Author: Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I normally export my processed and sharpened images from Lightroom as either a sharpened print or projected final image. Do you consider this an appropriate workflow for sharpening.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, absolutely. Printing from the Print module in Lightroom Classic with sharpening applied or exporting a derivative file with sharpening represent totally appropriate workflow for preparing images for output.

More Detail: Yesterday’s question related to a workflow for sharpening in the context of Photoshop, while today’s question focuses on Lightroom Classic. In Photoshop the workflow is a little more complicated. It provides a little more control, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into better output.

In Lightroom Classic you don’t have as much control as you do in Photoshop, but you can still achieve excellent results. When printing or exporting in Lightroom Classic, for example, instead applying a sharpening filter to an image that has been prepared for output, you choose between Low, Standard, and High options for the strength of the sharpening. You can also choose the type of output, with options for Screen for images that will be shared digitally, and Matte or Glossy for printed output.

These sharpening options in Lightroom Classic are relatively straightforward, but they also represent good algorithms that produce good output sharpening. It may take a little trial and error to find the right settings for various types of output, but once you have the experience to make the right decision for the circumstances, it provides a streamlined workflow.

Today’s Question: I typically use Sharpening (Filter > Unsharp Mask) in my Photoshop workflow. When should I sharpen my image file, at its original large size or after I’ve reduced the image size for printing?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I recommend sharpening both the original image and the image prepared for final output, just with different settings and a different focus (no pun intended).

More Detail: There are benefits to sharpening both the original image at full resolution and the processed image that has been resized to the final output size. This is particularly important for photos that will be printed compared to those that will only be shared digitally.

The first pass of sharpening I recommend applying as part of the process of processing the original raw capture, such as in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic or in Camera Raw for Photoshop users. This sharpening should be relatively modest, aimed only at compensating for the minor loss of sharpness caused by the lens, digitization of the analog signal, and more. It is important not to over-sharpen at this stage, as that can have a negative impact on image quality when it is shared later.

The second pass of sharpening is the output sharpening and should be applied after the image is resized and otherwise prepared for output. This sharpening is focused on compensating for any loss of sharpness that will occur with the output process, such as printing. For photos printed to uncoated matte paper, for example, the ink can spread considerably on the paper. Therefore, you can think of there being a need to over-sharpen the image slightly to compensate for the reduction in sharpness in the print process.

For images that will be printed to coated glossy papers you don’t need to sharpen as much, because the ink won’t spread as much on the paper. For digital sharing you would apply even less sharpening, though a slightly stronger effect might be applied to images projected to a large screen to help improve the perceived sharpness in that context.

So, sharpening the original image is aimed at compensating for the slight loss of sharpness that occurs during capture, and the sharpening the image resized and prepared for output compensates for degraded sharpness in the output process.

Note that in some respects you could think of adjustments such as Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze as providing a third sharpening pass, but that occurs between the first pass and the output pass. This is often described as being a creative version of sharpening.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to redirect Lightroom Classic to a different location for a folder? I accidentally imported photos from my backup drive rather than the primary drive, and I want to fix this without losing the metadata updates I’ve applied.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can change the location Lightroom Classic looks for a folder using the “Update Folder Location” command.

More Detail: The most common scenario where you might need to point Lightroom Classic to a different location for a folder is when that folder is missing. This can be caused by moving a folder to a different location or renaming a folder, for example. In that case you would use the “Find Missing Folder” command to reconnect the Lightroom Classic catalog to the updated location or name for the folder.

In the scenario outlined in today’s question, however, the folder is not missing. Rather, a backup version of a folder was imported rather than the intended source. In other words, there are two copies of the same folder but Lightroom Classic is managing the incorrect folder among the two, and the folder in Lightroom Classic isn’t missing.

In this case you can right-click on the applicable folder in the Folders section of the left panel in the Library module and choose “Update Folder Location” from the popup menu. In the dialog that appears, navigate to the correct location for the folder, and open that folder so it appears at the top-center of the dialog. Then click the Choose button, and the folder location will be updated within your Lightroom Classic catalog.

