Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: What is soft proofing?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Soft proofing involves changing the appearance of an image on your monitor display to simulate what that image will look like when printed using a specific printer, ink, and paper combination.

More Detail: As most photographers have probably realized by now, sometimes it can be difficult to anticipate exactly what a given image will look like when printed using a particular paper type with a specific printer and ink setup. Soft proofing enables you to simulate on your monitor display what that print will look like.

Obviously in a perfect world soft proofing would be completely unnecessary, as the print would be a perfect match of the image as you’ve optimized it based on your monitor’s display. Of course, in the real world there is a somewhat significant difference between what an image looks like with the emitted light of a monitor display compared to the reflected light from a print. And that doesn’t even take into account the tremendous difference the paper type can make, such as the difference between a glossy versus matte print.

Various software tools (such as Photoshop and Lightroom) enable you to employ soft proofing to simulate the printed output on your monitor display. You simply specific the profile for the printer, ink, and paper combination you intend to use for printing the image, and the presentation of the on-screen image is altered to simulate what the print will look like.

To be sure, soft proofing isn’t perfect, because you are still using a monitor display to present what a print is expected to look like. But soft proofing can be helpful for troubleshooting problems with a print, getting a sense of what a print will look like, and choosing which paper might provide the best results for printing a given image.

Today’s Question: Can you explain how the Detail, Contrast, and Smoothness sliders work in Noise Reduction [for Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Detail and Contrast sliders for noise reduction in Camera Raw or Lightroom enable you to improve the degree to which detail is maintained in the image, though at the risk of introducing other visible artifacts in the image. The Smoothness slider improves the blending of any color artifacts that remain based on the current noise reduction settings.

More Detail: The primary control for noise reduction in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw is the Luminance slider for luminance noise reduction and the Color slider for color noise reduction. These sliders provide the strength control for noise reduction.

In addition, there are several controls that enable you to fine-tune the overall behavior of the noise reduction effect.

There is a Detail slider for both luminance and color noise reduction. These both provide the same basic capability, just focused on luminance versus color noise reduction. Increasing the value for Detail increases the threshold for when noise reduction is applied in an image. In other words, with a higher value, detail will be preserved by virtue of the noise reduction not applying (at least not as strongly) along detail edges in the photo.

The risk of increasing the value for Detail, however, is that noise may be revealed in the image. This can be especially problematic since the noise will appear in small areas (even individual pixels), causing it to stand out a bit more clearly.

The Contrast slider is only available for luminance noise reduction, and is similar in concept to the Detail slider, but focused more broadly on contrast rather than fine detail. If the noise reduction is causing midtone contrast to be reduced, you can increase the value for Contrast. However, you will need to keep an eye out for splotchy artifacts with a value that is too high. For smoother detail (with less contrast) you can use a lower value. In other words, you need to balance the setting based on trying to improve contrast without creating a mottled appearance in areas of the image.

The Smoothness slider is only available for color noise reduction, and it is focused on reducing color artifacts that remain after applying color noise reduction. When you reduce color noise, you will often see that noise represented by individual pixels gets blended so that instead you have blotches of color artifacts. Increasing the value for Smoothness will blend those artifacts, often removing their appearance altogether. In general it is relatively safe to use a high setting for Smoothing, but you’ll want to watch for blending of colors along contrast edges in the photo.

The effects of these refinement controls can be more easily seen if you apply relatively strong noise reduction to an image with extreme noise, as a test for getting more familiar with the actual effect in the photo.

Today’s Question: Can you edit Develop presets [in Lightroom] after saving them?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can update the settings for a Develop preset in Lightroom by using the “Update with Current Settings” command after right-clicking on a preset.

More Detail: Presets in the Develop module in Lightroom enable you to save settings based on the adjustments you’ve applied to one image, and then apply the same settings to another image. You can even include only certain adjustments as part of a preset, so that other adjustments won’t be affected when you apply the preset.

If you want to change the settings for an existing preset, the process is relatively straightforward.

First, I recommend selecting an image that you have not yet applied adjustments to, so you can simply reset the adjustments after using the image as the basis of altering your preset. Then apply the preset to that image by going to the Develop module and clicking on the applicable preset from the Presets list found on the left panel.

