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Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
Community Manager
September 29, 2026
Sticky

Lightroom Classic 15.6 Is Here: Improved Reflection Removal, Faster Masking Workflows, and Expanded Camera & Lens Support

Lightroom Classic v15.6 brings a smoother editing experience with improved Reflection Removal, making it easier to clean up reflections in windows, glass, and water. This release also introduces faster masking controls with Check All and Check None options, along with support for new cameras, lenses, and important bug fixes.

 

What’s New

The September 2026 release of Lightroom Classic v15.6 brings meaningful improvements designed to make photo editing faster and more precise. The standout enhancement is Reflection Removal, which now delivers cleaner results when removing reflections from windows, glass surfaces, and even water. The updated technology reduces smudges and ghosting artifacts, helping photographers recover details more naturally in challenging scenes.

This release also streamlines masking workflows with new Check All and Check None options in the Masking panel. When creating landscape or people masks, you can now instantly select or clear all available mask options with a single click instead of making selections individually.

In addition, Lightroom Classic expands support for newly released cameras and lenses, including Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max camera systems, Google Pixel 11 series devices, OM Digital Solutions PEN cameras, and several new lenses from Sony, Sigma, Leica, and Laowa.

Learn more about the latest updates here.

 

👉 Download the latest version of Lightroom Classic here.​​

 

Bug Fixes:

Your feedback continues to help improve Lightroom Classic. This release addresses several reported issues, including:

 

How to Update

Open the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app, go to the Apps tab, and update Lightroom Classic to the latest version. Turn on automatic updates to get new features as soon as they’re available.

 

Join the Conversation

Have you tried the improved Reflection Removal tool yet? We'd love to hear how it performs on your window, architectural, travel, or landscape photography. Share your before-and-after results, masking workflows, and feedback with the community, and let us know which new camera or lens support you're most excited about.

      21 replies

      jeyjey2707
      Participating Frequently
      October 20, 2026

      Ive come to use my LrC after a couple of weeks and its a nitemare! When I zoom in to edit, the image floats off to the right, the sliders are jumping all over the place..I cant edit a thing! Im on Windows...my plug in doesnt work..wtf!!!!

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      strong_visionary18d3
      Participant
      October 17, 2026

      Running Lightroom Classic Version 15.6. Mac OS 27.0.1 When I attempted to remove the reflection there is absolutely no change in my image at all. I slid the slider all the way to -100 and the only thing that happened is the whole image darkened completely. 

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      otick
      otick
      Participating Frequently
      October 4, 2026

      Yay! New version to fix prev. bugs (lol, I wish) and introduce new ones! Couldn’t be more happier.

      Pls advice managers to force devs to use even more AI when writing code - it will get even worse!

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        Anshul_Saini
        Community Manager
        Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerAuthor
        Community Manager
        October 16, 2026

        Hi ​@otick,

        I understand the frustration, particularly if you’ve been dealing with issues across multiple updates.

        If there are specific bugs in Lightroom Classic 15.6 that are affecting your workflow, please let me know which ones. If you’ve already reported them in separate Community threads, feel free to share those threads here.

        For anything that is still unresolved, I’ll be happy to check the current status with the Lightroom Classic team and follow up where I can.

        Best,
        Anshul Saini

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        James39067056n3sp
        Participant
        October 3, 2026

        Is anyone here having issues withsystem performance?  LRC is extremely slow and using close to 95% of my CPU.  Even when just sitting there doing nothing the utilization is betweem 60 and 80%.

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          High Octane Photos
          Participating Frequently
          October 6, 2026

          TBH - this is how LR has been for years… 

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          Gert Funck Photography
          Participant
          October 3, 2026

          Is there a way to roll back the latest updates til it is working probaly? I have trouble patching panoramas and simple task like denoise and loading files into catalogue?

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          Anshul_Saini
          Community Manager
          Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerAuthor
          Community Manager
          October 16, 2026

          Hi ​@Gert Funck Photography,

          Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with several workflows after updating to Lightroom Classic 15.6.

          Yes, you can temporarily install an earlier version of Lightroom Classic. In the Creative Cloud desktop app, find Lightroom Classic > More actions (…) > Other versions, then install the version you were previously using.

