Today’s Question: I just purchased and downloaded Aurora HDR 2019. My question is how can I get a photo from Lightroom to Aurora to edit the photo and bring it back to Lightroom?
Tim’s Quick Answer: To use Aurora HDR 2019 (https://timgrey.me/aurora2019) from Lightroom, it first needs to be installed as a plug-in. Next, select the captures you want to merge into an HDR image. Then go to the menu and navigate to File > Edit With Preset, where you can select “Open Source Files” from the submenu under the “Aurora HDR 2019” heading.
More Detail: Once you’ve installed Aurora HDR 2019, you’ll want to install the software as a plug-in for the host application(s) you want to use with Aurora HDR. To do so, first launch Aurora HDR, making sure you have quit the applications you want to use as a host for Aurora HDR.
On the Windows version of Aurora HDR you can then choose File > Install Plugins from the menu. On the Macintosh version choose Aurora HDR 2019 from the menu bar, followed by Install Plugins.
In the dialog that appears, you will find Install buttons for the applications that can serve as a host for Aurora HDR 2019. These include installation options for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements. Click the Install button for each of the host applications you want to install Aurora HDR as a plug-in for.
Once Aurora HDR 2019 is installed as a plug-in for your preferred host applications, you can send images to Aurora HDR from those applications.
The process of sending original captures from Lightroom to a plug-in that creates an HDR image is different from the “normal” workflow for sending a photo to a more typical plug-in. Instead of using the Photo > Edit In menu, you will use the “Export With Preset” command. So, select the images you want to assemble into an HDR image, and then choose File > Export with Preset > Open Source Files. Note that the “Open Source Files” command will appear under a heading that says “Aurora HDR 2019” on the menu.
The selected images will then be sent to Aurora HDR 2019, where you can process them into a finished HDR image. When the process is complete, the resulting image will appear alongside the source photos within your Lightroom catalog.
If you’re interested in learning more about Aurora HDR 2019 (and getting a free trial to test the software out), you can do so by following this link: