Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I just watched a video where the presenter adjusts the Highlights and Shadows first and then sets the white & black points. I typically do this in the opposite order. Does it really make a difference if you set the black & white points before (or after) the Highlights and Shadow settings?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Ultimately, all that really matters is what the final settings are for the adjustments. However, in my view it is best to establish the maximum and minimum tonal values with Whites and Blacks first, and to then refine the level of apparent detail using the Highlights and Shadows sliders.

More Detail: Because the Whites and Blacks adjustments determine the overall limits of tonality for an image, I recommend establishing the value for those adjustments first. I will refine the setting for Exposure as needed before adjusting the value for Whites and Blacks, but I definitely recommend refining the Highlights and Shadows adjustments after adjusting Whites and Blacks. These same concepts, by the way, apply equally to Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Camera Raw, and any other software that uses similar adjustments.

All the tonal adjustments have a degree of overlap between them, so that for example if you’ve set the value for Whites and Blacks and then modified one of the other adjustments, you may have created clipping of highlights or shadows in the image. This is one of the reasons I recommend using the clipping preview option, accessible by holding the Alt/Option key while adjusting the sliders for these tonal adjustments.

My approach is to first establish a setting for the Exposure slider based on a visual evaluation of the image. Then set the white and black point with the Whites and Blacks sliders, holding the Alt/Option key as part of that process to check for clipping preview.

At that point I’ll generally reduce the value for Highlights to enhance perceived detail and contrast in the relatively bright areas of the image. If you instead increase the value for Highlights, be sure to either use the clipping preview when doing so, or to adjust the Whites value using clipping preview to confirm an appropriate setting.

I then adjust the Shadows slider, leveraging the clipping preview option if using a negative value, to evaluate clipping of the relatively dark areas of the image. If there is too much clipping as a result, increasing the value for the Blacks slider can provide a solution.

You can most certainly refine these adjustments in any order you prefer. I find the above workflow to be helpful, but the most important thing is to make use of clipping preview as part of the process to ensure you’re applying adjustments based on clear information about the impact on the image.

Today’s Question: I renamed my Lightroom Classic catalog and associated files using the Rename Catalog command as you suggested. Is there any reason to keep the previous catalogs and files from when Lightroom automatically renamed with upgrades? I assume catalog backups made prior to renaming can be deleted?

Tim’s Quick Answer: As long as you are sure that the catalog files in question are from older versions of Lightroom Classic or are backup copies, deleting those files won’t cause any problems for your current catalog.

More Detail: While Adobe has made helpful changes to Lightroom Classic in terms of how catalog updates are handled, many photographers still have accumulated copies of outdated catalog files, as well as old backup copies of catalogs.

As long as you’re certain of which files relate to the current catalog, and that any unrelated files are not needed, it is safe to delete those files not associated you’re your current catalog. For example, the earlier versions of the current catalog that were from earlier versions of Lightroom Classic don’t need to be retained. In addition, numerous backup copies of your current catalog (or of prior catalogs) don’t need to be retained.

I do, however, recommend keeping a few catalog backups from various times, just so you have something to fall back on in case you run into an issue of corruption with your current catalog that might also have affected a recent backup. Obviously, the older a catalog backup is the less helpful it would be to recover from, since there may be many photos and updates that aren’t reflected in that older catalog backup.

Note, by the way, that one of the things I highly recommend doing to help minimize the harm that would be caused by a lost or corrupted catalog is to make sure the “Automatically write changes into XMP” checkbox is turned on, which can be found on the Metadata tab of the Catalog Settings dialog in Lightroom Classic.

Today’s Question: I was missing some photos in Lightroom Classic and used “show in finder” and located them. How do I get them into Lightroom Classic??

Tim’s Quick Answer: If the photos have a missing status, you’ll want to reconnect the missing images with the source files. If the photos are not in Lightroom Classic at all, you can use the Synchronize Folder command to import the photos that aren’t present.

More Detail: The “Show in Finder” command (“Show in Explorer” on Windows) enables you to display a window showing the storage location for a photo in your Lightroom Classic catalog.

For example, if some photos in a folder are missing, you could right-click on a photo that is not missing and choose “Show in Finder/Explorer” from the popup menu to go to the folder location where the missing photos are expected. The missing photos may have been renamed on the hard drive, for example, or they may have been moved to a subfolder, among other possibilities.

If you’re able to locate the source file for a missing photo in this way, you can reconnect the photos in Lightroom Classic. Start by clicking on the exclamation point (!) icon at the top-right of the thumbnail for the image to bring up a dialog where you can click the Locate button. In the dialog that appears, navigate to the folder location and select the applicable source image, then click the Choose button. The image in Lightroom Classic will be updated to reflect the correct filename and folder location for the image.

If, on the other hand, your exploration led you to discover that some images in the folder on the hard drive are not in your Lightroom Classic catalog, you can use the Synchronize Folder command. Right-click on the folder in the Folders section of the left panel in the Library module in Lightroom Classic and choose “Synchronize Folder”.

