Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I got back from a trip with far too many photos shot in bracketed sets of three for HDR in my Canon 5D MkIV. Now I have to merge them in Lightroom Classic to get an HDR image. It works great but is a pain. Should I have used the in camera HDR and ended up with a JPEG? I know this is subjective, but with too many sets of three photos bracketed by two stops, dealing with them is very slow. I’m only through about a fifth of my shots, even with not creating an HDR for many of them.

Tim’s Quick Answer: I do not recommend creating in-camera HDR images, and instead suggest that you focus on streamlining the process of reviewing the bracketed photos.

More Detail: Bracketed exposures can be helpful when you’re dealing with a challenging exposure situation, or when you want to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. However, those bracketed exposures can also slow down the process of reviewing your photos.

I don’t recommend using in-camera HDR as a solution, because you’ll get better results with more flexibility by blending multiple raw captures in post-processing. In my opinion in-camera HDR should only be used as a tool for evaluating your photos at the time of capture, and only when the camera will still retain the raw captures along with the in-camera HDR image.

When it comes to reviewing bracketed exposures, I think the key is to not think about the fact that you have three times (or more) the total number of images to review compared to if you had not bracketed. In other words, some of this is a matter of perspective.

For example, with three bracketed exposures, you can generally make a decision based on one of the three exposures in a set (which often means the middle exposure value). Normally, after reviewing a photo, you could press the right arrow key to move on to the next photo. In the case of bracketed exposures, instead of tapping the right arrow key once, you simply tap it three times (or more, depending on how many images are included in your bracketed sets).

Another option might be to organize the bracketed exposures into stacks in Lightroom Classic. You can actually have Lightroom Classic automatically stack the images based on capture time, which in the case of bracketed exposures is actually likely to stack the sets of images correctly. Just note that the best overall exposure won’t necessarily be at the top of the stack, which can reduce the benefit of this approach.

To automatically stack photos based on capture time, navigate to the folder containing your bracketed exposures in Lightroom Classic. Then from the menu choose Photo > Stacking > Auto-Stack by Capture Time. Adjust the value for the Time Between Stacks slider, which in the case of bracketed exposures can be set to a relatively low value, perhaps as low as one second.

While stacks can help reduce clutter for bracketed exposures, as noted above when you stack images there’s a chance the top image in the stack won’t be the best image for evaluating the overall bracketed shot. Therefore, my preference is generally to somewhat quickly review the best exposure for each stack, skipping over the “other” exposures for each set. I then only assemble an HDR image from the bracketed exposures that I think have the best potential of producing a final image I’m happy with.

Today’s Question: How do I move photos from being managed by Lightroom [Classic] to Adobe Bridge?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To switch to Adobe Bridge for managing your photos you’ll want to first make sure there are no missing photos in your Lightroom Classic catalog, and then save metadata out to the actual source image files. Keep in mind you will most likely lose some information about your photos in this migration.

More Detail: Adobe Lightroom Classic uses a catalog to manage the information about your photos, whereas Adobe Bridge is a browser application that does not use a central catalog. You can certainly switch from using Lightroom Classic to Bridge, but some information will likely be lost along the way.

In order to maximize the amount of information about your photos that will be available in Adobe Bridge, you need to save metadata from your Lightroom Classic catalog to the source image files. First, you’ll want to make sure that no images are missing from your catalog, so the metadata can be saved.

Make sure all hard drives that are currently being used to store images are connected to your computer, and in Lightroom Classic go to the menu and choose Library > Find All Missing Photos. The goal is for Lightroom to indicate there aren’t any missing photos. Reconnect any missing folders and photos as needed, and then you can proceed to the next step.

If you already had the option enabled to automatically write metadata changes to the source image files, this next step won’t be necessary. However, I recommend going through this step regardless, just to be sure. Choose “All Photographs” from the Catalog section at the top of the left panel in the Library module. Make sure there aren’t any filters set, which you can do by choosing “None” on the Library filter bar in the grid view display. Select all images by choosing Edit > Select All from the menu. Then choose Metadata > Save Metadata to Files from the menu.

