Month: August 2022

Today’s Question: What about [a camera versus scanner for] slides?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In general, you’ll get better resolution with a dedicated film scanner for slides (or negatives). However, considering there aren’t too many film scanners currently in production, you may find it easier to photograph the slides on a lightbox or send the slides out to a service provider.

More Detail: Film scanners can provide an excellent option for digitizing slides or negatives. There are currently scanners available that are capable of scanning at 7,200 to 10,000 pixels per inch (ppi). By comparison, a 47-megapixel digital camera produces an image of about 5,500 pixels per inch. In other words, in many cases you’ll find that a film scanner will exceed the resolution of a digital camera for digitizing slides or negatives.

Of course, there aren’t that many film scanners currently in production. A couple of options that are available include the 7,200 ppi Plustek OpticFilm 8100 film scanner (https://bhpho.to/3AemZi1) and the 10,000 ppi Pacific Image Prime Film XAs (https://bhpho.to/3pEARx2). Note that I don’t generally recommend flatbed scanners for scanning film, as the quality is typically not as good as a dedicated film scanner.

Another option is to photograph the slides on a lightbox. This is similar in concept to using a copy stand to photograph old prints, as I’ve discussed in previous answers. The difference is that the film needs to be illuminated. There are various accessories that can be used for this purpose, but you can also use a lightbox to illuminate the slides while positioning the camera above the lightbox with a tripod. My preferred lightbox is the Kaiser Slimlite Plano (https://bhpho.to/3ci8FNt).

You could also let someone else do the scanning for you. One service I’ve found that provides great results is ScanMyPhotos (https://www.scanmyphotos.com). While these services can be a little expensive if you’re scanning a large number of images, it is very convenient to simply ship slides or negatives to them and receive digital images (and your originals) in return.

Today’s Question: As a follow-up to your recent posts about scanning vs. photographing photographs to preserve them digitally, you mentioned two lights at 45 degree angles and a copy stand. Do you have more specific information on the lights and stand or an article somewhere that illustrates the setup? I don’t know what a copy stand is or how to position the photo and lights (or what kind of lights to use). I have a lot of old family photos on my “mean to do” list, and this would help.

Tim’s Quick Answer: A copy stand has a platform to hold documents along with a rail for mounting a camera above that platform. Lights are sometimes included or can be purchased separately. You can find an example of a copy stand here: https://bhpho.to/3wnDNSA, and a light set for use with a copy stand here: https://bhpho.to/3pzSH4i.

More Detail: A copy stand makes it relatively easy to photograph old photographic prints or other documents. Two lights can be used to provide good illumination of the print being photographed and having those lights at a 45-degree angle helps avoid glare. Glare could otherwise be a problem if the print is glossy or if you are using a sheet of glass to hold the item flat.

You could certainly use a tripod to hold your camera above a flat surface to photograph prints or other documents. A copy stand simply provides a good solution if you don’t have a good setup for this purpose. I consider it important to use lights to illuminate the item being photographed, and I prefer lights that are always on rather than flash to make it easier to ensure you have the lights in a good position.

The 45-degree angle refers to the lights being above but a bit to the side relative to the item you’re photographing. Let’s assume, for example, that the lights will be about two feet above the platform where the print is sitting. You would also want the lights to be positioned about two feet left and right of center to avoid reflections.

In the photos included on the page for the light kit referenced above (https://bhpho.to/3pzSH4i) the lights aren’t out quite as far laterally as they normally would be to avoid reflections. Also, some of the images show the lights in the context of a copy stand, which is not included with the light kit in this case.

Today’s Question: Do you travel with multiple cameras and how do you deal with charging multiple batteries in non-US (need an adapter) countries? Most battery charges are dual-voltage but you still need adapters to plug-in to whatever the country’s plug standard uses.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, I do often travel with multiple cameras, and when that travel includes international destinations, I use a combination power adapter kit (https://bhpho.to/3CgbAAY).

