Author: Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I am a Lightroom user and of course know that when I process a picture the changes are stored to be available in Lightroom, but a second file is not created. I need to understand using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) from Photoshop CC. It seems that when I go to the ACR Filter and process an image, raw or not raw, it also stores the changes for later access in ACR. Is this true and can you provide some more details?

Tim’s Quick Answer: When you use Adobe Camera Raw to process a raw capture, the adjustment settings are indeed preserved with the image in an XMP “sidecar” file. Lightroom similarly preserves the adjustment settings you apply in the Develop module. When you use the Camera Raw Filter directly on an image in Photoshop, however, the actual adjustment settings are only preserved if you use that filter as a Smart Filter.

More Detail: Provided you’re using comparable versions of the two tools, you will find the exact same adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw and in Lightroom’s Develop module. Thus, you can achieve the exact same results when processing a raw capture by using either Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw.

When you apply adjustments with either Lightroom or Camera Raw, the adjustment settings are preserved so you can revisit your adjustments later. In Lightroom those settings are saved in the catalog, but you can also save them to an XMP sidecar file by either choosing Metadata > Save Metadata to File from the menu, or by enabling the option to have Lightroom automatically save metadata (found in the Catalog Settings dialog).

The Camera Raw filter in Photoshop is a little different. This filter enables you to make use of the adjustments found in Camera Raw, but applied directly to pixel values within Photoshop rather than being used to process a raw capture. By default, as with other filters in Photoshop, the Camera Raw Filter will directly alter pixel values. However, you can also apply this filter as a Smart Filter to preserve greater flexibility in your workflow.

To employ a Smart Filter, first click on the thumbnail for the Background image layer on the Layers panel to select that layer. Then choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters from the menu to convert the Background image layer to a Smart Object. Then choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter. The Camera Raw dialog will appear, where you can apply any adjustments you’d like. When you’re finished, click the OK button to apply the changes. Later, if you want to refine your adjustments, simply double-click on the “Camera Raw Filter” text below the Smart Filters layer on the Layers panel, in order to bring up the Camera Raw filter with your existing adjustments available for refinement.

Today’s Question: I often struggle to create an elliptical selection using the Elliptical Marquee tool in Photoshop, such as when I want to apply an effect to the edges of an image. Do you have any tips for getting the selection in the right position?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There are two key tricks that can be especially helpful for the Elliptical Marquee tool in Photoshop. First, while still holding the mouse button down to create the initial selection, you can hold the Spacebar on the keyboard to enable you to move the selection around while you’re creating it. Second, you can move or transform the selection, such as with the Select > Transform Selection command.

More Detail: The Elliptical Marquee tool in Photoshop is virtually identical to the Rectangular Marquee tool, with the difference being that the selection will be in the shape of an ellipse rather than a rectangle. Thus, the same basic options are available with both of these tools.

One of the biggest challenges with using the Elliptical Marquee tool is in getting the selection into the right position. It can be helpful to think about drawing a rectangle that contains an ellipse when creating a selection using the Elliptical Marquee tool. That said, it can still be challenging to get the selection in just the right place.

If you realize that the selection isn’t in quite the right place while you’re still drawing the selection (with the mouse button still held down), you can simply hold the Spacebar key on the keyboard (while continuing to hold down the mouse button). Then drag the selection into a different position. When you release the Spacebar key you can continue refining the shape of the selection. This enables you to switch back and forth freely between resizing and moving the selection, until you release the mouse button to actually create the selection.

If you’ve already created the selection, you can still move it around easily. With the selection tool still active, make sure the mode is set to “Create New Selection” rather than add or subtract, for example. Then point the mouse inside the selection, and click and drag to move the selection.

If you need to resize (and possibly move) the selection, you can use the transform command. Once you’ve created the initial selection, choose Select > Transform Selection from the menu, and a transformation bounding box will appear around the image. You can then adjust the overall size and shape of the selection by dragging the edges or corners of the bounding box. You can also move the selection by dragging within the interior of the bounding box.

