Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: When I choose to build previews [in Lightroom Classic] and have XMP sidecars are the previews in the XMP?

Tim’s Quick Answer: No, previews are stored alongside the catalog in Lightroom Classic. The XMP sidecar files only contain metadata updates.

More Detail: If you save metadata to raw captures in Lightroom Classic, metadata updates are saved to XMP sidecar files in addition to being saved in the catalog. You can save metadata to selected images manually by choosing Metadata > Save Metadata to File from the menu. You can also enable the automatic saving of metadata to the source files by turning on the “Automatically write changes into XMP” checkbox on the Metadata tab of the Catalog Settings dialog.

However, saving metadata to the source files does not cause previews to be saved to those files. Previews are only saved alongside the catalog, in a previews file in the same folder as the primary catalog file. This enables you to view previews of your images whenever you open the catalog, even if the source image files are not currently available, such as when an external hard drive containing images is disconnected from the computer.

Note that when you back up the Lightroom Classic catalog, the previews file is not backed up. That means that if you needed to restore from a backup because the catalog had been lost or corrupted, you may need to rebuild all previews again unless you had also backed up the previews file separate from the Lightroom Classic catalog backup.

Today’s Question: You mentioned that Lightroom Classic can show previews of photos that are on a hard drive not currently connected to the computer, as long as previews had already been created. I’m not seeing previews for many photos when my external drive is disconnected, so how can I get Lightroom Classic to build previews for all photos?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you need to build previews for all images in your Lightroom Classic catalog you can select all images from the All Photographs collection with no filter set, and then from the menu choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic will build standard previews as needed, meaning if you are browsing photos that don’t yet have standard previews and the source images are available, Lightroom Classic will build the previews. There’s also an option to build previews as part of the process of importing new photos, which can be helpful in terms of ensuring you have previews available for offline viewing.

Once previews are built for images, you can use those previews as the basis of viewing your photos even if the source files aren’t available, such as when an external hard drive containing photos isn’t connected to the computer.

If you find that previews are missing for some (or many) of your photos, you can build those previews on demand. Start by selecting the “All Photographs” collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module. Then go to the grid view display and make sure the Library Filter bar is displayed above the thumbnails, choosing View > Show Filter Bar from the menu if the bar isn’t shown. Then choose “None” to ensure no filter is set, so you’re seeing all images.

You can then choose Edit > Select All from the menu to select all photos, which in this case would mean all photos in your entire catalog. Then choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews from the menu, and Lightroom Classic will get to work building previews for all selected photos (as long as the photos are currently available).

The process of building previews could take quite a long time (hours or potentially days) depending on how many photos are in your catalog, how many of them don’t currently have previews, and the overall performance specifications of your computer. Once those previews are generated, however, you’ll be able to browse all photos even if the hard drive the photos are stored on isn’t connected to your computer.

Today’s Question: In Lightroom Classic, the only issue with having photos stored on two drives is that you’ll have two hard drives (and therefore two sets of folders) listed in the Folders list on the left panel in the Library module. Right now, if my [single] drive with photos is disconnected from the computer, Lightroom Classic tells me so. If I had photos split between two drives, then as long as one of the two drives is plugged in, Lightroom Classic would recognize which one and be happy?

Tim’s Quick Answer: When photos are stored on more than one hard drive, Lightroom Classic will show as available the folders and photos on a drive that is connected, and folders and photos will show as missing for a drive that is disconnected.

More Detail: One of the advantages of the catalog used by Lightroom Classic to manage information about your photos is that you can still view and update metadata your photos even when the source files aren’t available. So, for example, if you disconnect an external hard drive that contains photos being managed by Lightroom Classic, you can still view the photos (as long as previews had been generated) and update the metadata for the photos even though they are not currently available.

The situation isn’t really any different if you have photos stored across more than one hard drive. In this scenario you would have a section for each hard drive in the Folders list on the left panel in the Library module. If a hard drive is disconnected, the heading for that drive will be dimmed, and the folders and photos on that drive will show as missing. If a hard drive is connected, the heading will not be dimmed, and the folders and photos won’t appear as missing.