More Detail: In my experience battery chargers for cameras always support dual-voltage, but it is important to check all electric components to confirm they will work properly with the power configuration in the countries you’ll visit. The charger or other electronic device will generally be marked with an indication of the power input that is supported.

For example, a typical battery charger might indicate “AC100-240V”. This indicates the charger can be plugged into a standard AC (alternating current, such as household power) plugs the provide power between 100 volts and 240 volts. In the US the power is 110 volts and in Europe the standard is 220 volts. The charger in this example could therefore be used in either location. Devices that do not support the higher voltage in Europe, for example, would be damaged and possibly cause a fire if they were plugged into a European outlet.

For devices that don’t support the power in a destination you’ll visit, you either need a different device or a power transformer. For example, when taking a US device that only supports 110 volt power to Europe, you would need a transformer (such as this one: https://bhpho.to/3ps1dCe) to bring the 220-volt power down to 110 volts.

As long as your devices all support the power in the areas you’ll visit, all you need is an adapter so the plug will actually fit in the socket. You can buy individual adapters for specific locations, such as an adapter that enables a device with a US plug type to be plugged into a European outlet.

However, my recommendation is to get a more universal solution. For example, you can find a single kit that enables you to adapt in both directions for plugs in the US, Australia, United Kingdom, and Europe here:

https://bhpho.to/3CgbAAY

Again, be sure to confirm the power input support for any devices you intend to use in a country other than what it was designed for. Most electronic devices support international power without issue. However, it is best to be sure to avoid damaging a device. For example, it is quite common for hair dryers and devices with heating elements to only support US power, which could cause them to be ruined and possibly catch fire if plugged into an outlet with a voltage higher than that found in the US.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to have the Develop presets in Lightroom Classic that I’ve created on my desktop computer available on my laptop when I’m traveling?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can simply export the applicable presets from Lightroom Classic on your desktop computer and then import those presets into Lightroom Classic on your laptop computer.

More Detail: When you’ve created a set of presets in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic you may want to make those available on another computer, such as to have on your laptop or to share with a friend.

First, I recommend making sure that the presets you want to copy to another computer are organized into meaningful groups. If you have a relatively small number of presets you could simply use the “User Presets” group, but you may want to organize the presets into specific groups if you have a relatively large number of them.

When you’re ready to export the presets from your desktop computer you can right-click on a preset group in the Presets list on the left panel in the Develop module and choose “Export Group” from the popup menu. Navigate to a convenient location (such as the Desktop), update the name for the export if you want to, and click the Save button. Repeat this process for all the groups of presets you want to export.

The exported files will be ZIP files, which will contain individual files for each of the presets for the group that was exported to create the ZIP file. Copy all of the applicable ZIP files to your laptop computer, saving them in a convenient location.

On your laptop you can then go into Lightroom Classic and click the plus (+) button to the right of the Presets heading on the left panel in the Develop module. Choose “Import Presets” from that popup and navigate to the location where you saved the ZIP files. Select all the ZIP files for the presets you want to import and click the Import button. The presets will appear in their respective groups on the Presets list on the left panel.

I shared a variety of tips related to managing presets in Lightroom Classic in my recent webinar presentation on “Mastering Develop Presets in Lightroom Classic”. You can view a recording of the full presentation on my “Tim Grey TV” channel on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/yadDi_p5u5Q

Today’s Question: Can I view the metadata for a photo while working with it in Photoshop? I don’t use Lightroom Classic, and it is inconvenient to go to Bridge just to see the metadata.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can view the metadata for the current image in Photoshop by choosing File > File Info from the menu.

More Detail: Photoshop includes a “File Info” dialog where you can browse the metadata for an image you’re working with. You can access this dialog for the active image by choosing File > File Info from the menu. This makes it easy to review (or update) metadata while working in Photoshop.

