The video highlights why he prefers LrSuperKeys over other editing solutions, focusing on speed, efficiency, and practical workflow improvements

David Childers of Darkroom Zen is a skilled photographer with a strong command of Lightroom Classic.

His work recently drew Adobe’s attention through a Twitter post showing before/after results on difficult concert lighting. Instead of defaulting to black‑and‑white, he used Lightroom Classic to recover the photo’s natural colors, demonstrating both technical expertise and a careful approach to editing.

For more examples of his process, visit his YouTube channel, where he shares how he tackles concert lighting challenges.

New Speed Keys / HotKeys

• Color Mixer HSL Sliders – All H, S, and L sliders can now be assigned individually.
• Lens Blur Controls:
  • Lens Blur Amount
  • Lens Blur Cat Eye
  • Lens Blur Highlight Boost

New Action Keys

• Toggle Mask On / Off
• Toggle Mask Tool On / Off
• Invert Mask
• Invert Mask Tool
• Toggle Lens Blur On / Off
• New AI Landscape Mask
• Masking Preset → Landscape Mask
• Remove Tool → Toggle Use Generative AI
• Remove Tool → Toggle Detect Objects
• Remove Tool → Toggle Visualize Spots

Speed Menu

• Added AI Landscape Masking buttons

Bug Fixes & Changes

• Fixed issue where the masking preset would not apply when used along with AI masking tools
• Update notifications now include a “Do not show again” option when Check for updates on startup is enabled
• Removed the old keyboard shortcuts for Use Generative AI and Detect Objects – replaced with their equivalent Lr Function Action Keys.
• Fixed Lightroom / LrSK reconnection issue
• macOS: Fixed issue where the Speed Menu would reveal itself when switching desktops if set to auto-hide

The release of LrSuperKeys 6.0 brings several key improvements to enhance the Lightroom Classic workflow. The update introduces an HSL Color Wheel heads-up display, offering a more intuitive way to adjust colors. Users can now choose between three distinct HUD styles—Standard, Minimalist, and Modern—to suit their preferences and streamline their editing environment. Additionally, the “Auto” level function from the Crop tool can now be assigned to an Action Key, providing faster access to this essential adjustment. Along with these exciting new features, this release includes several fixes and enhancements to improve overall performance and usability.

Changes in v6.0.0

• New HSL Color Wheel Heads Up Display
• 3 new HUD styles ( Standard, Minimalist & Modern)
• Collapsible sections for Speed Keys & Hotkeys, making it easier to find, assign, and set change values
• “Auto” level (ie: “Auto” button within the crop tool) can be assigned to an Action Key
• New option to reset cursor position after a click & drag Speed Key adjustment
• Easily reposition the HUD (ie: Press a Speed Key to reveal, then click & drag to reposition)
• Added a sub-menu item in LrC to “Configure LrSK”, under “File > Plug-in Extras” menu
• Quicker shutdown of LrC and LrSK
• Improved support for Point Colors in Local Adjustment Presets
• Improved slider response with Speed Key + mouse

• Reduce CPU consumption

• Added “Reset Location” buttons for the HUD & Speed Menu

Here are a few screenshots showcasing some of the latest features introduced in LrSuperKeys 6.0

Here’s a closer look at the newly introduced HSL Color Wheel HUD in LrSuperKeys 6.0. This powerful, intuitive tool makes adjusting colors in Lightroom Classic a breeze.

Redesigned UI with collapsible Speed Key and Hotkey sections, making navigation and customization faster.

Standard HUD – A standard layout

Minimalist HUD – Small footprint, fits into the toolbar area

Modern HUD – Slider-style look similar to Lightroom Desktop

SPOILER ALERT… one of them is LrSuperKeys!

Here’s what’s new with v5.7.0 of LrSuperKeys (LrSK)

Action Keys

• Delete All Empty Masks (Lr Function – Requires LrC 14+)
• Toggle Filters On/Off (Keyboard Shortcut)
• Update the keyboard shortcuts for Toggle Generative AI & Toggle Detect Object
  Adobe made changes to these shortcuts with the latest release of Lightroom Classic

Enhancements

• Multi-display support for the Heads Up Display. An option to automatically position the HUD to the active screen.
  By default, this is enabled.
• Multi-display support for HSL screen zones
• Swap Change Values now apply to both Hotkeys and Speed Keys
• Keep the List of Develop & Masking Presets in sync with Lightroom when creating/editing Action Keys or when adding masking presets to your Speed Menu
• When creating or editing an Action Key that is already in use, it now displays the description of the already assigned action

Bug Fixes

• When using Click & Drag with Speed Keys, it would at times zoom in when clicking and dragging the mouse
• List of Develop Presets would be incomplete in rare cases

MacOS Specific

• Stability: LrSK would often crash if a superkey was pressed before LrSK was fully started

Windows Specific

• Quicker startup
• Alt menu item keys have been added to the Plug-in Extras Lightroom menu items Start/Stop LrSK
• Fix bug with action keys containing Shift, Ctrl, or Alt to keyboard shortcuts

Optimizations

Optimizations have been made to prevent LrSK from lagging when sending rapid slider adjustments.

The following shortcuts require LrC 13.3+

• Toggle Object Aware
• Toggle Generative AI

When applying develop presets with LrSK, including those with AI masks, they will now get applied to all the selected images (LrC 13.3+)

Support has been added for those who store their presets with their catalog.
If your presets are stored with your catalog, check off the option under settings as shown in the image below.

The “Update Lightroom Rate” option has been added to support slower systems.
It’s the maximum number of slider updates that can be sent per second to Lightroom.

