Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: If apply edits to a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic and then save it as a TIFF or JPEG, will I have a complete copy or just another virtual copy?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you generated a TIFF or JPEG image based on a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic, you would indeed be creating an actual TIFF or JPEG file, not another virtual copy.

More Detail: A virtual copy in Lightroom Classic is really just a second reference to a raw capture. When you apply adjustments to a raw capture you aren’t altering the source capture file. Rather, you’re effectively saving metadata associated with the original capture. Creating a virtual copy is simply a process of creating an additional set of metadata for the same source capture.

Creating a TIFF or JPEG copy based on a source image generally involves using the export feature in Lightroom Classic. When you export a photo, you’re making an additional derivative image file, not simply creating a new virtual copy. The fact that you selected a virtual copy as the source image for the export isn’t a factor. Exporting a virtual copy is effectively the same as exporting the original raw capture, for example. In both cases a new derivative image file is created based on the original capture, just based on potentially different settings for the original versus the virtual copy.

Of course, when you export a file in this way, the resulting image will be based on the source image. With a virtual copy that means the exported image will match the appearance of the virtual copy. So, for example, if the original capture was in color, but you converted the virtual copy to black and white, exporting based on the original would produce a color derivative image, while exporting the virtual copy would result in a black and white derivative image.

Today’s Question: When traveling, it would be nice to have the same Keyword List, Develop Presets, and Metadata Presets in Lightroom Classic on my laptop as I have on my desktop computer. I know you can copy the Keyword List, but can you also copy your Develop Presets and Metadata Presets?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can copy the Keyword List, the Develop module presets, and your metadata presets to another computer so they are available in Lightroom Classic on both computers.

More Detail: You can export all keywords from the Keyword List in Lightroom Classic and then import that list into Lightroom Classic on another computer. To do so first export the Keyword List by going to the Library module and choosing Metadata > Keywords > Include Keyword Tag Options from the menu. In the dialog that appears navigate to a convenient location for saving the list, enter a meaningful name in the “Save As” field, and click the Save button.

You can then copy the exported file to your other computer and import the list into Lightroom Classic by choosing Metadata > Import Keywords from the menu. Navigate to the location where you saved the file, select the file, and click the Choose button. All keywords from the imported file will then appear in the Keyword List on the right panel in the Library module.

For the Develop presets you can export individual presets or copy the contents of the presets folder. To export individual Develop module presets right-click on the name of the preset in the Presets list on the left panel and choose “Export” from the popup that appears. The resulting XMP sidecar files can then be copied to the applicable folder for the Develop presets as outlined below.

To copy all Develop presets or to copy metadata templates first go to the Preferences dialog in Lightroom Classic by choosing Edit > Preferences on Windows or Lightroom Classic > Preferences on Macintosh. Go to the Presets tab, where you can click on the “Show Lightroom Develop Presets” button to open a window in your operating system where the Develop module presets are stored, or the “Show All Other Lighroom Presets” button to bring up a window for the other presets.

For the Develop module presets you’ll want to copy the “Settings” folder to transfer presets you’ve created directly within Lightroom Classic, and the “ImportedSettings” folder to transfer presets you imported into Lightroom Classic, perhaps having obtained presets from someone else.

For the metadata presets you’ll need to open the Lightroom folder that is highlighted in the windows that opened when you clicked the button in the Preferences dialog. You can then copy the “Metadata Presets” folder to your other computer.

On the destination computer use the same process of clicking the button in the Preferences dialog to reveal the preset storage location and put the folders into the same structure as they were on the source computer. Restart Lightroom Classic on the destination computer, and you’ll have your presets available.

Today’s Question: While working in the Develop module [in Lightroom Classic], is there any way to see the information that is displayed in the Library module (lens, focal length, exposure, etc.) without having to switch back and forth between the modules?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can display the information overlay on the image in the Develop module of Lightroom Classic by pressing the letter “I” on the keyboard to cycle through the information options. You can configure which information is displayed in the View Options dialog.

