Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: Is the new Remove tool in Photoshop effectively a replacement for the Spot Healing Brush tool? Does it do a better job in most cases?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While the Remove tool shows promise based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, in general I find you can get better results for image cleanup with the Spot Healing Brush tool or the Content-Aware Fill command.

More Detail: In general, the new Remove tool in Photoshop does a good job when it comes to image cleanup work. You simply paint over the object you want to remove, and the object is removed automatically, replaced with new pixels based on an analysis of the surrounding area of the image. Similar to the Generative Fill command, with the Remove tool new pixels may be created that are not directly related to the specific contents of the image.

However, while the Remove tool is impressive in general, I have found that it is much more likely than other tools to create obviously visible artifacts in the image. This can result in duplicative textures that stand out as areas that have clearly been modified, or odd duplications of shapes from other areas of the image that also stand out as not looking right.

While the Spot Healing Brush tool (set to the Content-Aware option) or the Content-Aware Fill command aren’t perfect, in general I do find that they provide good results with far less risk of obvious artifacts in the image when compared to the Remove tool.

To be fair, the Remove tool is the newest image-cleanup tool in Photoshop, and so it is the tool that is most likely to see improvements in the near term. I do think the Remove tool is capable of very good results, and it is worth trying with some images. However, I also recommend scrutinizing the results achieved with the Remove tool (or really with any of the image cleanup tools), so you will be sure to catch any problems that are created in terms of artifacts that need to be resolved. You can then either undo the work done with the Remove tool and try a different tool, or mix-and-match two or more tools to refine the image cleanup work to achieve a better result.

Today’s Question: I use Photoshop, not Lightroom. I’ve offered to print some images for a friend who uses Lightroom Classic. She’s sending me TIFs. If I modify the images with Photoshop and/or Topaz, how can she bring them back into Lightroom? Will they have to be different files than the originals?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The modified images can be imported into Lightroom Classic, such as by simply synchronizing the folder they’ve been added to. The files would need to have unique filenames within the folder they’ll be saved in.

More Detail: When you export copies of photos from Lightroom Classic such as so those images can be printed outside of Lightroom Classic, you may later want to add the resulting images back to the catalog. For example, if the files have been updated specifically for printing you may want to retain those derivative images in the Lightroom Classic catalog so they can easily be used for creating additional prints at a later date.

There are several ways you could import the derivative images into the Lightroom Classic catalog. In my view the simplest approach would be to move the files to the same folder as the original files the derivative images were created from and then synchronize the folder within Lightroom Classic.

In the Folders list on the left panel in the Library module in Lightroom Classic you can right-click on any folder and choose “Synchronize Folder” from the popup menu. This will bring up a dialog that enables you to choose whether you want to add new photos to the catalog, remove missing photos from the catalog, or check for metadata updates.

In this case you would want to turn on the “Import new photos” checkbox, which will have a number in parenthesis to the right indicating how many photos are in the folder but not currently in the catalog. You can turn off the checkboxes for “Remove missing photos from catalog” and “Scan for metadata updates”. Then click the Synchronize button and the new images will be added to the catalog.

Today’s Question: When I tell Lightroom Classic to edit a photo in Photoshop, it no longer asks if I want to edit it with Lightroom adjustments or if I want to edit the original file. It just sends the file directly into Photoshop with the edits I’ve already made in Lightroom Classic. Why is that?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You will not be asked what option you want to use when you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic. Rather, when you send a raw capture to Photoshop the adjustments applied to the image in the Develop module will always be applied, and a derivative image will be created based on the settings on the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: If you use the Edit In commend to send a non-raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, you’ll be asked how you want the file to be processed. You can make a new copy based on the source image that is flattened if you choose “Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments”. You can create a copy that includes layers and other features from the original by choosing “Edit a Copy”, but the adjustments from Lightroom Classic won’t be visible while you’re working in Photoshop. You can also choose “Edit Original” to open the source file in Photoshop, in which case the adjustments from Lightroom Classic won’t be visible while working in Photoshop.

