Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: [In Lightroom Classic] Assuming you have the “save changes to xmp” option turned on, when you create a virtual copy does it save the info from both the virtual and original to the xmp file? Or create a separate xmp? Or keep the data for the virtual copy only within the catalog?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The metadata related to virtual copies in Lightroom Classic is only saved in the catalog, not in an XMP sidecar file as would be the case for the metadata related to the master image.

More Detail: I recommend turning on the “Automatically write changes into XMP” checkbox on the metadata tab of the Catalog Settings dialog in Lightroom Classic. This will cause updates to standard metadata fields (but not Lightroom-specific metadata) to be written to the source image file on your hard drive, which in the case of a raw capture means that the information will be written to an XMP “sidecar” file.

However, for virtual copies, the metadata updates are only saved in the Lightroom Classic catalog. The XMP sidecar file for the original raw capture will not contain the information for the virtual copy.

If you export the virtual copy, the information from the virtual copy will be included in the metadata for that image, assuming you include metadata as part of the export. For example, if you export a virtual copy of a raw capture with the “Original” option selected for the Image Format setting, an XMP sidecar file will be created with the metadata from the virtual copy.

So, in general virtual copies should be thought of as a Lightroom-specific feature, meaning standard metadata that might otherwise be written to original image files (or XMP sidecar files in the case of raw captures) will not be written to a file for virtual copies. It is also worth noting that other Lightroom-specific features are not reflected in metadata, even when you have the option to write metadata to XMP enabled.

For example, pick and reject flags, inclusion in collections, virtual copies, and history are not written to metadata for images. Rather, these Lightroom-specific features are only saved within the Lightroom Classic catalog, which is one of the reasons it is still important to back up your catalog, even if you have the option enabled to automatically write metadata updates to the source image files.

Today’s Question: I have routinely edited or processed my original raw images in Lightroom Classic. Now I have a reason to go back to the original raw image, but I am not sure how. Maybe I should have created a “Virtual Copy” and performed all my processing on that version? Can I get back to the original now?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can indeed reset to the original version of a raw capture in Lightroom Classic by clicking the Reset button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module. If you want to preserve the edited version of the image you can create a virtual copy before using the reset option.

More Detail: All of the adjustments you apply in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic are non-destructive, meaning they don’t actually alter the original image file on your hard drive. That means you can modify or reset any (or all) of the adjustments you’ve applied.

If you want to keep both the edited version and the original version of the photo, you can create a virtual copy first. Simply right-click on the photo in question and choose “Create Virtual Copy” from the popup menu that appears. This virtual copy will have the exact same adjustment settings as the original photo.

You can then select either the original photo or the virtual copy and click the Reset button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module to reset all adjustments to their defaults. You could then apply new adjustments to that image after resetting it, or simply retain the original version for reference.

Note, by the way, that creating a virtual copy does not create a copy of the original image file, so it does not consume any real hard drive space. It is simply another set of metadata for the same source image. So the original image will have one set of adjustments in the Develop module, and the virtual copy can have a different set of adjustments.

Today’s Question: I have Lightroom Classic on a desktop and also on a laptop. I have my image files on an external hard drive on the desktop. If I disconnect the external hard drive from my desktop and connect it to the laptop, make changes to the image files then disconnect from the laptop and connect again to the desktop, will Lightroom Classic on the desktop recognize the changes that I made on the laptop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If the Lightroom Classic catalog is on the external hard drive then you can switch among computers and preserve all updates regardless of which computer you’re working on. If you have a separate catalog on two computers, this workflow will absolutely not work and will likely lead to a significant mess in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic keeps track of the information about your photos through the use of a catalog, which is a database at the core of your Lightroom Classic workflow. I highly recommend using a single catalog to manage all of your photos, rather than multiple catalogs. And when it comes to working on two different computers, it is even more important that you’re using a single catalog whenever you’re using Lightroom Classic.

Normally I recommend having your catalog files on your computer’s internal hard drive in order to maximize performance. However, if you want to be able to work across two computers with the same catalog, I recommend storing the catalog on an external hard drive.

With your Lightroom Classic catalog and all of your photos on an external hard drive, you can move that hard drive between computers. Since you’ll be using the same catalog file with Lightroom Classic on two different computers (but only one computer at a time) all updates you make will be reflected on both computers.

If, on the other hand, you were to maintain individual catalogs on two computers, moving the photos between the two computers, your updates would not be synchronized across the two computers. Both catalogs would remain independent, and you would therefore end up with a significant mess relatively quickly, where different updates have been applied in different catalogs.

It is worth noting, by the way, that this sort of issue is not a factor with the cloud-based version of Lightroom. You can have this version of Lightroom on two computers, and updates from one computer will be reflected on the other, as well as on mobile devices with the Lightroom app installed. That said, I still prefer Lightroom Classic over the cloud-based version of Lightroom for a variety of reasons, including preferring to manage my folder structure locally.

