For me Point Color is the most useful feature in the newly-released Lightroom 13, allowing subtle and accurate shifts in colour.

If you read anything about Lightroom 13, put aside any of your thoughts about HDR and read this article High Dynamic Range Explained by Adobe’s senior engineer Eric Chan

But if you read anything about Lightroom 13, put aside any of your thoughts about HDR and read this article High Dynamic Range Explained by Adobe’s senior engineer Eric Chan:

For the past two years, I’ve been working on a project for viewing, editing, and sharing [my emphasis] High Dynamic Range photographs. I’m thrilled to announce that this feature is now shipping in all Lightroom products (on desktop, mobile, and web) and Camera Raw. In this post I’ll explain what it is, how it works, and how to get the most from it.

To see the photos in this post in High Dynamic Range, I recommend that you use a macOS or Windows system with Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge version 116 or later and a High Dynamic Range display that supports 1000 nits or brighter. Note that other browsers and platforms may not display the photos on this page in HDR. Recommended displays include Apple XDR displays, such as a MacBook Pro with an XDR display (2021 or later), and any display VESA-certified as DisplayHDR 1000 or DisplayHDR 1400.

Does the term “High Dynamic Range” make you cringe and recoil? Does it make you think of overcooked images with big halos and garish colors? Let me assure you — that is not what this feature is about.

HDR editing may seem irrelevant for those photographers who expect their pictures to be printed and who correct them in that expectation. I am in that group and I am certainly surprised that Adobe prioritised HDR editing.

Look at the second paragraph in this quote and ask if you are using that browser, if your monitor is HDR. Maybe you are, and maybe also when you switch to your other computer or device, but there’s a fair chance you’re not using an HDR display and think about everyone who might be viewing your pictures – certainly you’ll never be able to make a print that is HDR.

While there are lots of HDR screens out there, they’re not universal, but that does seem to be the direction we’re going. So to me Adobe’s prioritising HDR editing is an educated bet on where we are going to be in the not-too-distant future, it’s Adobe trying to get ahead of the game, and only time will tell – no matter how useless I find it.