Note, by the way, that you can also have a selection grow outward from the point you initially click on rather than having that initial point serving as one of the corners of the rectangle that will define the overall elliptical shape. To do so, start drawing your selection with the Elliptical Marquee tool, and then while you are still holding down the mouse button press and hold the Alt key on Windows or the Option key on Macintosh while continuing to drag. This will cause the selection to grow outward from the original point you clicked, provided you keep holding the Alt/Option key until you release the mouse button.

Today’s Question: Regarding keywords, could you advise on plurals and capitalization?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To me the most important aspects of a keywording strategy are consistency and (to the extent possible) simplicity.

More Detail: First, in general you don’t need to be too worried about capitalization for your keywords, at least in the context of searching. Most software doesn’t provide a case-sensitive search feature for keywords, meaning you’ll be able to search regardless of what the original capitalization was.

That said, in some cases other people will be able to see your keywords. That would be the case, for example, if you submit photos to stock photography services. If others will be able to view your keywords I would tend to be a bit more careful about always using proper capitalization, such as for proper nouns.

For singular versus plural, again the right approach depends on your particular needs. As a very general rule, for my own keywording I use the singular form unless the plural is noteworthy. My aim here is simplicity and consistency.

In many cases, of course, singular versus plural won’t impact a search. For example, let’s assume you have some photos featuring whales. For the images that feature a single whale you could use the keyword “whale”. For images that feature two or more whales in the frame, you could use the plural keyword “whales”. In either case it is possible to search “whale” and have images with the keyword “whales” included in the search results. This depends, of course, on the settings used for the search, but the point is that it would be possible to see search results for both singular and plural keywords in this case.

If you had also photographed cactus plants, the use of singular versus plural keywords could be a problem. A photo with one plant could have the keyword “cactus”, while a photo featuring multiple plants might have the keyword “cacti”. A search for the singular versus plural form of “cactus” would not yield all of the images you might be looking for.

You also need to consider whether you may ever need to search specifically for a photo containing multiple subjects, where you would want to be able to search specifically for the plural form of a keyword.

The best solution will vary for each photographer. What I think is most important is that you think about your own specific needs as a photographer, and the potential utility of including only a singular form of a keyword unless there is a specific reason to use the plural. And, of course, you could always use both singular and plural to help broaden your potential search results, if that is most helpful for you.

Today’s Question: If I switch from Windows to Macintosh will the Lightroom catalog still work or do I have to create new one?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Lightroom catalog file is cross-platform, so you can simply move the catalog files to a new computer (with a different operating system) and continue working normally. The only minor issue would be the photos referenced by your catalog having a different location reference.

More Detail: Adobe developed the Lightroom catalog to be represented by the same file format on both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. As a result, migrating from one platform to the other is relatively seamless. The only real issue relates to the differences in how storage is managed on the two platforms.

The key difference in terms of storage structure on Windows versus Macintosh relates to the way hard drives are represented by the operating system. On Windows a drive letter is assigned to the hard drive, while on Macintosh a volume label name is used to reference the hard drive.

So, because the catalog file is compatible with both platforms, you can simply copy the catalog files from one computer to another and open the catalog file in Lightroom on either platform. However, there will be some “confusion” about where your actual image files are located based on the differences between how hard drives are referenced on each operating system.

Fortunately, when you make a switch like this it is relatively easy to resolve the “missing” folders that will result. Because the folders will not be in the same location they are expected based on the differences between both operating systems, initially all of your folders (and therefore photos) will appear as missing when you migrate.

In most cases, when all of the folders appear missing after initiating this type of migration, you can reconnect all “missing” folders (and photos) by reconnecting a single folder. If you right-click on a folder and choose the “Find Missing Folder” option, you can identify the updated location of an individual folder. In most cases Lightroom will be able to use that update to resolve all of the other missing folders on the same hard drive. That, in turn, means that resolving the missing folders that result from this type of migration will not be a significant issue in most cases.

Today’s Question: [In the folder structure you shared during a recent webinar presentation] you have some Country folders versus some State folders, versus some City folders. What criteria should be used to decide which is the parent folder?

Tim’s Quick Answer: My general recommendation is to create a folder structure based on the way you think about your photos. For me that is largely a location-based folder structure, but I don’t use a strict hierarchical structure based on country, state, and city, since my travels vary considerably in terms of how I think about the trip.