So, if your photos are stored on two different hard drives, but only one of them is connected to your computer, the connected drive will be represented by folders that are available, and the disconnected drive will be represented by folders that show missing. In other words, the section for each hard drive in the Folders list operates independently, so it is absolutely possible to work with photos from just one drive at a time, for example, if you don’t want to have multiple hard drives connected to your computer at the same time.

Today’s Question: Should I rename my Lightroom Classic catalog before or after upgrading to Lightroom Classic 14? Or does it matter?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you’re going to rename your Lightroom Classic catalog I definitely recommend doing so after you upgrade to Lightroom Classic version 14, not before.

More Detail: Prior to version 14 of Lightroom Classic, renaming the catalog files was simple in concept, but involved considerable risk that one or more files wouldn’t be renamed correctly. With the update to version 14, the new Rename Catalog command makes it remarkably easy to rename the catalog without risk.

Once you’ve upgraded to version 14, you can rename your catalog (including all related files) by choosing File > Rename Catalog from the menu. In the dialog that appears, you can enter a new name for your catalog. If you want to rename the folder that contains your catalog files to the same name, you can turn on the “Rename parent folder” checkbox. Click the Rename button to apply the change.

By comparison, before the Rename Command was added you would need to rename all files related to your catalog in the same way, while retaining the “extra” text for some of the file such as the Previews and Smart Previews files. While this was reasonably straightforward, it involved renaming multiple files and required a bit of attention to detail. The new command makes it remarkably easy. I just wish Adobe had added the command a long time ago!

Today’s Question: What can we do about Camera Raw having features that aren’t in Lightroom Classic, at least for now?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You could use Photoshop as a conduit to get access to the features that are now available in Camera Raw but not in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: The latest updates to Adobe applications represent a bit of an unusual (though not unprecedented issue). For now, there is not parity between the applications, with a few features in Camera Raw that aren’t available in any version of Lightroom.

The features in question are updates to the “Enhance” features (which includes Denoise, for example), a Generative Expand feature for cropping, and a new Adobe Adaptive profile.

There are a couple of things you could do to gain access to these features if you’re using Lightroom Classic. One is to leverage Camera Raw by using a Smart Object. Start by selecting a raw capture in Lightroom Classic, and then from the menu choose Photo > Edit In > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. When the image opens, the image will be represented as a Smart Object on the Layers panel. Double-click the thumbnail for that Smart Object and the image will open in Camera Raw. From there you can leverage all the new features that are in Camera Raw but not Lightroom Classic. Note that you need to use this Smart Object workflow to accomplish this, rather than using Camera Raw from the Filter menu.

Note that to take advantage of the updated Enhance features (such as Denoise), you’ll need to turn on the “New AI Features and Settings Panel” on the Technology Previews tab of the Camera Raw Preferences dialog.

Of course, the approach above will cause a new file to be created when you save the result, as a TIFF or PSD depending on the setting you have selected in Preferences for External Editing in Lightroom Classic. In other words, you’re not really getting a benefit in terms of using Photoshop to access Camera Raw rather than just generating a DNG file with the Denoise feature in Lightroom Classic.

The approach above is a good way to get access to the Adobe Adaptive profile if you have found that to be useful. I don’t personally find the new profile to be helpful enough that I would go to this much effort to get access to it.

It is also worth noting that you could simply edit an image normally in Photoshop from Lightroom Classic to make use of the Generative Expand feature for the normal Crop tool in Photoshop, without having to use the Camera Raw workflow outlined above.

Having said all that, the point is that if you want to gain access to the new features in Camera Raw that aren’t currently in Lightroom Classic, you can do so by leveraging a Smart Object in Photoshop.

Today’s Question: You mentioned a “layer group” in passing in your answer [in Wednesday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter] in the context of targeted adjustments in Photoshop. Can you explain how a layer group can be involved in a targeted adjustment?

Tim’s Quick Answer: A layer group in Photoshop enables you to (among other things) use a single layer mask to constrain the effect of multiple adjustment layers, so that if the mask needs to be refined, you only have to change the single layer mask associated with the layer group, rather than fixing the layer mask for multiple individual adjustment layers.

