Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I was thinking of moving my Lightroom [Classic] catalog to the faster of my two hard drives. How would that work out with leaving the images (and the catalog backups) on the original drive, and if it’s a good idea how do I to go about it?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can indeed improve performance in Lightroom Classic by making sure the catalog is stored on the fastest available hard drive. Moving the catalog is quite easy, simply requiring you to move the folder containing the catalog to the desired location, and then opening the catalog from there.

More Detail: While moving your Lightroom Classic catalog is easy, you do want to be careful not to create any problems in the process.

First, you’ll want to be sure you have a full backup of your catalog. You can perform a backup via the Catalog Settings dialog. Choose Catalog Settings from the Lightroom Classic menu on Macintosh, or from the Edit menu on Windows. Then go to the General tab and click the “Back up catalog” popup. Choose “When Lightroom next exits” from the popup. Then close the Catalog Settings dialog, quit Lightroom, and follow the prompts to create an updated backup.

Then you’ll need to know where your catalog is currently stored. If you’re not sure, you can find the catalog location in the Catalog Settings dialog. On the General tab of the Catalog Settings dialog click the Show button to the right of the Location field. This will bring up a window in your operating system showing you the folder that contains the catalog files. Quit Lightroom at this point so you can actually move the catalog files.

You can then move the entire folder containing your catalog (or copy it if you prefer) to the desired location on your faster hard drive. After the folder is in the desired location, you can double-click the catalog file (with the “lrcat” filename extension) to launch Lightroom with the catalog in the new location. The photos will still be referenced in their current location, so at that point you can continue working normally.

Note that by default the catalog backups are stored in a “Backups” folder within the folder that contains your Lightroom catalog. If you haven’t configured Lightroom to save the backups somewhere else, you may want to make that change the next time you perform a backup, and perhaps move the existing backups to a different location.

Also note that if you copied the catalog folder (rather than moving it), you’ll want to be sure to avoid confusion between the old location and the new location. At the very least you can rename the folder containing the original catalog, such as by putting “backup” at the beginning of the folder name. Since you created a new backup as part of this process, once the catalog is working properly at the new location you could also simply delete the catalog folder at the original location.

Today’s Question: When I am importing photos [into Lightroom Classic], unwanted keywords are included. For example, for quite a while, my imports have included keyword from Croatia and New York. I’ve only imported one time for those two keywords. How do I stop them?

Tim’s Quick Answer: These keywords are most likely being added via a metadata preset being applied during the import process. You can simply edit (or disable) the applicable preset to avoid having unwanted keywords added during the import process.

More Detail: You can add keywords to photos during the process of importing them into your Lightroom Classic catalog in several ways. One of the standard options is to simply type keywords into the Keywords field in the Apply During Import section of the right panel in the Import dialog. Unlike many of the other import options, however, the Keywords field is automatically cleared out each time you bring up the Import dialog, to help ensure you don’t accidentally apply keywords to photos for which those keywords don’t actually apply.

Therefore, if you are having unwanted keywords applied to photos during import it is caused by one of two preset options.

The first option, as noted in the quick answer above, is a metadata preset being applied during import. If such a metadata preset includes keywords, those keywords would be applied to every photo you import.

If a metadata preset is the issue, you can edit or remove the preset. If you wanted to apply other metadata during import, you’ll want to edit the preset that is causing the issue. From the Metadata popup in the Apply During Import section of the right panel in the Import dialog, choose “Edit Metadata Presets”. Then select the applicable preset from the Preset popup in the Edit Metadata Presets dialog. Make any changes, such as removing the Keywords field found at the very bottom of the list of metadata fields.

When you are finished editing the metadata preset, click the Preset popup again and choose “Update Preset” from the popup. Then click Done to close the Edit Metadata Presets dialog.

If you are using an import preset that includes keywords, you’ll want to modify that preset. Click the popup to the right of the Import Preset label at the bottom-center of the Import dialog. Select the import preset you’ve been using, at which point in this case you’ll likely see a value in the Keywords field on the right panel. Clear the Keywords field, and then click the Import Preset popup again and choose “Update Preset” from the popup to update the current preset to exclude keywords.

The key is to make sure that keywords aren’t being applied as part of a metadata preset or import preset, and that you’ve not entered keywords into the Keywords field that are not appropriate for all images currently being imported.

Today’s Question: As a follow-up to your question [about hiding panel sections in Adobe Lightroom Classic] there does not seem to be a way to remove Navigator panel (top panel on the left) in this way. Am I missing anything?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You’re not missing anything. The Navigator and Histogram sections at the top of the left and right panels, respectively, can’t be hidden in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: As I mentioned in yesterday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter, it is possible to hide individual panel sections to reduce clutter in Lightroom Classic. You can hide or reveal panel sections by right-clicking on the header area of any of the sections, and choosing the applicable section name from the popup menu.

