Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: When I try to assemble an HDR [high dynamic range] panorama in Lightroom Classic, it tells me that Deghost will not be applied. Is there a way to use the Deghost feature when creating an HDR panorama?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can use Deghost for an HDR panorama, but you’ll need to merge the HDR frames first and then assemble those into a panorama.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic (and Camera Raw for non-Lightroom users!) can assemble high dynamic range (HDR) images and composite panoramas. Both applications can also combine the two techniques in a single process to create an HDR panorama.

However, when you assemble an HDR panorama the Auto-Align feature will automatically be applied (and can’t be turned off) and the Deghost feature is not available. If you want to use Deghost (or disable Auto-Align) you’ll need to assemble the HDR panorama in a two-step process.

The first step is to assemble each bracketed set if captures into an HDR image. During this process you can adjust the settings based on your preference, such as to leverage the Deghost feature. I recommend using the exact same settings for each bracketed set of images you’ll assemble into the panorama.

Once the HDR images have been assembled, you can select only the HDR images (they will be saved as Adobe DNG files) and then use the Photo > Photo Merge > Panorama command to create a panorama based on the HDR images. This will result in the final HDR panorama, requiring more steps than the fully automated approach but with more flexibility in terms of how the images are assembled.

Today’s Question: I have a photo where the People option for Distraction Removal in Lightroom Classic is not finding the people in the image and therefore can’t remove them. Is there a way to tell Lightroom Classic where the people are so they can be removed automatically?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Sort of. You can’t provide assistance to the Distraction Removal feature, but you can still remove the people by painting with the Remove tool, perhaps with the inclusion of generative AI. The same feature is available in Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom.

More Detail: The options found under the Distraction Removal heading for Lightroom Classic, Camera Raw, and Lightroom are completely automatic. If the target subject (such as people with the People option) aren’t identified for a given image, then the feature simply won’t work with that image. Note that this feature is specifically looking for people that are distracting in the frame, so a person that appears as a key subject won’t be detected either.

However, you can get similar results by using the Remove tool, generally in conjunction with the generative AI feature for the best results.

In Lightroom Classic, for example, after choosing the Remove tool from the toolbar below the histogram on the right panel, make sure the Remove option (the first button) is selected for Mode. To get results consistent with what you can normally expect for the Distraction Removal feature turn on the “Use generative AI” checkbox. You can then paint over the distracting people in the photo, refine the mask you’ve painted as needed, and click the Remove button to apply the distraction removal.

While this manual approach isn’t as fast or convenient as the automatic option under Distraction Removal, it will generally provide you with similar (and generally very good) results for removing people from an image.

Today’s Question: I have an older iMac running Ventura (13.x), that cannot run a later version of MacOS. I have the Adobe Photography subscription, which includes Bridge, Photoshop and Lightroom. In your opinion do you think it will continue to run on my iMac? And do you know if an update to the mentioned software will break it? And if so, is it possible to turn off auto updates from Adobe?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I would not expect MacOS Ventura to be supported much longer for future updates to Adobe applications. However, you can disable automatic updates to provide more time before you would need to upgrade your computer by using older versions of Adobe applications.

More Detail: Backward compatibility is a particular challenge for those using a Macintosh computer. Older hardware is not supported by more recent versions of the MacOS operating system, and Adobe applications (among others) tend not to support older operating system versions.

For Macintosh users the current system requirements only support operating systems as old as MacOS Ventura (v13). At some point in the relatively near future, I expect that to change so that MacOS Sonoma (v14) is the oldest operating system version that is supported. Since your computer can’t be updated, that prevents you from updating to the latest versions of Adobe applications, once they require MacOS Sonoma or later.

To buy yourself time before you need to replace your computer, you can simply stop updating Adobe applications once the system requirements no longer support MacOS Ventura. To disable automatic updates, choose “Apps” from the toolbar along the left edge of the Creative Cloud application (where you would install applications or updates). Toward the top-center click “Manage auto-updates”. You can then turn off “Auto-update” to disable any automatic updates, or keep that option turned on and then turn off automatic updates for specific applications.

