Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: As a follow-up to the “Defining Your Workflow” presentations, I wonder about the culling software that are out there. I would be interested in your opinion as to whether or not you think they are worthwhile and worth the cost. If so, is there one you might prefer?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While there are some good and interesting tools for culling software automatically, I find that these are most useful for portrait photographers and can create a more cumbersome workflow for other types of photographers, especially in the context of a workflow that revolves around Lightroom Classic. One good option you might look at is Aftershoot (https://aftershoot.com).

More Detail: The idea of automatic culling software for photos is pretty straightforward. The software analyzes your images, and helps to identify those you might be most interested in reviewing and those that may be outtakes. This can be helpful when it works well, but in my view the software is really only helpful if you can trust the results without having to review all the images to confirm those results are accurate.

My experience has been that while software such as Aftershoot can certainly mark photos based on attributes such as being out of focus or featuring a person with their eyes closed, the result does not necessarily replace a manual visual evaluation of your photos.

For portrait photographers who capture a large number of photos of people, I would say this type of software is definitely worth evaluating, as it can most certainly help you more quickly focus on the photos that are most likely to represent your favorites. For other types of photographers, such as landscape and travel photographers, I would say the software provides less meaningful utility.

My main issue with using culling software beyond Lightroom Classic is that it can create a more cumbersome workflow that doesn’t necessarily save considerable time when compared to a manual review within Lightroom Classic. That’s especially true considering that even after using culling software you’re almost certainly going to want to review the photos yourself.

In other words, the culling software can help you focus on the photos that are most likely to become favorites, but a manual review is still necessary in my view. I would use the analogy of spam filtering for email. In many cases the spam filter does a good job of identifying the most obvious spam, but many non-spam messages still end up in the spam folder, and some spam messages still slip through.

Having said all that, if you think culling software might aid your workflow, I recommend taking a look at Aftershoot. You can find more information and download a free trial here:

https://aftershoot.com

Today’s Question: Is there a way to copy white balance from one image to another in Lightroom Classic? I am shooting a lot of infrared, and the custom white balance is usually under 2000 Kelvin, which is the low limit for Lightroom Classic. Occasionally I forget to white balance in camera. Is there a way to copy the custom white balance from an earlier grey card for that frequency of infrared to another photo in Lightroom Classic? Could I create a custom profile to do this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can copy the white balance settings from one image to another in Lightroom Classic. In situations where you need a stronger adjustment for color, you can use a custom Tone Curve adjustment for individual color channels. These adjustments could be saved as a preset if they represent common settings needed for multiple images.

More Detail: In Lightroom Classic you can copy settings from one image to another in a variety of ways. One quick option is to copy the settings from one image and paste them to another. For example, you can select the image that has a good white balance adjustment applied and click the Copy button at the bottom of the left panel in the Develop module.

In the dialog that appears you can enable only the adjustments you want to apply to the other image. For example, in this case you may want to click the “Check None” button so that none of the adjustments are enabled. Then turn on the checkbox for White Balance, along with any other adjustments you want to copy from the source image. Click the Copy button at the bottom-right of the dialog to copy the selected settings.

Next, select the image you want to apply the adjustments to and click the Paste button at the bottom of the left panel. This will apply the adjustments you copied from the other image to the current image, which in this context will apply the same color temperature compensation.

If you’re finding that the adjustments aren’t strong enough for extreme situations, such as with infrared capture or scenes illuminated by very strongly colored light, you can supplement the White Balance adjustment with a Tone Curve adjustment focused on specific channels.

For example, in the Tone Curve adjustment section on the right panel in the Develop module you can select the blue channel from the Adjust control above the curve. Then click at the center of the curve for the blue channel and drag downward if you want to shift toward a more yellow (warm) appearance or drag upward if you want to shift toward a more blue (cool) appearance.

If you’ve applied these adjustments to an image and want to create a preset to use for other images captured under similar conditions, you can click the plus button to the right of the Presets heading on the left panel and choose “Create Preset” from the popup menu. In the dialog that appears enter a meaningful name for the preset in the Preset Name field and turn on the checkboxes for the adjustments you want to copy. Click the Create button at the bottom-right of the dialog and that preset can then be applied to other images that require the same adjustment settings.

