Author: Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I am using a Z series Nikon lens, and in Lightroom Classic under Lens Profile Make it shows None. When I scroll down and find and check Nikon there do not appear to have any Z series lens on the list. Is this the current state of play for Nikon Z series lens and Lightroom?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A variety of newer lenses (especially for mirrorless cameras) employ built-in profiles that are applied to the raw capture. With these lenses you won’t find a profile in Lightroom Classic or Adobe Camera Raw, but instead will see an indication that the built-in profile has been applied to the image.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw make use of lens profiles in order to apply automatic corrections to photos based on the behavior of the lens used to capture the image. For example, a lens profile can compensate for the vignetting caused by a wide-angle lens.

Generally, you have the option to apply lens-based profiles in the Lens Corrections section of the right panel in the Develop module. For example, you could select the specific profile after selecting the appropriate options for Make and Model under the Lens Profile heading.

Naturally, not every lens that has ever been manufactured will have a profile available in Lightroom or Camera Raw. However, some newer lenses support built-in profiles, which are applied by the camera at the time of capture, even for raw captures. When that profile has been applied to an image in Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw, you won’t see a profile for the lens on the popup list in the Lens Corrections section. Instead, you will see an indication that the built-in lens profile has been applied.

Today’s Question: How do you keep your images in order when traveling? I recently took a trip to Tokyo and on the return we departed Tokyo at 11:00am landing in Dallas the same day but at 7:30am. If you reset the time upon landing your picture from Dallas appear before the Tokyo ones.

Tim’s Quick Answer: This is an example of a scenario where it might make sense to either delay updating the time zone on your camera after arrival, or to use a single time zone for the entire trip such as Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time).

More Detail: This happens to be a potential source of confusion I hope to deal with very soon, as I am currently traveling in Australia and scheduled to return to the United States on Friday. My flight back to the US will land several hours before it departs, even though it is a 16-hour flight. This, of course, is due to the fact that we will be traveling east across the International Date Line.

This is a unique scenario that can lead to confusion when reviewing photos. Of course, my first thought is that there won’t be any such confusion, because after a long flight across the International Date Line I’d be too tired to capture any photos upon landing. But there could obviously be confusion in this type of situation if you updated the time zone on your camera immediately upon landing.

I generally prefer to keep my photos updated with the current date and time based on the location I am when capturing my photos. However, this can lead to confusion when you cross the International Date line (or time zones in general) and sort your photos based on capture time.

One approach to avoiding this sort of confusion would be to use a single time zone for all of your photos. For example, you could select the time zone for the primary location for a given trip and use that as the time for all photos captured during the entire trip. You could also use a general time zone at all times, such as the time zone where you live or Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time).

The key challenge with using a single time zone for a trip that involves crossing time zones is that you won’t necessarily know the actual time of capture for some (possibly many) of your photos. Of course, there are also ways to determine that information after the fact based on the location for each photo and the time zone offset from Coordinated Universal Time applicable to that location.

Today’s Question: I recorded an Action in the Default Action folder [in Adobe Photoshop]. Can I move the new action to a different folder?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can move an action to a different action set (folder) by dragging the action to a position directly under the action set on the Actions panel.

More Detail: While moving an action from one action set sounds really simple, it can actually be slightly confusing if you don’t know the “trick”.

What I find is that many photographers attempt to drag-and-drop an action on the Actions panel, but don’t end up moving the action to the desired action set (folder). That’s because you don’t drop the action directly on the folder icon representing the action set, but rather drop it into position below the action set.

Even if the action set doesn’t have any actions in it yet, you drag an action into the set by dragging the action to a position just below the folder icon representing the action set on the Actions panel before releasing the mouse button.

This same drag-and-drop approach, by the way, is how you would change the order of actions within an action set. Simply drag and drop an action into the desired position.

When you are dragging an action within the Actions panel, you’ll see a blue highlight line indicating the current position the action will be placed if you release the mouse at that moment. This enables you to determine which position you’re moving the action to, or to confirm you are dragging the action into the appropriate action set. Just keep in mind that when you want to put an action into a set, you need to drag the action to a position below the folder representing the action set.

Today’s Question: I have a file system based on years and then months and I’ll be continuing this approach with my new computer. However, when I imported photos into the catalog where I want one folder for each month, I’m ending up with subfolders for each day as well. How can I get rid of the subfolders so that all my February photos are in folder for the month instead of by folders for each date?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can consolidate photos into monthly folders by selecting the images within each “day” folder, then dragging and dropping them into the appropriate “month” folder, all within Lightroom Classic. You can disable the creation of additional subfolders by day by selecting one of the Date Format options in the Import dialog that only includes a month option, rather than also including a day option.

More Detail: One of the challenges of using a date-based folder structure in Lightroom Classic is that it can be very easy to have the folder structure get a bit chaotic and disorganized.

To clean up a date-based folder mess after import, you can consolidate images from multiple folders. For example, with today’s question the solution would be to select the photos within a “day” folder and then drag those selected photos to the appropriate “month” folder. Once all photos have been removed from a folder, you can right-click on that folder and choose the “Remove” option.

