Author: Tim Grey

Today’s Question: Can you rename a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic without renaming the original image the virtual copy was based on?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you rename a virtual copy, you are actually renaming the source image as well. If you want a unique reference name for a virtual copy, you should use the “Copy Name” field instead.

More Detail: A virtual copy in Lightroom Classic is simply a reference to the original image, providing a way to have more than one interpretation of the same source image. As such, if you rename a virtual copy, you are actually renaming the source image, along with all virtual copies, since the virtual copies are simply a reference to the original.

If you want to have a unique reference name for a virtual copy, I recommend using the “Copy Name” field in metadata. By default, the first virtual copy you create from a source image will have the name “Copy 1” put in the Copy Name field, with the second having “Copy 2” for Copy Name, and so on.

The Copy Name field is editable, however, so you can enter any text you’d like in that field, such as descriptive text about the virtual copy. For example, if you created a black and white interpretation as a virtual copy based on a color original, you could enter “Black and White” in the Copy Name field.

Note that the Copy Name is shown to the right of the filename for the selected image in the info display above the thumbnail filmstrip toward the top-left of the bottom panel. That Copy Name field can also be displayed as part of the filename in the information shown for each photo in the grid view display. In other words, while you can’t change the filename for a virtual copy without renaming the original, the Copy Name field serves the same basic purpose quite well.

Today’s Question: Every keyword I create in Lightroom Classic goes into a hierarchical structure with an existing keyword, even though I have not chosen the option to put the new keyword into a hierarchy. Do you know how I can get keywords to be added normally again?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This unwanted hierarchy for keywords would be caused by the “Put New Keywords Inside this Keyword” option being turned on for an existing keyword on the Keyword List. Turning that option off for the keyword will restore normal behavior for new keywords.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic enables you to create hierarchies of keywords, so that for example you could have a hierarchy along the lines of United States > California > San Francisco. To create a hierarchy when creating a new keyword you can use the option to put the new keyword inside an existing keyword, such as by right-clicking on the existing keyword and choosing “Create Keyword Tag inside ‘[existing keyword name]'” from the popup menu.

It is also possible to essentially “lock” a keyword as being the destination for a hierarchical relationship for new keywords. This can be convenient for adding multiple keywords into a single hierarchy. For example, if you wanted to create keywords for all fifty states in a hierarchy under “United States”, you could designate “United States” as the destination for the hierarchy and then simply add new keywords for each of the fifty states. All keywords for the fifty states would then be under “United States” in the hierarchy.

Of course, if this feature is enabled without you realizing it, each time you add a new keyword it can be a frustrating experience.

When a keyword is set as the destination for a hierarchy with new keywords, that keyword will have a small dot icon to the right of the keyword name on the Keyword List on the right panel in the Library module. Once you locate the keyword that has this status, you can right-click on that keyword and choose “Put New Keywords Inside this Keyword” from the popup menu to turn that feature off.

This setting on the popup menu is a toggle, so you can choose the same option if you want to turn on this feature for the convenience of data entry for multiple keywords in a hierarchy. And, of course, you can turn this feature off when it is no longer needed.

Today’s Question: Can you inadvertently destroy your raw image file in Lightroom Classic or Bridge? I heard you can never destroy your original.

Tim’s Quick Answer: While both Lightroom Classic and Adobe Bridge have an overall non-destructive workflow, it is still possible to destroy the original raw capture, such as if the file gets corrupted or if you delete the original image.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic is relatively well known as having a non-destructive workflow, and Adobe Bridge and Photoshop can also be generally regarded as non-destructive in the context of a raw capture (though Photoshop can absolutely be “destructive” with other image file types).

Non-destructive in this context simply means that the source file is not altered in any way by the software. When you apply adjustments to a raw capture the source file is not updated. That file is simply used as the basis for generating pixels, such as when you open the image in Photoshop or export the image from Lightroom Classic.