Today’s Question: How do you recommend using the Contrast slider relative to the use of the Texture, Clarity & Dehaze sliders?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I actually don’t recommend using the Contrast slider most of the time, because I prefer the control that can be exercised using the other tonal adjustments.

More Detail: I should hasten to point out that there’s nothing inherently wrong with using the Contrast adjustment (available in Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom) if it produces a good effect for the image. I simply prefer to leverage other adjustments that provide greater control over contrast.

While the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze adjustments can be used enhance overall contrast in an image, I think of them more as tools for detail enhancement rather than contrast enhancement. That is, of course, a bit of an academic distinction.

For overall brightness and contrast, I recommend starting with the Exposure adjustment to fine-tune the overall look of the image in terms of overall brightness. I then suggest establishing overall contrast in the context of total tonal range using the Whites and Blacks sliders. Finally, I recommend using the Highlights and Shadows adjustments to refine overall contrast, which in part is focused on the degree to which you want to reveal or enhance detail in the image.

To be sure, it is perfectly fine to use the Contrast adjustment along with these other adjustments. The reason I tend not to use it is that it effectively applies an equal adjustment to both the highlights and the shadows. In general, I prefer to adjust these tonal ranges individually through the Highlights and Shadows adjustments. But if you find the Contrast slider helpful, there is no reason not to use it.

Beyond that, the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze adjustments can be used to adjust overall contrast in the image, as discussed in a prior Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter.

It is worth keeping in mind that among all the adjustments mentioned above, there is overlap among all of them. In other words, there isn’t a single right answer in terms of how you approach these various adjustments. Ultimately all that matters is applying adjustments that result in a look that you’re happy with for the image.

Today’s Question: I’ll be traveling soon on a vacation with very strict size/weight restrictions, and I’d like to have a way to back-up my SD memory cards. Is it possible to plug a USB hub into a cell phone’s USB-C port and use some phone app to copy from the SD card to an SSD drive? Any other suggestions for back-up on the road, without access to WiFi?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, in most cases you can download memory cards directly to your smartphone or tablet and then transfer them to a portable storage device.

More Detail: If you’re traveling without a computer, you can use a smartphone or tablet to back up your memory cards along the way. This requires a couple of accessories to enable the data transfer but will work with most recent smartphone or tablet models. I recommend testing everything before traveling to make sure the accessories and workflow will work on your device.

The first thing you’ll need is a card reader for your smartphone, or an adapter to enable you to connect a card reader. For example, if your smartphone or tablet has a USB-C port you can connect a card reader directly to that port or use an adapter if needed for your card reader. If you’re using an iPhone with a Lightning connection, you can use a Lightning-to-USB adapter. The point is you’ll need to connect your memory card to the device.

You can then use the Apple Files app on iOS devices or the Files by Google app for Android devices to transfer your photos from the memory card to the storage on your device.

If you want an additional backup or need to remove the photos from your device, you can use another storage device for that purpose. For iPhones with a Lightning connector I recommend the SanDisk iXpand drive (https://timgrey.me/lightningdrive), which includes a Lightning connector for the iPhone and a USB-A connection for a computer. For devices with a USB-C connection I recommend the SanDisk Ultra (https://timgrey.me/luxe256).

So, the overall process would generally involve transferring photos from your memory card to your device, then copying them to another storage device (or moving them if you don’t have enough storage on your device. You could repeat the transfer to another storage device a second time to provide a backup, or be sure to bring enough memory cards so you won’t need to format your cards during the trip.

Today’s Question: How do I know when to use Texture versus Clarity versus Dehaze for a photo?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can choose between Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze based on the scale of the contrast you’re looking to enhance. Also, keep in mind that you can combine more than one of these adjustments when it suits an image.

