Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: I have a question regarding the filters in Lightroom Classic. Although the filters appear to allow searching for text, it does not seem to search for text in the keyword field. To search in keywords, I have to do that under Keyword List. Is this correct or am I not searching correctly using filters?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can indeed search specifically for keywords using the Text tab of the Library Filter bar in the grid view. Simply set the first popup on the Text tab to “Keywords” to get started with your search.

More Detail: Lightroom Classic provides a variety of options for searching for photos that contain specific keywords. You can, for example, click the right-pointing arrow that appears to the right of a keyword on the Keyword List on the right panel in the Library module when you hover your mouse over the keyword.

You can also use the Library Filter bar to search by keyword with a little more flexibility. In the Library module switch to the grid view display by pressing the letter “G” on the keyboard. If the Library Filter bar is not displayed above the grid view, press the backslash key (\) to reveal it. Then choose the Text tab.

On the Text tab click the first popup and choose “Keywords”. From the second popup you can choose how you want to search, such as “Contain All” if you want to search for photos that contain all the keywords that you type separated by commas. You could also use “Start With” or “End With” if you want to search based on a partial word, for example.

After selecting the preferred options from the two popups you can enter the keyword (or words) you want to search for. If you want to search based on multiple keywords simply separate each keyword with a comma.

Note, by the way, that for any photographers using the cloud-based version of Lightroom, the keyword search is not as discoverable as it is in Lightroom Classic. However, you can search specifically for keywords in the search field by preceding your keyword with “keyword:”, such as by entering “keyword: New York City”.

Today’s Question: I have many pictures in my Lightroom Classic catalog. It is nice to have access to them [in a single catalog], but every time I make a change I have a 2GB+ file to back up online, and I feel as if my catalog never gets backed up as I use Lightroom Classic almost daily. Thoughts on tradeoffs?

Tim’s Quick Answer: With most online backup providers there are measures in place to ensure that big files, such as your Lightroom Classic catalog, are managed in a way that ensures the files will indeed get backed up.

More Detail: I use and recommend Backblaze (https://timgrey.me/cloudbackup) for an online backup to supplement creating local backups of your photos and other important files. When it comes to large files, there are a few things that help ensure the files will indeed get backed up even if they are changed.

First, Backblaze uses versioning of large files that are being backed up, so they will only be updated once every 48 hours. Therefore, even if you update your Lightroom Classic catalog many times throughout the day, all of those changes don’t need to be backed up every time.

In addition, for files over 100MB in size Backblaze uses a workflow where the file is divided into smaller pieces, with each piece of the file uploaded individually. Depending on the specifics of how the file was updated, this can create a situation where only a small number of those pieces need to be uploaded to correctly assemble the full file. In other words, just because a large file is updated doesn’t mean Backblaze necessarily needs to re-upload the entire file.

It is worth considering, by the way, that while a 2GB file certainly counts as a very large file, it won’t necessarily require a tremendous amount of time to upload.

Many internet providers offer upload speeds of around 20 Mbps (megabits per second), with some offering much faster upload speeds. If you were able to make use of a full 20 Mbps upload speed, a 2GB file would only require about fifteen minutes to upload.

More realistically, in part because the online backup service will only receive data at a certain rate based on bandwidth limitations, you can probably expect upload speeds of around 5 Mbps. But even at that slower speed, the full 2GB catalog file would only take about one hour to upload.

You could certainly exclude files such as your Lightroom Classic catalog from the online backup, and then use a manual approach to periodically copy your catalog to a cloud-based storage provider. However, based on all the factors I’ve outlined above, I think it makes sense to include important large files in your online backup, including the Lightroom Classic catalog.

You can learn more about Backblaze online backup services here:

https://timgrey.me/cloudbackup

Today’s Question: I have a photo that is brighter on top than bottom. How would one fix that in Photoshop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: This type of correction calls for a targeted adjustment using an adjustment layer for the tonal adjustment (such as Levels or Curves) combined with a layer mask with a white-to-black gradient so that the adjustment itself will transition across the image.

More Detail: The concept involved with this type of correction is relatively simple, but the implementation can sometimes be tricky.

Basically, you want to apply an adjustment using an adjustment layer with a layer mask that is a gradient. You could start by adding an adjustment layer, such as using Levels in this case to apply a tonal adjustment. So, click on the Add Adjustment Layer button (the half-black and half-white circle icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Levels from the popup that appears.

I then recommend applying an exaggerated adjustment so you can easily see the effect in the image. With the Levels adjustment, for example, you can drag the middle slider directly below the histogram on the Properties panel left or right, depending on whether you need to lighten or darken a portion of the image, respectively.