Today’s Question: I have been using Photoshop for over 20 years and early on decided to avoid using the denoise functionality because of potential loss of detail. However, recently I have been experimenting with this function and have been pleased with the results in many challenging situations, so I assume this functionality has been upgraded over time. However, I still am concerned about what the process does to the source file, as it seems to apply destructive edits. Am I correct?

Tim’s Quick Answer: No, none of the adjustments (including Denoise) in Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom, will alter the original raw capture. And it is true that Denoise has gotten significantly better with recent updates.

More Detail: I suspect any concern about Denoise altering the original raw capture is the result that a recent change from Adobe enables Denoise to be applied without having to create a DNG file as part of the process. In effect, Denoise is now simply another of the many adjustments available in Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom.

One of the key features of raw processing software is that it does not alter the original raw capture. Rather, the raw data is processed with the adjustment settings you’ve specified, to generate new pixels that would typically then result in a new image file. The raw capture remains unaltered. The adjustment settings are preserved in an XMP “sidecar” file. This can contribute to making it appear that the raw capture was modified, because if you open the raw capture again, you’ll see that all prior adjustments (including Denoise) are already in effect.

Rest assured that your raw capture remains unmodified. You could, for example, simply reset all adjustments to revert to the original image, or make a second copy of the raw capture (without the XMP file) and open that to start from the default settings.

Today’s Question: The size of the original raw photo (CR3 from a Canon R5) was approximately 45 megabytes. When I sent the image to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic to use Generative Fill for image cleanup, the resulting TIF file is now nearly 650 megabytes in size. Is this normal and, even if it is, do you have any suggestions that would keep resulting edits (when they become TIF’s via Photoshop) to a more “reasonable” size?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This significant increase in file size is mostly due to the use of Generative Fill in Photoshop without flattening the layers. In the absence of the use of Generative Fill in this case the resulting file would not have been anywhere near as large.

More Detail: A TIFF file will always have a considerably larger file size that a raw capture, though there are a number of factors that can dramatically increase the file size for a TIFF image.

To begin with, in most cases a raw capture only contains only one of the three RGB (red, green, blue) for each of the pixels in the final image. It is not until the raw capture is processed to create another image that the full pixel data is generated. At that time, the file will generally be at least three times larger than the raw capture based on 8-bit per channel mode. If the TIFF image was saved in the 16-bit per channel mode, that base file size increases to six times the original file size.

So, in the case of a 45MB raw capture, a TIFF saved in 8-bit per channel mode would be about 135MB in size. At 16-bits per channel that file size would increase to about 270MB.

However, the Generative Fill feature adds an additional layer with considerable data. This can lead to an image that is almost ten times larger than the original raw capture.

There are two basic strategies that can be used to reduce the file size of a TIFF or PSD image. One is to flatten layers once you’re completely confident that the image is completely finished and you don’t need to modify any of the existing layers. Of course, you always have the raw capture to go back to if you need to make changes, but this could still involve considerable work depending on what you had done in Photoshop.

The other thing you could do is convert the image to 8-bit per channel mode rather than 16-bit per channel mode. I only recommend considering this option if you are completely finished with adjustments and you have flattened all layers, because otherwise converting to 8-bit per channel can cause posterization (a loss of smooth gradations in the image).

Note that there is also compression available for TIFF files, which can help reduce the file size to some extent. This won’t make as much of a difference as the above options, but it is helpful. In Lightroom Classic you can go to the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog and choose ZIP from the Compression popup. This will help reduce file size without any impact on image quality.

Today’s Question: When I import images into Lightroom Classic I use a user preset that includes Lightroom’s “auto” processing. I find that’s a good place to start my adjustments. I also often take bracketed exposures to create HDR [high dynamic range] images through Lightroom’s “Photo Merge” feature. Does the “auto” import processing affect the HDR creation?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Adjustments applied to bracketed exposures before merging to a high dynamic range (HDR) image won’t affect the creation of the underlying HDR image, but can affect the initial appearance of that image.