More Detail: My personal view is that I want a folder structure that makes it easy to make use of that folder structure for locating specific images. When I think about specific images, I tend to think about the location where I captured those images, since the vast majority of my photography involves traveling to different locations.

The location that comes to mind for me varies based on the trip. For example, while most of my time in Iceland has been spent in Reykjavik, I still think of the destination as Iceland. By contrast, my trip to France mostly involved time in Paris, and so I think of that as a “Paris” trip. The key is how I think about the trip or photo shoot, not a specific hierarchy.

For photographers who travel more extensively than I do, a more structured hierarchy might make sense. For example, you might always want to use a folder structure based on continent, country, and city.

I try not to suggest to photographers that they use a specific structure for the folders that contain their photos, but rather that they use a consistent approach based on how they think about their images. The most important thing, in my view, is that photographers will be able to locate their images as easily as possible. A meaningful folder structure can be part of that workflow strategy.

To be sure, there is no single strategy for folder structure that will work for every photographer. I recommend that all photographers consider what folder structure strategy might make the most sense for their particular needs, and then implement that strategy consistently.

Today’s Question: Do you recommend using star ratings or color labels for identifying your best photos from a photo trip?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I recommend using star ratings rather than color labels for identifying favorite images. Part of my reasoning is that star ratings have a more obvious inherent meaning. In addition, color labels are not implemented consistently with different image-management software tools.

More Detail: Star ratings have what I feel is a somewhat clear inherent meaning. The better the image, the more stars you would assign to it. Color labels have some degree of inherent meaning in terms of the “priority” indicated by the color, but this isn’t as obvious to interpret as it would be for star ratings.

Perhaps more importantly, color labels are implemented differently in different software. In fact, by default, color labels assigned in Adobe Bridge won’t appear correctly if the images are imported in Lightroom.

The color label field in metadata isn’t really a color at all, but rather a word. In Lightroom, for example, the word “Red” is used to represent a red color label. In Adobe Bridge the word “Select” is used instead. This can lead to potential confusion, needless to say.

So, I consider star ratings to be preferable compared to color labels, though I certainly use color labels for supplemental purposes, such as to temporarily identify images for a project.

Note, by the way, that it is possible to resolve mismatches caused by assigning color labels with two different software applications. You can also easily transition from the use of color labels, for example, to star ratings. In the context of Lightroom, both of these topics are addressed in my “Cleaning Up Your Mess in Lightroom” video course, which is available (with additional bonus courses) in the “Mastering Lightroom” bundle available here:

http://timgrey.me/MLR99

Today’s Question: Can one merge catalogs from different versions of Lightroom easily, such as a Lightroom 4 catalog into a Lightroom Classic catalog?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Sort of. While you can’t directly merge a catalog from an older version of Lightroom into a catalog from a more recent version, it is easy to upgrade an older catalog and then merge it with your master catalog.

More Detail: The process of merging two Lightroom catalogs is rather straightforward, though it is important to be organized in your approach to this task. However, the two catalogs must both match the version of Lightroom you’re using for the destination catalog. That means, for example, that a Lightroom 4 catalog would need to be upgraded before it can be merged with a Lightroom Classic CC catalog.

To upgrade a catalog to the latest version of Lightroom, you simply need to open the outdated catalog with the current version of Lightroom. You can choose File > Open Catalog from the menu, navigate to the folder where the outdated catalog is stored, and double-click on the name of the catalog (the file with the “lrcc” filename extension) to open it.

When you open an outdated catalog, Lightroom will prompt you to upgrade the catalog. A new catalog file will be created as part of this process, so the older catalog will be retained as a backup. When the upgrade process is complete, you’ll be able to review the updated catalog in Lightroom.

After upgrading the catalog you want to merge into your master catalog, you can re-open the master catalog in Lightroom. Then use the “Import from Another Catalog” command to effectively merge the other catalog into your master catalog. When the import is completed, all of the photos and metadata from the other catalog will be included in your master catalog.

My video training course “Cleaning Up Your Mess in Lightroom” includes lessons on upgrading outdated catalogs, merging catalogs, and much more. You can get this course along with all of my other Lightroom courses with the “Mastering Lightroom” bundle available through GreyLearning here:

http://timgrey.me/MLR99

Today’s Question: Following up on your answer about older process versions in Lightroom, is there a way to search for images based on whether their process version is out of date?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The only option Lightroom provides for searching for photos with an outdated process version is to use the Library > Find Previous Process Photos command on the menu.

