Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: Maybe we aren’t supposed to see an image open in Camera Raw from Lightroom Classic, but it does so that about 20% of the time for me. Usually if I close it and go back to Lightroom Classic and try again, it opens correctly.

Tim’s Quick Answer: This suggests that about 20% of the time you’re sending a non-raw image (such as a TIFF or JPEG) to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, and that you have Camera Raw configured to open these other file types.

More Detail: In a previous answer I explained that if you’re sending a raw capture from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop you won’t see the Camera Raw dialog. If you do see the Camera Raw dialog for a raw capture, it indicates that you opened the raw capture directly in Photoshop or via Adobe Bridge.

However, it is possible for the Camera Raw dialog to appear if you have sent a compatible JPEG or TIFF image from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop and you have support for those file formats enabled in Camera Raw.

In this case I recommend disabling support for non-raw formats in Camera Raw, mostly to avoid confusion. You can always use the Camera Raw filter in Photoshop if you want to access some of the Camera Raw features for non-raw images.

To disable support for non-raw files, go to Camera Raw and click the gear icon at the top-right to bring up the Camera Raw Preferences dialog. In Adobe Bridge you can also go to the Edit menu on Windows or the Adobe Bridge menu on Macintosh and choose Camera Raw Preferences to bring up the dialog. In the Camera Raw Preferences dialog go to the File Handling tab, where I recommend setting the popups in the “File Format Handling” section to the “Disable” setting.

With that support for non-raw image types disabled, compatible JPEG or TIFF images (among other formats) will open directly in Photoshop from Lightroom Classic without bringing up the Camera Raw dialog.

Today’s Question: Is there a quick way [in Photoshop] to get the Contextual Task Bar off the screen after I’m done with it? I can retrace my steps to call up the tool, then remove it when I am done, as it really clutters the screen. It would be easier, however, if there were a shortcut key to get the taskbar on or off my screen.

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can assign a keyboard shortcut to the Contextual Task Bar (or other menu commands in Photoshop) to make it easier to hide or reveal the taskbar, but you might also consider pinning it to a location that is not in the way, such as over the Options bar.

More Detail: The Contextual Task Bar provides access to various tasks based on the context of what you’re doing, and in particular it provides access to Generative AI features in Photoshop. If you want to be able to quickly hide or reveal this taskbar you can assign a keyboard shortcut to it. To get started, go to the menu bar and choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

In the search field near the top-left of the dialog you can enter “Contextual”, or you can navigate to the Window section. To the right of the Contextual Task Bar command click in the text field and then press the keyboard shortcut combination you want to assign to this command. There’s a very good chance that whatever keyboard combination you try will result in a message that the shortcut is already used by another command. If so, you can either try a different combination or replace the shortcut if the existing command isn’t one you need a keyboard shortcut for.

Next, click the Accept button to apply the change, and click the OK button to close the Preferences dialog. You can then use the assigned keyboard shortcut to hide or reveal the Contextual Task Bar.

If you just want to make sure the Contextual Task Bar doesn’t get in the way of the image or interface elements, you can pin it to a more convenient location. Start by dragging the taskbar to the preferred position using the “handle” on the left side of the bar. Then click the “More” button (the three dots on the right side) and choose “Pin bar position” from the popup menu. This will add a checkmark icon to the left of that command to indicate it is enabled. The taskbar will then remain in that position unless you move it to a new location, in which case it will instead be pinned to the new location.

Today’s Question: You’ve said that Camera Raw provides the same adjustments as those found in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic, but isn’t this not always true?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Correct. While generally speaking Camera Raw and the Develop module in Lightroom Classic (and the Edit adjustments in Lightroom) are exactly the same just with interface differences, recently some features have been added to Camera Raw before they are available in Lightroom.

More Detail: If my memory serves me correctly (which is not necessarily the case!) until relatively recently there was parity between Camera Raw and the Develop module in Lightroom Classic, with the only real differences being related to the interface not the actual adjustments.

However, that is no longer the case. For example, the Tone Curve adjustment was available for masking adjustments in Camera Raw before it was available in Lightroom Classic. Similarly, the Dust option for Distraction Removal with the Remove tool was added to Camera Raw before being included in Lightroom Classic.

Based on the history of parity (even if features were released earlier in one application than another), I fully expect that any features added to Camera Raw without being included in Lightroom Classic will eventually be added to Lightroom Classic as well.

Today’s Question: I use Lightroom Classic, but sometimes edit photos in Photoshop. Why do I sometimes see Camera Raw when I open a raw image in Photoshop, but other times I don’t see Camera Raw and the image just opens in Photoshop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you’re using Lightroom Classic to manage your photos, you should never see the Camera Raw dialog in Photoshop unless you’ve used the Camera Raw filter. The Camera Raw dialog appears when you open a raw image directly in Photoshop rather than sending the image from Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: When you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, the source raw image is rendered based on the adjustment settings from the Develop module, opening in Photoshop without the Camera Raw dialog coming up. When you save that image, it will automatically be saved with the file type and settings established on the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog in Lightroom Classic.