In the dialog that appears, turn on the “Import new photos” checkbox, which will have an indication of the number of photos that were found to the right of the label. I also recommend turning on the “Show import dialog before importing” checkbox so you can configure the settings you want to use for adding the photos to the catalog. Turn off the “Remove missing photos from catalog” and “Scan for metadata updates” checkboxes. Click OK, and the photos that were not in the catalog will be added.

Today’s Question: There is a plugin named LensTagger (https://www.lenstagger.com) that allows me to update the metadata. I am using it for lenses who don’t communicate with the body.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, the LensTagger plug-in for Lightroom Classic enables you to add or update camera metadata that would normally be read-only, such as the “Focal Length 35mm” field that was the subject of a post last week.

More Detail: Today’s “question” is obviously not actually a question, but based on the feedback I received in response to my post last week that mentioned editing metadata, I thought it was worth sharing here.

Most of the fields you’ll find in the EXIF metadata in Lightroom Classic aren’t editable. So, if you’re using a camera that doesn’t write certain fields in metadata, or a manual lens that doesn’t send lens settings to the camera, or if you’ve digitized analog photos, you wouldn’t be able to add or update EXIF metadata for those images.

The LensTagger plug-in for Lightroom Classic provides a solution, though I must warn that the tool doesn’t provide the most user-friendly workflow. Still, it does provide a solution that I’m sure many photographers will find helpful, and the website does provide thorough documentation.

The plug-in is “donationware”, meaning you can use it for free and make a donation to the developer if you find it helpful. You do need to install both the plug-in and another tool called ExifTool to be able to use the plug-in, and I highly recommend reading the online documentation thoroughly so you understand how to use it.

I was able to test LensTagger, including being able to update the “Focal Length 35mm” field in metadata. If you want to add EXIF metadata to photos that lack it, this plug-in will provide a solution.

You can learn more about the LensTagger plug-in here:

https://www.lenstagger.com

Today’s Question: When using extension tubes does the effective lens focal length change? If the effective focal length changes does that mean that the f-stop also changes?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, technically an extension tube increases focal length and therefore changes the effective f-stop. However, the metadata for your photos will not reflect this change.

More Detail: An extension tube provides a simple and inexpensive way of enabling a lens to focus at a closer distance. That, in turn, increases the potential magnification of the lens. Therefore, an extension tube provides a very affordable way to do closeup or macro photography.

An extension tube simply adds space between your camera and lens, with no additional glass to potentially degrade image quality. Because the definition of focal length for a lens is the distance from the lens’ nodal point to the image sensor, using an extension tube increases the effective focal length. And since f-stops are calculated based on the lens focal length, the effective f-stop also changes.

However, the metadata won’t reflect the changes to the effective focal length and lens aperture, because the lens is effectively reporting its focal length without taking the extension tube into account. In fact, some extension tubes don’t include electronic connections between the camera and lens, preventing the camera from fully controlling the lens and eliminating metadata about the lens from being recorded at all.

Today’s Question: I noticed there is a “Focal Length 35mm” field in Lightroom Classic, but it is empty for all my photos. Is there a way to populate this field with the applicable values?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The “Focal Length 35mm” field in Lightroom Classic requires that the camera wrote the information to metadata for the photos, and you can’t edit the value in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: The “Focal Length 35mm” EXIF metadata field is intended to contain the equivalent lens focal length based on a 35mm (full-frame) sensor. So, for example, if you were using a camera with a full-frame sensor, the “Focal Length 35mm” field would show the exact same value as the “Focal Length” field. If you were using a camera with a 1.5X cropping factor and had used a 100mm lens, the “Focal Length 35mm” field would show the effective focal length of 150mm.

However, not all cameras write this information to metadata. Based only on the photos I have in my own library, I haven’t found a single Canon camera that writes this information to metadata, while Nikon and Sony cameras (at least the models from which I have photos) do write this information. The Apple iPhone also saves this information to metadata. But this is obviously not based on any exhaustive research or photo library. It is just to illustrate that some cameras write this information to metadata and others don’t.

The “Focal Length 35mm” field, like most EXIF metadata, is not editable in Lightroom Classic. There are third-party metadata editing tools that enable you to edit EXIF, and I would assume those tools therefore enable you to edit the “Focal Length 35mm” field. However, this isn’t something I would recommend doing in general, and it is also something that would most likely not be a very efficient process in terms of automating the update for multiple photos.

Today’s Question: Is there no “delete” command in Adobe Bridge? I can’t find the command anywhere, so the only option seems to be pressing the Delete key and clicking the Delete (rather than Reject) button.

Tim’s Quick Answer: There is a Delete command in Adobe Bridge, but it is labeled “Move to Bin”, which is admittedly a bit confusing.