More Detail: It is not a problem to apply adjustments to the bracketed images before merging them into an HDR image in Lightroom Classic. Applying adjustments before merging will not affect the underlying HDR image that is assembled. However, many of the adjustments will carry through to the HDR image. But if you’re not happy with the results, you can always refine the adjustments after merging.

As a somewhat extreme example, let’s assume you converted a bracketed set of exposures to black and white (using the B&W treatment option in the Basic section) before merging them to HDR. The resulting HDR image will appear in black and white rather than color. However, you could then simply turn off the B&W treatment option and the HDR will magically appear in color again.

The issue is a little different with the tonal adjustments applied when you use the Auto adjustment, in that the basic tonal adjustments will not carry through to the HDR image. For example, if you shifted the exposure value for all the bracketed images, that would not cause any change in the HDR image when you merge the image. The HDR would be the same with or without the Exposure adjustment for the bracketed exposures.

Also keep in mind that you can enable the “Auto Settings” option in the HDR Merge Preview dialog, which is similar in concept to applying the Auto adjustment in the Develop module or on import via a preset. This will alter the settings based on an evaluation of the HDR image, but you can always refine the adjustment settings later with no impact on image quality.

Today’s Question: Can one make a collection set in Lightroom Classic after the fact? I have a large number of collections, and if I had been thinking ahead, I would have organized them into sets. Can I do that now?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can create a new collection set after you created collections and then move existing collections into a collection set.

More Detail: Collections in Lightroom Classic can be organized into collection sets, similar to how a group of related folders can be placed into a common parent folder. While it is possible to add a collection to a collection set when the collection is created, you can also add collection sets after the fact.

To create a new collection set, click the plus (+) icon to the right of the Collections heading on the left panel in the Library module and choose “Create Collection Set” from the popup menu. In the dialog that appears, enter a meaningful name for the collection set in the Name field and click the Create button. The new collection set will then appear in the Collections section.

When you want to add an existing collection to a collection set, simply drag the collection onto the collection set. This will place the collection inside the collection set, and you can then collapse the collection set to hide the contents and streamline the display in the Collections section.

Note that you can also have multiple layers of nested collection sets. For example, you could create a collection set called “Projects” that contains collection sets for “Calendars”, “Books”, and “Presentations”. You could then put collections into their respective category of collection set, which in turn is inside another collection set. This can be especially helpful for photographers who create a particularly large number of collections for organizing their photos.

Today’s Question: What do they [Adobe] mean by “Export Negative Files” [with the Export as Catalog command in Lightroom Classic]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The “Export Negative Files” checkbox in the “Export as Catalog” dialog really means “export copies of source photos”.

More Detail: In an earlier Ask Tim Grey post I addressed how the “Export as Catalog” command could be used to back up the Lightroom Classic catalog along with the photos it contains. This command can also be helpful when, for example, you have been working with a traveling catalog on a laptop and want to migrate that catalog to your desktop computer to merge with the primary catalog.

The general process involves creating a new catalog that contains all the information about the photos you’re exporting, which could include all photos in the source catalog or just a subset, depending on the purpose. In addition, you would generally want to make copies of the photos to go along with the new catalog, so that you had everything you needed to continue managing the photos reflected in the new catalog all in one place.

If you want to include copies of the photos along with the new catalog, you need to turn on the “Export Negative Files” checkbox. This name, I think it is fair to say, is wildly confusing.

My assumption—which I’ve never verified—has always been that someone at Adobe thought they were being clever. The name “Lightroom” is obviously a variation on the darkroom that was a key aspect of film photography. So, I have always assumed that the term “negative” in “Export Negative Files” referred to the negatives that are the source of prints made in the wet darkroom. Ignoring the fact that “negative” is a term that essentially excludes slide film, it is also confusing to use this term in the context of managing digital photos.