Next, make any changes to the adjustment settings for the image that you want to update for the preset. For example, let’s assume the preset only included the application of a vignette effect, and you wanted to make the effect stronger. You could apply the preset, then go to the Post-Crop Vignetting adjustment controls and make the desired changes.

When you’re finished modifying the settings you want reflected in your updated preset, return your attention to the Presets list on the left panel in the Develop module. Right-click on the preset you’re currently working to modify, and choose “Update with Current Settings” from the popup that appears.

This will bring up the Update Develop Preset dialog, which is the same basic dialog you would have used to save the preset in the first place. If you had only included certain adjustments as part of your preset, only the checkboxes for those adjustments will be turned on at this point. In most cases you would probably want to leave the checkboxes as they are, but you can enable (or disable) specific adjustments if you want to change the behavior of the original preset.

You can then click the Update button at the bottom-right of the Update Develop Preset dialog to apply the changes to the preset.

It is important to note that updating a preset in this way will not change the adjustments for images that you had previously applied the preset to. So if you want to update the adjustments for certain images based on the preset, you’ll need to re-apply the updated preset to those images.

Note that this question was posed as a follow-up during my recent “Top Hidden Features of Lightroom” webinar presentation. You can view the recording of that presentation on the Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/yvQwlBnQCe4

Today’s Question: Do you see it as realistic to import my video files to Lightroom or should I consider another app and leave Lightroom only for photos?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To me it depends on the nature of the video. My approach is to keep videos that I see as “belonging” alongside my photos in my Lightroom catalog. Videos that are intended for a specific video project (such as training videos in my case) are not imported into Lightroom, and instead are managed through a separate workflow.

More Detail: As I imagine most photographers can appreciate, Lightroom is first and foremost a tool for managing still photos. However, it does support a variety of video formats, and you can import videos right alongside your still photos. You can even apply some basic adjustments and trimming to your video clips within Lightroom.

That said, for “serious” video projects, you would likely be doing the vast majority of your work outside of Lightroom. Perhaps, for example, you might use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit your videos, and perhaps use Adobe Prelude to manage your videos before production. In those types of situations, I wouldn’t import the videos into Lightroom, as they wouldn’t really fit into the context of my Lightroom catalog.

Of course, many photographers (including myself) capture videos that serve as more of a supplement to still photos than as elements of a larger video project. For example, those videos might be used along with still photos as part of a slideshow presentation. These types of video captures were, in my view, captured for much the same reason the still photos were captured. As a result, I import these types of videos into my Lightroom catalog right along with my still photos from the same trip or photo shoot.

So, while I do feel that all of my still photos belong in Lightroom simply because they’re my photos, the same isn’t necessarily true for video captures. For video I recommend considering the context (and intent) for those videos before deciding whether to import them along with your still photos into your Lightroom catalog.

Today’s Question: Do you export photos that you have changed in the Develop module [in Lightroom]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I do not export copies of my photos from Lightroom unless I specifically need a new image file for some purpose, such as to share the image with others. That said, I do understand the motivation of some photographers to export images in order to preserve their adjusted images beyond the Lightroom catalog.

More Detail: When you apply adjustments in Lightroom, by default the adjustment settings are only saved in the Lightroom catalog, and do not alter the original image file on your hard drive. That is a good thing in terms of providing a non-destructive workflow, but it also means you are dependent upon the Lightroom catalog for the information about the “final” appearance of your optimized photos.

You can save the metadata for your images out to the actual image files, which will include the adjustment data from the Develop module. This can be done by enabling the option to automatically write changes to XMP, found in the Catalog Settings dialog, or by choosing Metadata > Save Metadata to File from the menu (for selected images).

The shortcoming of this approach is that the adjustments that would be preserved in this manner can only be understood by Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. In other words, if the reason you were preserving this adjustment information was to provide an alternative in case you could no longer use these Adobe applications (such as canceling your Creative Cloud subscription) you would effectively lose your adjustments.

For this reason, some photographers prefer to export a full-resolution TIFF image from Lightroom for the images they optimize (or at least their most important among those images). This provides a high-quality copy of the image with all Lightroom adjustments included, that can be opened with virtually any image-editing software.

While I’m generally paranoid when it comes to protecting my photographs, my feeling is that if I ever decided to discontinue my use of Lightroom I could simply export copies of my photos in bulk at that time, in order to preserve the adjustments from Lightroom for my photos. But I certainly understand those who want to perform this work along the way, rather than taking a risk of potentially losing the adjustments for their images.

