Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I used to be able to open and merge photos to HDR [high dynamic range] in Camera Raw, but either I’ve forgotten how or something has changed. Can you advise me?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can assemble high dynamic range (HDR) images in Camera Raw by opening multiple photos, selecting them on the filmstrip, and then right-clicking and choosing “Merge to HDR” from the popup menu.

More Detail: I’ve found that many photographers have overlooked the fact that you can assemble HDR images in Camera Raw (as well as Lightroom and Lightroom Classic). This can be an important detail, because in my experience you can expect better HDR results using Camera Raw as compared to the related feature within Photoshop.

I recommend initiating the process of assembling an HDR image from Adobe Bridge, to make it easier to select the multiple bracketed exposures and open them in Camera Raw. After selecting the images, you can simply double-click one of the selected thumbnails to open them all in Camera Raw.

If the filmstrip isn’t displayed automatically in Camera Raw, you can toggle its visibility by clicking on the filmstrip button to the right of the zoom setting popup ate the bottom-left of the Camera Raw interface. Select all the photos on the filmstrip (such as by pressing Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Macintosh), then right-click on one of the thumbnails and choose “Merge to HDR” from the popup menu.

This will bring up the HDR Merge Preview dialog, where you can adjust the settings for the image processing. Then click the Merge button, and the HDR image will be created. You’ll be prompted to save the image, and the result will open in Camera Raw so you can refine the adjustment settings before opening the final result.

Today’s Question: On your advice I use Time Machine to back up the internal hard drive on my computer (I also follow your other workflow for my external drives). When a Time Machine backup finishes, it shows me that the backup covers a date range from several months ago to today. I don’t understand what this date range means, and why does it only go back so far? Is this not a complete backup?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If Time Machine finished backing up successfully, you do have a complete backup. The date range you refer to indicates how far back you can go to access older versions of documents and files that have been backed up. This is one of the key advantages of a Time Machine backup.

More Detail: You can think of Time Machine as providing two key backup options, which combined cause it to be a great solution especially for backing up the primary internal hard drive on an Apple computer.

One of the core features of a Time Machine backup is that it provides a complete backup of all user files (not system files such as the operating system), and a Time Machine backup can be used to restore a computer. For example, whenever I buy a replacement computer, I perform a Time Machine backup for the existing computer, then use that backup to setup the new computer, and all my files are on the new computer just like the old computer.

The other feature of Time Machine relates to where the name “Time Machine” comes from. You can effectively go back in time to find files that had been lost, damaged, or unintentionally modified. For example, if I accidentally delete a file today and empty the trash so the file is truly lost, I can use Time Machine to go “back in time” to yesterday, where I can find the file in the location it had been saved.

Even if a file hadn’t been lost, you can use Time Machine to access older versions of files. For example, if I modified a document yesterday, but today realized that in the process I had deleted important information from the document, I could use Time Machine to recover an older version of the document to access the information I had deleted in error.

The dates shown for a Time Machine backup in System Settings indicate the farthest back you can go to find older versions of files, as well as the most recent date that a backup was completed. The available date range is dependent on how large the hard drive is and how much data you’re backing up. As the hard drive fills up, older files are discarded from the backup.

So, if you want to be able to go back further in time to find older versions of files that had been modified or deleted, you can simply use a larger hard drive for your Time Machine backup. Doing so will provide more storage space for the backup, which means more files going further into the past can be retained before the hard drive gets low on space and older backups need to be discarded.

Today’s Question: I’ve noticed that when you share details of a photo, it is very common that your camera was set to 400 ISO. Is there a reason you seem to favor ISO 400 for many photos, assuming my observation is accurate?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I do use 400 ISO as my default setting, based on it offering good noise performance combined with often being a good choice based on preferred shutter speed and aperture settings.

More Detail: I recommend that photographers develop default settings that will work for them most of the time (or that are likely to be good for their next anticipated photo opportunity), and to set those as the default settings for their camera. For example, many cameras offer custom user setting options, so you can quickly establish preferred default settings.

My most common starting point for camera settings is to be in aperture priority mode (because of the way I think about exposure based on compensation) with the lens aperture set to f/8 (which is around the sharpest lens aperture for the lenses I most often use) and the ISO set to 400.

