Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: What is your take on using an external NVMe [Non-Volatile Memory Express] drive for image/backup storage, as opposed to traditional hard drives or SSD storage? Are they sufficiently dependable?

Tim’s Quick Answer: An NVMe (NVM Express) storage device can indeed be used effectively for storage or backup, typically providing considerably faster performance than other storage devices.

More Detail: Technically, NVMe is an interface specification for storage devices, not an actual storage device. In other words, an NVMe device is typically an SSD drive, just like the SSD internal drive on many computers or an SSD external drive. An NVMe device connects directly to a PCI Express bus in a computer, which enables it to achieve considerably faster speeds than an external drive or even an internal drive using a SATA connection.

Therefore, overall I’m completely comfortable using NVMe devices for storage or backup, with two caveats.

First, an NVMe device connects to a PCI Express port, which means it is located inside your computer. That does create the risk of excessive heat buildup, which can reduce the lifespan of an NVMe storage device. As long as your computer has a good ventilation system with temperature monitoring, this shouldn’t be a significant issue. It could even be argued that the risk of overheating is less likely to cause a failure compared to physically damaging or losing an external storage device.

The second caveat relates to best practices when it comes to backing up data. One important rule of a good backup workflow is that the backup should not be stored on the same physical device as the source data. If you use an NVMe device as primary storage and back up that data to an internal SSD drive, the data is on two different storage devices, but they are both contained within the same computer. Therefore, there is a risk that a major issue with the computer such as a power surge could cause both storage devices to be lost.

So, while I would be perfectly comfortable using an NVMe for storage or backup, I would also want to be sure to use a backup workflow that ensures the source data and backup data are on different devices. For example, I would suggest using an external hard drive and perhaps an online backup service to back up the NVMe drive so that the redundant data is stored on separate drives.

Today’s Question: Suddenly, in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic, at the top of the right panel is a “Create Proof Copy” button. Whenever I make an adjustment, a box pops up telling me to create a proof copy. “Undo” undoes the adjustment, which makes LrC useless with no adjustments.

Tim’s Quick Answer: The issue you describe indicates that the “Soft Proofing” checkbox on the toolbar below the image preview is turned on. Simply turn that checkbox off and you’ll be back to the normal behavior in the Develop module.

More Detail: The Develop module in Lightroom Classic includes a soft proofing feature, which enables you to simulate what the printed output for an image will look like using your monitor display. This can be helpful for choosing which paper might work best for a photo, for example, or to troubleshoot a print that didn’t look right.

When you turn on the Soft Proofing checkbox, applying any adjustments will cause you to be prompted to make a virtual copy if you are working on the original image. That is so adjustments for a specific print configuration are applied to a virtual copy, without altering the adjustments for the original image that would be the basis of most other output such as printing or online sharing.

In this case, of course, the soft proofing feature was enabled by mistake, so the solution is to simply turn off the “Soft Proofing” checkbox on the toolbar below the image preview. That will return you to the normal behavior in the Develop module, with no prompt to create a virtual copy when you apply adjustments.

Today’s Question: I’ve noticed that sometimes a white dot and sometimes a red dot appears below the Masking button on the right panel in the Develop module. What do those dots mean?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A white dot indicates a tool that has been used for the current image, and a red dot below the Masking button indicates there are AI masks that need to be updated.

More Detail: In Lightroom Classic there are various indications of which specific adjustments have been applied. For example, the numerical value associated with a slider will appear brighter (white rather than light gray) to indicate the adjustment has been changed from the default value.

The toolbar below the Histogram section on the right panel in the Develop module includes five buttons associated with the various editing tools. Those buttons are: Edit, Crop, Remove, Red Eye Correction, and Masking. For each of these buttons, if any adjustments in that category have been applied a white dot will appear below the button to indicate that adjustment has actually been used in some way.

For Masking there are a series of AI-based masks, such as Select Sky and Select Subject. In some cases the AI masks may need to be updated, and that is indicated by a red dot under the Masking button. To update the masks, click on the “more” button (the three dots) to the right of a mask and choose “Update AI Masks” from the popup. You can also update by selecting one or more photos in the grid view in the Library module and choose Photo > Develop Settings > Update AI Settings from the menu to update the AI masks for all selected photos in batch.

Note, by the way, that there is a similar issue with the Remove tool where the Generative AI cleanup may need to be updated, in which case a red dot will appear under the button for the Remove tool.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to set the initial Lens Blur setting [in Lightroom Classic] to another default value other than 50? I usually find that when I use that feature that a value of 30 is generally where I end up and I would like to not have to fiddle with it if I can.

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can’t change the default setting for the Lens Blur adjustment in Lightroom Classic directly, but you could use a preset to achieve a similar result without much difficulty.

More Detail: A Develop preset in Lightroom Classic enables you preserve settings for some (or all) adjustments found on the right panel in the Develop module. In this case, you could create a preset that includes only the Lens Blur adjustment.