However, there are ways that a raw capture can be damaged or lost. File corruption can occur in a variety of ways, generally caused by hardware or software errors when the raw capture is written. It is possible for raw captures to be corrupted at the time of capture when written to the media card, when copied from that media card to your hard drive, or when moved from one location to another.

In addition, there are certain cases where a raw capture file might actually be damaged even with software that is generally “non-destructive”. For example, in Lightroom Classic it is possible to enable the option to write capture time changes back to the original raw capture, as opposed to only having that update reflected in the Lightroom Classic catalog or to an XMP “sidecar” file.

In addition, with both Adobe Bridge and Lightroom Classic (among other software tools or even with your operating system) it is possible to delete a raw capture, which of course represents the ultimate destruction of a raw capture. While it isn’t likely that a file would be deleted accidentally, it is certainly possible, which helps underscore the importance of a consistent and effective backup workflow.

Today’s Question: I’m still not understanding why XMP files are needed or how they are used [with Lightroom Classic]. Are sidecar XMP files only really important if you lose your catalog?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Saving metadata to XMP sidecar files from Lightroom Classic provides a backup for key metadata in case your catalog is ever lost, and also enables other software (such as Adobe Bridge) to see the updated metadata for those photos.

More Detail: In Lightroom Classic the information about your photos is stored in the catalog, and any updates you apply to your photos (such as updating metadata or applying adjustments) are by default only saved in the catalog and do not get reflected in the image files on your hard drive.

You can manually save metadata to selected images by choosing Metadata > Save Metadata to Files from the menu. You can also enable automatic saving of metadata to the source files by turning on the “Automatically write changes into XMP” checkbox on the Metadata tab of the Catalog Settings dialog. Just keep in mind that both of these options only cause standard metadata (such as star ratings, keywords, and more) to be saved to your source image files. Lightroom-specific features such as collections, virtual copies, pick/reject flags, and more are not included.

For raw captures the metadata is saved to an XMP “sidecar” file, while the metadata is saved directly into the source image file for other supported image formats.

The value of this metadata being saved to the source image files is twofold. First, it provides a backup of key metadata, which would be especially helpful if you lost your Lightroom Classic catalog and didn’t have a backup you could restore from.

Second, saving metadata to the source images enables the standard metadata updates you apply in Lightroom Classic to be visible in other software applications, such as Adobe Bridge. You need to be very careful not to actually update the metadata in those other applications, as that would create a metadata mismatch. However, it can be helpful to be able to at least browse some of your metadata updates outside of Lightroom Classic.

Today’s Question: What is a smart collection [in Lightroom Classic]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A smart collection in Lightroom Classic is a collection that populates with photos automatically based on criteria you define. In effect, a smart collection serves as a saved search result for photos.

More Detail: In Lightroom Classic there are two types of collection: “normal” collections and smart collections.

With a normal collection you choose which photos you want to add to the collection. For example, if you’re working on putting together a slideshow featuring favorite photos, you might create a collection for that purpose and then drag-and-drop photos to the collection if you’d like to include them in the project. One of the nice advantages of a collection is that you are able to include photos from a wide variety of different folders.

When you create a normal collection you only really have to provide a name for the collection. With a smart collection, you also need to specify the criteria that define which images you want to include in the smart collection.

For example, let’s assume you would like to be able to quickly review your favorite photos that were captured relatively recently. You could create a smart collection and add criteria based on star ratings (to identify favorites) and the capture date (such as photos captured in the last five years).

Once you’ve created a smart collection, it will automatically include all photos that meet the criteria you defined. So, in this case the smart collection would include all photos captured in the last five years with a star rating above whatever level you defined for the smart collection criteria.

As you capture new photos and assign star ratings to the favorites, those photos would be added to the smart collection automatically. If you remove a star rating from a photo that had been in the smart collection, that photo would be removed automatically from the smart collection. And over time as photos age to the point of being more than five years old in this example, they would also be automatically removed from the smart collection.

So, again, a smart collection behaves like a saved search result, which gets updated automatically based on which photos currently match the criteria you defined for the smart collection.