After choosing the “Save Metadata to Files” command, a status indicator will appear on the identity plate area at the far left of the top panel in Lightroom Classic. When that shows the process is complete, the metadata has been saved to the source images (which means XMP sidecar files for proprietary raw captures).

It is very important to keep in mind that if you stop using Lightroom Classic to manage your photos, you will likely lose some information about your photos. That is because certain features are specific to Lightroom Classic, and can’t be saved to metadata because there aren’t any standard metadata fields to contain that information.

The information you will lose (if you’ve made use of these features) includes collections, virtual copies, pick and reject flags, and history. While you will lose the actual history of your adjustments in the Develop module, note that the adjustment settings for raw captures can be saved to metadata, and those adjustment settings will therefore apply if you later open a raw capture via Adobe Camera Raw from Adobe Bridge or Photoshop.

Today’s Question: Suppose I’m creating a fairly large print such as 20×30 and want to do a test print but not waste a full sheet of paper that large size. How can I isolate a portion of the full 20×30 and print on smaller paper to evaluate what that section of the 20×30 would look like when printed?

Tim’s Quick Answer: My recommendation is to prepare the image for the full intended output size in Adobe Photoshop, and then drag that image into a new document sized to the paper size you want to use for the test print.

More Detail: It can actually be a little bit tricky to create a print that represents a portion of a larger print, with that portion being printed at the same size as it would appear in the full print. You need to be careful not to resize the image (or portion of the image) to a different size.

One of the easiest approaches to this task in my view involves Adobe Photoshop. Start by preparing the image for the final output, such as by creating a copy of the image, flattening the image, resizing to the intended print size (including the desired pixel-per-inch resolution), and applying sharpening for the final print. This image will be the basis of a final print at the full size, but of course as long as you keep this image open you can always go back in history to refine the sharpening. You could also use a Smart Filter for this purpose.

Next, create a new document by choosing File > New from the menu. Change the unit of measure for Width and Height to the preferred setting (such as Inches) using the popup to the right of each of those fields. Set the Resolution value to the same setting used when preparing the full-sized image for print. Then set the Width and Height values based on the size of the portion of the image you want to print for your test print. This could be, for example, the dimensions of the paper size you’ll use for the test print. Keep in mind, of course, that the printable area may prevent the image from actually printing to the edge of the paper, depending on your configuration.

You can then drag the full-size image into the test print document. You can view the images side-by-side by choosing Window > Arrange > Tile All Vertically from the menu. Then select the tab for the full-size image, and drag the thumbnail for the image on the Layers panel into the actual document area for the new document you created. You can then select the Move tool from the top of the toolbar (or by pressing “V” on the keyboard) and drag the full-size image around within the new document you created, to determine which portion of the image will actually be printed.

You can then print the new document to test the results for a portion of the image printed at full scale in terms of how it will appear in the final print. You can of course make changes to the source image as needed before committing to a complete print of the full-sized image.

Today’s Question: So many HDR [high dynamic range] shots I’ve seen have a kind of phony look. You can tell a mile away that it’s HDR. Is there any additional post-processing, maybe in Adobe Camera Raw, to dial back some of that phoniness that creeps in, for a more natural look overall?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In general, the best way to avoid an “HDR look” for an image is to ensure the color saturation isn’t too high, and that there is relatively strong contrast in the final image.

More Detail: The somewhat artificial look that is the trademark of what many photographers consider to be a “bad” look for HDR images generally relates to saturation and contrast.

Part of the saturation is a byproduct of more tonal values in the image falling into the middle tone range than would normally be the case. When colors are very bright or very dark, they won’t have as much of a saturated color appearance. Of course, it seems rather common that photographers get a bit carried away when applying a saturation adjustment to an HDR image. Keeping the saturation somewhat modest can help avoid an “HDR look”.

Perhaps more important is to ensure adequate contrast in the final image. One of the key benefits of HDR techniques is that you are able to retain much more detail in the photo that would have been possible with a single exposure. That means that in bright highlights and dark shadows, significant detail is visible.