Based on the conditions I tend to shoot in and my preferences in terms of overall camera settings, I find that 400 ISO is a good default setting. My primary camera doesn’t generate much more noise at 400 ISO than I can expect at 100 ISO, so I don’t feel that I’m losing any significant image quality with this setting. Using 400 ISO also helps me achieve a little bit faster shutter speed, which is often advantageous.

Obviously, in many cases I will need to change settings. I might want to adjust the lens aperture to change the amount of depth of field in an image, for example. I often target a faster or slower shutter speed to change how motion is (or is not) rendered in the photo. And when I change either of those settings, I’ll often need to change the ISO setting as well. However, even though I often change the settings, those outlined above generally represent a great starting point for me.

Since those are my default settings, and they work well for me a good percentage of the time, it is quite likely that photos I capture will have an ISO setting of 400. In fact, after getting this question, I checked my stats in Lightroom Classic and found that with my current primary camera, 43% of my photos were captured at an ISO setting of 400. Another 34% were captured at 100 ISO, for situations where I was either trying to get a longer exposure or minimize noise.

So, clearly I am a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to camera settings (among other things). But the point is that I recommend having default settings that are most likely to meet your needs, adjusting them as needed based on the circumstances of your photography.

Today’s Question: I realize my printer can’t necessarily print all colors that might appear in a photo or be seen on my monitor display. But is there a way in Photoshop to find out which colors in a photo my printer won’t be able to print, if applicable?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can see an indication of which areas of a photo contain colors that can’t be reproduced by your printer configuration by using the gamut warning feature for soft proofing.

More Detail: The soft proofing feature in Photoshop enables you to see a preview on your monitor of what a print will look like based on a profile for the printer, ink, and paper combination you’ll use.

One of the features associated with soft proofing is the gamut warning display, which indicates areas of an image that can’t be reproduced with the intended printer configuration. Note that this requires you to have a profile for the output conditions, which generally means an ICC profile for the paper you’ll be printing with and the printer you’ll be using. These profiles can often be obtained from the paper manufacturer.

The first step is to enable soft proofing for the image. So, with the image open in Photoshop go to the menu and choose View > Proof Setup > Custom from the menu. In the Customize Proof Condition dialog select the applicable ICC profile from the Device to Simulate popup. I recommend setting the Rendering Intent popup to “Relative Colorimetric” unless you have a reason to use a different option when printing, and I recommend turning on the “Use Black Point Compensation” checkbox so that black in the image will be mapped to black in the profile.

I also suggest turning on both the “Simulate Paper Color” and “Simulate Black Ink” checkboxes if they are available for the selected profile. When you have configured the settings, click the OK button. The image will now appear different, providing a simulation of what the final print will look like. Keep in mind that there are inherent limitations involved with previewing a print that depends on reflected light on a display that uses emitted light.

Once you’ve enabled soft proofing, go back to the View menu and choose Gamut Warning. This will cause an overlay to appear on all areas of the image that have colors that are beyond the capability of the printer configuration based on the selected profile. This overlay is gray by default, but you can change the setting on the Transparency & Gamut tab of the Preferences dialog.

Based on this preview you can either choose to print on a medium that will have a wider color gamut, such as a glossy rather than matte paper, for example. You can also attempt to apply adjustments to optimize the photo based on the output limitations. Or, of course, you can simply use this as an informative or evaluative tool, so you have a better sense of what to expect from the print before committing ink to paper.

Today’s Question: You mentioned that the Default view for the Metadata section in Lightroom Classic can be modified to include additional fields. How do you do that?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can change the metadata fields that are displayed when you choose the Default view option for the Metadata section in Lightroom Classic by clicking the Customize button at the bottom of the Metadata section.

More Detail: To the left of the Metadata heading on the right panel in the Library module in Lightroom Classic is a popup that allows you to choose a view option. The different options on the popup will change which metadata fields will actually appear in the section.

The Default option will cause a relatively small number of metadata fields to appear, compared to some of the other options. For example, I prefer the “EXIF and IPTC” option because it includes a wide variety of metadata fields that I find helpful.

However, the Default view can be customized to include the specific metadata fields you prefer. To get started, choose Default from the popup to the left of the Metadata heading, and then click the Customize button that appears at the bottom of the section. This will bring up the “Customize Metadata Default Panel” popup. There, you can turn on the checkboxes for fields you’d like to have included, and turn off the checkbox for fields you don’t need to see.