Today’s Question: I’ve used Sky Replacement in Photoshop with some success, but in some images the clouds in the original sky “bleed through” the new sky and faintly appear. Is there an adjustment I am missing?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This type of issue is not uncommon with the Sky Replacement feature in Photoshop. When this happens, I recommend refining the layer masks associated with the new layers created by the Sky Replacement command.

More Detail: The Sky Replacement command attempts to ensure that the new sky blends into the surrounding areas of the image to create a more natural effect. However, this often leads to too much blending, allowing some of the original sky area to remain partially visible. In some cases portions of the sky might not be detected at all, leading to an area where only the original sky is visible.

When using the Sky Replacement command I recommend making sure that the “New Layers” option is selected from the “Output To” popup. This will cause the replacement sky and additional effects layers to be added to a layer group named “Sky Replacement Group” to be added above the image layer you’re replacing the sky for.

Within that layer group you’ll find several layers, with layer masks associated with some of those. In particular you’ll want to evaluate the layer mask for the Sky image layer. You can then paint with white on that layer mask to reveal additional areas of that replacement sky layer, or paint with black to block the sky to reveal portions of the underlying image.

It can also be helpful to perform a little bit of dodging and burning on the mask to reduce the blending along edges between the replacement sky and the underlying image. To do so you can set the blend mode for the Brush tool on the Options bar to Overlay. Then paint with white over the areas of the layer mask where you want to reveal the new sky without blending, and paint with black over areas of the layer mask where you want to reveal the underlying image without blending.

With the Overlay blend mode you can paint with white without affecting any black areas of the layer mask, and you can paint with black without affecting white areas of the layer mask. This provides a helpful way to shift shades of gray on the layer mask to black or white to completely block or reveal pixels, respectively.

Today’s Question: I am interested in doing an incremental backup of my photo folders to two to three external drives in Windows 11. By incremental I mean only the changes that were made since the last backup. Am I correct in calling this type of backup incremental? Can this type of backup be accomplished in Windows 11 and if so, how?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, what you’re referring to is an incremental backup, and what I recommend is to create a synchronized backup using software such as GoodSync (https://timgrey.me/goodsync), which is available for both Windows and Macintosh.

More Detail: In my early days with computers an incremental backup could be a rather involved operation, and recovering from such a backup was an even bigger undertaking. To restore from an incremental backup the software would often need to rebuild from the backup based on the original backup plus all incremental updates. Back when it was common to back up a hard drive to a series of floppy disks, this could be a time-consuming and frustrating experience.

Fortunately, there are software tools available today that make the process much easier, especially when it comes to restoring from a backup. I recommend a synchronized approach, and I use and recommend GoodSync software (https://timgrey.me/goodsync) for this purpose.

With GoodSync the first backup can require considerable time since the entire contents of the source drive need to be copied to the backup drive. From that point forward, however, GoodSync will analyze the source and backup drives and update the backup with only what has changed since the last backup.

The result of using GoodSync is a backup that is an exact match of the original. For example, if the external hard drive that contains all my photos were to fail, I could simply connect the backup drive that had been updated by GoodSync and use it in place of the failed original. The only additional step at that point would be to change the drive letter of the backup drive to match the original on Windows, or to change the volume label to match the original on Macintosh.

I demonstrated the use of GoodSync for backing up photos in my GreyLearning Ultimate Event on “Backing Up Your Photos”. This event is included at no additional cost in the GreyLearning Ultimate Bundle, and you can learn more about the course here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/greylearning-ultimate-event-backing-up-your-photos-may-2023

Today’s Question: In Lightroom Classic is there a way to remove a keyword that was inadvertently added to all photos in an entire folder? Or does each photo need to have that keyword removed individually?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can easily remove a keyword from multiple images in Lightroom Classic by selecting those photos in the grid view and then turning of the checkbox for the applicable keyword on the Keyword List.