However, I neglected to mention that the Navigator and Histogram sections at the top of the left and right panels, respectively, are “special” sections that can’t be hidden. You can collapse the Navigator or Histogram sections by clicking on the header for those sections, but you can’t hide them entirely the way you can with the other panels.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to customize the panels in Lightroom Classic? I never use the Keywording section, for example, because I use the Keyword List. Can I remove the Keywording section altogether?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can hide a section of the various panels in Lightroom Classic by right-clicking on a heading for the applicable panel, at which point you can turn off (or on) any of the panels you’d like.

More Detail: While it wasn’t always possible to hide panel sections in Lightroom Classic, it is possible now. This is true across the various modules, on both the left and right panels.

As noted above, you can right-click on any of the headings (or in an empty area) of the applicable panel. On the popup menu that appears you’ll see a list of the panel sections. A checkmark to the left of a section name indicates that the panel is currently visible, and the absence of a checkmark indicates that the panel is hidden. You can select the panel section name to toggle the visibility on or off.

The one thing I do recommend is to keep in mind that if you have hidden panel sections, you might forget they are available. So, remember that you may have certain features hidden from view that could be re-enabled by enabling hidden panel sections.

Today’s Question: I am using a Z series Nikon lens, and in Lightroom Classic under Lens Profile Make it shows None. When I scroll down and find and check Nikon there do not appear to have any Z series lens on the list. Is this the current state of play for Nikon Z series lens and Lightroom?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A variety of newer lenses (especially for mirrorless cameras) employ built-in profiles that are applied to the raw capture. With these lenses you won’t find a profile in Lightroom Classic or Adobe Camera Raw, but instead will see an indication that the built-in profile has been applied to the image.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw make use of lens profiles in order to apply automatic corrections to photos based on the behavior of the lens used to capture the image. For example, a lens profile can compensate for the vignetting caused by a wide-angle lens.

Generally, you have the option to apply lens-based profiles in the Lens Corrections section of the right panel in the Develop module. For example, you could select the specific profile after selecting the appropriate options for Make and Model under the Lens Profile heading.

Naturally, not every lens that has ever been manufactured will have a profile available in Lightroom or Camera Raw. However, some newer lenses support built-in profiles, which are applied by the camera at the time of capture, even for raw captures. When that profile has been applied to an image in Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw, you won’t see a profile for the lens on the popup list in the Lens Corrections section. Instead, you will see an indication that the built-in lens profile has been applied.

Today’s Question: How do you keep your images in order when traveling? I recently took a trip to Tokyo and on the return we departed Tokyo at 11:00am landing in Dallas the same day but at 7:30am. If you reset the time upon landing your picture from Dallas appear before the Tokyo ones.

Tim’s Quick Answer: This is an example of a scenario where it might make sense to either delay updating the time zone on your camera after arrival, or to use a single time zone for the entire trip such as Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time).

More Detail: This happens to be a potential source of confusion I hope to deal with very soon, as I am currently traveling in Australia and scheduled to return to the United States on Friday. My flight back to the US will land several hours before it departs, even though it is a 16-hour flight. This, of course, is due to the fact that we will be traveling east across the International Date Line.

This is a unique scenario that can lead to confusion when reviewing photos. Of course, my first thought is that there won’t be any such confusion, because after a long flight across the International Date Line I’d be too tired to capture any photos upon landing. But there could obviously be confusion in this type of situation if you updated the time zone on your camera immediately upon landing.

I generally prefer to keep my photos updated with the current date and time based on the location I am when capturing my photos. However, this can lead to confusion when you cross the International Date line (or time zones in general) and sort your photos based on capture time.

One approach to avoiding this sort of confusion would be to use a single time zone for all of your photos. For example, you could select the time zone for the primary location for a given trip and use that as the time for all photos captured during the entire trip. You could also use a general time zone at all times, such as the time zone where you live or Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time).

The key challenge with using a single time zone for a trip that involves crossing time zones is that you won’t necessarily know the actual time of capture for some (possibly many) of your photos. Of course, there are also ways to determine that information after the fact based on the location for each photo and the time zone offset from Coordinated Universal Time applicable to that location.

Today’s Question: I recorded an Action in the Default Action folder [in Adobe Photoshop]. Can I move the new action to a different folder?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can move an action to a different action set (folder) by dragging the action to a position directly under the action set on the Actions panel.

More Detail: While moving an action from one action set sounds really simple, it can actually be slightly confusing if you don’t know the “trick”.

What I find is that many photographers attempt to drag-and-drop an action on the Actions panel, but don’t end up moving the action to the desired action set (folder). That’s because you don’t drop the action directly on the folder icon representing the action set, but rather drop it into position below the action set.

Even if the action set doesn’t have any actions in it yet, you drag an action into the set by dragging the action to a position just below the folder icon representing the action set on the Actions panel before releasing the mouse button.

This same drag-and-drop approach, by the way, is how you would change the order of actions within an action set. Simply drag and drop an action into the desired position.

When you are dragging an action within the Actions panel, you’ll see a blue highlight line indicating the current position the action will be placed if you release the mouse at that moment. This enables you to determine which position you’re moving the action to, or to confirm you are dragging the action into the appropriate action set. Just keep in mind that when you want to put an action into a set, you need to drag the action to a position below the folder representing the action set.