More Detail: The Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze adjustments all relate to contrast or detail in a photo. All three are available in Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom. The way I recommend thinking about them is that they’re operating at a different scale within the image.

The Texture adjustment operates at the smallest scale and is most similar to sharpening. When you have very fine textures in an image that you want to enhance, the Texture slider is the first adjustment I would try. For example, photos featuring wood grain, sand, or other very small details can often benefit from an increased value for Texture. Just be sure not to use too strong a setting, which can lead to an over-sharpened look for the image.

If you’re just looking for an overall bump in contrast and perceived detail in an image, the Clarity adjustment can be a great option. In fact, I tend to increase the value for Clarity at least slightly for just about every image. It can provide a great boost for overall midtone contrast in an image, providing a bit of extra “pop”.

The Dehaze adjustment is a bit more straightforward, in that it is primarily focused on reducing the appearance of haze in an image, as the name implies. However, it can also be used for images that don’t have haze but where you want to add a bit of a large-scale dramatic contrast effect.

So again, I would think about these sliders in terms of the scale of the contrast enhancement effect they provide and evaluate the image and therefore which adjustments to use accordingly.

Today’s Question: I’ve somehow lost the little icons that normally appear on image thumbnails in Lightroom Classic, indicating things like which images have been adjusted. Did something change in Lightroom Classic, or is there a way to get these icons back?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, the thumbnail badges are still available. They can be enabled in the grid view in the Library View Options dialog, and for the filmstrip in the Preferences dialog.

More Detail: There is a set of badge icons that Lightroom Classic can display on thumbnails of photos to indicate various attributes. These include whether images have been adjusted in the Develop module, whether keywords have been assigned, and whether there are GPS coordinates in metadata, among other options. The visibility of these thumbnail badges can be toggled individually for the grid view and the filmstrip.

To enable thumbnail badges for the grid view, start by going to the Library module and choosing View > View Options from the menu. On the Grid View tab turn on the “Thumbnail Badges” checkbox in the Cell Icons section.

For the filmstrip the option for the thumbnail badges is found on the Interface tab of the Preferences dialog. To bring up the dialog choose Edit from the menu on Windows or Lightroom Classic on Macintosh, then select Preferences. Go to the Interface tab and turn on the “Show badges” checkbox in the Filmstrip section.

If you’d like more details about what the various badge icons indicate, you can find those details in a post on the GreyLearning blog here:

https://greylearningblog.com/meaning-of-thumbnail-badge-icons-in-lightroom-classic/

Today’s Question: I have my color space in Photoshop set for ProPhoto RGB, but my monitor supports only sRGB and Display P3. How will the mismatch affect my workflow? I find a bunch of monitors that support sRGB and even Adobe RGB, but none that support ProPhoto RGB. What are your thoughts?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The key is really to optimize the image for the final output, which will always involve a color gamut that is smaller than the ProPhoto RGB color space. The reason to use ProPhoto RGB as a working color space in the first place is to provide more flexibility in your workflow for a broader range of output scenarios, such as digital display versus print on various mediums. This is helpful even when using a monitor that can’t display all the colors in an image.

More Detail: I can say definitively that there will never (ever) be a monitor that supports the full ProPhoto RGB color space. That is because the ProPhoto RGB color space is so large that it includes colors that are beyond the range of normal human vision, even to the point of including “imaginary” colors.

However, I still favor the use of the ProPhoto RGB color space, even though monitors don’t come anywhere close to being able to display the full color range of ProPhoto RGB, because doing so provides greater flexibility in your workflow. The only caveat is that because ProPhoto RGB is such a large color space, it should only be used with 16-bit per channel images to avoid the risk of posterization in an image.

While no monitor comes close to displaying the full range of colors in the ProPhoto RGB color space, it is still preferred to have a display that provides as wide a color gamut as possible. Just about every display will cover the full range of the sRGB color space, because this is a relatively small color space that was originally intended to encompass the range of colors of a monitor display.