If you send a raw capture to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic, you aren’t able to edit the original since you can’t save the updated image as a raw capture. Instead, the image will be created as either a TIFF file or a Photoshop document (PSD) file based on the option established on the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog.

By saving the derivative image as a TIFF or PSD file, you’ll be able to preserve all features you took advantage of in Photoshop, such as adjustment layers, additional image layers, layer masks, and more. Since this is the recommended workflow, and you’re not able to save an updated raw capture file, you aren’t prompted by Lightroom Classic about what to do when you send a raw capture to Photoshop.

Today’s Question: How do I change the overlay color for the Remove tool in Photoshop to something other than the default color (pink)? Can it be done?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can change the overlay color for the Remove tool in Photoshop by clicking the gear icon on the Options bar and choosing a different color from the Color popup. You can also adjust the opacity for the color overlay with the associated Opacity control.

More Detail: The Remove tool is relatively new to Photoshop and it provides image cleanup based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology. When you paint on the image with the Remove tool (which I recommend doing through the use of a separate image layer created for image cleanup work) a color overlay shows the area of your brush stroke. This makes it easy to be sure you’re painting completely over the object you want to remove from the photo.

The default color for this overlay is magenta, which I consider to be a good default because magenta tends not to be a color that is very common in a lot of images. But obviously there are also many photos where a magenta overlay wouldn’t be the best choice, such as when you are attempting to remove an object that has a color relatively close to magenta.

Fortunately, you can change both the color and the opacity of this overlay. Start by selecting the Remove tool from the toolbar (it is on the same button as the Spot Healing Brush tool, so you can right-click on that button to bring up a popup that includes the Remove tool). Then on the Options bar click the gear icon. That will bring up a popup panel where you’ll find a popup for Color and a popup slider for Opacity. You can select any color you’d like from the popup, and then adjust the opacity to your liking.

The updated settings will remain in place unless you change them, or if you reset the tool, or if you reset preferences for Photoshop.

Today’s Question: [In response to a previous question about updating the Copy Name field for virtual copies in Lightroom Classic:] When I update the Copy Name field, it only affected the image I selected, not any Virtual copies. The Copy Name seems to only affect the name displayed in Grid view and the Copy Name is not inherited by the Virtual copies. I tried setting Copy Name both before and after creating Virtual copies.

Tim’s Quick Answer: The Copy Name field can be thought of as just another metadata field available for photos. When you create a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic, however, the Copy Name for the source image will not be retained by the virtual copy, which will instead be automatically assigned a name such as “Copy 1”.

More Detail: When you create a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic, that virtual copy inherits the metadata from the image you used as the basis of creating the virtual copy. However, the Copy Name field is an exception to this.

Regardless of whether or not you have updated the Copy Name field for the source image, when you create a virtual copy it will be automatically assigned a value for the Copy Name field such as “Copy 1”, with the number incremented for each additional virtual copy based on the same source image.

For example, let’s assume you optimized the original image in color, so you update the Copy Name field to “Color Final” to indicate the status of the image. You then create a virtual copy based on that image, but the Copy Name field for the virtual copy will be “Copy 1”, not “Color Final”.

If you then apply adjustments to the virtual copy to make it a black and white image, you might update the Copy Name field to “B&W Final”. But if you make a virtual copy based on that virtual copy, the Copy Name field for the new virtual copy will reflect “Copy 2”.

So, the Copy Name field in metadata should be thought of as a unique field for each image, which will not inherit the value from the source image when creating a virtual copy.

Today’s Question: I haven’t really done much photography since 2020, and back then my batteries were already old. Should I get new ones? If I do, should I always opt for Canon or should I consider batteries from other manufacturers?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, I recommend replacing those batteries to ensure longer battery life. In my experience it is also advantageous to opt for replacement batteries from the manufacturer of your camera, rather than using third-party batteries.

More Detail: The primary sign that rechargeable batteries need to be replaced is that they’re holding much less of a charge than they originally did. Eventually this can become a frustrating issue, where a battery will last for a very short amount of time before it needs to be recharged.

If the batteries had already been somewhat old several years ago, and especially if they weren’t holding their full charge then, it would definitely be a good idea to replace the batteries. This will ensure you’re getting the maximum life possible from the batteries.