Today’s Question: I have a file system based on years and then months and I’ll be continuing this approach with my new computer. However, when I imported photos into the catalog where I want one folder for each month, I’m ending up with subfolders for each day as well. How can I get rid of the subfolders so that all my February photos are in folder for the month instead of by folders for each date?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can consolidate photos into monthly folders by selecting the images within each “day” folder, then dragging and dropping them into the appropriate “month” folder, all within Lightroom Classic. You can disable the creation of additional subfolders by day by selecting one of the Date Format options in the Import dialog that only includes a month option, rather than also including a day option.

More Detail: One of the challenges of using a date-based folder structure in Lightroom Classic is that it can be very easy to have the folder structure get a bit chaotic and disorganized.

To clean up a date-based folder mess after import, you can consolidate images from multiple folders. For example, with today’s question the solution would be to select the photos within a “day” folder and then drag those selected photos to the appropriate “month” folder. Once all photos have been removed from a folder, you can right-click on that folder and choose the “Remove” option.

To ensure the unwanted day-based folders are no longer created upon import, you’ll want to be sure to select an option from the Date Format popup in the Destination section of the right panel in the Import dialog. Note that this popup is only available after you have selected the “By date” option from the Organize popup.

When using the “By date” option from the Organize popup, it is also critically important that you have set the correct “master” destination folder as the folder to which you want to copy photos during import. For example, you could set the destination at the top-right of the Import dialog to an external hard drive you’re using to store all of your photos, or to a “Photos” folder on a particular drive. That way the date-based folders created based on your settings in the Destination section will result in a consistent set of date-based folders within the master storage location, rather than having a potentially chaotic folder structure.

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Today’s Question: In the newest Lightroom Classic update I have the option in Preferences > Presets to have Lightroom honor the camera settings. If I were to use say, Monochrome on the camera, the image does come into Lightroom with that setting. If I want to revert back to the RAW file with no in-camera settings, do I just select Adobe Color? If I wanted it come into Lightroom with no manipulation by Lightroom via the Adobe Color how can I do that?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The new “Camera Settings” option in the Raw Defaults section of the Presets tab in the Preferences dialog for Lightroom Classic relates to the Picture Style setting in the camera. Using this option will respect the in-camera setting for Picture Style. To revert to the Lightroom default interpretation of the image you can change the Profile setting in the Basic section of the right panel in the Develop module to “Adobe Color”, or your preferred setting.

More Detail: A recent update to Lightroom Classic provides a streamline option for managing the default rendering for raw captures, including an easy way to retain the Picture Style option you have set in the camera.

To retain the Picture Style setting from your camera, you’ll want to select the “Camera Settings” option in Preferences. Start by choosing Lightroom Classic > Preferences from the menu on Macintosh, or Edit > Preferences on Windows. Go to the Presets tab, and click the Master popup in the Raw Defaults section. There you will find a “Camera Settings” option, in addition to an option for “Adobe Default”, as well as a submenu with the various Develop presets you can choose from for default image processing.

For example, if you set your camera to a monochrome setting for Picture Style, with the “Camera Settings” option selected your raw captures would appear in black and white rather than color. To revert to a color interpretation of the photo, you can choose the Adobe Color option (or a different profile if you prefer) from the Profile popup found near the top of the Basic section of the right panel in the Develop module.

Note that it is also now possible to establish different settings (including Develop module presets) for different camera models. To do so, turn on the “Use defaults specific to camera model” checkbox and then create individual settings for the various cameras you use.

Keep in mind that this new option related to camera settings really relates to the Picture Style option, not the wide range of in-camera adjustment settings that are available with some cameras.

Today’s Question: I use Apple’s Time Machine to do backups and also the Lightroom default [catalog backup]. This seems excessive for sure and the files are not small. Do you see any benefit to this process as it is? Should I just cancel the Lightroom backup?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I don’t recommend discontinuing the Lightroom Classic catalog backups, in large part because part of that process includes an option to check for errors and optimize the catalog. However, it is a good idea to delete redundant backup copies of your catalog.

More Detail: I certainly understand not wanting to have multiple backup copies of your Lightroom Classic catalog consuming additional hard drive space. However, I still recommend making use of the catalog backup feature in Lightroom, even if you are also backing up the catalog through other means.

That said, it most certainly makes sense to delete at least some of the older backups of your Lightroom catalog, since those backup files can consume considerable storage space especially if you allow a large number of backups to accumulate.

By default Lightroom stores the catalog backups in a “Backups” folder in the same folder where your actual catalog files are stored. You can also select a different backup location in the dialog where you configure the backup before it is started. In any event, you can periodically go to that folder and delete redundant copies of the catalog backups.

My approach is generally to retain several recent backups, as well as an older copy of the backup that I can use to recover from just in case there is some sort of corruption issue with my catalog. And I do recommend keeping the options to check the catalog for errors and optimize the catalog enabled as part of the backup process, since to me these features represent a key advantage of making use of the built-in catalog backup feature in Lightroom Classic.