Author: Tim Grey

Today’s Question: What do they [Adobe] mean by “Export Negative Files” [with the Export as Catalog command in Lightroom Classic]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The “Export Negative Files” checkbox in the “Export as Catalog” dialog really means “export copies of source photos”.

More Detail: In an earlier Ask Tim Grey post I addressed how the “Export as Catalog” command could be used to back up the Lightroom Classic catalog along with the photos it contains. This command can also be helpful when, for example, you have been working with a traveling catalog on a laptop and want to migrate that catalog to your desktop computer to merge with the primary catalog.

The general process involves creating a new catalog that contains all the information about the photos you’re exporting, which could include all photos in the source catalog or just a subset, depending on the purpose. In addition, you would generally want to make copies of the photos to go along with the new catalog, so that you had everything you needed to continue managing the photos reflected in the new catalog all in one place.

If you want to include copies of the photos along with the new catalog, you need to turn on the “Export Negative Files” checkbox. This name, I think it is fair to say, is wildly confusing.

My assumption—which I’ve never verified—has always been that someone at Adobe thought they were being clever. The name “Lightroom” is obviously a variation on the darkroom that was a key aspect of film photography. So, I have always assumed that the term “negative” in “Export Negative Files” referred to the negatives that are the source of prints made in the wet darkroom. Ignoring the fact that “negative” is a term that essentially excludes slide film, it is also confusing to use this term in the context of managing digital photos.

Regardless of the etymology or intent, I think the use of “negative” in the context of the Export as Catalog command is confusing. I’m frankly a bit surprised that with Lightroom having been around for more than 18 years Adobe hasn’t updated the checkbox to have a more meaningful name.

If you’re interested in the original post about using the Export as Catalog command to back up the catalog and photos, you can find it on the Ask Tim Grey blog here:

https://asktimgrey.com/2025/09/10/full-backup-of-catalog-and-photos/

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.

Today’s Question: I recently purchased a new computer and had a computer tech install the latest versions of Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. When I checked my Keyword List, the alphabetical list only went from “A” to “O”. Keywords starting with “P” through “Z” are missing. How can I find those other keywords (hopefully they’re not lost)?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This is a long-standing known issue with Lightroom Classic on the Windows platform. You can access keywords further down the alphabetical list using the search field, or you can organize the keywords into a hierarchy to enable access to the full list.

More Detail: The issue of not being able to see your full list of keywords in the Keyword List of the right panel in Lightroom Classic only affects Windows users (not Macintosh). From everything I’ve been able to gather, it doesn’t appear that this limitation will be fixed anytime soon, if ever.

There are two workarounds that Windows users can employ to access their full list of keywords. The first is to enter text into the Filter Keywords field at the top of the Keyword List section. For example, if you type “sta” into the field the Keyword List will only show keywords that include that string of letters, such as “starburst” and “statue”. You can click the “X” at the right side of the Filter Keywords field to clear the filter.

You could also create keyword hierarchies to work around this issue, although I don’t really recommend this approach due to the additional complexity involved. It is far too easy, for example, to accidentally drag a keyword into the wrong hierarchy. Plus, existing metadata standards don’t actually support keyword hierarchies.

If you wanted to use hierarchies to work around the Keyword List limitation, you could start by creating parent keywords. These could be categories such as “Landscapes”, “Travel”, and “People”, for example. You might also consider creating a parent keyword for each letter of the alphabet and put the actual keywords into these hierarchies based on the letter they start with.

Assuming the latter approach, you could create a keyword called “A” and then drag all keywords that start with “A” into that parent keyword. If you repeat this for every letter of the alphabet, you would be able to collapse all but one of the parent keywords, so that all keywords for a given letter can be displayed in the Keyword List. The only other requirement, of course, is that the parent keyword you’re browsing not contain more than about 1,500 keywords.

I suppose I should also add that Windows users facing this issue could also switch to using a computer running the Macintosh operating system, where the limitation does not exist. But for most I would expect that to be less desirable than using one of the above workarounds.

Today’s Question: I’ve heard you talk about your approach to using star ratings, but I’m wondering why you don’t use pick and reject flags as well, as they provide a simpler way of identifying favorites versus outtakes.

Tim’s Quick Answer: While I appreciate the binary approach to identifying favorites versus outtakes using pick and reject flags, I prefer star ratings to take advantage of the ability to rank images into tiers based on relative quality.

More Detail: To be sure, there is no workflow for organizing photos that will work well for all photographers. This is why I try to make a point of explaining my own rationale for the workflow I use, while outlining other alternatives that some photographers may prefer.

The pick and reject flags provide a binary option for identifying favorites versus outtakes, where an image is either a favorite or an outtake. In this context I generally regard an image that doesn’t have a pick or reject flag as being an image that hasn’t yet been evaluated. In effect, with pick and reject flags you’re making a simple “yes” or “no” decision about whether an image is a favorite or whether it should probably be deleted.

With star ratings you can identify favorites in tiers. While you might think of a one-star rating as representing a bad image, I don’t recommend this approach. Instead, I use an approach where a one-star rating identifies a “keeper”, or an image I like and that I think I might use in some way. Two stars represents a photo that is among the best from a photo shoot or trip. Three stars represents what I think of as a “best of the year” photo, and four stars represents “best of the decade”. I use a five-star rating to identify an all-time favorite, or an image that belongs in my “best of” portfolio.

I supplement the star ratings with a reject flag for photos that I think should be deleted. After a review pass, I’ll take another look at the rejected photos to make sure I’m comfortable deleting them, and then I’ll delete all rejected photos.