This option is most noticeable on Windows PCs. A large update rate may overwhelm Lightroom, causing the image refresh to lag when applying rapid slider adjustments.

So, if you notice a lag with Lightroom refreshing the image, setting a lower update rate may help.

Masking presets with local toning hue & saturation (ie: color overlay) are now supported (LrC 13.3+)

Prior to LrC 13.3, color overlays in masking presets would be ignored and not applied. This is because of the lack of Adobe’s SDK support. So starting with LrC 13.3 and LrSK 5.6.1, color overlays in masking presets will be applied as expected.

• Tray / Status Bar Icon
• Arrow keys can now be mapped (no longer restricted keys)
• Tidy the Lr Functions menu by grouping similar items into sub-menus
• Support for the new Masking features:
  • Curves
  • Refine Saturation
  • Grain

• Defringe sliders
• Refine Saturation
• The following Lens Corrections
  • Lens Profile Distortion
  • Lens Profile Vignetting
  • Manual Distortion Amount

• Set Crop Ratio – As Shot, Original, 1 x 1, 8 x 10, 5 x 7, 4 x 6, 16 x 9, 4 x 3
• Set White Balance – As Shot, Cloudy, Daylight, Flash, Fluorescent, Shade, Tungsten
• Toggle Star Ratings
• Set Star Rating
• Toggle Color Flags
• Set / Remove Color Flags
• Toggle Lens Profile Corrections
• Toggle Remove Chromatic Aberration
• Undo / Redo
• Flag as Pick
• Flag as Reject
• Library Loupe View
• Grid View
• Compare View
• Survey View
• People View
• Develop Loupe View
• Before/After – Left/Right
• Before/After – Top/Bottom
• Before View
• Reference Left/Right
• Reference Top/Bottom
• Toggle Zoom View / Zoom In / Zoom Out / Zoom to 100%

• Toggle Before/After
• Before/After – Split View
• Invert Mask

• Eliminate mouse slowdowns on startup and exit
• Fixed SHIFT & Action Keys stuck in a down state in rare instances
• Fixed choppiness while using the transform sliders
• Sharpen Radius HUD bug
• Prevent nil errors from showing (in some cases)
• Fix bug when no Local Adjustment Presets were found (when Presets are stored in Catalog)
• Detect & re-establish the connection between LrC and LrSK if the connection lost
• Pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc doesn’t enable/disable LrsK, but opens up the task manager as it should
• Shutdown app on LrSK Stop
• Prevent multiple instances of LrSK to run

“Andrea Lacota shows how LrSuperKeys replaces Pfixer—streamlining Lightroom Classic editing for speed and workflow efficiency.”

Andrea Lacota, an Italian educator and wedding photographer, explains why he replaced Pfixer with LrSuperKeys to improve his Lightroom Classic workflow. In his review, he highlights how the plugin eliminates reliance on external hardware and speeds up editing through intuitive keyboard shortcuts.

His video “Come ho velocizzato la post produzione senza Ai” shows these tools in action, demonstrating how LrSuperKeys helps him correct exposure, contrast, and color adjustments more efficiently. The video illustrates how LrSuperKeys offers a practical, streamlined alternative for professional photographers managing heavy post‑production workloads.

The way Jeff implements natural light and off-camera flash to showcase his subjects he creates captivating and stunning timeless images.

Jeff reached out to us because he wanted to share his experience with us and with those just discovering LrSK.

Here’s what he had to say…

Just to put things into context, I’m a professional wedding photographer and so I use Lightroom extensively. Any small gains in speed can add up to a huge time save for me.

I was intrigued enough by Lightroom SuperKeys to download a 14-day trial, the main thing I was interested in was the ‘Action Keys’, one keypress to apply a preset. I wasn’t really clear on the ‘Speed Keys’ or if they would benefit me or not, but the ability to quickly apply presets alone would make this a worthwhile purchase.

I’ve used other plugins previously that performed the tasks I’m after, but they were very cumbersome and temperamental. What a pleasant surprise then when I installed LrSK, it’s very simple to set up and a breeze to use. I did have one issue though, more to do with the way I set my Lightroom Preferences, but it stopped me from using LrSK to its full potential. I contacted the developer who was super quick to respond. We worked out a temporary fix, with a permanent solution in the next release a couple of weeks later. That’s what I call service!

OK, once I was fully up and running with the ‘Action Keys’, I started to use the ‘Speed Keys’ and OMG what a timesaver! This wasn’t what I’d downloaded the plugin for, but has proved to make a huge difference to my workflow. One press of a key brings up the relevant slider (exposure, contrast, etc.), then dragging left or right WHEREVER your pointer is, will increase or decrease the slider. No more having to position my cursor over the relevant slider.

The bottom line is, if you’re a casual Lr Classic user, this may not make a big impact to you, but if you use LrC on a regular basis, this will definitely level up your workflow.

Jeff Oliver
Jeff Oliver Photography

Thomas from Fotopodcast calls LrSK “the best Lightroom Classic plug-in ever” on their latest podcast.

Fotopodcast is the second longest-running podcast in Germany. They have been discussing all things photography since way back in 2008!

Thomas has created this amazing review of him demonstrating LrSK and all its features. He covers the use of Speed Keys, and how he defines Action Keys to apply develop presets, masking presets, and more…

The video is in German. So, for all the non-speaking German individuals, like myself, enabling YouTube subtitles to auto-translate does an excellent job with the translation.

Thank you kindly Fotopodcast and especially its team member Thomas for expressing their love for LrSK!