Especially if you prepare your images for print, I suggest opting for a display with a color gamut that covers 100% (or more) of the Adobe RGB color space. A pretty good number of displays support Adobe RGB, and you don’t need to look at the most advanced—and most expensive—displays to find one that supports Adobe RGB.

Beyond having a display with as wide a color gamut as possible, and to be working in a large color space, it can be helpful to use soft proofing to get a better sense of which colors in the image are beyond the capabilities of the intended output method. This is especially important when preparing an image for print, where each combination of printer, ink, and paper will have a unique range of colors that can be reproduced. That variability is the exact reason that a large color space can be helpful, so that regardless of the output color gamut, you have optimal information in the source file. For example, if you prepared an image specifically for an uncoated matte paper, that file would not provide a good source when printing on glossy paper, where a larger color gamut is generally available.

Today’s Question: There is a great deal of info about the ProPhoto RGB, Adobe RGB, and sRGB color spaces. But what is Display P3, also listed as a Color Space option in Lightroom Classic? The specs for my BenQ monitor show a Color Gamut of 100% sRGB, and 100% Rec.709—how does that relate to the Color Space options in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In my view the Display P3 color space profile can be thought of as being for cinematic or video purposes and is not an option I would generally recommend for a photo editing workflow.

More Detail: The Display P3 profile was created by Apple primarily for their wide-gamut displays and is a variant of the DCI-P3 color space profile. The DCI-P3 profile was created for cinematic workflows, in part to ensure consistent and vibrant color for digital movie theater projection. Based on this background, I think of the Display P3 profile as being primarily applicable for cinematic or video editing purposes.

For reference, in terms of color gamut the Display P3 color space is larger than the sRGB color space but smaller than Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB. As a result, there aren’t very many scenarios where I would recommend that a photographer use the Display P3 color space in their workflow.

In general, I recommend editing photos in the ProPhoto RGB color space, since it is the largest color space among the key options. If you’re not able to work in 16-bit per channel and you are preparing images for print, the Adobe RGB color space is a good option. If you are preparing images exclusively for digital output or with a print workflow that revolves around the sRGB color space, then obviously sRGB can be a good choice.

For photographers, the one scenario where you might use the Display P3 profile is when preparing copies of photos for sharing, in particular if you’ll be sharing those images in a cinematic workflow, such as with a high-gamut digital projector or display. Otherwise, in most cases the sRGB color space profile is the better option for digital sharing of photos, since it is much more widely supported.

Today’s Question: In my early days of using Photoshop, I would use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to boost saturation. Since the addition of the Vibrance adjustment layer, I’ve been using that exclusively to adjust saturation. With the availability of Vibrance is there any need to use Hue/Saturation?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Vibrance adjustment layer in Photoshop is preferred for saturation changes compared to the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. The primary reason you would use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer is to apply a color adjustment to a specific color range within the image, such as to refine the appearance of only blue areas of a photo.

More Detail: The Vibrance adjustment is newer than Hue/Saturation and includes both a Vibrance slider and a Saturation slider. The Vibrance slider is generally the best starting point for refining saturation for an image, as it helps prevent having highly saturated colors from getting over-saturated, and it helps protect skin tones from too strong an adjustment.

With the availability of the Vibrance adjustment, I don’t recommend using Hue/Saturation for adjusting overall saturation in an image. However, Hue/Saturation can still be tremendously helpful for targeted color adjustments.

With Hue/Saturation you can choose a specific color range by clicking on one of the round color swatches below the Preset popup. You can then adjust the sliders for Hue (overall color value), Saturation (color purity or intensity), and Luminance (color brightness). You can apply different adjustments for each of the available color swatches.

In addition, you can customize the color range represented by the color swatches, such as to broadening the range for the cyan color swatch to include blue colors in addition to cyan. After selecting a color swatch, you can adjust the color range using the controls between the gradients at the bottom of the set of controls for Hue/Saturation.