keep the light meter as close to 0 as possible.

3. Fixing Blurry Images

photo of a person with their camera

Blurry pictures are another common annoyance for photographers, and it usually happens because you moved your camera or used a slow shutter speed. While you can fix minor errors in Lightroom, using the Clarity slider probably won’t work if your picture is noticeably blurry.

Like the previous point, your best option is to go out and try recapturing the photo. When you do, keep your camera on a flat surface; alternatively, you can use a tripod. If you shoot handheld, switch on your camera’s stabilization if this feature is available.

Things to Consider When Using Clarity in Lightroom

To wrap up this article, there are some things worth considering when using the Clarity filter in Adobe Lightroom.

1. Don’t Overdo It

Man editing image with preset in Lightroom on his PC

Anyone that has passed the beginner photographer phase will tell you that they probably overused the Clarity slider in Lightroom. It’s easy to think that moving it further to the right will make your image look more like real life, but that’s often not the case.

Once you surpass a certain number on the slider, your picture will begin looking bizarre—and your audience will notice it from a mile away. A better option is to slowly increase the Clarity and stop before it starts looking unnatural.

2. Adjusting Clarity Will Impact the Entire Image

Although Clarity primarily affects the middle part of your picture, it will also impact other areas. Using the universal slider probably isn't a good idea if you only want to edit a specific part of the image.

You can edit a specific area in your picture by adding a mask or using the Brush tool instead.

Clarity Is One of Adobe Lightroom’s Most Powerful Editing Tools

This was our basic introduction to Clarity in Adobe Lightroom. You’ll find the tool incredibly useful in several instances, and using it sparingly will help you achieve a cleaner edit that will impress your audience.

Lightroom has plenty of useful features, but Clarity is one of the most important ones to learn as a beginner. Using the tool is relatively straightforward, but you should ensure to use it sparingly.