9. Develop Module Workflow

Introduction

All the adjustments that you apply to your images in Lightroom are nondestructive. This means that you can edit or remove the applied settings at anytime. In this chapter, you learn how to access the various history states of an image via the History panel and store them as image variations in the Snapshots panel. You also learn how to create editable proxies of an image by utilizing Lightroom’s virtual copy feature.

This chapter also teaches you how to share develop settings across two or more images. You learn how to synchronize specific settings, copy/paste them, and save your favorite setting combinations as presets that you can later apply to multiple images at once with a simple click of a button.

The final sections of the chapter explain how to use Lightroom with Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Photoshop Elements. It is here that you learn the various ways that you can edit Lightroom catalog images using the other members of the Photoshop family of applications.

Accessing History States

Editing images in Lightroom is entirely nondestructive. This is because Lightroom remembers every develop setting that you appply to your images, even after you quit the application. Every adjustment that you apply to an image is stored in ascending order in the Develop module History panel. You can recall a previous history state at any time by clicking an adjustment from the History panel list. The numbers displayed in the middle column of the History panel indicate the number of units up or down that the settings were shifted. The numbers on the far right of the panel indicate the new setting values. Note that when you undo an adjustment by pressing Cmd+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Z (Win), it is not stored as a history state in the panel.

Revert to any previous Develop module setting

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to work with.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > History to display the History panel.

To revert to a previous history state, click the saved develop setting in the History panel.

Saving Snapshots

Another way that you can manage history states in Lightroom is to use the Snapshots feature. With Snapshots, you can store history states as image variations. Doing so allows you to compare different versions of an image, such as black and white versus color, or cropped versus uncropped. You can recall these history states quickly and easily by saving them as snapshots, and selecting them from the Snapshots panel.

Store saved history states as snapshot variations

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo containing the history states you would like to capture.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > History to display the History panel.

Select the history state that you would like to capture from the History panel.

Choose Window > Panels > Snapshots to display the Snapshots panel.

Choose Develop > New Snapshot, or click the Create Snapshot button (the + symbol) in the upper-right corner of the Snapshots panel.

In the New Snapshot dialog box that appears, enter a name in the Snapshot Name field.

Click the Create button.

Lightroom stores the new snapshot in the Snapshots panel.

Lightroom adds the snapshot to the panel.

Syncing Snapshots

If you’ve already saved several snapshots of an image, and then decide to apply critical adjustments to them, such as spot removal, red eye correction, or localized adjustments made with the adjustment brush, you can update the snapshots by syncing the edits. The Sync Snapshots feature enables you to apply specific adjustments to all the snapshots at once. The Synchronize with Snapshots dialog box lets you choose which settings you would like to apply.

Update snapshots to include recently applied settings

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo whose snapshots you would like to sync.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Settings > Sync Snapshots.

In the Synchronize with Snapshots dialog box that appears, select the settings that you would like to sync.

Click Synchronize.

Lightroom updates the snapshots with the specified settings. Select any snapshot from the Snapshots panel to view the updates.

Creating Virtual Copies

In addition to saving snapshots, you can also create virtual copies of an image in Lightroom. A virtual copy is a proxy version of the original master image. It appears like a duplicate photo in the Library Grid and Filmstrip but is actually a visual representation of the master image that you can edit separately. Unlike snapshots, virtual copies offer you more freedom to apply different types of edits and preview them as separate images in Compare or Survey view. You can also save virtual copies into collections, which you cannot do with snapshots.

Create a proxy version of the master image

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to create a virtual copy of.

Choose Photo > Create Virtual Copy.

Lightroom automatically groups the virtual copy with the original master file in the Library module Grid and the Filmstrip.

Lightroom groups the virtual copy with the original master image.

Synchronizing Develop Settings

With Lightroom’s Sync Settings feature, you can apply specific develop settings to multiple photos at once. When you import a series of photos that contain the same subject matter and lighting conditions, you can apply settings to one of the photos and then sync the settings for the rest of the photos in the series to those applied to the corrected image. The Synchronize Settings dialog box lets you choose which settings you would like to apply to the other photos.

Synchronize develop settings across two or more photos

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photos you would like to sync.

Click the Sync button (Develop module) or the Sync Settings button (Library module) located in the lower-right corner of the interface.

In the Synchronize Settings dialog box that appears, select the develop settings that you would like to sync.

Click Synchronize.

Lightroom applies the develop settings to the selected photos and updates the thumbnails in the Library module Grid and Filmstrip.

Lightroom applies the develop settings to the selected photos.