Keep in mind, by the way, that all collections represent what are simply references to the source photos. Whenever an image is included in either a normal or smart collection, the photo in the collection is not a copy of the original image, but simply a reference to that image for the convenience of organizing your photos in a variety of ways.

Today’s Question: Do you keep all photos in one catalog in Lightroom Classic or multiple catalogs, and why?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I am a very strong advocate for using only a single catalog to manage all of your photos with Lightroom Classic, in order to streamline your workflow and avoid confusion.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic uses a catalog to manage the information about your photos, which among other things enables you to quickly search for photos across your entire catalog of images.

I feel it is best to use a single catalog to manage all of your photos. This enables you to simply launch Lightroom Classic whenever you want to work with any of your photos, without first having to figure out which catalog to open. It also makes it possible to cross reference any of your photos, since all images would be in the same catalog.

Using multiple catalogs means you need to first make sure you’ve opened the right catalog based on the images you want to work with. It also introduces the risk that you’ll use the wrong catalog, such as importing photos into the wrong catalog.

If you feel it is best to separate photos into different catalogs for some reason, I suggest there may be a better solution, such as dividing photos by category across more than one hard drive, using collections, keywords, or other metadata to categorize the photos.

The argument I often hear in favor of multiple catalogs in performance. I can assure you from extensive experience working with my own catalog of over 400,000 photos and a variety of demo catalogs I use for teaching with far fewer images, the difference in performance is minimal. A large catalog takes a little longer to open, but in my experience once you’re working in Lightroom Classic the performance is the same regardless of the catalog size.

Today’s Question: Is there a way in Lightroom Classic to correct the GPS coordinates for a photo where the information isn’t completely accurate? I tried to drag the pin around on the map, but that only moves the map without moving the pin.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can indeed correct location information for photos by dragging the applicable pushpin on the map to the correct location. However, you need to be sure to unlock the pushpin markers first.

More Detail: The Map module in Lightroom Classic enables you to browse your photos in the context of a map, with pushpins appearing on the map for photos that have GPS coordinates embedded in metadata. In addition, you can use the map to add location information or update location information for photos.

To correct inaccurate location information for a photo you can drag the pushpin on the map for the photo to the correct location. First, however, you need to unlock the markers for the pushpins. On the toolbar below the map, you’ll see a padlock icon. You can click that icon to toggle the lock status of the pushpin markers.

The lock icon will show locked (closed) when the markers are locked, and unlocked (open) when you are able to drag the markers around on the map. Simply click to toggle to the desired status.

You can click on a pushpin marker on the map to see a popup with a thumbnail for the photo (or photos) at that location on the map. This allows you to confirm you will be moving the marker for the correct photo(s). Then drag the marker to the correct position, and the GPS coordinates in metadata will be updated accordingly.

You can also add location information for photos that lack GPS coordinates in metadata. To do so, simply drag a photo (or multiple selected photos) from the filmstrip on the bottom panel to the appropriate position on the map.

Today’s Question: If I am working with an image in a collection in Lightroom Classic and apply changes in the Develop module, what happens [with the original image versus the image in the collection]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: By default, an image in a collection is simply a reference to the original, so applying changes to the image in the collection would cause the original in the applicable folder to be updated as well. If you added the image to the collection as a virtual copy, then only that virtual copy would be affected with the changes not applying to the original.

More Detail: There are two common points of confusion among photographers here as it relates to Lightroom Classic. The first is the difference between photos in collections versus folders, and the second is the difference between the original image and a virtual copy.

When you drag an image to a collection, you’re really just making a reference to the original image (by default) within that collection. A collection provides a quick way to get to specific photos, such as images that are being included in a specific project such as a calendar. An image in a collection is really just an image with a bit of metadata being updated to indicate the image is in a collection. This is similar in concept to adding a keyword or assigning a star rating. All of these options provide ways you can track down specific photos later.