Camera manufacturers offer replacement batteries, though these are often at least a little more expensive than third-party batteries. However, in my own experience third-party batteries have offered a noticeably shorter charge compared to batteries from the camera manufacturer, even when comparing batteries with the same capacity. That capacity is generally measured in milliampere-hours (mAh) as a specification for the battery.

Therefore, I generally recommend opting for replacement batteries from the camera manufacturer rather than from a third party, even though the latter can be less expensive.

Note, by the way, that you should be sure to dispose of your old batteries properly, ideally through a battery recycling service. For example, you can find local options for battery recycling on this website:

https://www.call2recycle.org/locator/

Today’s Question: I just got a new computer and want to transfer my Lightroom Classic catalog files over to the new machine. I keep my photos on a removable hard drive, and changed the drive letter of that disk to match what was in Lightroom Classic. But now need to move the catalog and appropriate helper files over and am unsure which ones I should copy.

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can transfer the entire folder that contains your Lightroom Classic catalog to the new computer, although you can exclude the Backups folder if that is contained within the folder where the catalog is currently stored.

More Detail: The Lightroom Classic catalog “file” consists of multiple helper files in addition to the core catalog file. Therefore, it is important to transfer all related files when migrating to a new computer.

If you’re not sure where your Lightroom Classic catalog is currently stored, you can go to the Catalog Settings dialog and click the Show button found on the General tab. This will take you to the location where the catalog folder can be found, with that folder highlighted.

Quit Lightroom Classic before copying the catalog to the new destination. You can then copy the entire folder to the new location, using an external storage device if needed to transfer the files to the new computer.

After copying (rather than moving) the folder that contains the catalog I recommend renaming the “old” version of the catalog folder to something that will make it obvious that this is not the current version. I typically add “BACKUP” to the beginning of the folder name, for example. This folder can later be deleted, once you’re sure the catalog is functioning properly on the new computer and has been backed up.

Once the catalog files have been copied to their new destination, you can open the folder and double-click on the file with the “.lrcc” filename extension. This is the primary catalog file, and double-clicking will cause that catalog to be opened in Lightroom Classic.

I also then recommend making sure that the new copy of the catalog is set as the default catalog on the General tab of the Preferences dialog in Lightroom Classic. The popup where you can select the catalog that should be used as the default is labeled “When starting up use this catalog”. Setting your catalog as the default will ensure it is used every time you open Lightroom Classic, even if you had since opened another catalog, such as opening a backup to make sure it was in good working order.

Today’s Question: I am currently using GoodSync for all my backups, thanks to your class on backups. I even backup my data using a Sinology NAS, in a fast and efficient way. But how should I backup the Lightroom Classic catalog? Copying the complex structure of the catalog folder takes a long time and I am not confident about this process. Should I first make a backup in Lightroom Classic and after that make a backup of this file?

Tim’s Quick Answer: While copying the entire folder that contains your Lightroom Classic catalog can serve as a backup, I recommend using the built-in backup feature. This ensures only the data that is really necessary gets backed up and provides the opportunity for the catalog integrity to be tested and for the catalog to be optimized.

More Detail: Along with the catalog file that contains most of the information about your photos for Lightroom Classic, there are a variety of other “helper” files that are stored in the same folder as the primary catalog file. However, some of the files in this folder don’t really need to be backed up, and they can be quite large as well.

For example, the previews file contains all the previews Lightroom Classic generates, such as the standard previews used when viewing a full image and the 1:1 previews that are generated if needed when you zoom in on a photo. There’s no need to back up these previews, as if you ever needed to recover from a backup of the catalog, you could simply rebuild the previews.

In addition, by default Lightroom Classic stores any catalog backups you create in a “Backups” folder that is contained within the same folder as the catalog itself. That further means you are potentially copying much more data than you need if you copy the folder containing the catalog each time you want to create a new backup copy.