Next, select the Gradient tool from the toolbar (or by pressing “G” on the keyboard). On the Options bar click the gradient popup that shows the gradient preview, and in the Basic section choose the first gradient, which is a foreground color to background color gradient. Press “D” on the keyboard to set the default colors of white and black.

To the right of the gradient popup on the options bar select the first of the set of five buttons, which define the overall shape of the gradient. This will establish a simple linear gradient. Make sure the Mode is set to Normal and the Opacity is at 100%.

Because the adjustment layer is active you can now click-and-drag across the image to define a gradient. You want black to be on the side of the image that doesn’t need to be adjusted, and white on the side that does need to be adjusted. So, with white as the foreground color and black as the background color you can drag from the side of the image that needs to be adjusted toward the side that doesn’t. The distance you drag determines the size of the transition for the gradient.

Once you have the gradient in place you can refine the adjustment setting on the Properties panel. The tricky part is getting a gradient with just the right shape (distance and direction) combined with just the right adjustment to get a nice smooth correction for the photo. How easy (or difficult) this is will depend on the nature of the photo itself.

Note that while I’ve used the Levels adjustment as an example here, you could also use a Curves adjustment layer. Curves would be helpful if you needed to apply a more sophisticated tonal adjustment beyond simply lightening or darkening one side of the photo.

Today’s Question: I noticed the announcement of a 25-megapixel micro four thirds sensor camera, the Panasonic Lumix GH6 (https://bhpho.to/3tpT6sT). Is that about the same image quality, plus or minus 4%, as my 24-megapixel Nikon full frame camera [such as the Nikon Z6 II, https://bhpho.to/36FJQYQ]? Smaller pixels I guess, but I’m not sure how or if that matters.

Tim’s Quick Answer: All other things being equal (which they of course aren’t) the smaller sensor would be expected to produce more noise and not offer as much dynamic range.

More Detail: There are myriad factors that ultimately determine image quality for a given sensor, so it is difficult to make an accurate comparison based exclusively on specifications. The best approach is to directly test different cameras under equal conditions to get a better sense of the relative quality of each sensor.

That said, there are some general properties that impact overall image quality. The size of the individual pixel elements is one of the more significant of these factors. Smaller pixel sites will generally translate into lower dynamic range and more noise. This is because the smaller pixel sites will generally not be able to gather as much light as a larger pixel site.

However, there are many other factors that impact image quality. Signal processing is a significant factor that will vary among different sensors, but the results are difficult to predict without hands-on testing. In addition, sensor manufacturers have made various efforts to improve the performance of their sensors even when they have smaller pixel sites, such as by using lenses to focus the light being captured at each pixel site.

Typically, a larger sensor of a given megapixel resolution would be expected to provide better image quality. Keep in mind, however, that most higher-end camera models offer generally good image quality, and so it is important to weigh other features such as autofocus performance, image stabilization, and other options that may be helpful to you when making a decision about a specific camera mode.

Today’s Question: I am getting ready to take an overseas trip in which I will not have internet access. I am wanting to copy my Lightroom Classic catalog from its current location in Dropbox over to a laptop computer which I will use to import the images from my trip. Could you provide instructions on how to do this? Also, would I just reverse the process once I return home to get the catalog back into Dropbox?

Tim’s Quick Answer: To transfer the Lightroom Classic catalog you can copy the entire folder that contains the catalog file and related helper files, and then rename the original folder to clearly identify it as a backup copy.

More Detail: To transfer the Lightroom Classic catalog you’ll first need to know where that catalog is. Fortunately, this is easily done through the Catalog Settings dialog. Start by choosing Edit > Catalog Settings from the menu on Windows, or Lightroom Classic > Catalog Settings on Macintosh. Go to the General tab and click the Show button at the top-right of the Information section. That will open a window in your operating system with the folder that contains the Lightroom Classic catalog highlighted.

Next, be sure to quit Lightroom Classic, because there is a risk of the catalog being corrupted if it is copied (or moved) while it is in use.

You can then drag-and-drop the folder that contains the catalog and related files to the desired location. With both Windows and Macintosh if the folder (or file) you are dragging is being dropped to a different hard drive location the default will be for the folder to be copied rather than moved. If you want to copy to a different location on the same hard drive, you can hold the Ctrl key on Windows or the Option key on Macintosh to copy rather than move.

Next, rename the folder in the original location to make it clear that it is now a backup copy. For example, I generally add “BACKUP” in all caps to the beginning of the folder (or file) name to I have the copy as a backup but don’t inadvertently use it.