Today’s Question: How can words with special alphabet characters (such as Dragør, smörgåsbord, Värmland, Nærøy Fjords) be included in keywords for Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can most certainly use special characters in keywords in Lightroom Classic. These include both symbols and characters from foreign languages.

More Detail: It is important to have something of a strategy when it comes to keywording your photos, and that includes thinking about spelling. For example, will you use the local language for the names of places (such as Firenze, Italia) or the name used in your own language (such as Florence, Italy)?

Taken a step further, you can decide if you will use special characters such as those from other languages, or a variation based on your own language. For example, will you include an “O” with the umlaut to add “Österreich” as a keyword, or will you leave the umlaut off and use “Osterreich”, or will you use the English version of “Austria”?

For some special characters you can use keyboard shortcuts. In other cases, you may need to use an international keyboard setting for the operating system. In addition, software such as a word processor application can be used to type words with special characters, which you can then copy-and-paste into the Keywords in Lightroom Classic.

Today’s Question: I’ve seen you reference Camera Raw in addition to Lightroom Classic for assembling an HDR [high dynamic range] image from bracketed raw exposures. But how do you actually assemble an HDR image using Camera Raw?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can assemble an HDR image (or a panorama or even an HDR panorama) in Adobe Camera Raw by opening all of the images in Camera Raw, selecting all of those photos on the filmstrip, and then right-clicking and choosing the applicable “Merge to” option from the popup menu.

More Detail: I recommend starting in Adobe Bridge when you want to open multiple photos in Photoshop. After selecting the raw captures that you want to assemble into an HDR image (or into a panorama or HDR panorama) double-click on the thumbnail of one of the selected photos. This will open the raw captures in Adobe Camera Raw.

With the images open in Camera Raw, you should see a filmstrip with the thumbnails for all of the raw captures you opened. If not, you can click the filmstrip button toward the bottom-left of the Camera Raw interface. That button has one large rectangle and four small rectangles, representing the filmstrip display.

On the filmstrip you can then select all of the raw captures. You can hold the Ctrl/Command key while pressing the letter “A” on the keyboard, or click the first image and hold the Shift key while clicking the last image.

With all of the raw captures selected you can then right-click on the thumbnail for any of the images, and then choose “Merge to HDR” (or the options for a panorama or HDR panorama as applicable), which will bring up the dialog with the settings for merging the images together. Note, by the way, that when you hover your mouse over one of the thumbnails in Camera Raw, there is also an ellipsis button (three circles) that appears, and you can click on the ellipsis to bring up the menu where you can select the “Merge to” command.

Today’s Question: A question [in Friday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter] suggested photos would have very little noise if captured at the camera’s lowest ISO setting. But aren’t there other factors that cause noise in photos besides the ISO setting?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While a high ISO setting can significantly contribute to noise in a digital photo, there are indeed other factors such as the exposure time, the brightness of the exposure, and heat buildup in the camera.

More Detail: For most digital cameras a relatively low ISO setting will help minimize the level of noise in photos. However, there are other factors that can contribute to noise as well.

Long exposures will exhibit more noise that short exposures, all other factors being equal. If you photograph the exact same scene with the exact same overall exposure, but with different shutter speeds, the image with a longer exposure time will have more noise. This is especially true for particularly long exposures, which is why many cameras include a long exposure noise reduction feature that reduces noise for exposures of around one second or longer.

An under-exposed image will also exhibit more noise than a properly exposed photo. This is why the concept of “expose to the right” is helpful. By capturing an image that is as bright as possible without clipping the highlight detail, you are capturing maximum information (light) and therefore minimizing noise all other things being equal.

Heat buildup in the camera can also contribute significantly to noise in photos. This isn’t generally a problem under typical photographic conditions. However, if you capture a relatively large number of long exposures in a short period of time, heat buildup can be a factor, contributing to more noise in your photos.

Today’s Question: I almost always shoot at ISO 100. Consequently, there is very little noise present most of the time. I’m never quite sure whether to reduce the barely noticeable noise or if I should just leave well enough alone. What do you do in such a situation? I have never really read or heard anyone address this problem about when or when not to reduce noise shot at lower ISO settings.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Even when noise is minimal in an image, I recommend at least applying color noise reduction. I would only apply luminance noise reduction if the noise was significant enough to detract from the overall quality of the image.

More Detail: Noise is unavoidable in digital photos, so the real question is how much noise is present. Even under optimal conditions, however, if you can see color noise when you zoom in to a 100% zoom setting for the image, I feel you should apply color noise reduction.

When applying color noise reduction, it is important not to be too aggressive. In some cases, you may be able to remove all visible color noise. However, if you apply settings that are too strong you may cause color artifacts due to the averaging and blending of color values caused by color noise reduction.

With luminance noise reduction the risk of causing problems in the photo are more significant. Strong luminance noise reduction will have the effect of blurring the photo, reducing the amount of texture and detail that is apparent in the image.

Therefore, when applying luminance noise reduction, it is especially important to carefully evaluate the settings, striking a balance between reducing the perceived noise and retaining texture and detail in the photo.

