Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: There is a mass shift in photography equipment to mirrorless. Am I really sacrificing anything in continuing to shoot with my old Canon 5D III DSLR?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If your current digital SLR camera is meeting your needs, I don’t think there’s any need to switch to mirrorless, just as there wouldn’t be a need to upgrade to a newer digital SLR.

More Detail: There has indeed been a tremendous shift in photography from an emphasis on digital SLR cameras to mirrorless cameras. The future of photography is absolutely mirrorless, but that doesn’t mean you need to feel rushed to buy a mirrorless camera to replace a digital SLR you’re happy with.

There are advantages on both sides when it comes to mirrorless versus DSLR. To be sure, mirrorless does generally offer some advantages over DSLR cameras in general, such as often providing smaller and lighter cameras and lenses, some advanced autofocus technology, and features such as focus peaking and a live histogram right through the viewfinder, among others.

However, mirrorless cameras also generally perform worse in terms of battery performance, and still don’t offer as many options in lenses compared to digital SLRs. For photographers with existing DSLR cameras and lenses, there is also the obvious switching cost of potentially changing camera systems by virtue of switching to mirrorless.

For a photographer who is buying their very first camera, I would suggest that mirrorless is the better option in large part because it does represent the direction photography is clearly headed. For a photographer who currently has a digital SLR, my suggestion is to make a decision based on whether the advantages of a mirrorless camera system are meaningful to you, taking into account the cost involved in switching camera systems.

Photography is about the photographer first and foremost. Great pictures can be made even with a camera that isn’t trendy or doesn’t include all the latest and greatest features.

Today’s Question: I was advised long ago that it is best to enlarge and then crop because the result is better than if you crop and then enlarge. What are your thoughts on this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The order of cropping versus enlarging doesn’t make a significant difference in image quality, so I recommend using the approach that is most convenient in your workflow. That generally means cropping before resizing, because you would typically crop the master image and then only resize when preparing a derivative image for output.

More Detail: In general cropping involves simply removing pixels from the outer area of an image. In this context, whether you enlarge before or after cropping won’t make any difference in terms of image quality. I’ve heard arguments about there being a potential benefit to leaving the pixels in place until after resizing so that all pixels are available for the software that is calculating the pixel values for resizing. That is an incredibly marginal issue in my view, and would only affect pixel values at the very outer edge of the cropped image.

If you rotate as part of the crop then you are altering the pixels in that process. Enlarging before cropping and rotating would ensure that you’re enlarging based on unaltered pixels, but the reality is that you’re performing two alterations (enlarging and rotating) and there is no significant difference in the results from the standpoint of image quality.

Therefore, I don’t recommend making a point of performing the steps of enlarging and cropping in a particular order, other than based on what is most convenient for your workflow. In general, there’s no need (nor any reason) to resize the master image until you’re preparing a derivative copy of that image for output such as printing. That often means the image will have been cropped before it is resized for the final output, but it is perfectly fine to perform those steps in any order.

Today’s Question: Does Enhance in Lightroom Classic or Topaz Gigapixel help in terms of enlarging an image rather than purchasing a lens with a longer focal length?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Today’s advanced tools for enlarging digital images are certainly impressive, but in my view it is still best to enlarge the image by getting closer to the subject or by using a lens with a longer focal length.

More Detail: Whenever you enlarge a photo you are degrading image quality to some extent. That’s because software needs to add pixels to the image, effectively putting new pixels in between existing pixels that have been spread out to produce a large image. While the algorithms used for this purpose are incredibly sophisticated, the process does cause some degree of loss of sharpness and quality in the image.

Therefore, while software such as Topaz Gigapixel or the Enhance feature in Lightroom Classic are excellent solutions for enlarging an image, when the aim is to have a subject fill a larger portion of the frame this isn’t the best solution.

In effect, enlarging the subject involves cropping so the subject represents a larger portion of the frame and then enlarging to the intended output size. Instead of cropping after the capture and resizing, you could simply crop at the time of capture so that less enlargement is necessary (or perhaps no enlargement is needed at all).

To increase the size of the subject we are photographing within the frame we could simply get closer to the subject. If you cut the distance to the subject in half, the relative size of the subject in the frame would double. Of course, moving closer to the subject would also alter perspective within the frame, which may not result in the composition you prefer. If so, using a longer lens focal length provides a solution.

If you double the lens focal length you would also essentially double the relative size of a subject in the frame. This would enable you to maintain the desired perspective for the scene, since you could stay in the same position. Of course it also means generally purchasing a more expensive lens.

To be sure, you can most certainly get very good results from cropping and then enlarging an image, especially with some of the more advanced enlargement tools available in today’s software. However, you’ll maintain better image quality by not needing to enlarge as much. Therefore, getting closer to the subject or using a longer lens focal length are the best options for having the subject take up more space in the frame at the time of capture, rather than having to crop and then enlarge the image in post-processing.

Today’s Question: Does cropping an image in Photoshop, and especially cropping multiple times, degrade the quality of the image?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While aspects of cropping in Photoshop can be performed non-destructively, if you rotate or resize as part of the crop that will slightly degrade the image. Rotating or resizing by cropping multiple times would compound that issue.

