Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: With some photos when I use the clipping preview while adjusting the Blacks, I see an odd behavior. Usually when I drag the Blacks slider to the white, the pixels gradually disappear until there is no clipping. Sometimes, however, nothing seems to happen for a while, and then all of the pixels that appear clipped disappear all at once. Why does this happen, and should I be concerned about it?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The issue here is that the detail is clipped in the original capture, and thus can’t be recovered. I would therefore tend to set the Blacks value to the point right before all of the pixels disappear in the clipping preview display.

More Detail: The Blacks and Whites sliders found in Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom, and other software for optimizing photos, is designed to enable you to establish the white point and black point for an image. In theory, that means you would increase brightness for the brightest pixels in a photo so that the brightest pixel is white or nearly white, and similarly darken the darkest pixels to produce a true black.

Of course, in some cases the black and white values may have already been clipped in the original capture, meaning detail was lost in those areas based on the original exposure.

When using RAW capture, the initial black and white point values may reflect clipping based on the default interpretation of the capture data, but you may be able to recover what appears to be lost detail by refining the adjustments for the black and white points.

However, while it is indeed possible to recover “lost” detail for a RAW capture by refining the black and white point adjustments, there are limits to what is possible. If the information was truly lost, meaning texture in the brightest or darkest areas of a scene was truly lost, that information can’t be recovered.

For example, if you include the sun in the frame but the exposure settings were such that the sun was completely blown out with no detail, you can’t recover texture in the sun. You may be able to darken the pure white texture to be a pure gray texture, but you can’t actually recover texture variations if the information wasn’t included in the original capture.

In a situation where some detail was lost in the brightest or darkest areas of a photo, in general I prefer to set the black or white point adjustment to the point just before the details is recovered, reflecting the actual clipping that occurred in the original capture while preserving as much detail and contrast as possible. Naturally you will want to fine-tune these adjustments based on the specific image and your preference for how to interpret the image.

Today’s Question: In a recent “Ask Tim Grey” eNewsletter you recommended turning off the stabilization feature on a lens when using a tripod. Would that also be your recommendation when using a monopod? I often seem to have focus problems when using a Canon 100-400 zoom lens on a monopod, and I wonder if the stabilization feature might be part of the issue.

Tim’s Quick Answer: When using a monopod under typical circumstances I recommend keeping the stabilization feature of your lens (or camera body) turned on.

More Detail: While a monopod certainly provides a degree of stability for capturing photos, that stability is not as stable as what is provided with a tripod. In other words, even when using a monopod, there will generally be at least a slight amount of movement of the camera.

Therefore, I recommend leaving image stabilization features of your lens or camera body turned on when using a monopod. The only exception would be when a monopod is further stabilized. For example, some monopods include expandable levers on the single foot that provide additional stability, effectively converting the monopod into a tripod at least in terms of the stability provided. Similarly, if you were to attach the monopod to a fence or other structure, the monopod would provide the same benefits as a tripod.

But under normal circumstances in the context of using a monopod, I do recommend having stabilization features enabled when using a monopod in your photography.

Today’s Question: I want to buy some larger media cards for my camera. I wonder whether I should get the fastest card available or save money and get something a little slower. I mostly shoot landscape and wildlife photography.

Tim’s Quick Answer: While it is certainly “safe” (though more expensive) to opt for the fastest media cards available, you’ll also want to consider the performance of your camera and how important you feel it is to maximize download speeds to your computer.

More Detail: For many photographers choosing the fastest available media cards won’t provide any real advantage for their workflow. Only those photographers with a need to capture or download a large number of photos quickly will faster cards provide a performance benefit.

The first thing to consider is write speed at the time of capture. The actual write speed of the media card only becomes a factor when you fill up the buffer on the camera. When you capture photos they are initially stored in a memory buffer in the camera, and then written out to the media card. If the buffer never gets full, you aren’t taxing the ability of your camera to write images to the media card.

Of course, if you do fill the buffer on the camera on a regular basis, the fastest card available can make the difference between getting a shot and missing the shot. So, if you ever have the experience where you capture a burst of images and then the camera won’t let you capture new photos until the buffer is cleared, a faster card will likely help. You will also, however, want to check the write speed of the camera, as there won’t be any real benefit in terms of capture if you have a card that is faster than your camera.