You can also click the Arrange button to bring up the “Arrange Metadata Default Panel” dialog, where you can drag the metadata fields into any order you’d like. Click the Save button in the “Arrange Metadata Default Panel” dialog, or click the Done button in the “Customize Metadata Default Panel” dialog, to close the dialog with the settings applied.

After modifying the options for the Default view for the Metadata section, anytime you select Default from the popup your updated configuration will be used.

For more tips and tricks for Lightroom Classic, check out my upcoming GreyLearning Ultimate Event, with details available here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/greylearning-ultimate-event-lightroom-classic-tips-and-tricks

Today’s Question: When I create a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic, the new image is called “Copy 1” or “Copy 2”, etc. If I try to rename the virtual copy, the original image gets renamed. Is there a way to just change the “Copy 1” name to something that tells me what I did to the copy, like “Black & White”?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can change the name for a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic by editing the Copy Name field in the Metadata section on the right panel in the Library module.

More Detail: When you create a virtual copy from an original photo in Lightroom Classic the virtual copy will be given a name such as “Copy 1” for the first copy, “Copy 2” for the second copy, and so on. By default this name is shown in place of or in addition to the filename of the source image, such as with the thumbnail in the grid view or above the filmstrip on the bottom panel.

As noted in today’s question, if you use the Rename Photo command with a virtual copy, you’ll actually be renaming the original source image, since the virtual copy is simply a reference to the original with a different set of metadata.

However, you can also edit the virtual copy name using the Copy Name field in the Metadata section of the right panel in the Library module. Note that the Copy Name field is not always displayed in the Metadata section, depending on which view option you’ve selected. For example, if you choose the Default option from the popup to the left of the Metadata heading, the Copy Name field will not be shown unless you had customized the Default view to include that field. I typically prefer the “EXIF and IPTC” option for the metadata view popup, which does include the Copy Name field.

To change the name of a virtual copy, simply edit the text in the Copy Name field. As soon as you do so, the copy name will update accordingly. I recommend using a name that provides an indication of why you created the virtual copy, or what purpose it serves. This provides much more utility than having a virtual copy that is simply called “Copy 1”, for example.

For more tips and tricks for Lightroom Classic, check out my upcoming GreyLearning Ultimate Event, with details available here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/greylearning-ultimate-event-lightroom-classic-tips-and-tricks

Today’s Question: Under Remove on the right panel in the Develop module of Lightroom Classic, sometimes the Heal tool works great, and if it doesn’t, I try using the AI feature. It seems that Heal samples from other areas of the photo. How can the user control where it selects from?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can change the source area used for an image-cleanup area with the Heal and Clone options for the Remove tool in Lightroom Classic (or Camera Raw or Lightroom) by dragging the source area within the image.

More Detail: While the Remove mode for the Remove tool in Lightroom Classic, Camera Raw, and Lightroom will create pixels automatically based on an analysis of the image, with the Heal and Clone modes a source area of the image is copied to the destination area you drew. You can drag the source area to change where the pixels are copied from (and you can drag the source area to better align it if needed).

Of course, in order to move the cleanup area, you need to be able to see the tool overlay on the image. You can select “Always” from the Tool Overlay popup to have overlays for cleanup areas displayed whenever you’ve activated the Remove too. If you choose Auto from that popup, the overlays will only be shown when your mouse pointer is in the image preview area, and they will be hidden when you move the mouse pointer out of that area.

If an outline for the cleanup area you want to adjust isn’t shown, click on the icon representing the cleanup area to reveal the shape of the cleanup. You’ll then see matching shapes for the source and destination areas, with an arrow pointing from the source area to the destination area. Simply position your mouse over the area you want to move, and drag it to a new position.

Today’s Question: Maybe this should be more obvious, but I don’t understand why it is so common to refer to an “equivalent focal length”. Why do we need to know what lens would be the same as ours if we were using 35mm, when we’re only using our lenses on a smaller sensor?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The equivalent focal length is a useful way to translate between different sensor (or film) sizes. While the current “standard” for equivalent focal length is based on a full-frame sensor (or 35mm film), this isn’t necessarily helpful for many photographers today, and may become anachronistic before too long.

More Detail: When digital cameras first became available, most photographers were using 35mm film. As a result, when image sensors that were smaller than 35mm became available, such as the APS-C sensor, it made sense to provide a translation of what to expect in terms of the behavior of the lens.