Using Auto Sync Mode

When you apply develop settings to the target photo in Auto Sync mode, Lightroom automatically applies the same settings to the other images in the selection. In this regard, Auto Sync mode is similar to working with Quick Develop in the Library module. Note that the Auto Sync feature does not offer you the option to choose which settings to apply from the Synchronize Settings dialog box. To enter Auto Sync mode, you must click the toggle switch located next to the Develop module Sync button, or choose Settings > Enable Auto Sync.

Sync settings across multiple photos as you apply them

From the Develop module, select the photos that you would like to sync from the Filmstrip.

To enable Auto Sync mode, click the toggle switch located next to the Sync button in the lower-right corner of the interface. Lightroom displays the words Auto Sync inside the button.

Apply develop settings to the primary (or target) photo in the selection.

Lightroom automatically applies the settings to the selected photos.

Lightroom automatically applies the chosen develop settings to the selected photos and updates the thumbnails in the Library module Grid and Filmstrip.

Copying and Pasting Develop Settings

In addition to Syncing settings across two or more selected photos, you can also copy and paste them. This can be done in both the Library and Develop modules. Note that in the Develop module, you can apply only the copied settings to all the photos in a selection by Control+clicking (Mac) or right-clicking (win) the Filmstrip selection (not the image in the Content area) and choosing Develop Settings > Paste Settings from the contextual menu. If you click the Paste button or choose Edit > Paste in the Develop module, Lightroom applies only the copied settings to the primary photo in the selection.

Copy and paste develop settings in the Develop module

In the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to copy develop settings from.

Choose Edit > Copy or click the Copy button located in the lower-left corner of the Develop module interface. You can also Control-click (Mac) or right-click the image in the Content area (or the Filmstrip thumbnail) and choose Settings > Copy Settings.

In the Copy Settings dialog box that appears, select the develop settings that you would like to copy.

Click Copy.

From the Filmstrip, select the photo(s) that you would like to paste the develop settings to.

Choose Edit > Paste or click the Paste button located in the lower-left corner of the Develop module interface. You can also Control-click (Mac) or right-click the image in the Content area (or the Filmstrip thumbnail) and choose Settings > Paste Settings.

Lightroom applies the develop settings to the selected photo(s).

Copy and paste develop settings in the Library module

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to copy develop settings from.

Choose Photo > Develop Settings > Copy Settings or Control-click (Mac) or right-click the thumbnail image in the Grid or Filmstrip and choose the command from the contextual menu.

In the Copy Settings dialog box that appears, select the develop settings that you would like to copy.

Click Copy.

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo(s) that you would like to paste the develop settings to.

Choose Photo > Develop Settings > Paste Settings or Control-click (Mac) or right-click the thumbnail image in the Grid or Filmstrip and choose the command from the contextual menu.

Lightroom applies the develop settings to the selected photo(s).

Applying Previous Develop Settings

Lightroom temporarily stores the develop settings for every photo you select. You can apply all these settings to the next image you select by applying the Paste Settings from Previous command, or by clicking the Previous button in the lower-right corner of the Develop module interface. Note that when you apply this command, Lightroom automatically bypasses the Copy Settings dialog box and applies all the develop settings from the previously selected photo. If more than one photo is selected, the Previous button in the Develop module changes into a Sync button; however, if you hold down Shift, the button reverts back to Previous and enables you to apply all the develop settings from the previously selected photo to every image in your current selection.

Copy and paste develop settings from the previous selection

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to copy develop settings from.

If you are not already in the Develop module, choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module, and automatically copies all the settings currently applied to the image.

From the Filmstrip, select the photo(s) that you would like to paste the develop settings to.

Choose Settings > Paste Settings from Previous (Develop module) or Photo > Develop Settings > Paste Settings from Previous (Library module). You can also click the Previous button located in the lower-right corner of the Develop module interface.

Lightroom applies the develop settings to the selected photo(s).

Saving Develop Setting Presets

Lightroom enables you to save your favorite develop setting combinations as presets. Doing so enables you to apply commonly used adjustments to multiple selected images with a simple click of a button. You can save presets in the User presets folder or create new folders within the Presets panel. In addition, the Presets panel also contains a Lightroom presets folder that contains all the presets that ship with Lightroom.

Save commonly used combinations of develop settings as presets

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select a photo that contains develop settings you would like to save.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > Presets to display the Presets panel.

Choose Develop > New Preset, or click the Create New Preset button (the + symbol) in the upper-right corner of the Presets panel.

In the New Develop Preset dialog box that appears, select the develop settings that you would like to save.

Enter a name for the preset in the Preset Name field of the New Develop Preset dialog box.