          Before rolling back, please make sure you have a current backup of your catalog and its associated files.

          I’d also like to understand what is going wrong in 15.6 rather than have you rely on an older version. Panorama merge, Denoise, and importing/loading files are separate workflows and may not have the same cause.

          Could you please create a separate Community post describing what happens with each workflow, including any error messages you receive? Please also include Help > System Info > Copy and, if possible, a short screen recording showcasing the issues.

          Once you’ve created the post, share the link here. I’ll take a look and help investigate whether these are known issues or something we can resolve through troubleshooting.

          Best,
          Anshul Saini

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          Law_ren_ce
          Participating Frequently
          September 30, 2026

          For some reason, now I can’t cull while forcing LRc to only show standard previews, by changing the name of the folder were the RAW files are (and not have generated Smart Reviews, otherwise they load of course).

          Now it just shows an empty grey window with “image missing” where before I also saw “Image missing” overlay, but I could still see the standard preview in Develop mode. I can still see them in Library mode. But that’s not nearly as fast to load and cull.

          Can anyone confirm this? Maybe someone who used the same technique to quickly rate & cull thousands of photos? It would be a shame if this is permanent, because it was an alternative to things like PhotoMechanic. Why take away such an important and helpful feature, even it was not officially part of the workflow?

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          Anshul_Saini
          Community Manager
          Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerAuthor
          Community Manager
          October 16, 2026

          Hi ​@Law_ren_ce,

          Thanks for explaining the workflow. I hope I am understanding your workflow correctly. I looked into the change you’re seeing in Lightroom Classic 15.6.

          This behavior changed as part of a fix to how Develop handles missing source files. Previously, Develop could display previews for files whose originals were unavailable, and in some cases, it could even display the previous image’s preview while showing the “File Not Found” message.

          In 15.6, that behavior was corrected so that when an original is missing, and there is no Smart Preview available, Develop shows the missing-file placeholder rather than a Standard Preview. This was also part of the stability work around quickly moving through images in Develop.

          That explains why your previous technique of temporarily renaming the folder no longer works in Develop. The library can still display the existing Standard Previews, while Develop requires the original or a Smart Preview for this workflow.

          I understand, though, that you were intentionally using the previous behavior as a very fast way to cull thousands of images, so while the underlying behavior was corrected for reliability, there is a real workflow impact for you. I’ll pass that feedback along to the team.

          For now, the supported alternatives are to cull using the existing previews in Library/Loupe or create Smart Previews before taking the originals offline if you need to continue working in Develop.

          Best,
          Anshul Saini

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          Law_ren_ce
          Participating Frequently
          October 16, 2026

          Yes, that’s correct.

          I’ve discovered this way years ago and it has been part of my workflow since then. It’s just disappointing that the option is now gone. I know the alternative is to use the Library module in that context (with the RAW file folder’s name edited so it forces LR to only use Standard Previews). But it is slower, the images don’t appear instantly as they did in Develop mode.

          Maybe a tip to offer this function somewhere else in LRc. Maybe a tab “cull mode” or whatever and let the user decide what they use (original files, smart preview, standard previews - the latter being the fastest ) . And allow it to be use while you export hundreds of files from another set or applying an AI filter to other photos etc…. showing standard previews should not impact performance too much. As pros, time is money (and sleep).

          Culling is a large part of our activities on LRc. Offering this within LRc would also take people away from using other software like PhotoMechanic. But not just at import or before import. It should be available at any given time. This is something I use after applying my basic editing filter and do my first pass. And then at least one time again to do a final check in my images before exporting (after refreshing all standard previews of course). Now it takes slightly longer - something you don’t expect after an incremental update. It should be the other way around: faster & easier.

          It’s also important on location, where I take hundreds of photos and the client needs some specific images instantly. Obviously I can’t use AI culling; it takes way too long. A dedicated culling mode with fast instant rendering of either embedded jpegs or standard previews, would be great.

          I understand that Adobe is investing in AI culling. But we both know that only a minority of people really use this and I’m hoping Adobe doesn’t take attention away from other ways of culling.