More Detail: Some time ago Adobe changed the “Move to Trash” command in Bridge to “Move to Bin”. My assumption is that this was done so that the same command could be used on Windows and Macintosh. In general, when you delete a file it isn’t immediately deleted, but instead put in the Recycle Bin on Windows or the Trash on Macintosh. I assume “Move to Bin” was intended to be a generic version that would work on both platforms.

However, I found this change to be confusing, and many photographers have posted in online forums that they dislike the change.

So, you can select one or more images in Bridge, and either right-click on a selected image or go to the File menu and then choose “Move to Bin” to delete the selected files. They will then be moved to the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Macintosh).

You can also use a keyboard shortcut to delete selected images, which is Ctrl+Delete on Windows and Command+Delete on Macintosh.

Note by the way that if you have the PathBar (Window > PathBar) enabled, that toolbar includes a Delete button (trash can icon) to delete selected photos. Amusingly, that button is identified as the Delete button, but functions the same way as the “Move to Bin” command.

Today’s Question: I have a list of external editors that appear in Lightroom Classic when I right click on an image and select Edit In. How can I remove an external editor from that list that I no longer use, or has been replaced by a newer version?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can remove an external editor from the Edit In list in Lightroom Classic by deleting the applicable preset on the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog.

More Detail: When you install a plug-in that supports operating as an external editor in Lightroom Classic, that plug-in will appear on the Edit In menu, which can be found on the Photo menu as well as on the popup menu when you right-click on an image.

If you later want to remove a plug-in from the Edit In menu, in some cases uninstalling the plug-in may cause it to be removed automatically. If not, you can manually remove the plug-in from the Preferences dialog.

To get started, choose Preferences from the Edit menu on Windows or the Lightroom Classic menu on Macintosh. Go to the External Editing tab, where you’ll find the Preset popup in the Additional External Editor section. Click that popup and choose the plug-in you want to remove from the Edit In menu. Then click the popup again and choose “Delete preset” from the popup. Note that this option will include the name of the currently selected preset as well. You can then close the Preferences dialog, and the plug-in you removed will no longer appear on the Edit In menu.

Today’s Question: The Super Resolution feature in Camera Raw [and Lightroom] sounds similar to Topaz Gigapixel, and I was wondering which you consider the best result.

Tim’s Quick Answer: In my experience Topaz Gigapixel (https://topazlabs.com/ref/273/) produces better enlargements than the Super Resolution feature in Camera Raw, Lightroom, and Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: While I’ve heard many photographers say they’ve gotten excellent results enlarging photos with the Super Resolution available in several Adobe applications, I’ve not been particularly happy with the results I’ve gotten in my testing. I find that Topaz Gigapixel (https://topazlabs.com/ref/273/) provides superior results for all images I’ve tested with both applications.

In particular, I find that with Super Resolution the enlarged images end up with a bit more noise and other visual artifacts. Gigapixel from Topaz Labs provides enlargements that I find to be smoother and sharper, with greater detail and quality.

In fact, based on the results of my testing, when I need to enlarge an image, I skip the Super Resolution feature and simply enlarge with Photoshop’s “Image Size” command. While I have consistently gotten better results using Gigapixel, I also wouldn’t say that the results are dramatically better than using Photoshop, so I don’t consider Gigapixel to be a critical tool in the photographer’s workflow.

However, my experience using Super Resolution causes me to specifically avoid using it, because at least in my experience it slightly degrades image quality compared to using other methods of enlargement.

Today’s Question: I’ve heard photographers talk about how they use both versions of Lightroom (cloud and Classic) for different aspects of their workflow. Is there any problem involved with using both of the Lightroom applications?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I do not recommend using both Lightroom (the cloud-focused version) and Lightroom Classic. That’s especially true if you’ll use the Local tab in Lightroom, because doing so can lead to metadata mismatch issues.

More Detail: While it is possible to include both Lightroom and Lightroom Classic desktop applications in your workflow, I don’t recommend doing so. Instead, I recommend choosing one version and using that exclusively.

The primary risk of using the cloud-focused version along with Lightroom Classic is the risk of metadata mismatches. This is due to the relatively new addition of a Local tab in Lightroom. If you make changes to local images that are being managed by Lightroom Classic, you will create a metadata mismatch because the updates won’t be reflected in the Lightroom Classic catalog.

If you limit yourself to only using the Cloud tab so you’re only working with images that are stored in the cloud, there isn’t any problem with using both versions of Lightroom. However, if you’re using Lightroom Classic I recommend not using (or even installing) the cloud-focused version of Lightroom. If you need the equivalent of the Lightroom desktop application you can instead use the Lightroom mobile app or access Lightroom through a web browser (https://lightroom.adobe.com).

You can learn more about the differences between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic in the recording of my webinar on “Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, or Bridge?!” on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:

[https://youtube.com/live/BwpneG4y0nQ]

I’ll also be presenting a webinar on the subject of “Traps to Avoid in Lightroom Classic” starting at 12pm Eastern Time today, which you can tune into here:

[https://youtube.com/live/6c98YeivvwM]