Category: Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: Would it be safe to upgrade my MacOS to Monterey now? Every time upgrade is done I seem to lose something else.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, based on my experience I would say it is perfectly safe to upgrade to MacOS 12 Monterey.

More Detail: Apple does not have the best reputation for ensuring backward compatibility with their operating system updates, so I certainly understand that photographers would be reluctant to upgrade too soon. Fortunately, while I did run into some issues with the previous release of MacOS 11 Big Sur, I have not discovered any issues with the upgrade to MacOS 12 Monterey.

I tend to be a little reluctant to update to a new major release of an operating system or software application. Most of the time if I upgrade early, it is in an effort to get a sense of what issues may arise so I can report those to my readers.

Fortunately, MacOS 12 Monterey has been a seamless upgrade based on my experience. I haven’t found any issues with software applications not being supported, and I’ve not seen any indications that hardware support was dropped for any key devices.

There are a handful of benefits to MacOS 12 Monterey, though most of the new or updated features are not significant in the context of a photography workflow. I have found the operating system to be very stable, and I’ve not found that any of the changes have gotten in the way of anything. So, if you’re thinking about upgrading, I do think it is perfectly safe to do so now.

And yes, Windows users can rest assured that Microsoft tends to do a much better job of maintaining backward compatibility with older hardware and software applications.

Today’s Question: How can you make sure that a hard drive has been erased so nobody can recover data from it? And how do you wipe your old internal drives when they are no longer in a computer, but sitting in a drawer?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If a hard drive is still usable, you can easily format the drive with a security option that will wipe the data so that nothing can be recovered. If the drive is no longer usable you can physically damage the drive to prevent data recovery.

More Detail: Both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems include options for securely erasing a hard drive. This involves not only erasing data from the drive but also writing random data back to the drive so that the original data cannot be recovered.

On Windows you can use the Format command using the Command Prompt application. On the Start menu look for the Windows System folder, and within that folder launch Command Prompt. You can then type the Format command for the drive letter you wish to delete all data from, including the “/P” parameter to have multiple passes of meaningless data written to the drive. The more passes you use the more secure the erasure will be.

For example, let’s assume you have a drive with drive letter Z: assigned to it, and you wanted to use four passes to overwrite the drive. You would use this command at the Command Prompt:

Format Z: /P:4

Macintosh users can use the Disk Utility application, which is found within the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. Select the drive you want to erase, and then click the Erase button. In the Erase dialog you can specify the Name you want to use for the drive, as well as the Format you want to use for that drive. More importantly in this case, you can click the Security Options button and drag the slider to the “Most Secure” setting before clicking OK. Then click the Erase button to securely erase the data from the drive.

If the drive is no longer usable you can take steps to physically disable the drive. One simple way to achieve this is to damage the circuit board on the drive. You will likely need a special Torx screwdriver to remove the circuit board, in which case you can carefully break the circuit board in half. If you’re not able to remove the circuit board, you can simply damage the board directly.

Damaging the circuit board will prevent the hard drive from being used as-is, but it won’t actually remove the data from the drive. If you want to render the drive unreadable you would need to damage the platters in the drive (or the flash chips for SSD drives). There are various techniques you could use to physically damage the drive, but you’ll want to be very careful to avoid injury. If you’re able to open the drive and get to the platters, you can physically damage those platters, but again you’ll want to exercise caution here.

Unless you have highly confidential data on your drives, it may be overkill to try to physically destroy the drive. Instead, I suggest wiping the drive through the operating system if possible and also carefully damaging the circuit board.

You can then take advantage of a hard drive recycling program, which offers to destroy your drive without accessing your data. Western Digital offers this type of service, which you can learn about here:

https://www.westerndigital.com/campaign/landing/easy-recycle

Today’s Question: In Lightroom Classic is there an easy way to reorganize presets? Over the years, I’ve collected and created a number of presets. Some I’ve never used. Some are old and rarely used. Others, especially ones I’ve created, are used frequently. Is there an easy way to create a different folder structure for presets?

Tim’s Quick Answer: It is possible to organize presets in the Develop module in a variety of ways, though unfortunately this does mostly involve moving or removing individual presets. It is also possible to hide (or reveal) groups of presets.

More Detail: If there are entire groups of presets you don’t use in Lightroom Classic, such as some of those that are installed by default, you can hide those groups altogether. To do so, click on the plus symbol (+) to the right of the Presets heading on the left panel in the Develop module and choose “Manage Presets” from the popup.