Start by selecting a representative image, ideally one you haven’t worked on yet so you don’t need to worry about altering any existing adjustments. Then turn on the Apply checkbox in the Lens Blur section of the right panel, and adjust all other settings the way you’d like them by default when applying the preset.

Next, click the plus symbol (+) to the right of the Presets heading on the left panel and choose “Create Preset” from the popup menu. In the dialog that appears, enter a meaningful name in the Preset Name field, and choose which group you’d like to save the preset to. Then click the “Check None” button at the bottom-left of the dialog. You can then turn on the “Lens Blur” checkbox in the Settings section, and click the Create button.

When you want to apply the Lens Blur effect to an image, instead of turning on the Apply checkbox in the Lens Blur section of the right panel, select your preset from the Presets section on the left panel, and then adjust the settings to your liking on the right panel.

The above process obviously isn’t as convenient as simply changing the default setting for the adjustment. But keep in mind that you could also apply the preset in bulk to multiple photos by selecting the images in the grid view in the Library module and then selecting the preset that includes the Lens Blur effect from the Saved Preset popup in the Quick Develop on the right panel in the Library module.

It is also possible to apply the preset to all images being imported, but obviously for most photographers in most cases you wouldn’t want to apply Lens Blur to all images being imported, but rather a relatively small percentage of all photos.

Today’s Question: With the ability to select people automatically in Photoshop as well as in Camera Raw [or Lightroom Classic], do you recommend selecting people when processing the raw image in Camera Raw or after opening the image in Photoshop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you’re using Camera Raw (rather than Lightroom Classic) with Photoshop, I generally prefer to apply targeted adjustments in Photoshop rather than Camera Raw for greater workflow flexibility.

More Detail: There are tools for automatically selecting people (or specific portions of people) in Photoshop, Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom, and they all produce similar (and generally good) results. Whether you select people in Photoshop or Camera Raw (or Lightroom Classic or Lightroom) depends in part on your workflow preferences.

If you’re using Camera Raw and Photoshop, it is common to only process a single image once in Camera Raw and then work exclusively in Photoshop after that. Because of that, I generally prefer to apply targeted adjustments in Photoshop rather than Camera Raw. That way, you can always return to the targeted adjustment in Photoshop later rather than having to start over with the raw capture if you wanted to make a change to a targeted adjustment.

Note, by the way, that you can use the new option for selecting people with the Object Selection tool in Photoshop. With an image opening people open, and the Object Selection tool active, click the “Select people” button on the Options bar. This will bring up a dialog where you can choose a person and then click on the applicable buttons for the portions of the person you want to select. Then click the Apply button, and you’ll have a selection that you can use as the basis of a targeted adjustment with an adjustment layer, for example.

By creating the selection and targeted adjustment in Photoshop rather than Camera Raw, you have more flexibility in terms of refining those adjustments, as long as you work with adjustment layers and include those layers when saving the image. Later you can open the layered image and refine the layer mask or the adjustment settings for your targeted adjustment.

Note that for Lightroom Classic and Lightroom users, because you can easily return to any image to refine your adjustments, there’s no need to send the image to Photoshop to take advantage of the people selection feature. You can simply use the People option for the masking feature to apply targeted adjustments involving people.

Today’s Question: I sent an image to Photoshop with ‘edit in’ command, did a little work, then saved and it goes back to Lightroom Classic. Then “Edit in” to Photoshop again, did major work with lots of layers and actions, but it wrote over the original when I saved it back to Lightroom with the Save command. I really wanted both copies because they were significantly different. How can I do that?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you want an additional copy of a TIFF (or other non-raw file format) when sending an image to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, you need to choose one of the “Edit a Copy” options in the dialog that appears.

More Detail: When you send a non-raw image from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, you’re asked whether you want to edit a copy of the selected image or the original image you’ve selected for editing. The dialog with these options is not shown when you send a raw capture to Photoshop, because in that case the derivative image that is created will be saved based on the settings you have established on the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog in Lightroom Classic.

When you send a non-raw file, such as a TIFF from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, you have three options for how to handle the file, which are shown in a dialog that appears after choosing the “Edit In” command.

If you choose “Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments”, you will create an additional copy of the selected image. Note, however, that if the selected image contained layers from Photoshop, those layers will be flattened in the copy in order to apply the adjustments from the Develop module in Lightroom Classic.

If you choose “Edit a Copy”, all layers and other attributes of the selected image will be retained, with a copy of that file being created. In order to support this, however, while you’re working in Photoshop any adjustments you had applied in Lightroom Classic after the source image was created in Photoshop will not be visible while you’re working in Photoshop.

For example, if you convert a color TIFF image to black and white in Lightroom Classic, when you send the image to Photoshop with the “Edit a Copy” option, while you’re in Photoshop the image will appear in color. However after you’ve performed your work in Photoshop and saved and closed the image, it will appear in black and white again when you get back to Lightroom Classic.