Regardless of the etymology or intent, I think the use of “negative” in the context of the Export as Catalog command is confusing. I’m frankly a bit surprised that with Lightroom having been around for more than 18 years Adobe hasn’t updated the checkbox to have a more meaningful name.

If you’re interested in the original post about using the Export as Catalog command to back up the catalog and photos, you can find it on the Ask Tim Grey blog here:

https://asktimgrey.com/2025/09/10/full-backup-of-catalog-and-photos/

Today’s Question: I was intrigued by your statement that Lightroom Classic sends a “fully rendered image is sent rather than a raw capture” when you edit in Photoshop. Can you explain what the difference is? Isn’t a raw capture a complete image?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A raw capture generally only includes about one-third of the total pixel information for an image, whereas a rendered image contains all the pixel data.

More Detail: Most digital camera sensors only record one of the three colors for each pixel. The “missing” information must be rendered through interpolation, which is handled with post-processing for raw captures and in-camera for JPEG captures, for example.

While most digital cameras are based on the RGB (red, green, blue) color model, all three colors are not captured for each pixel with most image sensors. The most common arrangement is the Bayer pattern, where for every four photosites on the sensor two will capture only green information, one will capture red information, and one will capture blue information.

The fact that the image data is not processed to produce full-color pixel values is the reason these file types are referred to as “raw” captures.

The process of interpolating the image data so that all pixels have full RGB color values associated with them is referred to as “demosaicing”. This is done in the camera for JPEG captures but must be handled by software for raw captures.

If you open a raw capture directly in Photoshop, Camera Raw will be invoked so the image can be demosaiced. If you send a raw capture from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, the demosaicing is handled by Lightroom Classic based on the adjustmetns in the Develop module, so that a rendered image with complete color information is sent to Photoshop. If you wanted to use Camera Raw to further process the image in the context of sending an image to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, you would need to use the Camera Raw filter, accessible in Photoshop by choosing Filter > Camera Raw Filter from the menu.

Keep in mind that most of the time the Develop module in Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw in Photoshop include the same features. So, in most cases it isn’t necessary to use Camera Raw if you’re using Lightroom Classic. However, at the moment the Dust feature for Distraction Removal is only available in Camera Raw in the public beta version of Photoshop, which is what caused the original issue to arise in the question I addressed yesterday.

Today’s Question: In trying to test the new dust removal feature in Adobe Camera Raw, I discovered that if I use “Edit in Photoshop” from Lightroom Classic, the files open directly into Photoshop. If I go to Explorer [or Finder] and double-click on the same file, it opens in Camera Raw. Can you explain this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: When you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic the image is rendered by Lightroom Classic including the adjustments from the Develop module. In other words, what is sent to Photoshop isn’t a raw capture, which is why Camera Raw is not invoked. However, you can still use Camera Raw as a filter in Photoshop.

More Detail: If you open a raw capture directly in Photoshop (including by opening the image from Bridge or through the operating system) the image will automatically be opened in Camera Raw. The same is true for JPEG, HEIC, and TIFF images if you have enabled support for those file types in Camera Raw Preferences. The same is not true for images sent to Photoshop from Camera Raw.

The reason is that when you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic it is in effect processed by Lightroom Classic so that a fully rendered image is sent rather than a raw capture. Therefore, the image is simply opened in Photoshop without the use of Camera Raw.

However, there’s no need to resort to opening the raw capture directly in Photoshop to get to Camera Raw. You can simply use the Camera Raw filter, which in the current public beta version of Photoshop includes a Dust option for Distraction Removal, along with options to remove Reflections and People.

To use the Camera Raw filter in Photoshop, simply open an image, select the applicable image layer (making a copy or Smart Object if you want to work non-destructively) and then choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter from the menu. You can then choose the Remove tool from the toolbar at the top-right and select the Dust option in the Distraction Removal section.