Instead, I recommend using the built-in backup feature in Lightroom Classic. You can configure the frequency for this backup on the General tab of the Catalog Settings dialog. When you are prompted to back up the catalog, I recommend making sure that both the “Test integrity before backing up” and “Optimize catalog after backing up” checkboxes are turned on.

Note that you can also specify a different location for these catalog backups in the Back Up Catalog dialog, by clicking the Choose button to the right of the Backup Folder field. You could, for example, have the catalog backup stored on the drive you’re currently using as the destination of your backup. If you wanted more redundancy you could also store the catalog backups on another drive that will in turn be backed up to a backup drive.

It is important to keep in mind that backing up the Lightroom Classic catalog only backs up the information about your photos that is contained within the catalog. This backup will not include your actual photos, so you’ll want to be sure you’re backing up your photos separately.

Today’s Question: If things like virtual copies are not preserved when you select “automatically write changes into XMP,” [in Catalog Setting for Lightroom Classic] what do you do to preserve them?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To preserve virtual copies in Lightroom Classic you can either ensure that your catalog remains safe, or export copies of the virtual copies to create new files reflecting the changes applied to virtual copies.

More Detail: I recommend turning on the “Automatically Write Changes into XMP” checkbox on the Metadata tab of the Catalog Settings dialog in Lightroom Classic so that standard metadata updates are preserved along with the source image file in addition to being saved in the catalog. However, this does not preserve some of the features that are specific to Lightroom Classic, such as virtual copies.

To preserve virtual copies, you can of course just make sure your catalog remains safe, since virtual copy information is only stored within the catalog. That means backing up the catalog regularly as a basic starting point. I also highly recommend using the built-in catalog backup feature in Lightroom Classic with the “Test integrity before backing up” checkbox turned on when you perform the backup. This will help ensure that any problems with the catalog are detected and repaired before they become a serious issue.

In addition, you could create additional copies of the virtual copy, so you have a file representing the virtual copy saved beyond the catalog. For example, you could export the virtual copy using the “Original” option selected for Image Format. In the case of a raw capture this would create a copy of the original raw capture along with an XMP sidecar file representing the metadata from Lightroom Classic, which would include the adjustment settings from the Develop module. You could also choose the “Same folder as original photo” option for the Export To popup, and turn on the “Add to This Catalog” checkbox so the additional raw capture representing a different interpretation of the image is preserved alongside the original capture both as an additional file on the hard drive and in the Lightroom Classic catalog.

You could also export a copy of the virtual copy to another format, such as exporting as a TIFF image that would include all the adjustments as part of the new derivative file created as part of this process. You could also use the options to export that copy to the same folder as the original and add the derivative copy to the catalog so it would be alongside the original capture as an additional version.

The point is that by either protecting the Lightroom Classic catalog so you will have long-term access to the virtual copy, or by creating an additional file based on the virtual copy, you can help ensure that you always have access to virtual copies in addition to original images.

Today’s Question: If you print an original capture with blown-out highlights in the image, will the printer even apply ink to those areas – or will that portion of the photographic paper simply be blank? If so, would this be another reason to use a negative value for Whites so you at least wind up with a gray color in those areas?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, if areas of an image are blown out to pure white, that means there won’t be any ink put down in those areas when the image is printed. I do generally recommend darkening the highlights slightly in this situation so there will be ink on the paper for the entire image.

More Detail: In the context of printing a photo, in most cases if an area of the image is pure white there won’t be any ink put down on the paper in those areas. For very small areas such as with tiny specular highlights this may not be a problem at all. However, if the area is moderately large it can look a bit odd to have no ink in that area of the print. There will generally be a bit of a texture or gloss difference, for example, where there is empty paper surrounded by areas with ink coverage.

To compensate for this issue, I recommend toning down the highlights in the image so that the areas that are pure white will at least have a value darker than white, such as a very bright gray. This will ensure that ink will be applied to the print in these areas.

This can be accomplished by reducing the value for the Whites slider in Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw, for example. In Photoshop you could also reduce the value for white with a Levels adjustment, dragging the white slider under Output Levels to the left to darken the value of white. In all cases this adjustment should generally be very slight, providing just enough of an adjustment that areas of blown out white aren’t entirely white.