Note that if you capture video with your camera you will also want to be sure that any cards you purchase support the requirements for capturing video. This is especially important for cameras that support 4K video resolution.

The second consideration is download time. A faster card may enable faster downloads, so you don’t need to wait as long for your photos to download to your computer. Of course, you also need to take into account the capabilities of your computer, such as the card reader and data port speeds.

So, if downloading quickly is important to you, you’ll want to not only opt for a fast card, but also make sure you have a card reader and data port (such as a USB 3.0 port). For example, the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 reader (http://amzn.to/2vAP7vO) connected to a USB 3.0 port should ensure optimal download speeds with a high-speed media card.

Because media card prices continue to be very competitive, I do think it is a reasonable strategy to simply purchase the fastest cards available. But you can also choose a card based on your own priorities, and based on the performance capabilities of your camera and other tools in your workflow.

Today’s Question: I recently had a huge problem with Windows 10 and had to restore from a backup. Immediately afterward Lightroom would not launch, saying the catalog was corrupted. I finally got it working by making a copy of a backup catalog. I was under the impression that thumbnails for files on an external drive that is not connected would still show up in the Library module. Now I get the exclamation point [indicating photos are missing] but the thumbnail is just gray. What am I missing here?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You’ll likely need to re-create the thumbnails and previews for your images, because it appears the file that contains the previews for the photos in your catalog became disconnected from the actual catalog file.

More Detail: Because Lightroom employs a catalog to manage the information about your photos, you are able to browse images even when the source files are not available (such as when the external hard drive containing photos is disconnected from your computer). This can be a tremendous workflow advantage, of course.

However, the previews for your photos are actually stored in a file separate from the catalog file. Furthermore, when you backup your Lightroom catalog, the previews are not included as part of that backup.

When you restored from a backup copy of your catalog, the previews file from your original catalog may not have matched the backup catalog you restored from. Therefore, you would need to build previews again, which will also provide you with updated thumbnails for all photos.

To build previews for all photos, first make sure the source image files are available to Lightroom, such as by connecting the external hard drive that contains your photos. You can then choose “All Photographs” from the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module within Lightroom to view all images. Next, select all photos by choosing Edit > Select All from the menu. Finally, choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews from the menu. Lightroom will generate previews (and thumbnails) for all photos in your catalog. This process will require a bit of time, but once the previews have been generated you will once again be able to browse your photos even when the source image files are not currently available.

Today’s Question: I’m trying to create a selection of the sky in a composite panorama [in Photoshop], so that I can apply an adjustment to only the sky. I’m using the Quick Selection tool, but only the sky from one of the photos that was used to assemble the panorama is getting selected. How can I select the entire sky across all images in the composite panorama?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The key to creating a selection that includes pixels from all layers is to enable the “Sample All Layers” checkbox found on the Options bar.

More Detail: The tools in Photoshop that create selections based on sampling the image generally provide a “Sample All Layers” option so your selection can be based on all layers in the image rather than only the layer that is currently active on the Layers panel.

In most cases I find that I prefer having the “Sample All Layers” checkbox turned on when using any selection tool in Photoshop that includes this setting. For one thing, doing so enables me to create a selection based on all layers in a composite image such as a composite panorama.

In addition, turning on “Sample All Layers” will cause the selection to take any adjustments into account. This can be helpful for situations where there isn’t very strong tonal or color contrast to define the area you want to select. You can add a “temporary” adjustment layer to exaggerate the differences between the area you want to select versus not select, and then with the “Sample All Layers” checkbox turned on the adjustment will be taken into account for defining the selection. You can then discard the “temporary” adjustment layer.

Of course, you’ll also want to be aware of the “Sample All Layers” checkbox so you can remember to turn it off for situations where you want to create a selection based exclusively on a single image layer. But in general I find most photographers will tend to want the “Sample All Layers” setting turned on rather than off.