Based on all of this, I would generally apply color noise reduction for any image where you can see color noise. I would only apply luminance noise reduction if there is a fair amount of luminance noise, to the point that the noise is clearly contributing to the appearance of reduced image quality. If luminance noise is minimal or barely noticeable, I would tend not to apply luminance noise reduction.

Today’s Question: If you rename photos upon import into Lightroom Classic, and later delete some of those photos, you’ll have gaps in the numbering for the images. Is that not a concern, or would it be better to rename later in your workflow?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I don’t consider it a significant issue to have gaps in the sequence numbers for filenames, but I certainly understand the desire to avoid those gaps. If you do prefer to rename photos after you have deleted outtakes, I do recommend being sure that the original filenames aren’t being referenced by others (such as clients) before you rename the photos.

More Detail: The primary reason I prefer to rename photos during import is to make sure that any reference to the filename will be a reference to the new filename. For example, if you had sent copies of photos to a client for review before renaming photos, they would be seeing the “old” filenames and you would be working with the “new” filenames.

Of course, if you later delete outtakes, you’ll have gaps in the sequence numbers for your filenames. So, if you want to avoid those gaps in sequence numbers, you can wait until you’re finished reviewing photos and deleting any outtakes.

Keep in mind, by the way, that if you do rename photos in Lightroom Classic either during import or later in your workflow, the original filename will be retained in metadata. For photos that have been renamed by Lightroom Classic, you’ll find the original filename in the Preserved File Name field in the Metadata section of the right panel in the Library module, after selecting the “Default” option from the popup to the left of the Metadata heading.

However, this “Preserved File Name” metadata field is not searchable natively in Lightroom Classic, so actually locating a photo based on the original filename can be a bit tricky. You would need to use a filter plug-in such as Any Filter by John R. Ellis:

https://johnrellis.com/lightroom/anyfilter.htm

Today’s Question: On your trip around the world with one lens what does a histogram of focal length usage look like?

Tim’s Quick Answer: During my extended trip in 2019 that too me around the world, I used only a Tamron 18-400mm lens (https://bhpho.to/2DPkI3C). Looking at the data, I see that about 25% of the total number of photos were captured either at the maximum focal length (17% of the photos) or at the minimum focal length (about 8% of the photos).

More Detail: In early 2019 I had the opportunity to take an extended trip while teaching onboard a cruise ship. Between flights and travel on the ship, I ended up traveling all the way around the planet. For fun, I decided to only bring a single lens with me. For maximum flexibility though, I opted for the Tamron 18-400mm lens.

I created a histogram chart of the distribution of focal lengths used during the trip. But as noted above, a significant percentage of the images were captured at either the maximum or minimum focal length I had available.

You can read a bit more, and see a chart of the focal length distribution, on the GreyLearning blog here:

https://greylearningblog.com/focal-length-distribution-around-the-world/

In addition, you can view a recording of the presentation I gave as part of the GreyLearning Webinar Series titled “Lessons Learned Around the World with One Lens” on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/dOHcN1fzvw4

Today’s Question: Is there a compelling reason to save the source images after they have been merged to make an HDR [high dynamic range] image in Lightroom Classic? My main reason for asking is that I use the Nikon D850 which creates large files and, while I understand storage is cheap, I just don’t see a reason to keep the source files since I can make further post processing changes to the HDR image.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Once you have created an HDR image based on bracketed exposures and confirmed there are no issues with the resulting DNG file created by Lightroom Classic (or Adobe Camera Raw), I would say there is not a critical need to retain the original raw captures used to create the HDR image. That said, I do personally prefer to retain those original captures “just in case”.

More Detail: Deleting an original raw capture file is often compared to throwing away a slide or negative (for those of us who remember the days when photography was only film-based). However, in the context of assembling an HDR image or a composite panorama from a set of original captures, this analogy doesn’t quite hold true.

When you assemble an HDR image in Lightroom Classic based on a set of bracketed raw captures, the result is an Adobe DNG file. That means in some ways you’re creating a raw capture that is a blend of several other raw captures. You have the same overall flexibility for making adjustments to that DNG file as you would for the original raw captures.

Therefore, there isn’t a significant reason to retain the original raw captures after creating an HDR based on those captures. However, there are a couple of things you’ll want to consider.

First, you’ll want to carefully evaluate the HDR image to make sure there are no quality issues. For example, if there was movement within the frame there may be ghosting artifacts, where a moving subject appears ghosted within the image. It is also possible that there would be alignment issues between the individual captures. So, zoom in and evaluate the overall image to make sure there are no quality issues in the HDR result.

Second, keep in mind that while software for processing raw captures has gotten rather mature, there is still the potential that new software updates will provide an advantage in terms of going back and re-processing the original captures into a new HDR result. I don’t consider this a serious concern, but it is worth giving some thought to.

I still retain my original raw captures even after blending them into an HDR result, but that is in large part just a state of mind on my part. It has been a very, very long time since I’ve gone back to re-process the original raw captures to a new HDR image after having created an HDR image that I was initially happy with.