Choose a folder to save the preset in from the Folder drop-down list. The default is User Presets.

Click Create.

Lightroom adds the new preset to the Presets panel list.

Lightroom adds the new preset.

Resetting Images to Their Default Settings

All the adjustments that you apply to your images in Lightroom are nondestructive. This means that you can edit or remove the applied settings at any time. To remove all the settings at once, you can apply the Reset All Settings command (Develop module), or the Reset command (Library module), or click the Reset button located in the lower-right corner of the Develop module.

Remove all develop settings at once from selected photos

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo(s) that you would like to reset.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the primary selected photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Settings > Reset All Settings. You can also click the Reset button located in the lower-right corner of the Develop module interface.

Lightroom removes the develop settings from the selected photo(s) and updates the thumbnail(s) in the Library module Grid and Filmstrip.

Lightroom removes the develop settings from the selected photo(s).

Viewing Lightroom Edits in Camera Raw

All the develop settings applied to your images in Lightroom are automatically stored in the master catalog (lrcat) file. However, in addition to what is stored in the catalog file, Lightroom also gives you the option to write this info to the internal XMP space for JPEG, TIFF, PSD, and DNG files, and to XMP sidecar files for proprietary raw images. Doing so ensures that all the develop settings will be recognized when opening your images in Camera Raw.

Enable the auto write to XMP catalog setting

Under the Lightroom menu (Mac) or the Edit menu (Win), choose Catalog Settings.

In the Catalog Settings dialog box that appears, click the Metadata tab.

Enable the Automatically Write Changes into XMP option.

Close the Catalog Settings dialog box.

Open the image in Camera Raw via Adobe Bridge or Adobe Photoshop.

Camera Raw 6.1 recognizes all the develop settings applied to the image in Lightroom 3.

Viewing Camera Raw Edits in Lightroom

To edit a catalog image in Camera Raw and then view those edits later inside Lightroom, you must enable the Camera Raw preference for saving the settings in sidecar XMP files. After you apply the edits to the image in Camera Raw, you must update its metadata status in Lightroom. Doing so overwrites the previous settings and is not undoable.

Save settings to sidecar XMP files in Camera Raw

In Photoshop CS5, choose Preferences > Camera Raw from the Photoshop menu (Mac) or the Edit menu (Win).

In the Camera Raw Preferences dialog box that appears, choose Sidecar “xmp” files from the Save image settings list.

Click OK to close the Camera Raw Preferences dialog box.

In Lightroom 3, select the edited image from the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip.

Lightroom should display a metadata status conflict warning icon (an up arrow) in the grid cell.

Update the image’s develop settings by clicking the metadata status conflict warning icon in the grid cell.

In the warning dialog box that appears, click Read.

Lightroom 3 recognizes all the develop settings applied to the image in Camera Raw 6.1.

Choosing External Editing Preferences

The Lightroom Preferences dialog box includes options for opening raw images in Adobe Photoshop. It also includes options for opening unprocessed images in a secondary image-editing application of your choice, such as Photoshop Elements. To edit unprocessed images outside of Lightroom, they must be rendered as pixels. The External Editing panel of the Preferences dialog box allows you to choose the file format, color space, bit depth, resolution, and compression settings for rendered images.

Select options for editing catalog images in other applications

Under the Lightroom menu (Mac) or the Edit menu (Win), choose Preferences.

In the Preferences dialog box that appears, click the External Editing tab.

The top section of the External Editing tab displays options for editing images in the most recent version of Photoshop that you have installed:

• File Format—Determines what file format (TIFF or PSD) that the images are rendered as in Photoshop. The PSD format is more efficient when it comes to file saves, opening times, and compression. TIFF is more efficient in respect to metadata updates.

• Color Space—Determines the RGB color space that the images are rendered in. ProPhotoRGB contains the widest gamut and is therefore the best choice for preserving color detail from Lightroom.

• Bit Depth—Determines whether images are rendered as 8-bit or 16-bit in an external editing application. 16-bit images preserve the most tonal information out of Lightroom. 8-bit images limit the number of levels to 256 per color channel but are compatible with more external editors.

• Resolution—Determines the number of pixels per inch (ppi) that the images are rendered at. For high-resolution print images, the recommended value is 220 ppi.

• Compression—Enables you to apply lossless ZIP compression to images rendered in TIFF format. ZIP compression can reduce file size without harming any pixel data, unlike the lossy compression that is applied to JPEG images.

The bottom section of the External Editing tab allows you to choose an additional external editor. Click the Choose button to select an application other than Photoshop; or as an alternative, choose Photoshop and select different File Format, Color Space, Bit Depth, Resolution, and Compression settings.