If you’re seeing the Camera Raw dialog in Photoshop when a raw image is opened, it means you opened the raw image directly in Photoshop rather than sending it from Lightroom Classic. That is something that should be avoided because, for example, it will cause a metadata mismatch with Camera Raw updating settings for the image that are not reflected in Lightroom Classic.

When using Lightroom Classic to manage images, the only time you should see the Camera Raw dialog in Photoshop is if you chose to use the Camera Raw filter, which can be accessed by choosing Filter > Camera Raw Filter from the menu in Photoshop. This enables you to have the same adjustment options as Camera Raw (or the Develop module in Lightroom Classic) while working on an image layer in Photoshop.

Today’s Question: I appreciated your tip about using a keyboard shortcut to add photos to a collection. However, when I select multiple photos on the filmstrip and press the letter “B” to add to the target collection, only one image is added to the collection, not all selected photos. Am I doing something wrong?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To add multiple photos to the current target collection in Lightroom Classic you’ll want to select the images in the grid view. If you have selected the loupe view only the active image will be added, not all selected images.

More Detail: As noted in yesterday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter, if you right-click on a collection in the Collections section of the left panel in the Library module and choose “Set as Target Collection”, you can then press the letter “B” on the keyboard to add selected photos to that collection.

As addressed in today’s question, however, this option is subject to what I refer to as the “loupe view snafu”. What I mean by that is that by default when you’re in the loupe view (rather than the grid view) in the Library module, even if you have selected multiple photos on the filmstrip you’re only actually updating the image currently shown in the loupe view. In the context of today’s question, that means in the loupe view if you try to add multiple images to a collection with a keyboard shortcut, only one image will be added rather than all selected images.

The quick and easy solution is to simply make sure you’re in the grid view before pressing the letter “B” to add the selected photos to the target collection. More broadly, I recommend getting in the habit of always using the grid view (rather than the filmstrip) when you want to select multiple photos, just to avoid a situation where you think you’re updating multiple photos but really only one image is being updated.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to assign a keyboard shortcut for adding photos to a specific collection in Lightroom Classic? It seems very slow and cumbersome to have to drag photos into a collection.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, if you assign the intended collection as the target collection you can press the letter “B” on the keyboard to add the currently selected photo(s) to the target collection.

More Detail: Many photographers think of the letter “B” as a keyboard shortcut in Lightroom Classic as being associated with the Quick Collection, which is found in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module. But in fact, the letter “B” is the keyboard shortcut for adding photos to the target collection. It’s just that the Quick Collection is the default target collection.

To change the target collection to the collection you want to add photos to, right-click on collection in the Collections section of the left panel in the Library module and choose “Set as Target Collection” from the popup menu. When you do so you’ll notice that a plus symbol (+) appears to the right of the collection, which is a marker indicating this is the current target collection. By default, that plus symbol would have been to the right of the Quick Collection.

With the target collection set you can now select photos and simply press the letter “B” on the keyboard to add the selected images to the current target collection. When you’re done working with that collection I do recommend right-clicking on the Quick Collection and choosing “Set as Target Collection” so that the letter “B” keyboard shortcut will be set back to the default behavior of adding to the Quick Collection, just to avoid confusion about which collection photos will be added to.

Today’s Question: How do you add a new external hard drive for Lightroom Classic when your current drive is almost full?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can either transition to a new and larger hard drive or add an additional hard drive to supplement your existing storage. The key is to make sure you manage this process in the context of the Lightroom Classic catalog.

More Detail: If you want to migrate your photo storage to a larger hard drive, I recommend first copying the entire contents of your existing hard drive to the new drive. Then disconnect the original hard drive, and make sure the new hard drive has the same drive letter (Windows) or volume label (Macintosh) as the original drive. This will ensure that the photo storage has the same location and folder structure as the original drive, so that from the perspective of Lightroom Classic nothing will have changed. In other words, all the photos and folders will be where they are expected, they are just on a drive that has more free space now.

If you want to supplement your existing storage with an additional hard drive, you need to add a folder to that drive within Lightroom Classic to make it visible for access. To do so go to the Folders section of the left panel in the Library module and click the plus (+) button to the right of the Folders heading. Choose “Add Folder from the popup menu that appears and navigate to the new hard drive. Then create a new folder on that drive with a meaningful name such as “Photos”. Click the Choose button to complete the process.

At this point you will see the new folder you just created under a separate heading for the new hard drive. You can then drag folders from the original drive to the top-level folder on the new drive if you need to free up space on the original drive. You can also make a point of importing any new photos to the new drive from that point forward, since you will have more free space available on the new drive.

