Author: Tim Grey

Today’s Question: When I look at the History section for an image in Lightroom Classic, I often notice the Snapshots section, which I never use. Is there any reason I should be using snapshots?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Probably not. In my view, in most cases when you might put snapshots to use in Lightroom Classic a virtual copy would likely provide a better solution.

More Detail: Snapshots in Lightroom Classic enable you to record the current state of all adjustments in the Develop module. In effect, you’re taking a snapshot of what the image looks like at that moment. When you create a snapshot (by clicking the plus icon to the right of the Snapshots heading) you can enter a meaningful name for the snapshot. The snapshot will then appear under the Snapshots heading, and you can click on a snapshot to quickly return to the saved appearance for the image.

Based on their behavior, to me the scenario where it makes sense to potentially use snapshots for an image is when you want to settle on a single version of an image, but you’re not sure which version to go with. For example, you might be debating on a color versus black and white version of an image. In that case you could create a snapshot when you’ve achieved a final color interpretation, then apply adjustments for a black and white version and create a snapshot for that. You could then alternate between the snapshots as you decide which version will represent your final interpretation.

When you want to keep more one version of an image, I recommend using a virtual copy. For example, you could finalize the color version of the image, then create a virtual copy (by right-clicking and choosing Create Virtual Copy from the popup menu). You could then apply adjustments to the virtual copy for a black and white version, so that you effectively have two images (based on the same source file) for the two interpretations.

Personally, I prefer to use virtual copies even for situations where snapshots might make sense. If you use virtual copies and then decide you don’t want one of the versions, you can simply remove the virtual copy. To me virtual copies provide greater flexibility and a more streamlined workflow compared to the use of snapshots.

Today’s Question: Yesterday’s question mentioned a technique for intersecting sky masks to improve the result. Can you clarify how to do that, as I don’t think I’ve seen it covered in your emails?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can often improve a mask in Lightroom Classic (or Camera Raw) by intersecting two automatic sky masks together. The key improvement is a reduction in the degree to which an adjustment will blend into non-sky areas of the image.

More Detail: To get started with this technique, you’ll want to create a mask for the sky. So, for example, in Lightroom Classic you could click the Masking button (the dashed circle icon) on the small toolbar below the histogram on the right panel in the Develop module. If there aren’t any masks for the image yet you can simply click the Sky button. If there are existing masks you can click the Create New Mask button and choose Select Sky from the popup.

Next, click the “more” button (the three dots) to the right of your new sky mask and choose “Intersect Mask with” and then “Select Sky”. Note that you can also hold the Alt key on Windows or the Option key on Macintosh to reveal an Intersect button, which you can click and then choose “Select Sky from the popup.

The result will be a mask that doesn’t have as much blending along the edges, which can help prevent the targeted adjustment from affecting non-sky areas. The process simply involves intersecting two masks for the sky, which increases contrast along the mask edge where partially transparent areas are often found.

This technique won’t improve the accuracy of masks for the sky for all images, but it provides a quick way to improve masks that extend too much beyond the sky in a photo.

Today’s Question: You’ve talked about a technique for improving automatic sky masks by intersecting two sky masks together. Can this technique be used in Photoshop with a layer mask?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can intersect masks in Photoshop in a way that is similar (though not as simple) as what is possible in Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw.

More Detail: In many cases if you intersect an automatic sky mask with a second automatic sky mask in Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw, the result is an improved mask. This is a result of tightening up the edge of the mask to reduce the amount of blending into non-sky areas for the adjustment you’re applying.

If you’re working in Photoshop rather than Camera Raw, you can perform a similar process by intersecting saved selections.

To get started, open an image that features a sky and choose Select > Sky from the menu. Then go to the menu again and choose Select > Save Selection. Enter a meaningful name for the selection and click the OK button. With the selection still active, go to the menu and choose Select > Save Selection one more time. This time, choose the saved selection from the Channel popup and then choose “Intersect with Channel” from the Operation option buttons. Click OK and the selection of the sky will be intersected with the saved selection. To load that updated selection choose Select > Load Selection from the menu, and choose the applicable saved selection from the Channel popup and click the OK button.

Note, by the way, that in many cases you can achieve similar results by creating a layer mask based on a sky selection and increasing the Contrast setting for the mask. To do so, select the applicable layer mask on the Layers panel and click the “Select and Mask” button on the Properties panel. Then increase the value for the Contrast slider on the Properties panel in Select and Mask mode, which will tighten up the blending along the feathered edge of the layer mask.

Today’s Question: I assume the very purpose of the Quick Develop section on the right panel in the Library module is to apply basic adjustments quickly. But is there any reason to avoid Quick Develop and instead switch to the Develop module?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Quick Develop section is indeed something of a “shortcut” to certain adjustments in the Develop module. It can be helpful, and there isn’t any significant reason to avoid it.

