Synchronizing Adjustments

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Today’s Question: If I have several images captured under the same basic conditions with the same camera settings, what is the easiest way to apply the same adjustment to all of the images in Lightroom?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There are a variety of options available to accomplish this task, but I would suggest that synchronizing the adjustments in real time with the “Auto Sync” feature in Lightroom’s Develop module would be the easiest approach.

More Detail: The process of applying the same adjustments to multiple images in Lightroom is quite simple. When you want to apply those same adjustments in real time to multiple images, the Auto Sync feature provides a good solution.

The first step is to select the multiple images you want to apply the same adjustments to. You can, for example, click on the thumbnail for the first image and then hold the Shift key on the keyboard and click on the thumbnail for the last image, which will cause all images in between to be selected as well. You can also add or remove images to or from a selection by holding the Ctrl key on Windows or the Command key on Macintosh while clicking on the thumbnail for an image.

Once you have selected the images you want to apply the same adjustments to, you can choose which image you want to use as the basis of your adjustments. To do so, simply click on the thumbnail for the image itself (not the “frame” that surrounds the image) to make that the active image.

Next, enable the Auto Sync feature by clicking the toggle switch on the left side of the Sync button on the right panel in the Develop module in Lightroom. This button looks something like a light switch, and when it is turned on all adjustments you apply will be synchronized to all of the selected images.

At this point you can simply apply adjustments to the current image in the Develop module. Because you have enabled Auto Sync and have selected multiple images, all adjustments will synchronize to all of the selected photos in real time.

I do recommend turning off the Auto Sync feature when you’re finished, just to make sure you don’t accidentally apply further adjustments to the same selected images when you intended to focus on a single image again.