Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I downloaded photos from a memory card to two different hard drives before importing into Lightroom Classic, with the intent of having one copy in my primary storage and another copy on backup storage. However, I accidentally imported from the backup location, and made metadata updates after that. Is there a way to tell Lightroom Classic to use the primary location rather than backup location for the photos, but without losing the work I’ve done in the meantime?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can change the source for a folder of images in Lightroom Classic by using the “Update Folder Location” command.

More Detail: The “Update Folder Location” command is one that most photographers aren’t likely to need, but that can be incredibly helpful when it is needed. This command enables you to change an existing folder in Lightroom Classic to point to a different folder. This would generally only be used when you had more than one copy of a folder, and Lightroom Classic isn’t referencing the correct copy.

In the scenario for today’s question, for example, photos were imported from the backup location rather than the primary location. You can fix this by simply redirecting Lightroom Classic to use the primary folder rather than the backup folder using the “Update Folder Location” command.

To update the folder location, right-click on the folder that is currently in the wrong location in the Folders list on the left panel in the Library module in Lightroom Classic. From the popup menu choose “Update Folder Location”. In the dialog that appears you can then navigate to the correct folder location and click the Choose button. Lightroom Classic will then update the reference for the applicable photos to the updated folder location, with the prior folder location disappearing from the Folders list.

Note that this command should only be used when the duplicate folders represent an exact match, since Lightroom Classic will be expecting the same photos in the updated folder location that are already being managed within the catalog. Again, that means this command isn’t one that very many photographers likely need, but it does streamline the process of updating a folder location in a situation where you have multiple copies of a folder.

Today’s Question: Recently one of my hard drives refuses to be ejected through the operating system. Instead, I get a message that the drive may be in use, even though I’ve quit all applications. Is this an indication the drive may be going bad?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While not being able to eject a drive could be an indication of a problem, most likely the drive is being used by a background task.

More Detail: In most cases if there aren’t any applications running, or at least no applications are actively using an external hard drive, you should be able to eject the drive through the operating system so it can be safely disconnected without the risk of file corruption.

If you are finding that a drive won’t eject properly, there’s a good chance that a background task is accessing the drive. For example, I use and recommend Backblaze (https://timgrey.me/cloudbackup) for backing up photos and other important files to the cloud, and this type of backup will run in the background without being obvious that it is doing so.

In the case of using an online backup such as Backblaze, you can pause the backup when you need to eject a hard drive that is being backed up by the service, and then resume the backup when it is convenient to do so.

If backup software or another background task isn’t the reason the drive can’t be ejected, the next thing I recommend is to shut down the computer with the hard drive still connected, then disconnect the drive and start the computer again. I’ve often seen that this will resolve whatever issue is causing the drive to not eject normally.

If you’re absolutely certain that no software is accessing the drive, and it still will not eject properly through the operating system, then I would recommend running diagnostics on the drive to see if there’s an issue that can be resolved or that would indicate that a replacement is in order.

Today’s Question: I’ve been creating smart collections in Lightroom Classic based on your lesson on the subject from your video course. When defining the criteria for a smart collection you can choose “any”, “all”, or “none” from the Match popup. But I can’t think of any reason why I would every need the “none” option. Can you explain how this might be used?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I think it is easiest to think of the “None” option for matching rules with a smart collection in Lightroom Classic as providing a way to get results for the opposite of criteria you may have defined using the “All” option.

More Detail: Smart collections in Lightroom Classic can be thought of as saved search results, in that you define specific criteria based on metadata and the smart collection is automatically populated with the images that match the criteria you defined.

In my experience when photographers are creating smart collections most of the time, they need to use the “All” option from the Match popup, so that only images that match all the metadata criteria you’ve defined will be included in the smart collection. For example, you might create a smart collection for photos that both have a star rating above a certain level and that include a particular keyword, so that the smart collection will contain the best photos of a given subject, for example.

In some cases, you may also want to use the “Any” option. For example, if you use both a star rating and a pick flag to identify favorite photos under different circumstances, you could create a smart collection that includes criteria for both having a pick flag and having a star rating above a certain level, but then use the “Any” option for the Match popup so that photos will be included whether they have a star rating or a pick flag, without having to have both of those attributes. One of the potential challenges of using the “Any” option, however, is that the smart collection might then contain a particularly large number of photos.