To ensure the unwanted day-based folders are no longer created upon import, you’ll want to be sure to select an option from the Date Format popup in the Destination section of the right panel in the Import dialog. Note that this popup is only available after you have selected the “By date” option from the Organize popup.

When using the “By date” option from the Organize popup, it is also critically important that you have set the correct “master” destination folder as the folder to which you want to copy photos during import. For example, you could set the destination at the top-right of the Import dialog to an external hard drive you’re using to store all of your photos, or to a “Photos” folder on a particular drive. That way the date-based folders created based on your settings in the Destination section will result in a consistent set of date-based folders within the master storage location, rather than having a potentially chaotic folder structure.

To learn more about tidying up folders and photos in Lightroom Classic, and to get a discount on the course applied automatically, use this link to visit the GreyLearning website:

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Today’s Question: In the newest Lightroom Classic update I have the option in Preferences > Presets to have Lightroom honor the camera settings. If I were to use say, Monochrome on the camera, the image does come into Lightroom with that setting. If I want to revert back to the RAW file with no in-camera settings, do I just select Adobe Color? If I wanted it come into Lightroom with no manipulation by Lightroom via the Adobe Color how can I do that?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The new “Camera Settings” option in the Raw Defaults section of the Presets tab in the Preferences dialog for Lightroom Classic relates to the Picture Style setting in the camera. Using this option will respect the in-camera setting for Picture Style. To revert to the Lightroom default interpretation of the image you can change the Profile setting in the Basic section of the right panel in the Develop module to “Adobe Color”, or your preferred setting.

More Detail: A recent update to Lightroom Classic provides a streamline option for managing the default rendering for raw captures, including an easy way to retain the Picture Style option you have set in the camera.

To retain the Picture Style setting from your camera, you’ll want to select the “Camera Settings” option in Preferences. Start by choosing Lightroom Classic > Preferences from the menu on Macintosh, or Edit > Preferences on Windows. Go to the Presets tab, and click the Master popup in the Raw Defaults section. There you will find a “Camera Settings” option, in addition to an option for “Adobe Default”, as well as a submenu with the various Develop presets you can choose from for default image processing.

For example, if you set your camera to a monochrome setting for Picture Style, with the “Camera Settings” option selected your raw captures would appear in black and white rather than color. To revert to a color interpretation of the photo, you can choose the Adobe Color option (or a different profile if you prefer) from the Profile popup found near the top of the Basic section of the right panel in the Develop module.

Note that it is also now possible to establish different settings (including Develop module presets) for different camera models. To do so, turn on the “Use defaults specific to camera model” checkbox and then create individual settings for the various cameras you use.

Keep in mind that this new option related to camera settings really relates to the Picture Style option, not the wide range of in-camera adjustment settings that are available with some cameras.

Today’s Question: I use Apple’s Time Machine to do backups and also the Lightroom default [catalog backup]. This seems excessive for sure and the files are not small. Do you see any benefit to this process as it is? Should I just cancel the Lightroom backup?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I don’t recommend discontinuing the Lightroom Classic catalog backups, in large part because part of that process includes an option to check for errors and optimize the catalog. However, it is a good idea to delete redundant backup copies of your catalog.

More Detail: I certainly understand not wanting to have multiple backup copies of your Lightroom Classic catalog consuming additional hard drive space. However, I still recommend making use of the catalog backup feature in Lightroom, even if you are also backing up the catalog through other means.

That said, it most certainly makes sense to delete at least some of the older backups of your Lightroom catalog, since those backup files can consume considerable storage space especially if you allow a large number of backups to accumulate.

By default Lightroom stores the catalog backups in a “Backups” folder in the same folder where your actual catalog files are stored. You can also select a different backup location in the dialog where you configure the backup before it is started. In any event, you can periodically go to that folder and delete redundant copies of the catalog backups.

My approach is generally to retain several recent backups, as well as an older copy of the backup that I can use to recover from just in case there is some sort of corruption issue with my catalog. And I do recommend keeping the options to check the catalog for errors and optimize the catalog enabled as part of the backup process, since to me these features represent a key advantage of making use of the built-in catalog backup feature in Lightroom Classic.

Today’s Question: For printing is it better to use a monitor that supports Adobe RGB versus sRGB?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, in general it is best to use a monitor that supports the Adobe RGB color space rather than just the sRGB color space. In other words, when it comes to printing photos, it is best to optimize those photos using a display with the widest color gamut possible.

More Detail: In many cases you can choose which color space you want to work in when optimizing a photo. For example, in Photoshop you might choose to use sRGB, Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB as the working color space.

Just because you are working in a wide-gamut color space, however, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to see all of the possible colors on your monitor display. Many monitor displays only support the sRGB color space, which is the narrowest of the three color spaces noted above.

If you will only be sharing your photos online or through other digital output, then of course it is perfectly fine to work in the sRGB color space. And, in fact, with many commercial print workflows the sRGB color space is preferred. So it is a good idea to check with your printer if you’ll be using a commercial print service, to make sure which color space is recommended.

