Lightroom Classic has several ways to get up close with pixels. Loupe View in Library Module and Develop allows us to use some of the older and newer features.
The Navigator Panel
You should start by looking at the Navigator panel. Here you can select different zoom levels and see which zoom level you’re currently using. This panel is available in both Library as well as Develop.
Fit is the default view. Fit will display the selected photo in its entirety within the workspace. Fill will cover the entire workspace. Some areas of the image may be visible outside the visible workspace.
You may remember that this is a fairly new feature. In the past, we used ratios such as 1:1, 1:2, etc. These ratios are now replaced by zoom percentages. You can choose from 6% up to 1600% using the tiny drop-down menu at the top right of the panel.
If you zoom in further than the Fit screen, you can use the Navigator Panel to pan around a photo. You can do this by clicking on the box and dragging it or by simply clicking the area that you want to view.
Clicking on the photo
Normal use, I don’t touch the Navigator panel. Instead, I click on the image to zoom in and again to zoom out. This should default to the Fit view, which is what I prefer. Clicking on a photo will change the zoom value to 200%. If you choose to zoom in to another value, such as 200%, clicking again will change to Fit. It is therefore useful to have the 100% button in the middle of the panel.
Handy Shortcuts
The Spacebar can be used to zoom in and out. Pressing the Z key will also do the same. To zoom into a photo in the Library module in Grid view, I select the image, hold down the Z key, zoom to 100% and check the focus. Then, release the Z button to return to Grid view.
Press CMD = to zoom in incrementally or CMD – (PC:Ctrl-) to zoom out.
Visit my October 2020 update post to learn more about the new Box and Scrubby zoom functions. Please let me know in the comments if you’ve got any zoom shortcuts that are useful.
Selective Menus and Preferences
LrC’s catalog stores the last zoom position that you selected on a picture. It is very useful when switching between Fit (or 100%) and Zoom percentages so you can always return to the location where you zoomed into. This can cause problems if you’re comparing pixels between multiple photos, and you have previously zoomed in at different points. There is a menu option that will help you.