More Detail: The adjustments in the Quick Develop section on the right panel in the Library module are literally shortcuts to the applicable adjustments in the Develop module. For example, if you adjust the Exposure in Quick Develop the Exposure slider in the Develop module will move accordingly.

The Quick Develop adjustments are obviously convenient in terms of being available in the Library module. They can also be used to quickly apply adjustments to more than one image selected in the grid view display. In addition, Quick Develop provides relative rather than absolute adjustments when multiple images are selected. For example, if you had one image adjusted with an Exposure value of 0.5 and another with a value of 1.0, increasing by 0.5 will cause the first image to have a value of 1.0 and the second image to have a value of 1.5.

The only real drawback to using the Quick Develop adjustments is that you’re basing those adjustments on a JPEG preview in the Library module, rather than a full rendering of the source image in the Develop module. In most cases this shouldn’t result in any significant issues. Furthermore, the Quick Develop adjustments don’t offer the fine control of the Develop module, so to really refine the results you will generally visit the Develop module at some point. Still, the Quick Develop adjustments are convenient, and in my view there’s no reason to avoid using them.

Today’s Question: In Photoshop I sometimes manage to accidentally select the Pencil tool instead of the Brush tool. But they seem to offer the same settings and options. Is there any real difference between the two tools?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There are real differences between the Pencil and Brush tools in Photoshop, and in the context of photo editing you almost always want to use the Brush tool rather than the Pencil tool.

More Detail: One of the most significant differences between the Pencil and Brush tools in Photoshop is that the Pencil tool always paints with a hard edge, even if you reduce the Hardness setting for the selected brush. This is the primary reason that it is almost always best to use the Brush tool rather than the Pencil tool when painting on a photo, so that a blended edge is available for the brush strokes.

The Pencil tool also lacks the Flow setting on the Options bar. You can use Flow in conjunction with Opacity to allow brush strokes to build up as you paint over an area more than once with a single stroke. While this can create a bit of unpredictability in the context of how the Brush tool is generally used when editing a photo, the feature does provide a more realistic behavior for the Brush tool relative to actual painting on a canvas in the real world.

While there are certainly situations where you may want the effect of the Pencil tool for sharp brush strokes on an image, in most cases the smoother results that can be achieved by the Brush tool are preferred when working on a photo in Photoshop.

Today’s Question: You mentioned the issue of Bridge color labels not showing up correctly in Lightroom Classic. Is there a way to fix those mismatched color labels?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can easily update color labels in Lightroom Classic to resolve mismatches from Bridge by filtering images based on color label text and then assigning the intended color label.

More Detail: The default definitions for color labels are different in Adobe Bridge and Lightroom Classic, which means if you import photos into Lightroom Classic that previously had color labels assigned in Bridge, the color labels will appear white rather than with the intended color. That’s because the display of a color label is based on text in metadata, and the two applications used different text for the labels.

For example, in Bridge the default text for a red color label is “Select” while in Lightroom Classic it is “Red”. If you had assigned a red color label in Bridge and then imported the photo into Lightroom Classic, the color label will appear as white, indicating it is an unknown color.

Fortunately, it is easy to resolve this issue by filtering the images and assigning an updated color label.

For example, you could go to the All Photographs collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the library module so you’re viewing all photos in your entire catalog. Then on the Library Filter bar start with “None” selected so no filter is set, and then go to the Metadata tab. Set one of the columns to represent color labels by clicking the header and selecting “Label” from the popup menu.

You can then set a filter based on the intended color label. For example, you could choose “Select” from the “Label” column to filter images that were assigned a red color label in Bridge. Then select all the photos (Edit > Select All) and assign the correct color label. In the grid view with the images selected you can press the number “6” on the keyboard, for example, to assign a red color label.

By filtering all images based on the color label definition from Bridge and then assigning the corresponding color label in Lightroom Classic, you’ll resolve those color label mismatches so no images display a white color label moving forward.

Today’s Question: You’ve talked about the risk of color label mismatches for photos, such as if you’ve assigned color labels in both Adobe Bridge and Lightroom Classic. Does the same problem exist for changing color labels for folders [and collections], or is it OK to change the definitions for those?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can safely change the definitions for color labels for folders or collections (but not photos) at any time in Lightroom Classic, because those definitions are only stored within the catalog and not in metadata for the source image files.

More Detail: It is perfectly safe to change the definitions for color labels for folders and collections (but not for photos) in Lightroom Classic at any time. For example, I use the text “To Review” for the red color label for folders rather than the default of “Red”, because I use the red color label to remind me that a folder contains photos that still need to be reviewed to identify favorites versus outtakes. Updating the text provides a reminder of what each color label represents, just in case I forget.