The third option for the “Edit In” command in this context is “Edit Original”. This means you are opening the source image in Photoshop without making a copy. Therefore, if you started with only one copy of that image, after working with it in Photoshop you’ll still only have one copy. This could cause you to lose some information from the original, such as if you applied a destructive crop in Photoshop.

So, if you want to retain both the original file and a new derivative copy when sending an image from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, be sure to choose one of the “Edit a Copy” options. If you want to avoid making an additional derivative copy of the image, you can choose “Edit Original”. Just be sure you understand what the impact of choosing one option or the other will be.

Today’s Question: With respect to the [April 10th] question/answer [about deleting previews in Lightroom Classic], if previews are deleted to recapture disk space, does metadata still remain with the photos so that using search criteria, one could still locate the photo and restore the preview?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, discarding previews in Lightroom Classic will not cause any metadata to be lost, either in the catalog or in the source files on your hard drive. Discarding previews simply clears the image from the cache, and a preview will be built again the next time you browse the photos.

More Detail: The Standard and 1:1 previews in Lightroom Classic are simply a cache to enable faster browsing of photos, and as such there is no serious harm caused by discarding previews. The only drawback to discarding previews is that the next time you browse the affected photos there will be a brief delay in rendering the preview. That generally results in a preview that looks a bit soft at first, and then improves in quality once the preview is built.

Discarding previews will not remove any metadata from the Lightroom Classic catalog, nor will it cause metadata saved to the source images to be lost. That includes both metadata saved to standard image formats such as JPEG and TIFF, as well as metadata saved to XMP sidecar files for proprietary raw captures.

Therefore, it is perfectly safe to discard previews for selected photos (or even all photos in the catalog) by selecting the applicable photos and going to the menu and choosing Library > Previews > Discard Standard and 1:1 Previews. It is even safe to delete the previews file associated with your catalog to quickly free up a large amount of storage space, though I don’t recommend doing so unless you’re confident you are very familiar with which files in the catalog folder are critical and which are safe to delete.

Today’s Question: When I photograph in Raw+JPEG and import the photos to Lightroom Classic, it only imports the raw file, but not the JPEG file. Is there a way to import both files?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can import both images for Raw+JPEG captures by turning on the “Treat JPEG files next to raw files as separate photos” checkbox in Preferences.

More Detail: I feel I should hasten to point out that I don’t recommend using Raw+JPEG capture when using Lightroom Classic to manage your photos. Lightroom Classic will generate a JPEG preview based on the raw capture that is used for faster performance outside the Develop module (where the source image is used). In my view there isn’t any advantage to having the additional clutter of a JPEG for every raw capture. If you need a JPEG for sharing, for example, you can export based on the raw capture.

If you do prefer to use Raw+JPEG, by default during import Lightroom Classic will download both files, but will only add the raw capture to the catalog. You can import both images for Raw+JPEG pairs by turning on the “Treat JPEG files next to raw files as separate photos” checkbox on the General tab of the Preferences dialog.

For Raw+JPEG captures that were previously imported without the JPEG files being added to the catalog, you can add those images with the Synchronize Folder command. Start by right-clicking on the applicable folder in the Folders list on the left panel in the Library module, choosing “Synchronize Folder” from the popup menu.

In the Synchronize Folder dialog, turn on the “Import new photos” checkbox and make sure the “Remove missing photos from catalog” and “Scan for metadata updates” checkboxes are turned off. I also recommend turning on the “Show import dialog before importing” checkbox so you can adjust the import settings as needed. Then click the Synchronize button, and if you opted to have the Import dialog appear adjust the settings there and click the Import button.

Today’s Question: I’m going to be traveling without internet access for a couple weeks. I want to be sure I won’t lose access to Lightroom Classic and Photoshop along the way. How long can I be offline before I lose access to these applications?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you have an Adobe Creative Cloud plan with an annual commitment (even if you’re paying monthly) you have 129 days of offline access. For month-to-month plans (without an annual commitment) the grace period is limited to 30 days or less.

More Detail: Adobe requires that your license for Creative Cloud applications be validated periodically to confirm you have an active subscription. The software will check every 30 days and then will warn you if validation wasn’t possible. At that point you will then have a 99-day grace period before the software is unavailable or feature limited. This adds up to up to 129 days of offline use if you are on a plan with an annual commitment rather than a month-to-month plan.

With month-to-month plans the grace period is only 30 days. That grace period may also be further limited by other factors, such as where you purchased the software.

To maximize your offline access, you’ll want to validate your license with Adobe. My understanding is that the only way to do this (and therefore reset the clock for maximum offline access) is to sign out of the Creative Cloud application, and then sign in again.

You can read more details about offline access for Adobe applications on their website here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/internet-connection-creative-cloud-apps.html