When so much detail is visible, the image takes on a somewhat flatter appearance, which can be another telltale sign that the photo is an HDR image. While your goal may be to retain good detail throughout the photo, it can be helpful to ensure there is a bit of contrast in the final result. In particular, I recommend darkening the shadows to create a more realistic balance of contrast for the image. You don’t need to darken the shadows so much that you lose detail and texture in those areas, but rather just to tone down the shadows and create a more “realistic” appearance for the final image.

While it is obviously possible to reduce saturation and increase contrast after creating the HDR image, you can also apply these adjustments at the time you are assembling the HDR image with the software you’re using for that purpose. I generally prefer to get most of the work of optimizing the HDR image done using the actual software being used to assemble the HDR image. I happen to use Aurora HDR for most of my processing of HDR images, but there are of course other solutions available. You can learn more about Aurora HDR here:

https://timgrey.me/aurora

Today’s Question: If in Lightroom Classic I send an image to ‘Edit in Photoshop’, then edit and ‘Save’, the edited image lands nicely in the same located from which I sent the original. If, however, I send two images from Lightroom to Photoshop, layer them into a single image, and edit, I get no ‘Save’ option, but must ‘Save As’. How do I get the finished image to save to the location of one of the original images in Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In this case the solution is to use the “Open as Layers in Photoshop” command rather than the “Edit in Photoshop” command. That will create the layered document for you, which will then save in the manner you are accustomed to when sending a single image to Photoshop.

More Detail: When you send an image from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, it is best to simply use the “Save” command (not “Save As”) to save the resulting derivative image file, to help ensure that image is correctly included in your Lightroom Classic catalog. To address the issue of creating a composite image with photos being managed in Lightroom Classic, it is best to use the “Open as Layers in Photoshop” command, which is intended for this purpose.

The first step is to select the images in Lightroom Classic that you want to assemble into a layered document in Photoshop. Note that the first image you select will be the default for the filename of the final layered document. After selecting multiple images in Lightroom Classic, you can also click on the thumbnail for the image you want to be used for the filename of the composite image. By default, the word “Edit” will be appended to that filename, but you can change this setting in Preferences.

Next, go to the menu bar and choose Photo > Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop. The selected images will then be loaded into Photoshop in a single document, with each image on a separate layer on the Layers panel. Each image will have a layer name matching its filename. You can then add layer masks or otherwise modify the layered document. When you’re all done, choose File > Save followed by File > Close from the menu, and the finished result can be found alongside the selected original image in your Lightroom Classic catalog.

Today’s Question: Watching your recent presentation at B&H Photo on mistakes to avoid in Lightroom Classic, you mentioned that we should use keywords for each photo. Can I create a Smart Collection of photos without keywords? Then I can add keywords as needed.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can indeed create a smart collection in Lightroom Classic that automatically includes all photos that do not have any keywords. As you then add keywords to the photos in that smart collection, the photos that have keywords added will automatically be removed from the smart collection.

More Detail: Keywords can certainly be very helpful both for locating particular photos and reminding yourself of some of the details of a photo, such as the name of a subject that appears in the photo.

If you want to make sure that all photos have at least some keywords assigned to them, you can create a smart collection for this purpose.

Start by clicking the plus (+) button to the right of the Collections heading on the left panel in the Library module and choose “Create Smart Collection” from the popup. In the dialog that appears enter a meaningful name, such as “No Keywords”. You can also choose to put the new smart collection into a collection set if you’d like.

You can then click the left-most popup on the first row of criteria in the large box within the dialog and choose Other Metadata > Keywords from the popup. From the second popup choose “are empty”. If you want to add additional criteria, you can click the plus (+) symbol to the far right of the first row of criteria. Add as many rows of criteria as needed to suit your needs.

Note that if you have created more than one row of criteria, you’ll want to check the value for the “Match” popup. In most cases you would probably want to choose the “all” option, but this depends on how you are specifying your criteria. Click the Create button to create your smart collection.