Along the left side of the File Info dialog you’ll find categories for the different metadata. For example, you can click on the “Camera Data” tab to browse the basic EXIF metadata from your camera, including the camera gear and settings used. There are various other categories including “Basic” for core file info and metadata, along with IPTC for information such as Title, Caption, along with contact and copyright information.

For Photoshop users who are not using other software such as Lightroom Classic to manage their photos, you can even update the editable fields within the dialog. When you’re finished reviewing or updating metadata you can click the OK button to apply any changes and close the dialog.

Note that photographers using Lightroom Classic should not use the File Info dialog to update metadata, as that will cause a conflict with the Lightroom Classic catalog. You can still, however, use this dialog to review the metadata for the current image while you’re in Photoshop.

Today’s Question: With the latest update to Lightroom Classic after importing a folder of images, Lightroom Classic does not automatically go to that folder. Is there a way to have the imported folder be the “current” folder I would work in automatically?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can have Lightroom Classic remain in the folder you’re importing to as long as that folder already exists within your catalog at the time of import.

More Detail: By default, Lightroom Classic will navigate to an automatic collection that contains the photos you imported as soon as you initiate an import. During the import this collection is called “Current Import”, and after the import is completed, the collection will be called “Previous Import”. This collection is found in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module.

If you don’t want to be taken to this collection during or after an import, you can turn off the setting in the Preferences dialog. On Windows choose Edit > Preferences from the menu and on Macintosh choose Lightroom Classic > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog go to the General tab and turn off the “Select the ‘Current/Previous Import’ collection during import” checkbox.

However, turning off that option won’t automatically take you to a new folder you’re importing to. Rather, Lightroom Classic will simply continue to focus on the folder you had been browsing at the time you initiated the import, which obviously may not be the folder you’re importing into. Fortunately, you can change this by adding an extra step.

If you want to import into a new folder, start by creating the folder within Lightroom Classic. To the right of the Folders heading on the left panel in the Library module you’ll find a plus (+) button. If you want to create a folder within a folder that is already being managed in Lightroom Classic, click on that folder to select it and then choose “Add Subfolder” after clicking the plus button. If you want to create a new folder somewhere else, you can choose “Add Folder” from the popup instead.

Once you’ve created the new folder it will appear as an empty folder within the Folders list in the left panel. Click on that folder so it is active. Then right-click on the folder and choose “Import to this Folder” from the popup menu. This will bring up the Import dialog, where you can configure the import of new photos. Just be sure not to change the settings for the destination folder, as that will be set automatically to the folder you right-clicked on to initiate the import.

When you then click the Import button to begin the actual import, you’ll still be browsing the folder you are importing into, and thus will see the new photos as they are imported into the current folder.

Today’s Question: What is your recommendation on the best quality in photobooks? I see that Lightroom incorporates Blurb in their product and I have read good reviews about Mixbook photobooks.

Tim’s Quick Answer: The integration of Blurb in Lightroom Classic certainly provides convenience for many photographers, and Blurb also provides a good marketplace of options for photographers to sell their work. You might consider other services, some of which can provide improved print quality, such as Artifact Uprising, Printique, and Mixbook.

More Detail: If your top priority is image quality I recommend looking at Artifact Uprising (https://www.artifactuprising.com/photo-books). This will likely be among the most expensive photo book printing services you’ll find, but the quality is superb. This is a great choice for producing albums for a high-end wedding album, for example.

Also providing excellent print quality are Printique (https://www.printique.com) and Mixbook (https://www.mixbook.com). These services won’t be as expensive as a service such as Artifact Uprising, but still provide excellent print quality.

Blurb (https://timgrey.me/blurb) also provides very good print quality, along with some features that make it a great choice for photographers. If you’re a Lightroom Classic user you can design your photo book right within the Book module in Lightroom Classic. You can also use their special software to create a book.

Blur also provides an excellent marketplace, making it easy to offer your book for sale. And like many of the other photo book printers, there are a number of other printing options to choose from such as magazines.