Today’s Question: I would like to make notes about adjustments I’ve made in Lightroom or Photoshop. Is there a place for this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In Lightroom you could add these details into one of the existing text fields in metadata, such as the Caption field if you’re not using that for other purposes. In Photoshop, you might want to use the Note tool, which is designed for exactly this type of purpose.

More Detail: In Lightroom there isn’t exactly a “notes” feature, but you can add information about your adjustments to another metadata field you’re not using for another purpose. If you’re not using the Caption field for other purposes, this can be a good choice because the textbox size for this field is a little larger than other metadata fields. Other good options would include the “User Comment” field found in the EXIF metadata, or the “Instructions” field in IPTC metadata (under the Workflow section).

In Photoshop, the Note tool is well suited for your intended purpose. This tool isn’t especially well known, in part because it is somewhat “hidden”. To access the Note tool, you can first right-click on the Eyedropper tool on the toolbox to bring up a popup of additional tools. From that popup choose the Note tool.

After selecting the Note tool, to actually add a note to the current image simply click anywhere within the image. The Notes panel should appear automatically at this point, but it is also accessible by choosing Window > Notes from the menu, or by clicking the Notes Panel button on the Options bar.

Within the Notes panel, simply add the desired text to the note field. Note that you can cycle through multiple notes if you have added more than one to the image, and delete a note, using the buttons at the bottom of the Notes panel.

It is important to note (no pun intended) that in order to save notes added to an image using the Note tool, you must save the image as either a Photoshop PSD document or a TIFF file.

Today’s Question: I currently use Camera Raw for editing (same options as Lightroom), but I would like to use Lightroom, IF I can find a way not to give up my current file organization in my folders.  Is this possible?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes! With Adobe Lightroom Classic CC you can import (and maintain) your existing folder structure, and continue using the same folder strategy moving forward. With the new cloud-based Lightroom CC, however, your photos are organized with a date-based folder structure.

More Detail: One of the most common areas of confusion related to Lightroom Classic CC relates to your existing storage structure and strategy. When you import existing photos into Lightroom, you can simply add those images to the catalog without moving or copying them to a different location. Your existing folder structure for those photos would therefore be reflected in the Folders list on the left panel in Lightroom’s Library module.

When you import new captures from a media card or camera, you can specify the folder structure you want to use. In other words, you can continue using the same approach you’ve already been using for your folder structure.

The only thing to keep in mind in this context is that once you start using Lightroom, it is important to initiate all tasks within Lightroom. So if you wanted to rename or move folders (or photos), that should be done within Lightroom, not from the operating system. The changes you make to your folder structure within Lightroom will be reflected in your operating system as well.

As noted above, the new Lightroom CC (which focuses on cloud-based synchronization of all of your photos) does not maintain your existing folder structure. Instead, it uses a date-based folder system. Therefore, for photographers who want to manage their own folder structure locally, Lightroom Classic CC (rather than the new Lightroom CC) would be the better choice.

Today’s Question: In the develop module of Lightroom Classic when I use the Adjustment Brush tool I just see the pink mask and can only see the effect after I close the window [by clicking the Done button]. How can I preview with the effect without closing?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can turn off the translucent red mask overlay when working with any of the targeted adjustment tools in Lightroom by turning off the “Show Selected Mask Overlay” checkbox on the toolbar below the image.

More Detail: When working with any of the targeted adjustment tools (Graduated Filter, Radial Filter, or Adjustment Brush) in Lightroom’s Develop module, you have the option of displaying a translucent red overlay on your image to indicate the mask area. The red overlay appears on areas affected by your adjustment, with the rest of the image appearing normally. When this option is enabled, you won’t see the effect of your targeted adjustments.

The mask display can certainly be very helpful as you work to improve the accuracy of the mask that is being used to define which portions of the image will be affected by your targeted adjustment. But it can obviously be a bit of an impediment when it comes time to actually apply an adjustment.

You can turn off the mask overlay by turning off the “Show Selected Mask Overlay” checkbox on the toolbar below the image preview area. If you don’t see that toolbar, simply press the letter “T” on the keyboard to toggle its visibility.