To learn more about selections in Photoshop, check out my “Mastering Selections in Photoshop” course, which is included in the “Photoshop for Photographers” bundle of courses available on the GreyLearning website here:

http://timgrey.me/atg99ps

Today’s Question: From my initial use with Lightroom, I included a “Libraries” folder on my hard drive, which in turn contains the “My Pictures” folder. I very much want to move the “My Pictures” folder (and all of the contents) up into the top level of the hard drive, so that folder is no longer in the “Libraries” folder. I’d hoped to be able to accomplish this task within Lightroom by dragging and dropping “My Pictures” to the top of the drive. Alas, no can do. Is there a way to rectify this?

Tim’s Quick Answer: In order to move folders (and therefore photos) to the top (root) level of a hard drive within Lightroom, you need to choose the option to reveal the parent folder for one of the top-level folders on that drive. That will cause the hard drive to be represented as a folder at the top of your folder structure, so you can then drag and drop folders to that top level.

More Detail: By default Lightroom does not present the root level of a hard drive as a destination you can drag and drop other folders (or photos) to. The listing for the hard drive in the Folders section of the left panel in the Library module can’t be used as a destination for drag-and-drop operations, making it appear that it isn’t possible to drag a folder to the root level of a hard drive.

However, there is a way to represent the root level of the hard drive as a folder, so you can drag and drop folders or photos to that location.

Simply right-click on one of the top-level folders shown on the hard drive, and choose the “Show Parent Folder” command. This will reveal the root level of the hard drive as a folder at the top of the list of folders. You can then drag and drop any folders or photos you’d like to that top-level folder.

Note, by the way, that at any time you can hide the top-level folder by right-clicking on that folder and choosing the “Hide This Parent” command.

Today’s Question: I accidentally chose the “Refine Photos” menu item in Lightroom when I was looking for the “Rename Photos” command. The description that came up didn’t make any sense to me. Can you explain what this feature is and why I might want to use it?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The “Refine Photos” command enables you to use a two-pass approach to reviewing your photos using the Pick and Reject flags in Lightroom.

More Detail: When you use the Refine Photos command, all of the photos in the current folder or collection that do not have a Pick flag assigned to them will be assigned a Reject flag. Images that already had a Reject flag will retain that flag. Images that had a Pick flag assigned to them will then have the Pick flag removed.

In other words, after issuing the Refine Photos command you will no longer have any images in the current folder or collection with a Pick flag assigned to them. The overall behavior of the Refine Photos command is one that many photographers get a little confused by.

With the Refine Photos command you can use a two-pass approach to reviewing your photos to identify favorites versus outtakes. You can start with a first pass, assigning a Pick flag to any image you think might be a favorite. With a two-pass approach to reviewing photos, you can err on the side of assigning a Pick flag to any image that you think might be a favorite. Along the way, you can also assign a Reject flag to any photo you’re sure is an outtake. But you can also simply skip over any outtakes, since the Refine Photos command will cause images without a flat to receive a Reject flag.

Once you’re finished with your first review pass, you can issue the Refine Photos command. At this point all of the images you assigned a pick flag to will have no flag at all. Any images you skipped over (or rejected) will have a Reject flag. You can then perform a second review pass, reviewing only the images without a flag, and deciding which of those you want to assign a Pick flag to. In other words, with this second review pass you can scrutinize the photos a bit more than you did during your first pass.

You could continue working in this way, gradually reducing the number of photos that have a Pick flag, so that you can cull your photos down to your true favorites based on two (or more) review passes.

Today’s Question: You have said that you don’t import photos to your computer directly from your camera. I assume that means that you remove the memory card from your camera and insert it into your computer to import your photos. Why don’t you import photos directly from your camera?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There are two reasons I don’t download directly from the camera: potentially slower performance and risk of damage.

More Detail: In my (admittedly limited) experience, downloading photos by connecting your camera to the computer is slower than inserting the memory card into a good card reader. While the camera may be able to write data to the card exceptionally fast, often it seems the USB connection doesn’t provide good performance.

If you purchase a good card reader that offers the fastest performance possible, such as the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 reader (http://amzn.to/2vAP7vO), you will likely see download speeds that are significantly faster than a direct connection to your camera could provide.