More Detail: When you are in the Library module you can select Library > Find Previous Process Photos from the menu to initiate a search of all photos in the current catalog. When the search is completed, a “Previous Process Photos” collection will be added to the Catalog section near the top of the left panel in the Library module. This collection will contain all images that are currently set to anything other than the latest process version.

Note, however, that if you update an image in the “Previous Process Photos” to the process version, that photo will not be removed from the “Previous Process Photos” collection. You would need to re-initiate the search to update this collection. Therefore, if you want to keep track of photos as you update them you may want to add all of the photos in the “Previous Process Photos” collection to a new collection, and then use some form of metadata (such as a color label) to keep track of which images you have updated to the latest process version.

It is also possible to update all images to the latest process version if you prefer. While browsing the “Previous Process Photos” collection with no filters applied, for example, you could switch to the Develop module and click the lightning bolt symbol on the Histogram section of the right panel. That icon indicates that the current image is not set to the latest process version. When you click the icon, a dialog will be presented that enables you to choose whether you want to update the current photo to the latest process version. In addition, you can click the “Update All Filmstrip Photos” button to update all photos on the filmstrip to the latest process version.

Today’s Question: You mentioned that it is possible to simulate a long exposure effect with a smartphone using certain apps. Can you recommend an app for the iPhone that provides this feature?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The app I’ve been using to capture long exposure effects on the iPhone is called “Slow Shutter” by Cogitap Software. In addition, if you have upgraded to iOS 11 or later you can create a similar effect using the Live Photo feature.

More Detail: The “Slow Shutter” app by Cogitap Software enables you to exercise a fair amount of control over the effect you’re creating, such as by adjusting the overall shutter speed you want to achieve. You can use this app to capture long exposures in real time.

In addition, with the release of iOS 11 the iPhone can now create a long exposure effect using the Live Photo feature. To use this option, first capture a photo with the Live Photo option enabled. The icon for the Live Photo feature looks something like a target, with several concentric circles. That icon is yellow when the feature is enabled, and you can tap the icon to toggle the setting.

After capturing a photo with the Live Photo feature enabled, review that image in the Photos app. Then swipe upward from near the bottom of the screen to bring up the Details screen for the image. Under the Effects heading you can swipe through the various options, and choose “Long Exposure” to create a long exposure effect.

In both cases the image you capture isn’t truly a long exposure, but rather a composite created from multiple frames blended together. The Live Photo feature, for example, essentially records a brief video clip, which consists of multiple frames that can be blended for the long exposure effect.

Today’s Question: When Lightroom and Camera Raw update their process versions, as they have recently, do you go back to any of your existing images and re-edit them with the new process version?

Tim’s Quick Answer: No, as a general rule I do not go back and change the process version for photos I had adjusted using an older process version, unless I want to revisit the adjustments I previously applied.

More Detail: The main reason to update the process version for an “older” photo would be to take advantage of any new features available with the updated process version. Sometimes that may be compelling, of course, depending on the new features added as part of an updated process version. For example, the Dehaze adjustment is only available with process version 2012 (version 3) or later.

When you change the process version for an image, there is a risk that the image will change in appearance based on differences between the process versions. Generally this doesn’t represent a significant issue, but it is reason enough (I think) to not simply batch update images to a new process version, and to instead only update when you’re revisiting the adjustments for an older photo.

After you’ve installed a Lightroom update that includes a new process version, any images you import into your catalog will automatically be updated to reflect the new process version. In other words, you only need to consider updating the process version for images that were already in your Lightroom catalog before a new process version was released. More to the point, this is primarily an issue for images you had actually applied adjustments to using an earlier process version.

You can change the process version for a photo using the Process popup in the Camera Calibration section of the right panel in the Develop module. In addition, an image that has the process version set to an older version will show a lightning bolt symbol in the Histogram section of the right panel in the Develop module. You can click that lightning bolt symbol to bring up a dialog with options for updating to the latest process version for the current image or for all images currently shown on the filmstrip.