More Detail: Today’s question was a follow-up to a recent question about cropping multiple times in Lightroom Classic. As I noted in my answer to that previous question, there is no degradation in image quality caused by adjusting the crop settings multiple times in Lightroom Classic. In effect, only the final settings that are established when you export or otherwise share the image count, as though you had only made one change to the crop settings. This same concept applies when making multiple updates to the crop setting when processing a raw capture in Camera Raw.

In Photoshop things are a little more complicated because you are working on actual rendered pixels rather than a raw capture that has not yet been full processed and rendered.

You can use a non-destructive crop in Photoshop by making sure the “Delete Cropped Pixels” checkbox is turned off on the Options bar when using the Crop tool. When this checkbox is turned off the pixels you crop won’t actually be deleted from the image, but instead will be hidden outside the image canvas area. You could later reveal those cropped pixels by choosing Image > Reveal All from the menu.

However, it is also possible to resize and rotate an image as part of the crop in Photoshop. Those adjustments would alter the actual pixels in the image, which causes at least a minor degradation in image quality. If you resize and rotate multiple times by cropping multiple times with the Crop tool, that degradation will be amplified.

It is important to note that the degradation in image quality here would generally be very minor and difficult to see in the image. I think it is also important to keep in mind that rotating to fix a crooked horizon, for example, is more important than avoiding the very minor degradation in image quality that the rotation might cause.

Considering all the above, however, if I realized I didn’t get the image rotated perfectly with the first crop in Photoshop, I would prefer to undo that crop and apply a new crop with a better rotation setting, just to try to preserve image quality as much as possible.

Today’s Question: I process all my RAW files to DNG when I download them. I would like to revert some of my old files to the original DNG without edits. How do I do I revert the file?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can revert the DNG to the original default settings by using the Reset option in either the Develop module in Lightroom Classic or in Camera Raw if using Photoshop. Also, as long as you had enabled the option to embed the original raw capture in the DNG file, you can extract the original raw capture using the Adobe DNG Converter.

More Detail: An Adobe DNG file behaves essentially the same as any other raw capture format, in terms of being able to apply adjustments with software such as Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw (in Photoshop). With raw processing software you can reset the settings back to the defaults. In Lightroom Classic you can reset the adjustment settings by clicking the Reset button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module. In Camera Raw you can hold the Alt key on Windows or the Option key on Macintosh, which will cause the Cancel button to change to a Reset button. Simply click the Cancel button while holding the Alt/Option button to reset the adjustment settings.

If you embedded the original raw capture in the DNG upon conversion to DNG, you can also extract that original raw image, which won’t have any adjustments applied to it. The free Adobe DNG Converter software can be used to extract the embedded raw capture.

After launching the Adobe DNG Converter, click the Extract button at the bottom-center. In the dialog that appears first select the folder containing the images you want to extract the raw captures from in section one. Then select the destination folder for the raw captures in section two. Click the Extract button to process the images, extracting the raw captures to the designated folder.

You can download the free Adobe DNG Converter from the Adobe website here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/using/adobe-dng-converter.html

Today’s Question: As a follow-up to the question about browsing only the photos in a parent folder [in Lightroom Classic] is there a way to browse the photos in only the several subfolders without seeing the photos from the parent folder? Sort of the opposite of the option to not show photos in subfolders?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can easily browse only the photos in a group of subfolders without seeing the images from a parent folder by simply selecting the multiple subfolders within the Folders list in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: Selecting multiple folders in Lightroom Classic is quite simple, but I find it is a feature that many photographers overlook. You can select a group of folders within the Folders list in the Library module in Lightroom Classic in the same way you can select multiple files or folders through your operating system.

For example, if you want to browse the photos within several folders in a range, you can click on the first folder in the range and then hold the Shift key on the keyboard while clicking the last folder in the range, and all folders within that range will be selected.

You can also toggle the selection of multiple folders that are not in a contiguous range using the Ctrl key on Windows or the Command key on Macintosh. While holding the Ctrl/Command key and clicking on a folder, the selection status of that folder will change. So, for example, if you had selected a range of five folders and then held Ctrl/Command while clicking on the middle folder, only four folders (the first two and last two) would be selected.

Once you’ve selected multiple folders you will be browsing the photos in all of those folders. You can even use the filter criteria on the Library Filter Bar to only view photos that meet specific criteria within the selected folders. Note, by the way, that these same options are available for selecting collections in addition to folders.

Today’s Question: In Lightroom Classic is there any way to see just the images that are in a Parent folder but are not in any of the Child folders of that parent?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, in Lightroom Classic you can view only the photos in a selected folder without seeing photos from subfolders by making sure the setting to “Show Photos in Subfolders” is turned off.

More Detail: In Lightroom Classic you have the option to either show only photos in the currently selected folder without seeing photos that are in subfolders of the selected folder, or to view both the photos in the current folder and all subfolders within that folder. This option is found on the menu at Library > Show Photos in Subfolders.