More Detail: Layer groups in Photoshop enable you to group various layers together, which can be helpful in terms of keeping the Layers panel more organized. However, I find layer groups to be especially helpful when it comes to applying targeted adjustments.

More often than not, I find that if I want to apply an adjustment to a specific area of an image in Photoshop, I actually want to apply more than one type of adjustment to the same area.

Let’s assume, for example, that I want to modify the appearance of the sky in a photo using several different adjustments. I could create a selection of the sky and add an adjustment layer, then reload the sky selection and add another adjustment layer, and repeat this process for as many adjustments as I’d like to apply to the sky.

However, if I then discovered that my original selection of the sky wasn’t quite perfect, I would need to correct the layer mask for all the adjustment layers that were based on the same sky selection. You can streamline this process by using a layer group instead.

To get started, you could select the sky. Then add a layer group by clicking on the button with a folder icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. With the selection active and the layer group selected on the Layers panel, click the “Add Layer Mask” button (the circle inside a rectangle icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel. You now have a layer group that is constrained by the mask based on the sky selection.

At that point you can add as many adjustment layers to the layer group as you’d like, and all the adjustments will only affect the area of the image defined by the layer mask attached to the layer group. If you later discover the layer mask wasn’t quite perfect, you can simply modify the single layer mask for the layer group, without having to update a layer mask for multiple adjustment layers.

Today’s Question: Following up your discussion on collections [in Lightroom Classic], if I pull a selection of pictures from a variety of drivers and folders, is there a way to create a single directory of the images or a copy to provide them to someone else?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In this scenario I would suggest exporting copies of the photos from the collection to a new folder. If needed that folder could also be added to the current catalog.

More Detail: One of the advantages of collections in Lightroom Classic is that they can be used to group photos together from a variety of different storage locations. For example, you can group photos from a number of different folders into a single collection, such as to use the images in a photo project.

If you want to share copies of those photos with someone else, one option would be to export copies of the images. You could select all the photos in the collection, for example, and then click the Export button at the bottom of the left panel. In the export dialog you could then configure the settings for how you want the copies of the photos generated, such as the file type, image resolution, and more.

Note that there is a checkbox in Export Location section of the Export dialog labeled “Add to This Catalog”. You can turn that checkbox on if you want the copies of the photos you’ve exported to be added to the catalog so you can manage them directly from there. In general, however, I don’t recommend using this option because it can lead to confusion between these copies and the original images they were based on.

As a reminder, it is also possible to create a web gallery based on a collection, and to make that gallery public so you can share the images with others. You can get more info on that process in an earlier Ask Tim Grey article here:

https://asktimgrey.com/2024/02/12/public-sharing-of-collections/

Today’s Question: Can a linear gradient affect a portion of the picture in the middle of the image? If not, could you achieve the desired effect by applying two linear gradients, one from the top and the other from the bottom?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, it is possible to apply a targeted adjustment in an area defined by a gradient (or pair of gradients) for the central area of an image.

More Detail: A targeted adjustment defined by a linear gradient typically applies an adjustment that affects one side of the image, gradually transitioning to no effect on the opposite side of the image. However, there are ways to have the graduated adjustment affect a central area of an image.

In Photoshop this type of targeted adjustment can be created very easily by using the “Reflected” style for the Gradient tool when creating the gradient on the layer mask for the adjustment layer (or adjustment group). After creating a layer mask (such as by simply adding an adjustment layer) in Photoshop you can select the Gradient tool and set the colors to the defaults of white and black by pressing the letter “D” on the keyboard. You can then choose the fourth of the five style buttons for the gradient on the option bar, which is the Reflected option. Draw a gradient from the center of the image outward, and the resulting mask will be white at the center while tapering off to black in both directions based on the direction you dragged.

If you’re using Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, or Camera Raw, the same type of effect can be achieved by using two gradients to define the overall mask. You could start with a normal Linear Gradient mask, drawing a gradient that goes from the center of the image outward, such as toward the top. This will cause the targeted adjustment to affect the lower portion of the image, tapering off toward the top of the image.