In the Manage Presets dialog you can then turn off the checkbox for any preset groups you want to hide from the left panel and turn the checkbox on for any groups you would like to make available again. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

If there are presets you simply don’t need anymore, you can right-click on a preset and choose Delete. Just keep in mind that this will permanently delete the preset, not simply hide it from view.

You can also organize your user-defined presets into groups, which provides something of a folder structure for your presets.

When you are creating a new preset in the Develop module you have the option to assign the new preset to a group. By default, your new presets will be added to a “User Presets” group, but you can also click the Group popup and choose “New Group” to create a new group. When you save the new preset it will be added to the selected group.

You can also create new groups as part of the process of moving presets. In the Presets section of the left panel in the Develop module right-click on a preset you want to move to a different (or new) group and choose Move from the popup menu. In the Move Preset dialog choose the destination group from the Group popup or choose New Group to create a new group as the destination for the preset. Click the OK button to apply the change.

Once you have the desired groups defined to organize your presets you can drag-and-drop within the Presets list on the left panel to move presets into the desired group. Unfortunately, this only works for user-defined presets, not pre-installed presets.

Another helpful option is to define frequently used presets as favorites, so they will appear in whatever group you have assigned them to as well as appearing in a special Favorites group at the very top of the presets list. To add a preset to the Favorites group simply right-click on it and choose “Add to Favorites”.

Unfortunately, the preset management features in Lightroom Classic aren’t particularly robust, but with a little bit of work you can streamline your Presets section so you can more easily get to the presets you want to use at any given time.

Today’s Question: With external hard drives offering increased capacity with less cost, many of us have accumulated many drives that we no longer use. Can you recommend a means whereby we can dispose of them with assurances that the drive will be erased and do so in an environmentally respectful manner?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can recycle your hard drives for free with a service such as one provided by Western Digital. Storage devices from any manufacturer can be recycled through this program, not just Western Digital devices.

More Detail: Hard drives include a variety of materials that can be recycled. Recycling a hard drive ensures that the drive will be destroyed and that the materials will be recycled rather than put into a landfill.

Western Digital (among others) offers a recycling program through a partner, which involves shredding the storage device and separating the component materials for recycling. You can have your storage devices recycled at no cost to you, including free shipping of the devices. In the case of the Western Digital program, you’ll even get a coupon good for 15% off your next purchase of $50 or more in exchange for recycling your storage devices with the program.

While this program does involve the destruction of the storage devices you send in for recycling, which means the data on those devices will be destroyed as well, I do recommend wiping the hard drive before sending it in, out of an abundance of caution. And, of course, make sure that you have already saved and backed up any data on the drives before sending them in for recycling.

You can get more of the details and initiate the process of recycling your old storage devices here:

https://www.westerndigital.com/campaign/landing/easy-recycle

Today’s Question: All my photos are on an external drive, and I was interested in having a copy on my internal hard drive. I use GoodSync at your recommendation and sync to another external drive, but since I have plenty of storage on my iMac, I thought it would be a good idea to have another backup. Is there a reason you would recommend that I use the internal drive as my main Lightroom Classic repository instead of my main external drive? I have the catalog on my external drive as well. If I do switch to the internal drive as my main storage, I would still want to keep my 2 external hard drives in sync as backups.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Since you have more than enough storage on your internal drive, I would suggest that you put your catalog and photos on that internal drive to maximize performance with Lightroom Classic. You could then use both external hard drives for backup. The only reason to keep the photos and catalog on the external hard drive would be if you needed to be able to switch between computers while still working with your photos in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: As noted in yesterday’s Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter, you can migrate your photos from an external hard drive to an internal hard drive, which will improve overall performance to some extent in Lightroom Classic. Having the catalog on the internal hard drive will generally have an even more significant impact on performance.

After you have migrated your photos and catalog to the internal hard drive, be sure that you’re only using the catalog on the internal hard drive moving forward. You can then transition to using the external hard drives as backup drives.

In the context of GoodSync (https://timgrey.me/greybackup), you would be then creating a backup job that would back up the primary folder containing your photos on the internal hard drive to either the external hard drive itself or a folder on an external hard drive designated for that backup. Two similar backup jobs could be created so you would be able to back up your photos from the internal hard drive to each of the two external hard drives.