At this point, that smart collection will be listed in the Collections list, and you can go to that collection to see all images that meet the criteria you specified, which in this case would include photos that do not have any keywords assigned to them.

Today’s Question: At a seminar you showed us how to remove the colored “haze” caused by a reed or leaf in the foreground when photographing a subject farther away. It had to do with changing just the color without effecting the image underneath. Can’t find it in my notes. Can you help me out?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The technique you’re referring to involves painting in Photoshop using the Brush tool, using a color sampled from the image itself, onto a new image layer that is set to the Color blend mode.

More Detail: There are a variety of situations where you may want to correct the color in a photo without altering the texture or tonality. For example, if there is an object just in front of the lens when you are photographing a scene, you may end up with a color wash in part of the photo. This would cause only the color to be “contaminated”, with the underlying texture of the scene unaffected. There are, of course, other scenarios where you want to change the color of an area without affecting the tonality.

The first step is to create a new image layer for this purpose. So, make sure you have selected the top image layer on the Layers panel in Photoshop. That may very well be the Background image layer if you haven’t added any other image layers yet. Then click the “Create a New Layer” button at the bottom of the Layers panel. This is the button with a plus symbol inside a square, which used to be a blank sheet of paper icon in older versions of Photoshop.

After creating the new layer, you can double-click the name of the layer to rename the layer if you’d like. Then click the popup at the top-left of the Layers panel that shows the default value of “Normal”, and choose “Color” from the popup list.

Next, select the Brush tool. On the Options bar, click the brush settings popup (the third button from the left) and set the Hardness value to 0%. Hold the Alt key on Windows or the Option key on Macintosh and click in an area of the photo that has a good color to replace the color contamination area. Then paint over the area where you want to fix the color. You may need to sample various colors for your correction, especially if the color contamination appears over a relatively large area that should have variations in color.

When painting with a color selected from the image, only the color will be altered in the areas you paint, because the blend mode is set to Color. In other words, the underlying texture will remain, but the color will be corrected.

Today’s Question: My Lightroom Classic image files (about 63,000 of them) and are located on a 3TB external hard drive that is almost six years old. I would like to move them to a new 6TB drive. It would be easy to drag and drop the images from one drive to the other. I know, however, that it is better if I move the images within Lightroom Classic. What is the best way to do this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You could actually work either inside Lightroom Classic for this hard drive upgrade, or by using hard drive synchronization software outside Lightroom Classic as long as you’re careful about the workflow.

More Detail: If you work within Lightroom Classic, you would be moving photos from one hard drive to another. That means it is especially important to make sure you have a complete backup of your photos before you get started.

After creating that backup, you could then connect the new larger hard drive to the computer. Within Lightroom Classic you can then click the “plus” (+) button to the right of the Folders heading on the left panel in the Library module. From the popup that appears, choose Add Folder. Then navigate to the new hard drive and click the New Folder button. Type a name (such as “Photos”) for that new folder and click Choose.

The new empty folder will then appear on the Folders list under a heading for the new hard drive. You can then select folders from the “old” drive and drag-and-drop them to the “new” drive. I recommend working with a handful of folders at a time for this process, because if something goes wrong along the way it can be a little challenging to clean up the files that are left behind.

Another option is to use hard drive synchronization software for the task of copying photos from the “old” drive to the “new” drive. This approach can be easier, because the synchronization software will take care of all of the work involved in transferring all of the folders and photos to the new drive.

I use a software application called GoodSync (http://timgrey.me/greybackup) for my synchronization-based backups. The same software can be used to duplicate folders and photos for a hard drive “upgrade”. Be sure to select the “old” hard drive as the source of the one-way synchronization when creating the backup job, and the “new” hard drive as the destination. You want to be sure the folder structure is created on the new drive exactly as it appears on the old drive. For example, you do not want to copy the folders from the old drive into an “extra” top-level folder on the new drive.