Today’s Question: You mentioned the new MacOS Tahoe, so I wonder if you could comment on your experience with the visual changes to the interface. I’ve seen a lot of stories complaining about the new “liquid glass” effect.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Overall, I feel the Apple Liquid Glass effects degrade the experience of using an Apple device, for both computers and mobile devices. Fortunately, you can disable the more problematic interface features, such as the monochrome icons that I find to be more difficult to interpret quickly.

More Detail: While I recommend not installing major operating system updates as soon as they are available, I don’t actually follow that advice in the interest of being able to test the update so I can report on the results to my readers. Unfortunately, I have mostly found the updated visual effects serve as a distraction than a benefit.

The monochrome effect for Liquid Glass is particularly problematic. My subjective opinion is that the effect looks very drab and unwelcoming. I think it is fair to say that objectively the monochrome Liquid Glass effect makes it much more difficult to find the icon you’re looking for.

Fortunately, you can opt for a color version for icons. However, I also find the overall operating system update tends to look a bit more cartoonish, which I find a little distracting. Perhaps the updated interface will grow on me, but I’m not a fan at least for now.

Overall, however, the changes are not so dramatic as to make it more difficult to use your computer or mobile device. Thankfully, the Default setting for the interface employs color icons, which are much easier to interpret in my view. But if you want to try out the Clear or Tinted options, those are available as options.

Today’s Question: Is the new MacOS Tahoe supported by Adobe applications (especially Lightroom Classic and Photoshop), or should I wait to install this update?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I recommend waiting to upgrade to MacOS Tahoe until after Adobe indicates their applications support this latest operating system update from Apple.

More Detail: While my own testing hasn’t revealed any problems upgrading to MacOS Tahoe, I have seen a handful of reports of issues with Adobe applications. I therefore recommend delaying the upgrade until after the next software updates from Adobe, which will likely be during the Adobe MAX event next month.

Adobe has not yet indicated that the applications in the Creative Cloud suite are compatible with MacOS Tahoe. Furthermore, in general I recommend holding off on updating the operating system when there is a major update to allow more time to determine if there are any issues caused by the update.

I’ve conducted initial compatibility testing of Adobe applications with MacOS Tahoe, and I haven’t had any issues at all. However, I’ve seen a handful of reports from others indicating there are some potential problems. Out of an abundance of caution, I therefore recommend waiting for software updates from Adobe.

Traditionally there have been significant software updates from Adobe that coincide with the Adobe MAX event, which will be held at the end of October. I recommend waiting until those updates are available before upgrading the operating system.

If you’re especially eager to test out the new operating system, all indications are that the update will go smoothly, and you won’t lose any functionality. But I do think it is worth delaying the update if possible.

Today’s Question: I’ve had good results with red eye correction in Lightroom Classic when it is needed. However, when I tried the pet eye variation, the results were not very good at all. Is there a trick to using this tool with photos of dogs?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In my view the Pet Eye option for Red Eye Correction in Lightroom Classic is simply not very good. I recommend using Photoshop for a manual correction when you have photos of animals that require the equivalent of red eye correction.

More Detail: Pet eye is a variation on red eye that occurs when a flash is used that is too close to the lens. In humans the light reflects off blood vessels at the back of the eye, resulting in a red glow in the pupil. For various animals the biology is different, resulting in a glow that is generally yellow, green, or white.

Unfortunately, this difference seems to represent a serious challenge for Lightroom Classic. While the Red Eye Correction works very well most of the time, in my experience the Pet Eye option rarely provides a good solution. Instead, it creates a fuzzy black circle with part of the pet eye effect still visible around the perimeter.

Therefore, when it comes to pet eye, I recommend using Photoshop to apply a correction. This involves using the Brush tool to paint on a new empty image layer in the area of the eyes. I paint with black using the Color blend mode to neutralize the color to a shade of gray, then paint with black using the Multiply blend mode to darken the area. For the latter a reduced setting for Opacity will help ensure the pupil is not made to be too dark.

Today’s Question: I know I can browse the map in Lightroom Classic, but once I’ve navigated to an area of the map is there a quick way to only see the photos from that specific location?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can set a filter based on the current map area in the Map module of Lightroom Classic by choosing the “Visible On Map” option on the Location Filter bar.

More Detail: If an image contains GPS coordinates in metadata, regardless of how you added that information, a pushpin will appear in the position on the map in the Map module of Lightroom Classic to indicate the location. If multiple photos were captured in the same location, the pushpin will show the number of photos as well.

If you have located an area of the map that contains photos you’re interested in, you can quickly filter the images so that only those within the visible map area will be displayed.

To get started, go to the Map module and navigate to the area of the map you want to filter images by. Be sure to zoom in so that ideally only the photos you want to review will be visible on the map. This isn’t always entirely possible due to the rectangular shape of the map. Once you’ve zoomed and panned so the map only shows pins for the images you want to view, choose the “Visible on Map” option on the Location Filter bar above the map display.

Once you’ve set the filter in the Map module, you can switch to another module and you’ll still have a filter set so only the photos for the current map area are shown. You can reset the filter by choosing “None” from either the Library Filter bar in the Library module or the Location Filter bar in the Map module.

Note that you can also create a saved location in the Map module, which is based on a circular shape. You can then select a saved location by name by setting one of the columns on the Metadata tab of the Library Filter bar in the Library module to “Map Location” and clicking on the name of the saved location.