Today’s Question: Sometimes when creating a selection in Photoshop I want to get it aligned perfectly with an object in an image. For example, sometimes I want to create a perfectly rectangular selection that aligns with a sign or other object. When using the Rectangular Marquee tool it is difficult to draw a full rectangle while zoomed out and still get the selection aligned exactly where I want it. Is there some trick for making a more precise selection in this way?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In this type of situation I think the best approach is to make the initial selection reasonably accurate but without worrying about being too precise, and then use the Transform Selection command to zoom in and perfectly align the selection.

More Detail: When you need to get a selection in Photoshop to perfectly align with an area of the image, the Transform Selection command can be invaluable. Start by creating the initial selection, such as to drag from corner to corner with the Rectangular Marquee tool. Then to improve the accuracy of the selection choose Select > Transform Selection from the menu to initiate the transformation of the selection.

Once you’ve initiated the Transform Selection command the selection will have a bounding box with handles, similar to the Free Transform command or to the Crop tool. You can then drag any of the corners or edges of the bounding box to perfectly align with the area you want to select. It can be helpful to zoom in closely on the corners, for example, to ensure you’re getting the selection positioned perfectly.

Once the selection has been transformed, you can apply the change by pressing Enter/Return on the keyboard, clicking the apply button (checkmark icon) on the Options bar, or by double-clicking within the bounding box.

Today’s Question: During one of your presentations you used a brush with a unique shape for an effect, but I don’t have the same brush. Am I missing brushes I should have, or do I need to buy brushes somewhere?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While there are many sources of brushes you can use in Photoshop, a great variety is available for free from Adobe. You can download those brushes and then import them using the Brushes panel in Photoshop.

More Detail: To get started you can go to the Brushes panel in Photoshop. If the Brushes panel isn’t currently visible go to the menu and choose Window > Brushes. Then click the panel popup menu button at the top right of the Brushes panel, which is an icon with three horizontal lines. From the popup menu choose “Get More Brushes”, which will take you to this page on the Adobe website:

https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop-brushes.html

There you’ll find a variety of different creative brush categories, with links for downloading any that appeal to you. After downloading the brush files, which will have a .abr filename extension, from either the Adobe page above or from another provider, you’re ready to load them into Photoshop.

To load the new brushes, go back to the Brushes panel in Photoshop and click the panel popup menu, this time choosing “Import Brushes” from the popup menu. Navigate to the location where you saved the brush file downloads, and select the applicable files. Click the Open button to complete the import.

You’ll then find the new brush sets under the applicable heading on the Brushes panel, so you can use the new brush tip shapes with any of the brush tools in Photoshop.

Today’s Question: I had previously enabled synchronization for some collections in Lightroom Classic, but have decided I don’t want to have any photos in the cloud. I turned off synchronization for the collections that had it enabled, but the photos still appear in “All Synced Photographs”. I assume that means they’re still in the cloud. If so, how do I remove them?

Tim’s Quick Answer: As long as you’re totally sure that the only way photos were synchronized to the cloud via collections in Lightroom Classic, you can remove all photos from cloud storage by selecting all images in the “All Synced Photographs” collection and then right-clicking on a selected image and choosing “Remove from All Synced Photographs” from the popup menu.

More Detail: Once you’ve enabled synchronization for a collection in Lightroom Classic the photos in that collection will be synchronized to cloud-based storage. However, if you disable synchronization the photos won’t be removed from cloud storage. This issue can cause there to be “stragglers” in your cloud storage, meaning photos that are taking up space but that you don’t want to have in cloud storage.

As noted above, you can remove photos from the “All Synced Photographs” collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module to remove the photos from cloud storage. Simply select the applicable photos, right-click, and choose “Remove from All Synced Photographs” from the popup menu.

However, because this will remove the photo from cloud-based storage it is important to be sure that is safe to do. If the photos were only added to cloud storage by being included in a collection with synchronization enabled, removing them from cloud storage is no problem because the originals should still remain in your local storage (as long as you haven’t since deleted any of those images).

If, on the other hand, the images were added to cloud storage by capturing a photo using the Lightroom mobile app, or by importing a photo to Lightroom mobile, web, or desktop (excluding Lightroom Classic), then you’ll want to be sure you have the source files being managed locally via Lightroom Classic before you remove them from cloud-based storage. For example, images synchronized from Lightroom mobile to Lightroom Classic can simply be dragged to your preferred folder location and managed as a normal part of your workflow.

Note that you can also review photos that are in cloud-based storage, and remove them if needed, by using Lightroom in a web browser. To get started with that, point your web browser to https://lightroom.adobe.com and sign in with your Adobe Creative Cloud account.