Month: January 2023

Today’s Question: I’ve just noticed that all my layered TIFF files have a Layer 0 instead of a Background layer [in Photoshop]. I have no idea how or why this is happening. Is there some automated way to change all these TIFF files? Why is this happening?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This simply indicates that the Background image layer had been converted to a “normal” layer. I recommend leaving that layer as it is, without converting it back to a Background layer.

More Detail: When you convert the Background image layer to a normal layer the default name for the layer is “Layer 0”. You can, of course, rename the layer, and you could also convert the layer back to a Background layer. However, I don’t generally recommend making that conversion.

Since in this case the Background layer wasn’t intentionally converted to a normal layer, my guess is that a crop was applied with the “Delete Cropped Pixels” checkbox on the Options bar turned off. This applies a non-destructive crop, meaning that instead of deleting the pixels outside the crop box those pixels are just hidden from view.

In order to hide rather than delete the cropped pixels, the Background layer needs to be converted to a normal layer, because a Background layer can’t extend beyond the image canvas area. There are, of course, other ways to convert a Background layer to a normal layer, but a non-destructive crop is the most likely cause in this case.

If you were to convert the “Layer 0” image layer to a Background image layer, you would be permanently removing the cropped pixels. If you want to do that, you can simply select Layer 0 on the Layers panel and then from the menu choose Layer > New > Background from Layer. This will convert the layer to a Background image layer, which locks the layer in several ways. Of course, as noted above, it also would cause the cropped pixels to be permanently deleted.

If you did decide you wanted to convert all these images for any reason, you could use an action to record the steps on one of the images and then apply that action in batch to the other images. However, in my view there’s no reason to convert the layers for these images, and good arguments to leave them as they are.

Today’s Question: Here’s a situation that happens with me occasionally: I have a large batch of photos from some event. I download them and start the culling/processing. Then I need to go out of town, so I export the folder to a drive and take it with me where I can continue the work from the portable drive. When I get back to my home computer, I have to re-import this catalog, which has my latest edits. Then I end up deleting the original folder (which is now old). I’m guessing there’s a better way. Suggestions? I know there’s a way to remotely edit using smart previews, but I prefer to work on the raw files.

Tim’s Quick Answer: I would recommend either taking the original catalog with you or, even better, synchronizing the photos to the cloud and doing the additional work either in a web browser or using the Lightroom mobile app.

More Detail: I think this type of scenario is a very good example of a situation where synchronizing photos from Lightroom Classic to the cloud is a great solution. All you need to do is add the photos to a new collection and enable synchronization for that collection.

When you’ve synchronized photos in this way, you can then access those images through the Lightroom cloud-based ecosystem. That includes being able to see the photos as an album in a web browser by visiting the Lightroom site (https://lightroom.adobe.com) or in the Lightroom app on a mobile device.

The feature set when working with Lightroom in the cloud is not as feature-rich as using Lightroom Classic, but I think it is more than adequate for a typical image-review workflow. You can, for example, assign star ratings and pick or reject flags, add keywords, apply adjustments, and more.

If you didn’t want to use cloud-based synchronization for some reason, I recommend either keeping your catalog on an external hard drive permanently, or at least doing so temporarily. What I don’t like about this approach is the risk that you might get confused about which copy of the catalog is the “real” updated version, and accidentally revert to an older version of the catalog. Still, I think this is better in general than having to export and then re-import photos.

To move the catalog to a different location you first want to make sure Lightroom Classic isn’t running. Then copy the folder containing the catalog and all related files to an external hard drive you’ll have with you when traveling. Open the catalog directly from that external hard drive while traveling, and you’ll have access to all the organizational features even if you don’t have the source image files with you. If you want to work in the Develop module you can simply generate Smart Previews for the photos in question before transferring the catalog to an external hard drive.