Month: October 2025

Today’s Question: I was intrigued by your statement that Lightroom Classic sends a “fully rendered image is sent rather than a raw capture” when you edit in Photoshop. Can you explain what the difference is? Isn’t a raw capture a complete image?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A raw capture generally only includes about one-third of the total pixel information for an image, whereas a rendered image contains all the pixel data.

More Detail: Most digital camera sensors only record one of the three colors for each pixel. The “missing” information must be rendered through interpolation, which is handled with post-processing for raw captures and in-camera for JPEG captures, for example.

While most digital cameras are based on the RGB (red, green, blue) color model, all three colors are not captured for each pixel with most image sensors. The most common arrangement is the Bayer pattern, where for every four photosites on the sensor two will capture only green information, one will capture red information, and one will capture blue information.

The fact that the image data is not processed to produce full-color pixel values is the reason these file types are referred to as “raw” captures.

The process of interpolating the image data so that all pixels have full RGB color values associated with them is referred to as “demosaicing”. This is done in the camera for JPEG captures but must be handled by software for raw captures.

If you open a raw capture directly in Photoshop, Camera Raw will be invoked so the image can be demosaiced. If you send a raw capture from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, the demosaicing is handled by Lightroom Classic based on the adjustmetns in the Develop module, so that a rendered image with complete color information is sent to Photoshop. If you wanted to use Camera Raw to further process the image in the context of sending an image to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, you would need to use the Camera Raw filter, accessible in Photoshop by choosing Filter > Camera Raw Filter from the menu.

Keep in mind that most of the time the Develop module in Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw in Photoshop include the same features. So, in most cases it isn’t necessary to use Camera Raw if you’re using Lightroom Classic. However, at the moment the Dust feature for Distraction Removal is only available in Camera Raw in the public beta version of Photoshop, which is what caused the original issue to arise in the question I addressed yesterday.

Today’s Question: In trying to test the new dust removal feature in Adobe Camera Raw, I discovered that if I use “Edit in Photoshop” from Lightroom Classic, the files open directly into Photoshop. If I go to Explorer [or Finder] and double-click on the same file, it opens in Camera Raw. Can you explain this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: When you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic the image is rendered by Lightroom Classic including the adjustments from the Develop module. In other words, what is sent to Photoshop isn’t a raw capture, which is why Camera Raw is not invoked. However, you can still use Camera Raw as a filter in Photoshop.

More Detail: If you open a raw capture directly in Photoshop (including by opening the image from Bridge or through the operating system) the image will automatically be opened in Camera Raw. The same is true for JPEG, HEIC, and TIFF images if you have enabled support for those file types in Camera Raw Preferences. The same is not true for images sent to Photoshop from Camera Raw.

The reason is that when you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic it is in effect processed by Lightroom Classic so that a fully rendered image is sent rather than a raw capture. Therefore, the image is simply opened in Photoshop without the use of Camera Raw.

However, there’s no need to resort to opening the raw capture directly in Photoshop to get to Camera Raw. You can simply use the Camera Raw filter, which in the current public beta version of Photoshop includes a Dust option for Distraction Removal, along with options to remove Reflections and People.

To use the Camera Raw filter in Photoshop, simply open an image, select the applicable image layer (making a copy or Smart Object if you want to work non-destructively) and then choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter from the menu. You can then choose the Remove tool from the toolbar at the top-right and select the Dust option in the Distraction Removal section.

Today’s Question: I seem to have lost my star ratings in a collection of photos I was working on in the Grid view in Lightroom Classic. I have them in the loop so how do I get them back in the Grid view?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There are a few possible settings that can cause the star ratings to not be shown in the grid view in Lightroom Classic, but the solution can be found in the Library View Options dialog.

More Detail: There are a variety of options for configuring the way images are displayed in the grid view in Lightroom Classic, primarily revolving around which metadata is displayed along with the image thumbnails. This includes the option to choose whether star ratings (among other attributes) are shown.

To get started, while in the Library module go to the menu bar and choose View > View Options. If you weren’t already in the grid view, click the Grid View tab at the top of the dialog. Then review the display settings to determine why the star ratings aren’t shown.

If you’re not seeing any metadata details in the grid view, you may have the “Show Grid Extras” checkbox at the top of the dialog turned off. If so, turn on the checkbox so metadata will be displayed for each image thumbnail.

If the Show Grid Extras popup is set to “Compact Cells” then you’ll want to make sure that “Rating” or “Rating and Label” is selected from either the Top Label or Bottom Label popup in the Compact Cell Extras section, and that the checkbox for “Top Label” or “Bottom Label” (or both) is turned on. If the Show Grid Extras popup is set to “Expanded Cells” then there are two other options. You’ll either want to make sure that the “Show Header with Labels” checkbox is turned on and that “Rating” is selected from one of the four popups, or you’ll want to make sure the “Show Rating Footer” checkbox is turned on.

The point is that if star ratings or other metadata attributes aren’t displayed in the grid view, you can get them back by selecting the applicable option on the Grid View tab of the Library View Options dialog.