How do I uncheck photos in Lightroom?

In Adobe Lightroom, the action of "unchecking" photos is typically referred to as deselecting them. Deselecting photos allows you to remove them from the current selection without removing them from your catalog or collections. You can deselect individual photos, a range of photos, or all selected photos using various methods in Grid View (G) or Filmstrip.

Here are the primary ways to deselect photos in Lightroom:

Methods to Deselect Photos

Effectively managing your photo selections is crucial for tasks like editing, exporting, or organizing. Lightroom provides several intuitive ways to deselect photos.

Deselecting All Photos

The quickest way to deselect all currently selected photos is by using a keyboard shortcut or clicking outside the photo grid.

• Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl + D (Windows) or Cmd + D (macOS). This will instantly deselect every photo you currently have selected in the Grid View or Filmstrip.
• Clicking: Click on an empty area within the Grid View (an area without a photo thumbnail). This also deselects all selected photos.

Deselecting a Single Photo from a Selection

If you have multiple photos selected and want to deselect just one of them without affecting the others:

• Ctrl/Cmd + Click: Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Cmd key (macOS) and click on the photo you wish to deselect. This toggles the selection status of that specific photo. If it was selected, it becomes deselected; if it was deselected, it becomes selected.

Deselecting Multiple Photos Selectively (Keeping One)

A useful technique, particularly in Grid View, allows you to quickly isolate a single photo by deselecting all others.

• Clicking Outside the Photo, Within the Thumbnail: As shown in the video reference, you can click within the boundary of a photo's thumbnail, but outside the boundary of the photo image itself. This action will deselect all of the other photos in your current selection while leaving the clicked photo selected. This is a handy way to switch your focus to a single image when you have a large group selected.

Action	Effect	Location (Typically)
Ctrl + D / Cmd + D	Deselects all selected photos	Grid View, Filmstrip
Click empty area	Deselects all selected photos	Grid View
Ctrl + Click / Cmd + Click on a photo	Toggles selection of that photo	Grid View, Filmstrip
Click outside photo, inside thumbnail boundary	Deselects all other photos, keeps clicked	Grid View

By mastering these methods, you can efficiently control your photo selections in Lightroom, streamlining your workflow.