You can then open the catalog from the new location by double-clicking the catalog file (the file with the .lrcat filename extension). When you return from your trip you can use the same process outlined here, just changing the source and destination locations for the transfer.

I should hasten to remind readers that I don’t recommend storing your Lightroom Classic catalog in a synchronized folder (such as Dropbox) for the purpose of accessing the catalog on more than one computer, as there is a degree of risk that the catalog could become corrupted. If you are going to use this approach, I suggest that whenever switching computers you make sure that the synchronization has updated on both computers before using Lightroom Classic.

Today’s Question: When you update Lightroom Classic [to a new version that requires an update to the catalog], will your default catalog automatically switch [to the newly updated catalog]?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, if you have set a specific catalog as the default catalog in Lightroom Classic and then need to update that catalog for a new version of Lightroom Classic, the default catalog will also update to the newly updated catalog.

More Detail: This is actually a question that was asked during one of the live online sessions of my recent online workshop focused on organizing photos in Lightroom Classic. I was stumped at the time, as I don’t recall how this had been handled with earlier updates.

However, I tested Lightroom Classic and found that the default catalog setting will indeed get updated. So, for example, let’s assume you had set your catalog as the default catalog in Lightroom Classic 10. When you upgrade to Lightroom Classic 11, that catalog would need to be updated, including getting a new filename. After that update, the newly updated catalog would be set as your new default catalog as well.

By the way, I strongly recommend setting your primary (and hopefully only) Lightroom Classic catalog as the default catalog that will be loaded every time you launch Lightroom Classic. You can find this option in the Default section of the General tab of the Preferences dialog in Lightroom Classic. Selecting your primary catalog as the default catalog will ensure you’re always using the correct catalog when you launch Lightroom Classic, even if you had previously opened a different catalog for some reason.

Today’s Question: Do you have any documentation that explains what the badge icons are that appear on thumbnails of photos in Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes! I’ve published a post on the GreyLearning blog that defines the “badge” icons on photo thumbnails in Lightroom Classic here:

https://greylearningblog.com/meaning-of-thumbnail-badge-icons-in-lightroom-classic/

More Detail: By default, Lightroom Classic displays icons at the bottom-right corner of applicable photos in both the grid view display in the Library module as well as on the filmstrip on the bottom panel. The five badges are used to indicate whether an image has had keywords added to it, has GPS coordinates in metadata, is included in one or more collections, has been cropped, or has been edited in the Develop module.

I find these badges very helpful, especially since you can click on the badges to access specific features as outlined in the article linked above. However, if you don’t like having the badges displayed it is possible to turn them off.

For the grid view display you can update the settings in the View Options dialog, which you can access by selecting View > View Options from the menu. Turn off the “Thumbnail Badges” checkbox in the Cell Icons section of the Grid View tab if you don’t want to see thumbnail badges in the grid view.

For the filmstrip you can turn off the badges in Preferences. Start by selecting Edit > Preferences from the menu on Windows or Lightroom Classic > Preferences on Macintosh. Go to the Interface tab, and turn off the “Show badges” checkbox in the Filmstrip section if you don’t want to have badges displayed on thumbnails on the filmstrip.

Today’s Question: When or for whom would Capture One be an alternative to Lightroom Classic or Photoshop?

Tim’s Quick Answer: I think that for most photographers Lightroom Classic and Photoshop represent a better overall workflow solution. However, for some photographers such as commercial studio photographers (especially if they collaborate with clients) Capture One represents an alternative worth considering.

More Detail: In many respects Capture One can be thought of as providing many of the features available in Lightroom Classic or Photoshop. In the early days of Capture One I felt that it offered what was perhaps the best processing capabilities for raw captures. However, over the years all the various tools for processing raw captures have improved to the point that excellent quality can be obtained with just about any of them.

In other words, the decision now is mostly about workflow needs and personal preference.

I consider Lightroom Classic to be superior to Capture One when it comes to organizing your photos. It would be fair to say that Capture One has some additional features for optimizing photos that go beyond Lightroom Classic, but of course you can send photos from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop and go far beyond what is possible with Capture One.

Where I think Capture One has an advantage over Lightroom Classic is when it comes to collaborating with a client in the studio, even while actually capturing the photos. Capture One provides a good workflow for tethered capture, so a client can be reviewing photos as they are captured. There is even a Capture One Live service that enables remote collaboration via the internet.

Because of the overlap in features and the workflow issues involved, I don’t think it makes sense to use both Capture One and Lightroom Classic together. Rather, I think photographers should choose one or the other. I prefer the combination of Lightroom Classic and Photoshop over Capture One, but I also think Capture One is very good software for the photographer.