You can then use the Subtract option to apply another Linear Gradient mask, to subtract in this case the bottom portion of the image from the targeted adjustment. For example, you might drag from the bottom edge of the image up toward the middle of the image.

In this scenario, the only area of the image affected by the targeted adjustment would be the central area, tapering based on the gradients both upward and downward. Naturally, the two gradients could be drawn in any direction that makes sense, not just in a vertical line as used in the example above.

Today’s Question: I have seen instructors illustrate the use of a Linear Gradient [for a targeted adjustment]. But instead of starting the gradient at the edge of a side of the image, I’ve seen the gradient begun lower or higher than the edge, though it appears the effect is the same as beginning the gradient at the top or bottom of the image. Is that correct?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Not exactly. Starting or finishing the gradient beyond the edge of the image will impact the degree to which specific areas of the image are affected by the targeted adjustment. For example, there might be no portion of the image that is getting the full effect of the adjustment, no portion of the image that is getting none of the effect, or both.

More Detail: You can use a linear gradient as the basis of a targeted adjustment with many software tools, including Photoshop, Camera Raw, Lightroom, and Lightroom Classic. The basic idea is that the linear gradient causes an adjustment to affect one side of the image completely, the opposite side won’t be affected at all, and there will be a smooth transition of the effect between the two. The two “sides” of the image can be in any direction, such as top to bottom, left to right, or one corner to another.

The linear gradient used in this manner is often presented as a white-to-black gradient, where white represents the area of the image being affected completely by the adjustment and black represents the area not being affected. The transition of shades of gray in between represents the transition between the two areas.

Let’s assume a situation where you’re focusing an adjustment on the sky but not the lower portion of the image. Based on the white-to-black model, a typical gradient for this targeted adjustment might involve a gradient that is white for the upper third of the image, a gradation from white to black for the middle third, and black for the lower third of the image.

However, you can also have the gradient start outside one or both edges of the photo. Let’s assume both ends of the gradient start outside the image area. This would involve a gradient that doesn’t go from white to black, for example, but from a light shade of gray to a dark shade of gray.

In this example, there would be no portion of the image getting the full effect of the targeted adjustment if none of the gradient mask is white. There would also be no area of the image that was not affected by the adjustment at all, since none of the gradient mask is black.

In many ways this is just an academic issue. For example, if none of the image is getting the full effect of the adjustment, you can simply make the adjustment stronger. But the point is that where the linear gradient starts and ends does impact the overall effect on the image.

Today’s Question: I updated to Lightroom Classic version 14, and was prompted to update the catalog. However, my catalog was not renamed to reflect the update. The files still reference version 13, even though I’ve confirmed I am running version 14. Should I be concerned about this discrepancy?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This is perfectly normal with version 14 of Lightroom Classic, and is related to Adobe having finally added a feature to rename your catalog from within Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: Adobe has taken various approaches to updating the name of the catalog files when you update Lightroom Classic, which has led to considerable confusion. Compounding this issue is that prior to version 14 the only way to rename your Lightroom Classic catalog was to manually update the core portion of the base filename for all catalog-related files.

Lightroom Classic version 14 now includes a command to rename the catalog, found on the menu at File > Rename Catalog. If you choose this command you can update the base filename for your catalog. There is also a “Rename parent folder” checkbox, which if you turn on will cause the folder containing your catalog to be renamed to match the new name of your catalog.

As part of this update, and to preserve the catalog name you may have specifically chosen, Lightroom Classic will now not change the filename for the catalog when the catalog is updated. The existing catalog will be backed up into a ZIP file, and the updated catalog will retain the previous filename.

That makes now a perfect time to use the Rename Catalog command. With prior variations in how your updated catalog was named, it is quite likely that you have a catalog name that includes “-2” in the filename possibly multiple times, along with a reference to the version number such as “v13-3” at the end of the filename for Lightroom Classic version 13.3. Now you can rename your catalog to something more meaningful, knowing that future updates won’t cause that updated name to be changed.