More Detail: If you’ve accidentally added a keyword to a large group of photos, such as by adding a wrong keyword in the Import dialog when importing new photos, it is easy to remove that keyword from the images.

Start by switching to the grid view (not the loupe view) and selecting the photos you want to remove the keyword from. In this example that would mean selecting all photos in the applicable folder, such as by choosing Edit > Select All from the menu.

With the photos selected in the grid view, go to the Keyword List on the right panel and locate the keyword you want to remove. Turn off the checkbox to the left of that keyword, and the keyword will be removed from all selected images.

Note that there are three possible status options for the checkbox to the left of each keyword on the Keyword List. If there is a checkmark that indicates that all selected images have that keyword assigned to them. If the checkbox is empty that means the keyword has not been assigned to any of the selected images. If there is a dash in the box that is an indication that the keyword is assigned to some but not all the selected images.

What that means is that if you see a dash, you’ll need to click more than once to remove the keyword. The first time you click on the checkbox the dash will change to a checkmark, meaning the keyword will be assigned to all selected images. You can then click on the checkbox one more time to remove the keyword from all selected images.

Today’s Question: Is it possible to selectively “paint” in the Dehaze effect in a layer in Photoshop? It’s a wonderful, useful, and effective tool but it is – to my knowledge – a universal adjustment that cannot be applied to very specific areas in Camera Raw.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Actually, with the latest updates to Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic, you can include Dehaze (as well as Clarity and Texture) as adjustments for a targeted adjustment using the masking feature.

More Detail: Prior to the recent update, you could still use a workaround to apply Dehaze as a targeted adjustment in Photoshop. The process would involve applying the Camera Raw filter to a duplicate image layer, and then using a layer mask to constrain that adjustment to only the area of the image you wanted affected.

However, with the latest updates you don’t need to go to that trouble. You can simply use the Dehaze adjustment with a targeted adjustment, such as with the Brush masking option. The Dehaze adjustment is found along with Clarity and Texture in the Effects section of the adjustments available for targeted adjustments with the masking feature in both Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic.

So, you could for example add a new mask with the Brush option, then increase the value for Dehaze and paint that adjustment into the desired areas of the image. This enables you to focus the Dehaze adjustment on the specific areas of the image that need it, without altering the contrast and color of other areas of the image that don’t need the haze reduction effect.

Today’s Question: When I work with the ‘People’ Mask [in Lightroom Classic] I sometimes get the latest version with nine options. With other images, I’m only offered three options. How do I get the entire nine options for all my photos?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The options for a People mask when applying targeted adjustments in Lightroom Classic are based on what elements were able to be detected in the image. If you’re not seeing all nine possible options, it simply means that Lightroom Classic wasn’t able to detect the other elements.

More Detail: Among the mask options for targeted adjustments in Lightroom Classic is the People option. If one or more people are detected in a photo, you can select the thumbnail for a person under the People heading within the Masking controls. Once you’ve selected a person, you’ll see checkboxes for the portions of a person that can be affected by your targeted adjustment.

The currently available options include Facial Skin, Body Skin, Eyebrows, Eye Sclera (whites of the eyes), Iris and Pupil, Lips, Teeth, Hair, and Clothes. This list could expand with future updates to Lightroom Classic.

However, any elements that weren’t detected won’t be included as available options. For example, with a photo that includes two people in profile where their eyes aren’t really visible for one person only five options were available and for the other person seven options were available.

The People masking feature is based on image analysis, and you can’t alter that analysis or manually select portions of a person with the People feature. Therefore, if an option isn’t available because it couldn’t be detected the only solution is to use a different masking option, such as the Brush mask option to manually paint to indicate areas you want to apply a targeted adjustment to.

Today’s Question: What’s the difference between “Sequence #” and “Index #” when creating a template for renaming photos in Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Sequence Number option allows you to choose the starting number for the images you’re renaming. The Index number option renames automatically based on the number of images but starts the count at zero rather than one.

More Detail: The Sequence Number and Index Number options for renaming are very similar, but with a couple of important differences.