More Detail: In Lightroom Classic you can display an information overlay on an image in the loupe view, and you can configure two different options for which information is displayed. Pressing the letter “I” on the keyboard will cycle you between the three options, which are information #1, information #1, and no overlay display.

To configure the information overlay options, choose View > View Options from the menu while working from either the Library module or the Develop module. If you selected the menu command while in the Library module, be sure to select the Loupe View tab from the top of the dialog.

You can then configure the three metadata options for both “Loupe Info 1” and “Loupe Info 2”. The option selected from the first of the three popups will appear in a larger font than the other two, so you may want to select what you consider to be the more important metadata value from that popup.

So, for example, you might configure the settings for Loupe Info 1 to include “File Name and Copy Name”, “Capture Date/Time”, and “Camera + Lens”.. You might set Loupe Info 2 to include “File Name and Copy Name”, “Exposure Settings”, and “Title”. The options you select depend on what information is most helpful for you to view, and which metadata fields you tend to update. For example, if you don’t add text to the Title field in metadata there’s no sense adding that to the information overlay.

Once you’ve configured the info overlay settings the way you’d like them, you can close the View Options dialog. From that point forward you can cycle through the info overlay displays by pressing the letter “I” on the keyboard while working in either the Develop module or the Library module.

Today’s Question: You have recommended creating a separate catalog for Lightroom Classic while traveling and then merging that catalog with your main catalog when you get home. When traveling recently I wanted to share a collection of wedding photos with guests the day after. However, I couldn’t sync the collection with Adobe Cloud unless I disabled sync for my main catalog. I used my SmugMug plugin instead. Are there any other methods you would suggest? Also, any collections I create while on the road are not copied over to my main catalog. Do you have any suggestions for how to re-create those collections?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Both issues can be avoided if you bring your main catalog with you when you travel, but there are other options available as well.

More Detail: While it is indeed possible to use a separate catalog when traveling and then merge that catalog with your primary catalog when you return home, it can be helpful and convenient to instead travel with your primary catalog.

For example, a laptop has been my primary computer for about twenty years, (I don’t even own a desktop computer). Therefore, I keep my Lightroom Classic catalog on my laptop, so that the catalog is always with me. This eliminates the need to merge catalogs later, and also means that all features are readily available, including cloud-based synchronization that can only be enabled for a single catalog at a time.

If you want to be able to work from a desktop computer at home and a laptop computer when traveling, you can also keep your catalog on an external hard drive. You can then connect that hard drive to whichever computer you’re using at the time and open the catalog directly from the external drive.

If you prefer to use a separate catalog when traveling, the cloud-based synchronization will still be an issue. I don’t recommend switching between different catalogs for synchronization, because that can lead to confusion and duplication of images that are synchronized. In this scenario I would suggest using an online service such as SmugMug when you need to share images online from your traveling catalog.

If you’re working with a traveling catalog, you can absolutely bring collections and all other features of Lightroom Classic into your primary catalog when you return home. You just need to be sure to use the “Import from Another Catalog” command to merge the catalogs, so that all information about your photos will be reflected in the primary catalog.

Today’s Question: Is there a way to easily keyword new photos to match those in the same folder that had previously been keyworded in Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can synchronize keywords across multiple photos in Lightroom Classic using the Sync Metadata command.

More Detail: I should first note that it is important to be careful when synchronizing metadata across multiple photos, especially in the context of keywords. You’ll want to be sure you’re only selecting the photos to which the keywords actually apply. As helpful as keywords can be in terms of organizing photos, that value is greatly diminished if keywords are assigned to the wrong images.

To synchronize keywords across multiple photos first select all the photos to which you want to assign the keywords. You can simply select all photos that do not have the applicable keywords yet, or you can select both those with the keywords and those without. The difference relates only to whether the Keywords field will include the keywords that have already been assigned to some images.