When this option is turned on, you’ll see a checkmark to the left of the “Show Photos in Subfolders” command on the menu. When the option is turned off there won’t be a checkmark shown.

For example, when I take a photography trip the photos from that trip will be placed in a single folder. If someone I was photographing with during that trip sends me photos, such as images they captured of me along the way, I put those images in a subfolder within the folder for the trip. I generally only want to see my own photos, so I typically keep the “Show Photos in Subfolders” option turned off. If I want to see both my own photos and the photos sent to me by other photographers, I can turn the option on.

In general, I recommend keeping the “Show Photos in Subfolders” option turned off, because it can lead to confusion about where the photos are actually stored. For example, I’ve known photographers who have accidentally deleted photos because they though copies were in both the parent folder and the subfolder, due to having the “Show Photos in Subfolders” option turned on without realizing it. So if you think you have duplicate photos that can be deleted, check to make sure the option is turned off so you can view only the photos in the specifically selected folder and confirm whether there really are duplicates.

Today’s Question: When I shoot sports, I process the raw images in Lightroom Classic and will often crop the first one in a series of 15 or so images and synchronize the adjustments to the other images. I will sometimes find the crop on subsequent images could be improved upon, so I will highlight other images in that same string of 15 and re-crop and sync again. Because I am cropping some images twice, am I degrading the quality of those subsequent images that have had the second crop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There will not be any degradation in the quality of the image in Lightroom Classic no matter how many times you refine the crop or any other adjustment.

More Detail: The adjustments available in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic are nondestructive, meaning the pixels in the source image are not altered. You can think of adjustments in Lightroom Classic as simply being metadata in the catalog. The preview you see is a result of the original image with the effect of the adjustments you’ve applied.

No matter how many times you refine an adjustment in the Develop module, whether directly or by synchronizing adjustments across multiple images, there is no degradation of the image caused by the refinements. In effect, no matter how many times you refine the crop settings, for example, the result is as though you had only ever cropped once to the current settings.

It is not until you export a copy of the image or otherwise share it that adjustments apply to pixel values. Even then, the adjustments are only applied to the output you produced, not to the source image on your hard drive.

Because of this aspect of Lightroom Classic, you should feel completely comfortable refining any and all adjustments for any image until you’re completely happy with the result.

Today’s Question: I tried the technique you shared for finding photos that still have an outdated process version assigned to them in Lightroom Classic. Now that I’m finished with the collection created by that search, is there a way to get rid of it?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes. Any temporary collections created in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module of Lightroom Classic can be removed by right-clicking on it and choosing “Remove this Temporary Collection” from the popup menu.

More Detail: The Catalog section of the left panel in Lightroom Classic includes some “special” collections, which differ from the collections you can create in the Collections section further down that panel.

Some of these collections are permanent, meaning you can’t remove them. These include the “All Photographs” collection that enables you to browse all images in your entire catalog, as well as the Quick Collection that provides an easy way to temporarily group photos together for a short-term project.

Other collections that might appear in the Catalog section are considered temporary and can be removed if you no longer want them to appear there. For example, if you use the Library > Find Previous Process Photos” command to locate all images that have a Develop module process version earlier than the current version, the “Previous Process Photos” collection created in the Catalog section is temporary, and can be deleted. Just right-click on the temporary collection and choose “Remove this Temporary Collection” and it will be removed.

Similarly, if you use the Library > Find All Missing Photos command, a “Missing Photos” collection will be created in the Catalog section. That temporary collection can also be removed with the same command. And there are some other temporary collections that will be created with certain other commands. The key to remember with these collections is that they can be removed when you’re finished working with them.

If you’re not sure whether a collection in the Catalog section is temporary, just right-click on it to see if the “Remove this Temporary Collection” command is on the popup menu. If not, the collection is “permanent” in the Catalog section.

Today’s Question: When creating a composite image in Photoshop, I sometimes want to apply a layer effect, such as a drop shadow, to multiple layers with the same settings. Is there a way to apply a layer effect to more than one layer at a time?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can’t simply apply the same layer effect to multiple selected image layers in Photoshop, but you can copy effects from one layer and paste them to one or more other layers on the Layers panel.

More Detail: Layer effects can be added to the active layer on the Layers panel by clicking the “fx” button at the bottom of the panel and selecting the type of effect you want to apply. While it is possible to select multiple layers on the Layers panel, the layer effects option is not available when you’ve selected multiple layers.

However, you can still copy a layer effect from one layer and then paste those settings to one or more other layers.

Start by applying the layer effects with the settings you’d like to one of the layers. When you’ve finalized the effect, right click on the name of the layer and choose “Copy Layer Style” from the popup menu. If you want to paste the effect to more than one layer, select those layers at this point. Then right-click on the name of the layer (or one of the selected layers) and choose “Paste Layer Style” from the popup menu.

After you’ve pasted the layer style to one or more additional layers, you can still go back and refine the settings for each individual layer. For example, if the various layers contain objects of different sizes you may want to adjust the settings for the layer styles based on that sizing. To change the settings for a layer style for an image layer simply double-click the name of the layer effect below the layer you want to make changes for.