The Index Number option relates to the index number that is displayed with the thumbnails of each image by default in Lightroom Classic. In other words, if you include the Index Number option in a template for renaming photos, you won’t have a choice for what number is used. Each image will be numbered based on where the image falls in the order within the folder.

The main drawback of the Index Number option is that it starts counting with zero rather than one, which means the index number in the filename won’t match the index number on the thumbnail. This is a minor issue that might not both some photographers, but I do wish that the counting would start with one.

The main advantage of using Index Number is that the photos will include a number in the filename that is unique and applied automatically. You don’t have any option for altering the value for Index Number.

With the Sequence Number option, you have more flexibility, since you can specify the starting number. Unfortunately, that also means you need to remember to adjust the starting number when importing subsequent photos. For example, if you import 100 photos with the starting number set to “1”, the images will include a number in the filename that matches their order from 1 to 100. If you then import another 50 images, you need to remember to change the starting number to 101 to have numbers that properly run in a sequence.

I prefer to use the Sequence Number option, because it allows you to specify the starting number. However, the Index Number option is arguably better because it is completely automatic when it comes to setting the number for each image, with the only real drawback being that it starts counting at zero rather than one.

Today’s Question: When I work in a photo in Lightroom Classic and send it to Photoshop and then choose “Save As”, it doesn’t go to the original folder that I started out with. Instead, it sends me to Pictures and then I have to navigate back to my original folder. How do I remain in the same folder when sending photos from Lightroom to Photoshop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: For photos sent to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic you should be using the “Save” command rather than “Save As”. For photos opened directly in Photoshop you can also enable the “Save As to Original Folder” option in Preferences to ensure that when you use “Save As” the default destination will be the folder the current image was opened from.

More Detail: When you send a photo from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, you should only use the “Save” command, not “Save As”. If you use “Save As” and change the folder location or filename the saved copy will not appear in your Lightroom Classic catalog. Instead, simply use the “Save” command. The file format and filename will have been specified by Lightroom Classic for you, with the folder being the same as the source image and the filename based on the settings established on the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog.

If you’re working with an image that was opened directly in Photoshop rather than sent from Lightroom Classic, you can enable a setting that will cause the “Save As” command to default to the folder where the current image is saved. To enable this option, bring up the Preferences dialog by choosing Edit > Preferences > File Handling on Windows, or Photoshop > Settings > File Handling on Macintosh.

On the File Handling tab of the Preferences dialog turn on the “Save As to Original Folder” checkbox in the File Saving Options section at the top of the dialog. With that checkbox enabled, when you use the “Save As” command the default folder will be the same folder as the current image is stored in.

Enabling this checkbox will resolve the issue presented in today’s question when sending photos to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic. However, as noted above I don’t recommend using the “Save As” command when an image has been sent from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop because the saved copy will generally not be added to the Lightroom Classic catalog. Instead, simply use the Save command in this situation.

Today’s Question: Rightly or wrongly, I don’t like to install major Lightroom Classic updates until I’ve learned about the new features. Unfortunately, I am now way behind in my updates and am still using an older version (10). I’d like to do the major updates one at a time. But when I click on Help/Updates in Lightroom, the only option I see is to update to Version 12.4. Is it not possible to do updates on a more piecemeal approach?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can choose among the various versions of Lightroom Classic (or other Adobe applications) using the “More” menu in the Creative Cloud app rather than checking for updates within the application you want to update.

More Detail: If you choose Help > Updates from the menu in Lightroom Classic, you’ll only be offered the most recent version if an update is available. If you want to install a different version, you’ll need to use the Creative Cloud application.

Within the Creative Cloud application, select the Apps option from the menu at the top-left of the window. Then select “All apps” from the left column. Locate the application you want to update from the list at the right. Then click the “More” button (it shows three dots) and select “Other versions” from the popup menu. In the dialog that appears you can click the Install button to the right of the version of the application you want to install.

I should point out that I generally recommend installing the latest version of an application, perhaps waiting a little while after the new release to make sure there aren’t reports of instability or other problems. That said, if you prefer to install one major update at a time so you can learn about the new features in each version before moving on, you can certainly do that by choosing the specific version you want to upgrade to.