Sometimes, however, you may just find it easier to create a smart collection based on the “None” option when the way you’re thinking about the images is to think of the criteria they don’t meet. For example, I add a keyword of “InstagramShare” to images I share to my Instagram feed, and I use star ratings to identify favorite photos. So, of course, my favorite photos would not have a rating of zero stars. So I could create a smart collection where the criteria include the Keyword field including “InstagramShare” and the star rating being zero stars, but then use the “None” option from the “Match” popup so that the smart collection would include photos with a star rating but that haven’t yet been shared to Instagram.

Note that I will be covering the creating of smart collections in Lightroom Classic both in presentation and my detailed notes (included with a VIP Pass) for my class on “Managing Folders and Collections” as part of the Lightroom Virtual Summit that starts next week. You can sign up for a free pass or get details about the benefits of a VIP Pass (including recordings of all sessions and class notes from all instructors) by following this link:

https://timgrey.krtra.com/t/JMyfdn7UBIlF

Today’s Question: As a follow-up to your answer about assigning keywords to all photos in a collection in Lightroom Classic, what’s the easiest way to add a keyword to all photos in a collection all at once?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To assign keywords to multiple photos at once I recommend selecting all the applicable photos in the grid view, and then using the Keyword List to assign the keyword to the selected photos.

More Detail: There are several ways you can assign keywords (or apply other metadata updates) to multiple photos at once in Lightroom Classic. However, to help avoid confusion I recommend making sure you’re in the grid view display when you want to apply updates to multiple photos. That’s because in the loupe view display by default you’ll only be updating the image currently shown in the loupe view, even if you have multiple photos selected on the filmstrip.

So, the first step is to select multiple photos in the grid view. In this specific example you could select the desired collection from the Collections section of the left panel in the Library module. Then make sure the Library Filter bar at the top of the grid view is set to “None” so all images are displayed. Then choose Edit > Select All from the menu to select all the photos in the collection.

With the images selected in the grid view you can then apply the applicable updates to metadata. In the case of adding keywords, you could use the Keywording section and simply add additional keywords in the textbox that shows “Click here to add keywords” in faint text.

However, I generally recommend using the Keyword List to add keywords to help ensure you’re being more accurate with the addition of those keywords. This helps avoid a situation where you spell an intended keyword differently when you type it manually.

You can use the search field at the top of the Keyword List section on the right panel in the Library module or scroll to find the keyword you want to add. You can then turn on the checkbox to the left of the applicable keyword. Note that there are actually three states for this checkbox. If the keyword is not assigned to any of the selected images, when you hover your mouse over the keyword you’ll see an empty checkbox. If the keyword has already been assigned to all selected images, the checkbox will include a checkmark. If the keyword has been assigned to some of the selected images there will be a dash in the checkbox. In this case you can click the checkbox to assign the keyword to all selected photos, and click again if you want to remove the keyword from the selected photos.

If the keyword you want to add isn’t already on the Keyword List, you can add the keyword by clicking the plus button (+) to the left of the Keyword List heading. Enter the keyword in the Keyword Name field, and since you’ve already selected the photos you want to assign the keyword to you can turn on the “Add to selected photos” checkbox. Adjust the other settings as desired, and click the Create button to create the new keyword and have it assigned to the selected images.

Today’s Question: Imagine you are using a 100mm lens on a full frame camera body. This combination makes images that are 3000×2000 pixels. When you crop the image to be 1500×1000 pixels what is the “implied” focal length of the lens. How is this computed?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can calculate effective focal length in this type of situation by calculating the ratio represented by the starting and ending dimensions, and then multiplying that value by the focal length used to capture the original image to determine the effective focal length for the field of view of the cropped image.

More Detail: Calculating the effective focal length for an image you’ve cropped can be helpful in terms of knowing what lens focal length would have been required to achieve the field of view of the cropped image, for example.

To calculate the ratio represented by the crop, you can divide the pixel dimensions for the original image by the pixel dimensions for the cropped image, being sure to use the pixel count for the same side (such as calculating for only the width or only the height) for both images.