If you’ll be printing your photos yourself, or using a commercial printer who recommends the Adobe RGB color space, it is generally best to edit the photos in the Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB color space. In that case it can be helpful to ensure your monitor display is capable of supporting the widest color gamut possible.

The top monitor displays today are capable of supporting the full Adobe RGB color space, and that will generally be reflected in the specifications for those monitors. I do recommend considering this as a “must have” feature if you are focused on printing your photos and want the best preview of the image while working to optimize a photo before printing.

Today’s Question: Currently when I quit Lightroom Classic it just closes, without asking if I want to backup the Catalog. How can I initiate a backup when this occurs?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can initiate a catalog backup for Lightroom Classic by choosing the “When Lightroom next exits” option from the “Back up catalog” popup in the Catalog Settings dialog. Note that you may also want to make sure the backup frequency setting is established based on your preference.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic will prompt you to backup the catalog based on the frequency you select in the Catalog Settings dialog. This includes an option to backup the catalog the very next time you quit Lightroom.

To adjust the setting, go to the Lightroom Classic menu on Macintosh or the Edit menu on Windows and choose Catalog Settings. In the Catalog Settings dialog choose the General tab and check the “Back up catalog” popup.

You can set the frequency of the backup to once a day, once a week, once a month, or never. Naturally I recommend backing up your catalog on a somewhat frequent basis, taking into account how often you tend to update information in your catalog.

Regardless of which frequency option you have selected in the Catalog Settings dialog for backing up your catalog, you can always perform a backup on an ad hoc basis. Simply choose the “When Lightroom next exits” option from the “Back up catalog” popup, close the Catalog Settings dialog, and quit Lightroom. You will then be prompted to backup the catalog, with the setting in Catalog Settings going back to the frequency option you had established before choosing the “When Lightroom next exits” option.

Even if you are using other software to backup the hard drive where your Lightroom catalog is stored, I still recommend making use of the backup feature included within Lightroom Classic. That’s because as part of the process of backing up your catalog with Lightroom Classic you can have the catalog checked for errors and also have the catalog optimized.

Today’s Question: I twice saw a message in Lightroom saying video support was ending in June 2020. What options are available to do what Lightroom will no longer be doing?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Video playback support is ending in Lightroom Classic only for those running Lightroom on Windows 7, and that support will end by June 2020. Other operating systems (including Windows 10) will not be affected by this change.

More Detail: Microsoft ended general support for Windows 7 in 2015, and ended extended support in 2020. I’m sure this is part of the reason (or perhaps the entire reason) that Adobe is discontinuing support for video playback in Lightroom Classic for users running Windows 7. Note that the Slideshow module is also affected by this change to Lightroom Classic.

Because Microsoft has ended support for Windows 7, I highly recommend upgrading to Windows 10. I appreciate that many users preferred Windows 7 over Windows 10, but the lack of support can lead to software compatibility issues and security concerns.

In this case, upgrading to Windows 10 will resolve the issue regarding video playback in Lightroom Classic. And again, users of other operating systems, including MacOS and Windows 10, are not affected by this change.

Today’s Question: My Lightroom [Classic] catalog is on my internal SSD drive. When I close Lightroom I’m asked if I want to backup the catalog, which I confirm. With all the recent columns about catalogs, I began to wonder if the internal drive is best for storing the catalog? Also, I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know where the backup copy resides.

Tim’s Quick Answer: By default, the Lightroom Classic catalog backups are stored within the same folder as the catalog itself. I recommend changing this to a different storage device, so the backups are stored separately from the catalog.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic will prompt you to backup your catalog with a frequency that is based on the option set in the Catalog Settings dialog. You can choose to backup monthly, weekly, daily, or every time you exit Lightroom. When the allotted time has passed, Lightroom will prompt you upon exit to backup the catalog.

In the “Back Up Catalog” dialog, the current backup location will be indicated. By default, this is a “Backups” folder located within the same folder as your catalog. I recommend storing the catalog backups on a separate hard drive, just to provide more flexibility in terms of recovery options should something go wrong with the drive on which your catalog is stored.

To the right of the Backup Folder display in the Back Up Catalog dialog, you can click the Choose button to select a different backup location. For example, with the catalog on the internal hard drive on your computer, you may want to store the catalog backups on an external hard drive.

In addition, there are two checkboxes in the Back Up Catalog dialog that I recommend making sure to have turned on when backing up your catalog. The “Test integrity before backing up” checkbox enables you to have Lightroom verify that the current catalog does not have any indications of corruption before the catalog is actually backed up. The “Optimize catalog after backing up” checkbox enables you to potentially improve performance in Lightroom by having the catalog optimized.

While various other backup solutions can help you ensure you have a backup copy of your Lightroom Classic catalog in case anything goes wrong, the features provided by the two checkboxes noted above provide enough potential benefit that I recommend using Lightroom to backup your catalog even if your catalog is already being backed up by other software you are using.