So, the key thing to understand about a collection is that when you add a photo to a collection in Lightroom Classic you aren’t making a copy of the original image on your hard drive. You’re simply adding a reference to the photo to the collection, with the original photo still residing in the applicable folder on your hard drive.

A virtual copy provides the opportunity to have two or more interpretations of the same original photo. So, your original image might be optimized in color, and then you create a virtual copy for a black and white interpretation, and then you make another virtual copy for a sepia-tone interpretation. As with collections, when you make a virtual copy, you aren’t duplicating the original photo on your hard drive, but rather creating an additional set of metadata, so that there can be more than one interpretation of the original photo.

If you simply drag a photo to a collection, it is added as a reference to the original, so changes to the image in the collection will affect the image in the folder, and changes to the image in the folder will affect the image in the collection. That’s because both of the images are really just references to the same photo.

If you add a virtual copy to a collection, changes made to the virtual copy will affect the virtual copy that is visible elsewhere (such as in the folder) but will not affect the original version of the image. If you select one or more photos and create a new collection, in the dialog for creating the new collection you’ll have the opportunity to add the selected photos to the collection, as well as to add them as virtual copies if you want the references in the collection to represent different versions of the original photos.

Today’s Question: When you make Virtual Copies [in Lightroom Classic], can you print from them and save them as a photo on your hard drive?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, virtual copies can be printed or otherwise shared just like the original image. And you can export a virtual copy from Lightroom Classic to create an actual file on your hard drive, including a copy of the original raw capture with a separate set of adjustments contained within an XMP “sidecar” file.

More Detail: A virtual copy in Lightroom Classic is simply an additional set of adjustments and metadata for an image. So, if you have been optimizing a raw capture as a color image in the Develop module, for example, you could create a virtual copy of that image and apply adjustments that interpret the image as black and white.

You could even make additional virtual copies based on the same original image, so that you could have multiple interpretations of the same photo.

If you print or otherwise share a virtual copy, you’re simply processing the original raw capture with different settings. So, in the example above you could print the original raw capture to create a color print, or print from the virtual copy to print the exact same original raw capture but with a black and white interpretation.

You can also export a virtual copy from Lightroom Classic, which would be the same as exporting the original raw capture, except with different settings (such as black and white in the example above). You could even export a virtual copy using the “Original” option for the File Format setting during export. That would create a copy of the original raw capture, but with an XMP “sidecar” file that includes adjustments converting the image to black and white. So, if that raw capture were imported into a Lightroom Classic catalog or opened in Photoshop, you would see the black and white interpretation based on the raw capture.

Virtual Copies in Lightroom Classic can certainly be a little confusing. But if you keep in mind that a virtual copy simply represents different metadata and adjustments based on the same raw capture, I think that will help you better understand Virtual Copies.

Today’s Question: What are your thoughts on camera settings where you can adjust level of sharpness, etc.? Is it good or bad to use these options?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The in-camera adjustments that alter the overall appearance of a photo will not actually apply to a raw capture, and of course I recommend using raw capture in general. So, for raw captures the only reason to use these in-camera adjustments is if you find it helpful for reviewing the preview on the camera’s LCD display, which will reflect the adjustments you apply.

More Detail: The general in-camera adjustments that enable you to refine saturation, sharpness, or even convert to black and white, will not actually apply to a raw capture. If you apply these adjustments in-camera you’ll see the effect in the preview on the LCD display, but when you process the raw capture on your computer those adjustments will no longer be visible.

So, for raw capture the only reason to consider applying these in-camera adjustments is if those adjustments are helpful for reviewing the image on the camera’s LCD display. For example, if you tend to convert most photos to black and white, it can be helpful to set your camera to convert to black and white at the time of capture. The raw capture will still be in color when you download the image to your computer, but the black and white preview on the camera can be helpful for evaluating the image at the time of capture.

For other capture formats, such as JPEG, these in-camera adjustments will indeed alter the appearance of the image. While that can be helpful in some cases, I generally recommend saving those adjustments for later in your workflow when you are at your computer with a larger display and more control over the adjustments being applied.