Today’s Question: Could you comment on the pros and cons of using the Adaptive Color profile in an import preset [with Lightroom Classic] as opposed to one of the standard profiles such as Adobe Landscape? I have tried it in an import preset along with some development adjustments that I commonly make, such as reducing highlights, and converting to DNG. The only issue that I see is the necessity of clicking on the update AI button for the imported photos.
Tim’s Quick Answer: While it is perfectly fine to apply a preferred profile as part of a preset during import into Lightroom Classic, I prefer not to use the Adaptive Color profile in this context due to the somewhat mixed results I’ve seen and the need to update the AI processing after import.
More Detail: The Profile popup in the Basic section of the right panel enables you to choose a profile you want to use for a base level interpretation of the image data for a photo. The profile does not represent saved adjustments the way a preset does, but rather alters how the underlying pixel values are interpreted. The various options provide different variations and creative effects for images.
The Adaptive Color profile is unique in that it leverages AI to analyze the image and adapt the interpretation of pixel data based on that analysis.
You can include a profile in a preset created in the Develop module by turning on the “Treatment & Profile” checkbox in the New Develop Preset dialog box. The applicable profile will then be applied to the image if you select that preset from the Develop Settings popup in the Apply During Import section of the right panel in the Import dialog.
However, there are three issues that cause me to prefer not to use the Adaptive Color profile during import (or in general in my workflow).
First, the Adaptive Color profile by its very nature has a variable effect on images. That is part of the potential benefit of this profile, but it also means that similar images might have a slightly different look applied to them based on the profile. This isn’t generally a major concern, but it can cause some issues in your workflow especially when processing multiple similar photos.
Second, if you apply the Adaptive Color profile during import, the result is applied to the embedded preview in the raw capture, rather to the underlying raw capture data. As a result, the profile analysis needs to be updated after import. On the toolbar below the histogram on the right panel in the Develop module the button on the far right is for the AI tools, and the icon will appear yellow if there are updates that need to be applied. You can then click that button and click the applicable update to apply it. This adds an extra step and will cause the appearance of the image to change relative to the result created during import.
Finally, my own testing with the Adaptive Color profile shows that I’m not particularly pleased with the results around half the time. Sometimes the results are good, but in many cases they are problematic to the point that I prefer to choose a different profile rather than apply adjustments to compensate for the issues created by the profile.
As a result of these issues, my general preference is to use the Adobe Color profile. But if you prefer the Adaptive Profile I think that’s perfectly fine, I would just suggest applying it in batch (via the Auto-Sync feature) in the Develop module after import rather than during import.