After the synchronization backup is complete, the new hard drive will represent a perfect match of the old drive, except for the “name” of the drive. To resolve this, disconnect the old drive, and then change the drive letter (Windows) or the Volume Label (Macintosh) for the new drive to exactly match the old drive.

At this point you can launch Lightroom Classic, and all of your photos will be available as usual, just on a new hard drive. That is because the path (drive “name” and folder structure) for all of your photos will be a perfect match to what they were before upgrading to a larger hard drive.

Today’s Question: Would you discuss the differences between printing in Lightroom Classic and printing in Photoshop? I would be especially interested in differences in image quality.

Tim’s Quick Answer: In Lightroom Classic it is considerably easy to prepare to print one or more photos with excellent results. However, Photoshop provides a higher degree of control, especially when it comes to sharpening photos for print.

More Detail: A basic workflow for printing a photo involves resizing the image for the printed output, sharpening the image, and printing with appropriate color management settings to ensure the most accurate print possible.

Lightroom Classic makes this workflow quite easy. You can use a template to get started in preparing the image for the intended print size, including creating layouts with more than one image on the page. You can then fine-tune the settings for the print. Resizing the image is essentially handled automatically, and there are a pair of simple settings for sharpening. You can then select the appropriate color management and printer settings, and you can expect a print of high quality.

In Photoshop the workflow is a little more complicated. You need to resize the image to the appropriate dimensions and flatten the image (or preferably a copy of the image) so sharpening can be applied evenly to the full image evenly. For example, you wouldn’t want to apply sharpening to the Background image layer and not apply that same sharpening to an image cleanup layer. You can then print the image, again with appropriate color management and printer settings.

The workflow in Photoshop isn’t especially complicated, but it certainly isn’t a straightforward as printing from Lightroom Classic. However, I typically prefer to print from Photoshop because of the additional control you can exercise over sharpening the photo.

In Lightroom Classic you select Low, Standard, or High for the sharpening amount, and then choose whether you are printing to matte or glossy paper. This is obviously very simple, and the results are actually very good. However, you can exercise greater control over the sharpening in Photoshop. Admittedly, applying optimal sharpening in Photoshop requires more skill and experience than sharpening in Lightroom Classic, but the control can be helpful in terms of achieving the best results for a print.

Today’s Question: Would you please describe the difference between a background layer and normal layer [in Adobe Photoshop] and when it is advantageous to use one over the other?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The “Background” image layer in Photoshop is simply a “normal” image layer is set to “Background” status. What that primarily translates to is that the Background image layer is locked so that certain changes can’t be applied to the Background layer. This is aimed at preserving (to some extent) the contents of the Background image layer.

More Detail: In Photoshop it is possible to have multiple image layers in a single document. That might represent a composite panorama, for example, where the multiple layers represent the several frames that have been assembled into the panoramic image. Those layers could also represent a composite image, such as when an object is added to an underlying photo, or you might use a separate image layer for image cleanup work, painting pixels to cover up blemishes in the image below.

The “Background” image layer in Photoshop generally represents the original image before adjustments have been applied. But in reality, “Background” is simply a status for an image layer in Photoshop. One of the key attributes of a Background image layer is that it can’t be transformed or moved, unless you first convert the Background layer to a normal layer. This helps protect the “original” version of the image, since you can perform your work on separate image or adjustment layers without altering the Background layer.

You can convert a Background image layer to a normal (non-locked) layer by choosing Layer > New > Layer from Background on the menu. You can also convert a normal image layer to a Background image layer by selecting the layer on the layers panel and choosing Layer > New > Background from Layer on the menu.

In general, I recommend simply leaving the Background image layer alone. That way you can preserve the “original” appearance of the image. Adjustments and other effects can then be applied by adding adjustment layers or other image layers as needed to achieve the desired result.

In other words, if you need to use a layer for a task in Photoshop, it will be a normal layer rather than a Background image layer. If you need to perform a task that requires you to work directly on pixels (such as with many filters) you may need to create a copy of the Background layer for this purpose. For many other tasks (such as most image cleanup work) you can simply use a new empty image layer for that work.