Lightroom Star Ratings and Colour Labels: My Go-To Workflow for Culling, Editing and Delivering Like a Pro

One of the most common questions I get from students is this:

“What are star ratings and colour labels in Lightroom, and how do I actually use them?”

It’s a great question — because while Lightroom gives us these tools, it doesn’t tell us how to use them well. And over the years, I’ve learned that creating a clear, structured system that works for you can make the entire editing process more intuitive, less overwhelming, and way more efficient.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the professional system I use in my own catalogue, and the one I teach to emerging photographers across workshops and mentoring. It’s designed to help you separate the quality of an image from its purpose or workflow stage — without letting either blur into the other.

Whether you're delivering to a client, printing for exhibition, or preparing a personal project, this system will help you stay focused and in control from import to export.

Star Ratings: For Quality, Not Workflow

Star ratings in Lightroom should be used to assess how strong an image is — not what it’s for or what happens next. Here’s how I break it down:

⭐ Stars	Label	What It Means
0	Unrated	Just imported. Not yet reviewed.
1	First Pass	Technically okay, but compositionally weak.
2	Considered	Solid image, needs a closer look.
3	Select	Creatively strong and emotionally engaging.
4	Final	Polished image ready for delivery or publication.
5	Hero	Portfolio-grade or competition-worthy.

Pro Tip: Star ratings are for image quality only. They help you judge, not manage.

Rejections Deserve Their Own Shortcut

Use the X key for anything that’s unusable — missed focus, misfires, or completely irrelevant frames.

This keeps your catalogue clean and allows you to bulk delete later via Photo > Delete Rejected Photos.

Colour Labels: For Workflow, Not Quality

Colour labels are where your organisation truly comes to life. They’re not for rating “favourites” — they’re for identifying what stage an image is at in your editing process.

Here’s how I use them:

🎨 Colour	Label Name	What It Means
🔴 Red	Follow-Up / Needs Attention	Requires creative review or decision later.
🟡 Yellow	Merge Needed	Bracketed set – HDR, pano, or stack needing merge.
🟢 Green	Print Version	Final, high-res file ready for print or archive.
🔵 Blue	Client Delivery	Approved and export-ready for client or licensing.
🟣 Purple	Work In Progress	Still being edited or refined – not yet final.

Each colour acts as a signal — telling me exactly where that image stands in my process. It saves me from second-guessing or reopening files unnecessarily.

How to Use Both — Without Crossed Wires

Here’s how star ratings and colour labels complement each other:

Scenario	Star Rating	Colour Label	What It Means
Just imported	⭐ 0	–	Needs first review
Merge bracket set	⭐⭐	🟡 Yellow	Technically strong – needs merging
Final gallery image	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	🟢 Green	Portfolio-ready, print-ready
Client-approved	⭐⭐⭐⭐	🔵 Blue	Ready for export
Creative flag	⭐⭐	🔴 Red	Needs attention or decision
Midway through edit	⭐⭐–⭐⭐⭐	🟣 Purple	Still in progress

You’re never mixing “how good is this?” with “where is this going?”
Each label and rating has its own role.

How to Set It Up in Lightroom

To create this system in your own catalogue:

1. Go to Metadata > Colour Label Set > Edit…

2. Rename your labels:

   • Red: Follow-Up

   • Yellow: Merge Needed

   • Green: Print Version

   • Blue: Client Delivery

   • Purple: Work In Progress

3. Save the set as: “Pro Workflow Labels”

Use Lightroom’s keyboard shortcuts to apply them:

• 6 = Red

• 7 = Yellow

• 8 = Green

• 9 = Blue

Assign Purple manually or create a custom shortcut using a third-party plugin or macro tool.

Smart Collection Tip

Use Smart Collections to create automatic queues based on colour labels and star ratings:

• Merge Queue: Colour = Yellow

• Print Finals: Colour = Green AND ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Client Deliverables: Colour = Blue AND ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Images for Review: Colour = Red

• Active Projects: Colour = Purple

This gives you a visual editing dashboard — no digging, no guessing.

Final Thoughts (As a Photographer and Teacher)

This system has completely changed the way I manage large image sets — both in my professional work and in my teaching. Whether I’m editing for exhibition, mentoring students, or reviewing a client’s gallery, this structure brings clarity to the chaos.

You don’t need to overcomplicate Lightroom.
Just give every image two simple pieces of information:

• How strong is it? (⭐ Star rating)

• Where is it in my process? (🎨 Colour label)

It’s practical. It’s clean. And it gives your creative mind space to breathe.

Want to Learn More?

I offer 1:1 mentoring, Lightroom coaching, and workflow reviews tailored to photographers of all experience levels.

📩 Reach out via the contact page to book a session,