With the example above, you could divide the original width (3,000 pixels) by the cropped width (1,500 pixels) to calculate the ratio of 2 (3000 / 1500 = 2). This ratio represents the crop factor. Since the original image was captured with a lens focal length of 100mm, you could multiply that focal length by the ratio you determined, which in this example gives an effective focal length of 200mm (100 X 2 = 200).

So, with the example outlined above, to achieve the same field of view from the cropped image in an original capture you would need to use a 200mm lens rather than a 100mm lens.

Today’s Question: I frequently apply a similar set of adjustments to the background of a photo such as reducing the sharpness and color saturation. Is there a way to create a preset in Lightroom Classic that I can apply only to the currently masked area in a photo?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can apply a set of saved adjustments to the current mask by using a preset with the masking feature rather than by creating a Develop preset.

More Detail: When you create a new Develop preset in Lightroom Classic any targeted adjustments you applied to the image used as the basis of the preset can be included. That means the actual mask will be saved as a part of the preset.

If you used one of the fully automatic mask options, such as Sky or Background, then this will work perfectly fine, because when you apply that preset to another image the effect will be adapted to the image. So, if you created a preset that includes a targeted adjustment based on an automatic Sky mask, when you apply that to another image the sky will be detected in that image, rather than using the shape of the mask from the image the preset was based on.

However, in some cases you may want to use a set of adjustments to apply changes to an image based on a custom mask you’ve created yourself. For that you’ll want to use a preset with the masking feature rather than for the overall Develop module.

To get started, you can apply a targeted adjustment to an image using the masking feature, and configuring the adjustments based on how you want to save them for the preset. When you’re finished, go to the top of the adjustments for the masking feature on the right panel and click the Preset popup. Choose “Save Current Settings as New Preset” from that popup and enter a meaningful name in the Preset Name field in the New Preset dialog that appears.

Anytime you’re working on an image and you want to apply the saved preset to a specific area, create a mask for the area, and then choose the preset you created from the Preset popup. The adjustment settings from your saved preset will be applied to the area defined by the current mask.

Today’s Question: I knew about flag status not getting saved in the XMP files, so I periodically mark all my flagged photos with one star. However, I never thought about collections, which I use extensively. Are there any strategies you recommend to safe-guard collections?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I recommend using keywords to identify the collections that photos belong to, so that you can recreate collections easily even if your Lightroom Classic catalog is lost or becomes corrupted.

More Detail: As noted in Tuesday’s (May 7th) Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter, collections only exist within the Lightroom Classic catalog. Therefore, if you lost your catalog and weren’t able to recover from a catalog backup, when you recovered by creating a new catalog you would no longer have the catalogs you had previously created.

This situation can obviously be avoided by making sure you use a good backup workflow to ensure you won’t ever need to create a new empty catalog. But you can also safeguard collections beyond the Lightroom Classic catalog by using keywords to identify the collections that photos belong to.

This is a concept that I playfully refer to as “fake keywords”. The keywords are very much as real as any other keywords, but they are used in a way that is different from the “normal” way keywords are used. I use this type of keyword to identify the status of photos, such as to indicate those I’ve shared to my Instagram feed or photos I’m including in a photo project such as a book.

In this case, for example, you might use a keyword structure of something like “Collection-Calendar 2025” to indicate that the photos with this keyword belong to a collection called “Calendar 2025”. You can assign the keyword to all photos that you’ve added to the “Calendar 2025” collection, and then of course you’ll want to make sure the metadata is saved to the source files on your hard drive so the information will be preserved beyond the Lightroom Classic catalog.

You can select photos and manually save metadata to the files by going to the menu and choosing Metadata > Save Metatata to Files. However, I recommend enabling the option to automatically save metadata to your photos. This can be enabled by turning on the “Automatically write changes into XMP” checkbox on the Metadata tab of the Catalog Settings dialog in Lightroom Classic.

Keep in mind that when you save metadata to the source files in Lightroom Classic, not all information you’ve assigned in Lightroom Classic will be preserved. Metadata such as pick and reject flags, membership in collections, virtual copies, and history states in the Develop module are only saved to the catalog. That’s why when some of this information is important to you, it is a good idea to record the information in a standard metadata field (such as Keywords) that can be saved to the source image files.