For a photographer who hasn’t already started using either of these tools, it is worth evaluating both. I think most photographers would be better served by Lightroom Classic and possibly Photoshop, but for some photographers (especially studio photographers) the unique features of Capture One may be a better fit.

Note, by the way, that Capture One is more expensive that the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan. The Creative Cloud Photography plan includes Lightroom Classic and Photoshop and costs US$9.99 per month, while Capture One Pro is US$24 per month. Both subscriptions offer savings if you pay annually. Capture One Pro is also available with a perpetual license for one major version at a cost of US$299.

Today’s Question: I use collections to synchronize images from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom Mobile for Android and I use Folders to organize images on Lightroom Classic. Do the Folders and Albums in Lightroom Mobile conflict with collections and folders on Lightroom Classic? Or are Lightroom Mobile Folders like Collection Sets in Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Collections in Lightroom Classic correspond to albums with the cloud-based ecosystem for Lightroom, which would include the cloud-based version of Lightroom, the Lightroom app for mobile devices, or Lightroom in a web browser (https://lightroom.adobe.com). Folders in Lightroom Classic correspond directly to folders on your hard drive where the photos are stored, whereas the term “folders” in the cloud-based ecosystem of Lightroom relates to collection sets in Lightroom Classic.

More Detail: Folders in Lightroom Classic represent actual folders on your hard drive. The folder structure you see in the Folders list in the Library module in Lightroom Classic will match the folder structure on the hard drive for the photos that are actually being managed by your catalog.

Collections in Lightroom Classic can be thought of as basically the same as Albums in Lightroom Mobile. If you enable synchronization for a collection in Lightroom Classic, that collection appears as an album in Lightroom Mobile. Similarly, if you create an album on Lightroom Mobile and add images to the album, that album will appear as a collection in Lightroom Classic, with synchronization enabled for that collection.

Folders in Lightroom Mobile can be thought of as the same thing as collection sets in Lightroom Classic. However, these items don’t actually synchronize. If you enable synchronization for a collection that is included in a collection set in Lightroom Classic, the collection appears as an album in Lightroom Mobile but doesn’t appear in a folder representing the collection set from Lightroom Classic.

If you create a folder in Lightroom Mobile with an album in that folder and photos in the album, the photos and album will synchronize to a collection in Lightroom Classic, but the folder from Lightroom Mobile won’t appear as a collection set in Lightroom Classic. Rather, albums synchronized from Lightroom Mobile will appear in a “From Lightroom” collection set, without the folder/collection set structure synchronizing.

In other words, for the cloud-based ecosystem for Lightroom that includes the Lightroom CC desktop application, the Lightroom Mobile app, and web browser access to Lightroom (via https://lightroom.adobe.com), folders and albums operate the same. The outlier is Lightroom Classic, which uses different terminology and does not synchronize in exactly the same way as the rest of the Lightroom ecosystem.

Today’s Question: Is there any advantage between shooting black and white in camera versus converting in Lightroom Classic?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Assuming you’re capturing in raw (which I consider critically important for black and white images) the only advantage to setting your camera to black and white is to get a preview on the camera’s LCD of what the image will look like in general as a black and white image. The actual conversion from color should be done after the capture.

More Detail: While I recommend raw capture for all photography, I consider raw capture absolutely critical for photos that will be converted to black and white. If you capture in or convert to black and white for a JPEG capture, the image will have a maximum of 256 shades of gray. That results in a very high risk of a loss of smooth gradations (posterization) if relatively strong adjustments are applied to the image.

With raw capture you are recording at a higher bit depth, which for most cameras translates to a bit depth of 12-bits or 14-bits per channel (with a small number of cameras supporting 16-bit per channel capture). By comparison to a JPEG capture, that translates up to 4,096 shades of gray for a 12-bit capture, 16,384 shades for a 14-bit capture, and 65,536 shades at 16-bits.

Setting your camera to black and white will provide a grayscale preview of the raw capture, which can obviously be helpful. However, as soon as you import that raw capture into Lightroom Classic or open it with other raw processing software, the image will appear again in color. You can then convert to black and white and apply adjustments to optimize that image, confident that you’re taking full advantage of the additional tonal range represented by the raw capture compared to a JPEG capture.

If you set your camera to black and white when capturing JPEG images, there will not be any color information recorded and you’ll be left with a grayscale image with only a maximum of 256 shades of gray. That can lead to serious image quality problems if moderate adjustments are applied, which is why raw capture is so important when your intent is to convert the images to black and white.