In addition to wanting to achieve faster download times, connecting my camera directly to the computer simply makes me nervous. I worry that I’ll manage to somehow snag the data cable and send the camera sliding off my desk to the floor. For a photographer who isn’t quite as clumsy as I am this might not be a significant concern, but I prefer to put my camera back in the camera bag when I’m not using it, in an effort to minimize the risk of accidental damage.

I also find that it is a little easier to manage the process of downloading from multiple cards with a small card reader, rather than using the bulkier camera as a card reader. But mostly I’m concerned about keeping the camera safe and speeding up the download of my photos.

Today’s Question: I have always used ‘Minimal’ under File Handing as part of the import process in Lightroom. However I have been working through your new Lightroom CC course and noticed that you use ‘Standard’ and I have certainly noticed an improvement in the time for opening previews in Lightroom. Is there any way that I can convert old imports now from Minimal to Standard, and is there anything to be gained by doing so?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There is a significant improvement in the speed with which you can browse your images if you have built the Standard (or 1:1) previews for your photos. You can build these previews retroactively by choosing All Photographs from the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module, choosing Edit > Select All from the menu to select all images, and then choosing Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews from the menu.

More Detail: You can think of the Standard preview size in Lightroom as being approximately the size of your monitor display, though the actual size varies depending on the current setting in the Preferences dialog. The Minimal (or Embedded & Sidecar) option for building previews during import will often be of a lower resolution. The result is that if you haven’t build Standard previews for your photos, Lightroom will likely need to generate them on the fly as you browse your images.

When Lightroom needs to build previews as you are browsing your photos, the process can be slow and frustrating. The photo will initially appear somewhat soft, and then will update when Lightroom finishes building the preview. That can take a few moments, which can certainly seem like a long time when you just want to review a photo.

If you generate Standard previews for all photos, Lightroom won’t need to build the previews on the fly, so browsing will be much quicker. Note that this relates to the Library module, not the Develop module where a preview is always updated as needed based on the source image and the adjustments you’ve applied.

If you hadn’t built previews for all images during the import process, you can most certainly generate those previews later. Start, for example, by selecting all photos in your entire catalog. You can do so by choosing “All Photographs” from the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module and then choosing Edit > Select All from the menu. To build the previews for all of the selected images, choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews from the menu. Lightroom will then review all of the selected photos and build previews for any images that don’t already have them.

Note, by the way, that if you tend to zoom in on most of your photos, you may benefit from building 1:1 (full resolution) previews rather than Standard previews. Personally, I don’t tend to zoom in on a high percentage of my photos, so I use Standard previews rather than 1:1 previews as a general rule.

Today’s Question: After watching your discussion of Vibrance, I am wondering about the tradeoff of Vibrance versus HSL [Hue, Saturation, and Luminance].

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Vibrance adjustment is my preferred adjustment in Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom for boosting the saturation of colors, while the HSL controls are most useful for fine-tuning individual colors.

More Detail: The Vibrance adjustment is a variation on the Saturation adjustment, with a couple of advanced features built in. First, Vibrance protects skin tones from excessive adjustments. Second, when you increase the saturation in an image using Vibrance, colors that already have relatively high saturation levels will receive less of a boost than colors with relatively low saturation.

The HSL (Hue, Saturation, and Luminance) sliders enable you to apply adjustments to individual ranges of colors. For example, you could increase the Saturation value for the green color values in the image while also reducing the saturation for the blue color values.

As a result, I treat the Vibrance slider as my primary tool for adjusting overall saturation in the entire image. I’ll use the related Saturation slider to fine-tune as needed, after “balancing” overall saturation levels with Vibrance.

The HSL controls I use for fine-tuning individual colors, such as to essentially shift the color balance for an individual color using the applicable Hue slider, or by reducing the saturation for a “problem” color in the photo.

You can see these adjustments in action in several lessons in my “Optimizing Photos in Lightroom” video course, which is included in my “Mastering Lightroom” bundle. You can get more details through the GreyLearning website here:

http://timgrey.me/MLR99