For example, a 50mm lens was considered the “standard” lens in photography. For photographers who mostly employed a 50mm prime lens, it was pretty common to be able to anticipate how far you would want to position the camera from a scene to get the framing you were after. Put another way, many photographers got to the point that they could anticipate what lens focal length they wanted just based on a visual evaluation of the scene.

If you had been using the 35mm format for long enough that you could anticipate what lens focal length was going to be right for a given scene, the notion of equivalent focal length would be particularly helpful if you migrated to a different sensor size.

For example, if you switched to a camera with an APS-C sensor it would be helpful to know that on your new camera a 50mm lens would behave like an 80mm lens on a 35mm camera system. Conversely, in this scenario it would be helpful to know that to achieve the same field of view as a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera but using an APS-C camera you would need to use about a 30mm lens (31.25 to be precise, assuming a 1.6X cropping factor for the sensor). So, knowing the equivalent focal length can indeed be helpful for photographers who got familiar with the framing of a particular lens focal length.

In theory, if lenses were describe based on field of view rather than focal length, we could have avoided this situation. However, many lenses can be used on cameras with different sensor sizes, and for each sensor there would be a different field of view with a given lens. So the equivalent focal length provides a reasonable proxy for field of view in the context of making calculations for different camera systems.

If any lens could only be used with a single sensor size, then field of view would be the perfect way to describe the behavior of a lens. Since that isn’t the case, the current approach of referencing equivalent focal length provides a bit of a workaround.

Today’s Question: You’ve referred to the items listed under Catalog on the left panel as being collections, but there is also a Collections section down below. Why aren’t these Catalog collections included in the real Collections section?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I suppose the answer here is, “Because that’s the way Adobe designed it”. But I would add that the collections in the Catalog section sort of fall into a “system” category for Lightroom Classic, while those in the Collections section are created by the user.

More Detail: I think of the collections that appear in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module of Lightroom Classic to be collections that are created by Lightroom Classic, even though in some cases they might be created when a photographer uses a particular command. In other words, these collections are sort of system-wide for Lightroom Classic. The collections in the Collections section are created by the user, even though there are some sample smart collections included by default.

For example, the Catalog section includes an All Photographs collection, which you can click on to browse all photos in your entire catalog. It also includes the Quick Collection, which is designed for temporarily grouping together photos. There will also be other collections based on specific actions. For example, if you’ve selected the Find All Missing Photographs command on the Library menu, the Catalog section will include the “Missing Photographs” collection that shows you all photos that can’t currently be found where they’re expected.

The Collections section includes any collections or smart collections that were created by the user, along with a few smart collections that are included by default and provide some samples to get you started with that feature. So, you can think of the Collections section as being where you create your own collections for grouping photos together for projects or based on other criteria. The Catalog section is for broader workflow tasks within Lightroom Classic, and provide a way to access photos that meet specific criteria, based on the features you’ve taken advantage of in your workflow.

Obviously, Adobe could have also put the Catalog collections as a category within the Collections section, but they chose not to. But based on the distinction between these different collections and how they’re used, I think it makes sense that they are separated within the interface.

Today’s Question: You mentioned that it was possible to have Lightroom Classic batch generate previews for all photos at once. How do you go about doing so?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can rebuild previews for selected photos in Lightroom Classic by going to the menu in the Library module and choosing Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews. This includes being able to select all images in the All Photographs collection so you can build previews for your entire catalog.

More Detail: If you have some images without any previews or with previews that seem to have become corrupted and aren’t updating, you can build previews for selected photos, or even for your entire catalog. Note, however, that if you simply build previews that won’t replace existing previews. So if some previews seem to be corrupted you’ll need to discard the previews first.

You can discard previews for selected photos in the Library module by choosing Library > Previews > Discard Standard and 1:1 Previews. If you want to build previews for selected photos you can choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews.

If you want to ensure that previews are built for all photos in your catalog, start by going to the All Photographs collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module. Then be sure that the Library Filter bar above the grid view display is set to “None”, so that all photos will be visible without any filter. Then choose Edit > Select All from the menu to select all the photos. At that point you can discard previews if you want to replace all existing previews. If you just want to build previews for any photos that don’t have them, choose the Build Standard-Sized Previews command at this point. Lightroom Classic will then process all images, building previews for any that don’t already have previews.

Note that the process of building previews for a large number of photographs can take considerable time. This can range from several hours up to potentially several days, depending on how many photos need to have the previews built.