Click the Close button.

Opening Images in Photoshop

When you choose to edit a raw catalog image in Photoshop, Lightroom renders the image using the settings chosen in the External Editing preference pane. When you choose to edit a non-raw image in Photoshop, you have the option to create a copy of the image, with or without Lightroom adjustments applied, or else edit the original image. Note that when you open an original jpeg catalog image in Photoshop and add layers to it, the file is not automatically added to the catalog when you save it as a layered psd or tiff. Lightroom only adds edited copies of nonraw images to the catalog automatically. You have the option to save edited copies in a stack with the original.

Opening raw images in Photoshop

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to open in Photoshop.

Choose Photo > Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop or Control-click (Mac) or right-click the thumbnail and choose the command from the contextual menu.

Lightroom opens the raw image in Adobe Photoshop.

Lightroom opens the raw image in Adobe Photoshop.

Opening nonraw images in Photoshop

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to open in Photoshop.

Choose Photo > Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop or Control-click (Mac) or right-click the thumbnail and choose the command from the contextual menu.

In the Edit Photo with Adobe Photoshop dialog box that appears, choose one of the following three options:

• Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments—Choose this option to edit a copy of the image in Photoshop with Lightroom adjustments applied. Enable the Stack with Original option at the bottom of the dialog box to group the copy with the original master file.

• Edit a Copy—Choose this option to edit a copy of the image in Photoshop without Lightroom adjustments applied. Enable the Stack with Original option at the bottom of the dialog box to group the copy with the original master file.

• Edit Original—Choose this option to edit the original image in Photoshop.

Click the Edit button.

Lightroom opens the nonraw image in Adobe Photoshop.

Lightroom opens the nonraw image in Adobe Photoshop.

Opening Images as Smart Objects in Photoshop

Lightroom now enables you to open raw and nonraw images as smart objects in Photoshop. This is especially useful for preserving the ability to edit Lightroom adjustments (via Camera Raw) when compositing catalog images in Photoshop. By double-clicking the smart object layer thumbnail in Photoshop, you can open the image in Camera Raw and adjust the settings that were originally made in Lightroom. Smart object functionality is not only nondestructive, but it also prevents you from having to bounce back and forth between applications.

Choose the Open as Smart Object in Photoshop command

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to open as a smart object in Photoshop.

Choose Photo > Edit In > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop or Control-click (Mac) or right-click the thumbnail and choose the command from the contextual menu.

Lightroom opens the image as a smart object in Adobe Photoshop.

To edit any Lightroom adjustments applied to the image prior to opening it in Photoshop, double-click the smart object icon in the Layers panel. Doing so opens the image in Camera Raw, where you can edit any Lightroom adjustments that were previously applied.

Click OK to apply the Camera Raw edits.

Photoshop updates the smart object layer.

Opening Images in Photoshop Elements

If you like working with the automated features available in Adobe Photoshop Elements, such as the ability to create multipage scrapbooks or collages, then you can choose Elements as a secondary external editor in Lightroom’s preferences. The dialog box that appears when you choose to edit any catalog image in Photoshop Elements is a lot like the dialog box that appears when you choose to edit a nonraw image in Photoshop. You can edit a copy of the catalog image, with or without Lightroom adjustments applied, or else edit the original. Just as it is when editing raw images in Photoshop, Lightroom renders all raw images as pixels using the Copy File Options chosen in the External Editing preferences. However, you can override these preference settings by choosing different Copy File Options at the bottom of the Edit Photo with Adobe Photoshop Elements dialog box.

Apply the Edit in External Editor command

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to open in Photoshop Elements.

Choose Photo > Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop Elements or Control-click (Mac) or right-click the thumbnail and choose the command from the contextual menu.

In the Edit Photo with Adobe Photoshop Elements dialog box that appears, choose one of the following three options:

• Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments—Choose this option to edit a copy of the image in Photoshop Elements with Lightroom adjustments applied. Enable the Stack with Original option at the bottom of the dialog box to group the copy with the original master file.

• Edit a Copy—Choose this option to edit a copy of the image in Photoshop Elements without Lightroom adjustments applied. Enable the Stack with Original option at the bottom of the dialog box to group the copy with the original master file.

• Edit Original—Choose this option to edit the original image in Photoshop Elements.

The Edit Photo with Adobe Photoshop Elements dialog box enables you to override the Copy File Options chosen in the External Editing Preferences tab. To do so, choose different settings for the following options: File Format, Color Space, Bit Depth, Resolution, and Compression.

Click the Edit button.

Lightroom opens the image in Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Lightroom opens the image in Adobe Photoshop Elements.