In my experience any of the above options represent a great choice for photographers wanting to showcase their photos in book form. Choosing a specific service mostly involves deciding which specific features are most important to you for the book you’ll produce.

Today’s Question: You recommended making a digital copy with a digital camera, rather than using a digital scanner. Was there a reason for this preference? Many folks already have printers with scanners built in. My multipurpose printer does such a good job that I got rid of my purpose-built flatbed scanner to save desk space in my home office.

Tim’s Quick Answer: My preference for using a digital camera rather than a flatbed scanner to digitize an old print is based on image quality. Specifically, sharpness and color fidelity will generally be better with a digital camera, even though a flatbed scanner offers advantages in terms of resolution and ease-of-use.

More Detail: Flatbed scanners are certainly easier to use compared to capturing a photo of a photographic print. Scanning takes a bit more time than capturing a digital photo, but getting the original configured on a copy stand with good lighting can more than make up for that time advantage.

Flatbed scanners often feature a higher effective resolution than many digital cameras. However, that doesn’t necessarily translate to improved image quality. In most cases you will get a sharper image by capturing a digital photo rather than scanning with a flatbed scanner.

To be sure, a good flatbed scanner can provide an image with very good quality, and for many older photographic prints this may be more than adequate. After all, an old photographic original won’t have tremendous resolution to begin with. However, when quality is the priority I recommend digitizing with a digital camera rather than a flatbed scanner.

When convenience is the priority, and especially if you have a scanner that has demonstrated good image quality, then obviously that is a perfectly great solution as well.

Today’s question, by the way, was a follow-up to my answer from August 10th about preserving old photographic prints, which you can find on my Ask Tim Grey blog here:

https://asktimgrey.com/2022/08/10/preserving-an-old-photo-print/

Today’s Question: I have a NEF file in Lightroom Classic that I would like to save as a JPEG. Everything I read says to go to “File” on the menu and choose “Save As”. Save As doesn’t come up. If I go to Photoshop “Save As” comes up. Am I supposed to move file from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop and then Save As?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The equivalent to the “Save As” command in Lightroom Classic for this type of situation would be to use the Export command. You can even enable the option to add the derivative JPEG image back to the catalog if you need to manage it alongside the original capture for any reason.

More Detail: The “Save As” command is really about making a new copy of a file while retaining the original. That is exactly what happens when you use the Export command in Lightroom Classic.

So, to get started you would select the photo (or multiple photos) you want to create JPEG copies of. You can then click the Export button at the bottom of the left panel in the Library module, which will bring up the Export dialog.

In this case you would want to make sure the Export To popup at the top of the dialog is set to “Hard Drive”. You can then designate the location where you want to save the JPEG copy of the selected images in the Export Location section. Note that one option is “Same folder as original photo” if you want the new copy to be stored alongside the original.

If you want to manage the JPEG copy alongside the original within your Lightroom Classic catalog, you can turn on the “Add to This Catalog” checkbox in the Export Location section. Note that I normally recommend keeping this checkbox turned off, because there isn’t generally a reason to manage derivative copies of source photos within the Lightroom Classic catalog in my opinion.

Since you want a JPEG copy you can select “JPEG” from the Image Format popup in the File Settings section. You can also take advantage of any of the other settings, such as to create a smaller version of the original by adjusting the settings in the “Image Sizing” section.

Once you’ve configured the desired settings you can click the Export button at the bottom-right of the dialog to create the JPEG copies from the selected originals. Those files will then be created based on your specifications, and if you chose to enable the “Add to This Catalog” checkbox the files will also be added to the current Lightroom Classic catalog.

Note that I covered the process of exporting copies of photos extensively in the lesson “Exporting Photos for Sharing from Lightroom Classic”, which is Chapter 4, Lesson 1 of my Lightroom Lectures video course. This course is included with the GreyLearning Ultimate Bundle (http://timgrey.me/atg99bundle), but is also available with the “Mastering Lightroom Classic” bundle here:

https://www.greylearning.com/bundles/lightroom-classic-bundle