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            pmkPE6
            Participant
            September 30, 2026

            I installed the latest version of LRC on September 29, 2026; I was using LRC on September 28, 2026 without issue. Now when going to the develop module in the updated version I am told there are no files. Yet I see the files in Library module. What is wrong?

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            Anshul_Saini
            Community Manager
            Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerAuthor
            Community Manager
            October 16, 2026

            Hi ​@pmkPE6,

            Thanks for reporting this. I’d like to check one thing, because this may be related to a change in Lightroom Classic 15.6 that affects how Develop handles photos whose original files are unavailable.

            In the Library module, please select one of the photos that you can see there but cannot see in Develop. Does Lightroom show “Photo is missing” or a ! icon for that photo?

            You can also right-click the photo and choose Show in Explorer (Windows) or Show in Finder (macOS) to confirm whether the original file is still available at the location Lightroom expects.

            If the original is on an external drive, please also confirm that the drive is connected and that the corresponding folder in Lightroom’s Folders panel is not marked as missing.

            Please let me know what you find. That will help determine whether this is the same missing original behavior we’re seeing that ​@Law_ren_ce reported above or a separate Develop issue.

            Best,
            Anshul Saini

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            pmkPE6
            Participant
            October 19, 2026

            Yes, when I right click and search thru windows explorer the file shows in the corresponding folder.

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            Ray27096365me1b
            Participant
            September 30, 2026

            I am having a great deal of difficulty with LRC at present. Its slow and when in develop mode the controls move but it does nothing to the photo. Ie: for instance slide the exposure alters the histogram but not the actual image. Then the image has a ghost affect of another image around it. This continuously happens until it locks up and the only way to fix it is to optimise and restart lightroom. Seems like there is always one issue or another and I am sure its not my computer?

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              Anshul_Saini
              Community Manager
              Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerAuthor
              Community Manager
              October 16, 2026

              Hi ​@Ray27096365me1b,

              I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Having Develop controls respond while the image itself stops updating, followed by ghosting from another image and eventually Lightroom locking up, would make normal editing very difficult.

              Could you please share Help > System Info > Copy and paste the information here?

              I’d also like you to try one targeted test:

              1. Go to Preferences > Performance.
              2. Set Use Graphics Processor to Off.
              3. Restart Lightroom Classic and work in Develop normally for a while.

              Please let me know whether the delayed/stale image updates, ghost image artifacts, and eventual lock-up still occur with the GPU disabled. After the test, you can restore your previous GPU setting.

              If possible, please also share a short screen recording showing the Exposure slider changing the histogram while the image fails to update, or the ghosting when it occurs. That would be particularly useful for determining whether we’re dealing with a rendering issue or a broader performance problem.

              Once I have the System Info and the GPU test results, I can narrow this down further and share the findings with the Lightroom Classic team for further investigation.

              Best,
              Anshul Saini

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              Kevin240011196smo
              Participant
              September 29, 2026

              Van Camp, I 100% agree 👍. Focus point display has been asked of Adobe before, and they continue to refuse to listen to their subscribers $$$. Adobe fails to realize they are NOT the only editing software available. 

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                van camp26965327629i
                Participant
                September 29, 2026

                Is it possible to make a tool to find you focus point like in your camera that you can see straight away where it is , very important , thanks

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                  Anshul_Saini
                  Community Manager
                  Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerAuthor
                  Community Manager
                  October 13, 2026

                  Hi ​@van camp26965327629i and ​@Kevin240011196smo,

                  Thanks for the feedback. I wanted to clarify that this request has not been ignored.

                  The ability to display the camera’s autofocus/focus-point information directly over the image is something the Lightroom team is actively working on.

                  The goal is to allow supported RAW files with autofocus metadata to display the focus point(s) the camera used, making it much easier to check where focus was acquired when reviewing images.

                  I don’t want to provide a release date until the feature has completed development and testing, but the request is actively being worked on. Camera and file format support can also vary because the necessary autofocus metadata must be available and interpretable in the original file.

                  Thanks for continuing to raise the importance of this workflow. We’ll update the Community when we have confirmed release information to share.

                  Best,
                  Anshul Saini

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