It also isn’t a bad idea to add an offsite backup to the mix, such as through a cloud-based backup solution. The service I use and recommend is Backblaze, which you can learn about here:

https://timgrey.me/onlinebackup

Today’s Question: You have previously addressed how to move photos from an internal hard drive to an external hard drive with Lightroom Classic. I have the opposite issue. How can I copy my photos from an external drive to my internal hard drive when I can’t change the name of the internal drive to match the external drive?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In this case I recommend making sure that the photos on the external hard drive are all within a single parent folder. I would then copy that folder to the internal hard drive and reconnect Lightroom Classic to that folder in the new location.

More Detail: When you want to move photos from one storage location to another, you can most certainly move photos within Lightroom Classic. This provides an approach that ensures that photos and folders won’t go missing within your catalog, but it also means you will be moving photos rather than copying them. You may prefer to copy the photos rather than move them, so that you’re reducing the risk of something going wrong along the way. If so, you’ll need to copy the photos outside of Lightroom Classic.

If you’re able to make the new destination appear as an exact match of the previous location, this overall process is relatively straightforward. For example, you could copy photos from an existing external hard drive to a larger external hard drive, and then just make sure that the new drive has the same drive letter (Windows) or volume label (Macintosh) as the old drive.

If you want to move photos from an external hard drive to an internal hard drive, this can be a little more complicated, since you generally would not want to change the drive letter or volume label for the internal drive.

If the photos on the external hard drive do not already have a single parent folder on the external hard drive, I would start by creating this folder, as doing so will streamline the process of reconnecting the photos in Lightroom Classic later. Within Lightroom Classic you can click the plus symbol (+) to the right of the Folders heading on the left panel in the Library module, and choose “Ad Folder” from the popup menu. Navigate to the external hard drive, click the button to create a new folder, and give that folder a meaningful name such as “My Photos”.

Next, within Lightroom Classic, drag-and-drop all the folders that contain photo into the new folder you created. You can then go out of Lightroom Classic and copy the “My Photos” folder to the desired location on the internal hard drive. When that process is complete, disconnect the external hard drive.

At this point all the folders and photos will appear as missing in Lightroom Classic. Right-click on the “My Photos” parent folder and choose “Find Missing Folder” from the popup menu. Navigate to the folder location on the internal hard drive and select the “My Photos” folder there. This will reconnect the folder structure that had been on the external hard drive with the same folders that are not on the internal hard drive.

You can then rename the “My Photos” folder on the external hard drive to something like “Backup of My Photos” so you’ll know that this is now a backup copy of the photos, with the originals on the internal hard drive.

Today’s Question: I’ve always wondered what that heat buildup in a digital camera due to long exposures does to its technology. Does it damage the sensor or other heat-sensitive parts?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, there is a risk of excessive heat damaging a digital camera, just as heat can damage many sensitive electronics. Fortunately, most cameras include features that will cause them to automatically shut down if the heat gets excessive.

More Detail: A long exposure will indeed create a degree of heat buildup in a camera, and that heat will increase more with a longer exposure duration. Other situations can lead to significant heat buildup, such as recording a significant amount of video in a relatively short period of time.

When heat builds up in a digital camera, one of the initial side effects will be increased noise in the photos you capture. And, just like many other delicate electronics, digital cameras are subject to damage from extreme conditions, including heat.

Environmental conditions can obviously play a role as well. On a hot and humid day heat is going to build up more quickly, and dissipate more slowly, for a digital camera. Conversely, photographing in relatively cold environments can help prevent heat buildup for the camera.

While many digital cameras include circuitry that will cause the camera to automatically power off if the temperature gets too hot, it is still worth taking precautions. When photographic in very hot conditions, make a point of doing what you can to keep the camera cool, such as turning it off when you aren’t actively using it and putting it somewhere (such as a camera bag or vehicle) where the camera can be shielded from the heat.

If you’re capturing long exposures of a significant duration, try to take a break between exposures to give the camera a chance to cool. It is also a good idea to take a break when capturing video over an extended period of time so the camera can have a chance to cool. And if your camera indicates that heat buildup is becoming an issue, take the warning seriously and give your camera a chance to cool down.

