Today’s Question: I was intrigued by your suggestion that it is possible to apply adjustments to multiple images at the same time in the Develop module. How do you enable this? When I’ve selected multiple photos on the filmstrip only the image shown in the preview area is adjusted when I make changes.
Tim’s Quick Answer: The quickest way to synchronize adjustments for a batch of photos in Lightroom Classic is to turn on the Auto Sync feature associated with the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module.
More Detail: There are several ways you can apply the same adjustments to multiple photos in Lightroom Classic, including applying a preset to multiple photos, copying and pasting settings, and synchronizing settings after they have been applied to a primary photo. However, to me the easiest approach is to simply turn on the Auto Sync feature.
Start by selecting all the photos you want to synchronize adjustments for on the filmstrip. For example, you could click on the thumbnail for the first image, hold the Shift key on the keyboard, and click on the thumbnail for the last image to select all photos in that range.
Next, click on the thumbnail (not the frame around the thumbnail) on the filmstrip for the image you want to use as the basis of your adjustments. That will cause this image to be the one you see in the large preview area within the Develop module.
At this point you can click the little toggle switch on the left side of the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module. I think of this as being like a light switch that you flip up to turn on and flip down to turn off. When you click that toggle the Sync button will change to indicate “Auto Sync”.
With Auto Sync enabled all adjustments you apply in the Develop module will be automatically synchronized across all the selected photos. When you’re finished you can turn off the Auto Sync feature by clicking the toggle button again, so that you’re back to only adjusting a single image at a time.