After selecting the photos, click the “Sync Metadata” button at the bottom of the right panel in the Library module. This will bring up the Synchronize Metadata dialog. Within this dialog you can turn on the checkboxes for the metadata fields you want to synchronize to the selected photos, and update the metadata values as needed.

In this particular case I would suggest first clicking the “Check None” button so that none of the metadata fields are selected for synchronization. Then scroll to the very bottom of the dialog and turn on the checkbox to the right of the Keywords field. If some of the selected photos already had keywords assigned, all those keywords will be listed in the Keywords field. Edit this list so that it only includes the keywords you want to apply to all selected photos, with keywords separated by commas. You can then click the Synchronize button at the bottom-right of the dialog to apply the keywords to the selected photos.

Today’s Question: Is it possible to back up external hard drives with the Backblaze service you have recommended? If so, how?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can back up an external hard drive to online storage using Backblaze (https://timgrey.me/cloudbackup) by simply enabling the drive in Settings.

More Detail: You can use Backblaze to back up both internal and external hard drives, simply by selecting the drives you want to back up in the Preferences dialog for Backblaze.

To get started first make sure the external hard drives you want to back up are connected to the computer. You can then click the Backblaze icon on the taskbar on Windows or the menu bar on Macintosh and choose Backblaze Preferences from the popup menu. In the Preferences dialog click the Settings button, and then go to the Settings tab within the dialog that appears.

In the “Select Hard Drives to Backup” section toward the bottom of the Settings tab, turn on the checkbox for the hard drives you want to back up with Backblaze. Then click the OK button to apply the change. It may take considerable time for the initial backup to finish depending on your internet speed and how much data is on the drive, but the selected hard drives will then be included in your normal online backup with Backblaze.

Note that I strongly recommend upgrading to the one-year version history option, rather than the default option of thirty days. Without this upgrade, if you leave an external hard drive disconnected for more than thirty days Backblaze will assume you no longer have the hard drive and will delete the backup data associated with that drive.

You can learn more about backing up your photos and other important data to online storage with Backblaze here:

https://timgrey.me/cloudbackup

Today’s Question: Your answer about working on an image from a collection versus a folder [in Lightroom Classic] was very helpful, including the details about working on a virtual copy rather than the original source image. But how would I know if I am working on a virtual copy rather than the original?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can identify a virtual copy in Lightroom Classic based on the Copy Name indication after the filename on the filmstrip, or by the turned page corner icon that appears on the thumbnail as long as you have the display of badges enabled.

More Detail: One of the more obvious indications that an image in Lightroom Classic is a virtual copy is the turned page corner icon that appears as a badge on the thumbnail of a virtual copy in the grid view or on the filmstrip. This icon appears at the bottom-left corner of the thumbnail as long as the feature is enabled.

To ensure the badge for a virtual copy is displayed on the filmstrip go to the Interface tab of the Preferences dialog and make sure the “Show badges” checkbox is turned on in the Filmstrip section. To enable the badges for the grid view choose View > View Options from the menu while in the Library module and go to the Grid View tab. Make sure the “Thumbnail Badges” checkbox is turned on in the Cell Icons section.

In addition to the thumbnail badge for virtual copies, these images will have a Copy Name associated with them. The default Copy Name for the first virtual copy for an image will be “Copy 1”, and the number will increment for additional virtual copies based on the same source image. This Copy Name value will be displayed after the filename for the selected virtual copy above the thumbnail filmstrip on the bottom panel, appearing after the source image filename and a slash.

Note that you can change the value for the Copy Name field, which in turn will update the text associated with the filename for virtual copies. This enables you to assign a more meaningful name to virtual copies, so that you can remind yourself of the purpose of the virtual copy, for example.