My personal preference is to keep this checkbox turned off. In fact, I find it is more helpful to apply an exaggerated Exposure adjustment, and use the effect of that adjustment to show me the shape of my mask. When I’m finished getting my mask cleaned up, I then reset the exaggerated adjustment and fine-tune as needed.

If you just want to view the mask overlay temporarily, note that you can also just hover your mouse pointer over the edit pin that appears on the image for each mask you define for a targeted adjustment. I find it easier to simply hover over that edit pin when I want to see the mask overlay, rather than toggling the “Show Selected Mask Overlay” checkbox.

Today’s Question: From Tuesday’s eNewsletter: “By default, as with other filters in Photoshop, the Camera Raw Filter will directly alter pixel values.” I know this is true but I would be hard pressed to explain it to anyone using Photoshop. Can you discuss this effect?

Tim’s Quick Answer: When pixel values in an image are modified directly, this is often referred to as “destructive” processing. What this means is that the pixel information in the source image is being altered directly. The alternative would be a non-destructive workflow, where the adjustments are saved as information separate from the underlying pixel information.

More Detail: As noted in Tuesday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter, filters in Photoshop directly alter pixel values. This approach can reduce the flexibility of your workflow, which is why I generally recommend a non-destructive approach to optimizing your photos whenever possible.

The key risk of a destructive workflow is that you won’t be able to return to an earlier version of a photo. For example, let’s assume you applied the Camera Raw Filter directly to an image rather than as a Smart Filter. If you use the filter to convert the image to black and white, and then save and close the image, you will have permanently removed the color information from that image. Unless you have another copy of the image you won’t be able to create a color interpretation anymore.

By contrast, if you apply the Camera Raw Filter as a Smart Filter (as outlined in Tuesday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter), you can later return to the filter settings to refine your work or return to an earlier version of the image.

It is worth noting that when you process an original raw capture (such as with Camera Raw, rather than the Camera Raw Filter) you are always working non-destructively. That is because the adjustments you apply with Camera Raw in this context are used to render a new image based on the original raw capture, and do not overwrite the pixel information contained within the raw capture itself.

Today’s Question: What is your recommended workflow for sending photos from Lightroom to Photoshop and back? Specifically, I’m looking for an efficient way to edit in Photoshop without the file being flattened upon return to Lightroom. I currently do this with Save As in Photoshop and then I have to synchronize the catalog back in Lightroom. This sometimes leads to metadata mismatch. Is there a more seamless way to do this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The key to a seamless round trip workflow from Lightroom to Photoshop is to use the “Save” (not “Save As”) command when you’re finished working in Photoshop. Then, when you send a layered image from Lightroom back to Photoshop, choose the “Edit Original” option.

More Detail: When you want to use Photoshop to work on a photo that is being managed in Lightroom, it is important to use the correct workflow to ensure you are able to retain layers in the image and avoid confusion in Lightroom.

When you first send a photo from Lightroom to Photoshop, you can simply select the image and go to the menu and choose Photo > Edit In > Edit In Adobe Photoshop. If the image is a raw capture, it will be opened in Photoshop directly without any additional steps. If it is a different image type (such as a JPEG) then you will be asked how you want to edit the image. Generally at this point you would want to choose “Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments”, but note that when you later re-send a layered image to Photoshop you won’t want to use this option.

After performing any work you’d like to apply to the image in Photoshop, save the changes by choosing File > Save (not “Save As”) from the menu. You can then close the image and return to Lightroom, where you’ll see a TIFF or PSD version of the photo (depending on the setting you have established in Preferences).

The next time you want to send a layered image to Photoshop, you can once again choose Photo > Edit In > Edit In Adobe Photoshop from the menu. In this scenario, however, you’ll want to choose the “Edit Original” option in the Edit Photo dialog. While the TIFF or PSD is a derivative copy that you probably wouldn’t normally think as the “original” version of your photo, the “Edit Original” option will cause the selected image to be opened, rather than having yet another copy created for editing.

By opening the TIFF or PSD image with the “Edit Original” option, any layers you had previously added to the image in Photoshop will be there when you open the image again. When you’re finished working in Photoshop, once again choose the Save (not “Save As”) command and close the image. The preview for that image will then be updated in Lightroom.

By following this approach, you’ll ensure that you are able to successfully send an image from Lightroom to Photoshop anytime you need to perform work that goes beyond what is available for optimizing photos in Lightroom.