So, you can go to the menu in the Library module and choose Metadata > Color Label Set > Edit, and then update the text for color labels on the Folders or Collections tabs. Then click the Preset popup and either choose the “Update Preset” option if you want to save the current preset to reflect the changes, or “Save Current Settings as New Preset” if you want to create a new preset with the updated definitions. Then click the Change button to apply the changes.

This flexibility does not extend to color labels for photos, because those are represented as a field in metadata. For example, because the default color label definitions in Bridge versus Lightroom Classic are different, if you had assigned color labels in Bridge the label would appear as white in Lightroom Classic because the definitions don’t match.

Today’s Question: Is it possible (or advisable) to apply the Denoise feature to a large number of photos in Lightroom Classic all at once? This would be helpful for situations such as when I’ve captured a lot of night photos with very high ISO settings.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can apply the Denoise effect in Lightroom Classic to multiple images in batch with any of the techniques that enable you to synchronize adjustments across multiple images.

More Detail: While it has been possible to apply the Denoise feature to multiple images in batch in Lightroom Classic since the feature was first added, in some ways it is easier to do so thanks to a recent update. When the feature was first introduced, a new derivative DNG file would be created for the effect. Now, however, Denoise can be applied to any image without the need to create a DNG file. In other words, Denoise now basically behaves like any of the other many adjustments available in the Develop module.

There are some obvious benefits to having Denoise applied to the existing image rather than creating a new DNG file. One of those benefits is that just like all the other adjustments, you can easily include Denoise when using a batch process to adjust multiple images.

For example, you can select multiple images on the filmstrip, turn on the Auto Sync feature by toggling the switch on the left side of the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module, and then enable Denoise.

You could also save and apply a preset, manually synchronize using the Sync button, or copy and paste the settings, for example. The point is that you can easily apply Denoise in batch in a variety of ways in Lightroom Classic. You could even apply a preset that includes Denoise to all photos at import by selecting an appropriate preset from the Develop Settings popup in the Import dialog.

There are just a couple of caveats to keep in mind. One is that it can take quite a bit of time to apply Denoise to multiple photos. You may therefore want to batch process images in relatively small groups. The other caveat is that while Denoise is processing, you won’t be able to do anything else in Lightroom Classic. So you’ll want to plan accordingly, such as by applying Denoise in batch when you’re ready to walk away from your computer for a little while.

Today’s Question: Your recent answer suggested that the purpose of assigning a reject flag to a photo is to later delete the photo. But if that’s the case, why not just delete the photo instead of marking it as rejected?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To me the Reject flag provides two key benefits. It helps streamline the workflow for deleting outtakes and provides an opportunity to make sure you really want to delete a photo before committing to that action.

More Detail: The primary reason I appreciate having the Reject flag in Lightroom Classic is that it provides a way to streamline the workflow for identifying favorites and outtakes. If you were to delete images as part of that workflow, you would need to click a button in the confirmation dialog after using the Remove Photo command. That dialog briefly interrupts your workflow, and so I prefer instead to assign a reject flag to photos I want to delete. Simply press “X” to assign a Reject flag and move on to the next image.

In addition, I appreciate having an opportunity to review the rejected photos before deleting them, just to make sure I’m completely confident in my decision to discard those photos. I’ll set a filter to view only the images that have a Reject flag assigned to them, review one last time to be sure I want to delete all of them. I can remove the Reject flag from any photos I decide to keep, and then use the “Delete Rejected Photos” command to delete photos with a Reject flag in the current folder location.

Today’s Question: I inadvertently used the Delete Rejected Photos command [in Lightroom Classic] while browsing a collection rather than a folder. The confirmation suggested the images might only be removed from the collection, not deleted. Does that mean I need to be sure to be in a folder if I want to truly delete rejected photos.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, to delete the source files for photos that have been marked as rejected you need to be browsing a folder. If you’re browsing a collection, the only option is to remove the images from the collection, not to delete the source files.

More Detail: The “Delete Rejected Photos” command is simply a variation on the “Remove Photo” command. In other words, they both behave the same, with the “Delete Rejected Photos” command effectively being a “Remove Photo” command that only applies to images that have the Reject flag applied that are in the current folder or collection. If you use either of these commands in a collection, you will only be removing images from the collection and not removing the source files from their storage location.

If you are browsing a folder, you have the option to either delete the applicable photos or only remove them from the Lightroom Classic catalog. If you apply either option the image will be removed from all collections they were added to, since the source image would no longer be in the Lightroom Classic catalog. And if you use the delete option then the source file will be removed from the storage location as well.