Today’s Question: You’ve talked about not using a cloud-based service to store photos being managed by Lightroom Classic, but is it OK if I save my catalog backups to a service like Dropbox so that I have those backups offsite?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, it is perfectly fine to save backup copies of your Lightroom Classic catalog to the cloud. I just recommend making sure you also have a copy of some recent backups stored locally so that your only backup isn’t stored offsite out of your control.

More Detail: I’ve answered questions in the past about using cloud-based storage services to store the Lightroom Classic catalog and/or photos. While it is technically possible to do so, I highly recommend against doing so due to the risk of data integrity issues.

However, it is perfectly fine to store the backup copies of your catalog with a cloud-based storage service. My only issue in this regard is not wanting to be completely dependent on a backup that you don’t control. Therefore, I recommend having at least several recent catalog backups stored locally.

With some cloud-based storage solutions you can designate that you want your local storage to be treated as primary storage, so that the cloud-based copy serves as more of a backup that also enables files to be access from a different computer or location. This could mean that you have your backups going to a local folder where they will remain, but that they will then be synchronized to the cloud to provide an offsite backup.

The primary purpose of a backup is to provide some way to recover from data loss, whether that is due to file corruption or hardware failure. I encourage you to use a backup workflow that includes more than one backup on drives you maintain locally, as well as an offsite backup copy. While you can manage an offsite backup yourself, using a cloud-based storage solution can be a great option as well.

Today’s Question: In the past I have been able to temporarily hide selections in Photoshop using Ctrl/Command+H on the keyboard. What has happened to this helpful keyboard shortcut?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The “Hide Extras” command is still available in Photoshop, so probably the keyboard shortcut got disconnected. You can toggle the display of an active selection by choosing View > Extras from the menu. You can also activate the keyboard shortcut in the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menu dialog.

More Detail: This issue is more likely to arise on a Macintosh computer rather than on Windows, because in the MacOS operating system the Command+H keyboard shortcut is used to hide the currently active Window. However, it is possible for this (or any other) keyboard shortcut to get disconnected, such as by modifying the keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. Fortunately, it is easy to fix this issue.

As noted above, you could simply bypass the keyboard shortcut by using a menu command, which is an option for most of the available keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. However, that obviously isn’t always the most convenient solution.

To correct or assign a keyboard shortcut you can choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts from the menu in Photoshop. Within the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog there is a list that shows all the top-level menu commands. You can click to expand the View menu in this case and look for the Extras option below the View menu listing.

Click on the menu command that you want to assign or change a keyboard shortcut for, such as View > Extras in this example. After selecting the command, simply press the keyboard shortcut you want to assign, such as Ctrl+H or Command+H for the Show > Extras command. You can then click the OK button to apply your changes and close the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus dialog.

Note, by the way, that in general I don’t recommend changing the default keyboard shortcut assignments in Photoshop, simply because doing so can cause confusion when you’re referencing tutorials on how to perform particular tasks in Photoshop. That said, if you prefer to change some of the keyboard shortcuts from their defaults to something that is easier to remember or more convenient, that is most certainly an option.

Today’s Question: If I create a preset in Lightroom, or save one I like from the Discover page in Lightroom [or another source], how do I get that preset over to Lightroom Classic so I can use it there?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can add Develop presets to Lightroom Classic by simply copying the preset file to the applicable folder where Develop presets are stored. If you want to do so with a preset created in the cloud-based version of Lightroom, you can initiate the process by exporting the preset from Lightroom.

More Detail: Presets created in the Develop module of Lightroom Classic, in the cloud-based version of Lightroom, or in Adobe Camera Raw, are all interchangeable, as long as you’re working with the equivalent version of each of these software applications.

In Lightroom Classic you can add Develop presets by copying the files to the folder where presets are stored. To determine this folder first go to the Preferences dialog, which can be found on the Edit menu for Windows users or the Lightroom Classic menu for Macintosh users. Then go to the Presets tab within the Preferences dialog and click the button that says “Show Lightroom Develop Presets”.

When you click that button a window will open in the operating system, with the primary presets folder (called “Settings”) selected. Double-click that folder to open it, and you’ll find a User Presets folder. The presets you have saved or downloaded will be XMP files, and you can simply move or copy them to the User Presets folder. The next time you start Lightroom Classic the presets you added to the User Presets folder will be listed in the Presets section of the left panel in the Develop module, within the User Presets group.

Note, by the way, that to export a preset from the cloud-based version of Lightroom you can simply right-click on the preset and choose the Export option from the popup menu.