The Copy Name field can be found toward the top of the Metadata section of the left panel in the Library module, but only with some of the metadata field options you can select from the popup to the left of the Metadata heading. For example, if you choose “EXIF and IPTC” from that popup the Copy Name field will be displayed. Note that if you clear out all the text from the Copy Name field the word “Copy” will still display after the filename on the bottom panel, so you can still identify the image as a virtual copy.

Today’s Question: Let’s say I am about to export an image [from Lightroom Classic] that I have in one of my Collections. But then I notice something that needs a quick cleanup or removal and I make that correction, but am doing so in my Collections, not going back to the image in my Folder. I am assuming with some testing that I have done, there is no problem in making the correction in Collections but just want to be sure that something is not going to be amiss in not making the correction in my Folder.

Tim’s Quick Answer: Making changes to an image that has been selected from a collection rather than a folder will cause the changes to be reflected in the source image in the folder. Just keep in mind that the source image could be a virtual copy rather than the original capture.

More Detail: When you add a photo to a collection in Lightroom Classic you are not making a copy of the source image file. Rather, you are simply adding a reference to the image in the collection, so that you can group various photos together and make it easier to locate certain images quickly.

As a result, when you modify an image in a collection, you are in effect actually altering the source image in the folder. For example, whether you assign a star rating or a keyword by first selecting the image from a folder versus a collection, the result is exactly the same. When you later locate the image by selecting it in either a folder or collection, you’ll see the metadata updates. The same applies to adjustments made in the Develop module.

However, it is important to keep in mind that virtual copies can be added to collections, and virtual copies represent a separate version of the original image. For example, if you create a virtual copy and then add a keyword to the original image, the virtual copy will not contain that new keyword. This feature is primarily aimed at enabling you to create different versions of photos in the Develop module.

If you add a virtual copy to a collection you would then be adjusting the virtual copy if you selected it in the collection. In the source folder you would be able to locate both the source image and the virtual copy, but you might have only added the virtual copy to the collection.

So, any work you perform on an image in a collection will be reflected for the same image in the source folder. Just make sure you know when you’re working on a virtual copy rather than the source image file, so that you know which specific image you’re actually affecting when selecting an image from a collection.

Today’s Question: Would syncing the parent folder (such as Pictures) within Lightroom Classic identify any photos that have not been imported and add them to the catalog?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, adding photos to the catalog is one of the key features of the “Synchronize Folder” command in Lightroom Classic. This command provides the option to add photos to the catalog that are within the folder structure you applied the command to but that aren’t currently in the catalog.

More Detail: There are a variety of reasons that not all photos that are contained within a folder on your hard drive would be included in your Lightroom Classic catalog. You may have only imported some of the photos from a given folder, you may have removed photos from the catalog without deleting them, or you may have added photos to a folder outside of Lightroom Classic.

Regardless of the reason that a folder in Lightroom Classic doesn’t match in terms of the photos actually included in the folder on your hard drive, the “Synchronize Folder” command provides a solution.

To get started, right-click on the folder you want to synchronize and choose “Synchronize Folder” from the popup menu. This command will check all subfolders within the folder you selected for synchronization, so you can apply the command to a parent folder if you want to check all subfolders within.

After selecting the “Synchronize Folder” command Lightroom Classic will analyze the folder and provide a summary with several options. If there are photos on the hard drive that aren’t in the catalog, the “Import new photos” checkbox will be enabled, with a count in parenthesis indicating how many photos were found. Turn on this checkbox if you want to add those photos to the catalog.

If there are photos in your catalog that are not contained in the folder on your hard drive, the “Remove missing photos from catalog” checkbox will be enabled, also with a count of the number of missing photos. Turn on this checkbox if you want Lightroom Classic to remove those missing photos from the catalog.

You can also turn on the “Scan for metadata updates” checkbox if you want Lightroom Classic to check for metadata that was updated directly in the photos on the hard drive without being updated in Lightroom Classic. Turning on this checkbox will update the metadata in the catalog accordingly.

After selecting the options you want to enable, click the Synchronize button and the applicable updates will be applied to your catalog.