3.7. Using Quick Develop
The Library module contains streamlined image processing capabilities via Quick Develop. Quick Develop is especially handy if you want to apply a simple white balance correction or a relative exposure bump to a large group of selected images.
You'll find the Quick Develop tools under the Histogram in the right side panel of the Library module. To expand any pane, click on the arrow key (circled, top). To reveal the Crop Ratio and Treatment choices, you need to click on the up and down arrows (circled, bottom) Figure 3-102 When you apply Quick Develop settings, the image previews, regardless of what viewing mode you are in, will update accordingly. The image in the Navigator window will also update to reflect your adjustments.
Figure 3-102. Figure 3-102
Applying Saved Presets
Several presets ship with Lightroom which apply settings ranging from Aged Photo conversion to Zero'd to your selected images. Figure 3-103
Figure 3-103. Figure 3-103
You can also make your own presets in the Develop module, which will appear in the Saved Preset pop-up menu as well. (I'll get into creating Develop presets in subsequent chapters.)
To apply a preset to one image, select that image and choose the appropriate preset. To apply a preset to a batch of images, select all the images you wish in the display window and then choose the appropriate preset. Pressing 
+Z (Ctrl+Z) reverts to the previous setting and clicking the Reset button at the bottom right of the Quick Develop pane takes you back to the original camera settings.
Crop ratio
The crop command in Quick Develop doesn't crop to a user-defined area, but applies a preset aspect ratio or a ratio of your choice. Figure 3-104 It's really useful when you have a batch of images that you want to fit to a specific proportion, such as a standard-size commercial print. (If you want to improve composition or eliminate unwanted parts, I suggest you use the Develop module's Crop Overlay tool covered in Chapter 4.)
Figure 3-104. Figure 3-104
Under Treatment, you can choose between Color and Grayscale. Figure 3-105 Tweak the conversion using other Quick Develop Exposure controls. However, you won't have the fine tuning (i.e., Grayscale Mix controls) of the Develop module to really make a special black and white conversion (See Chapter 5).
Figure 3-105. Figure 3-105
NOTE
You can always convert to grayscale at any time in the Library module by selecting an image and pressing the V key, which toggles between black and white and color.
White Balance
White Balance (WB) settings can be changed here. Figure 3-106 You can leave the setting to reflect the camera setting (As Shot) or choose Auto or a range of other options. Your selected image will immediately change to reflect your choice. White balance controls will affect JPEG and TIFF images, although they are much more effective on RAW files. You can fine-tune your white balance settings with the Temp and Tint controls. The single arrows make minor adjustments, while the double arrows make coarser ones.
Figure 3-106. Figure 3-106
Tone Controls
Clicking on the Auto Tone button can be a quick way to improve an image. Auto Tone works by automatically adjusting tonal and color values, and for some images it does a good job. For others, it's a disaster. The only way to find out is to try.
Under the Auto Tone button, there's a range of useful tone controls. The Clarity adjustment, for example, gives a nice punch to an image that is especially evident when you go to print. Figure 3-107 You need to click on the arrow (circled) to reveal all the choices. The effect of these controls on your images mirror those found in the Develop module, which I'll go into more detail in the following chapters. The primary difference is in the way they are applied via the > and >> buttons. Again, the > button is for minor adjustments and the >> is for more coarse adjustments.
Figure 3-107. Figure 3-107
|
Quick Develop for Multiple Images
The ability to easily and quickly apply a particular look or tonal correction to a batch of images is one of the really cool things about Lightroom, and what sets it apart from the previous generation of image processing software.
To do this:
Select the images you wish to work on in the image viewing area. Figure 3-108 Pressing
+A (Ctrl+A) selects all. Using 
+D (Ctrl+D) deselects all. The histogram will only reflect values of the active image.Figure 3-108. Figure 3-108
Select the appropriate white balance or tone controls. (In this example, I selected grayscale.) The changes will be visible in all the selected thumbnails. Figure 3-109 Use Reset to revert back to your original camera settings.
Figure 3-109. Figure 3-109
When you select multiple images and work with the Quick Develop pane in the Library module, remember you are applying relative changes to each image. For example, if you start with one image that is overexposed 1 stop, say, and another is 1.5 stops over, if you increase the Exposure value, the starting point for the first image is 1 stop over and the starting point for the other is 1.5. (This may seem totally logical to you, but, as you will see, when you apply previous settings to one or multiple images in the Develop module, you are applying exactly the same settings in a nonrelative way, which may or may not be effective.)
Sync Settings
What if you want to apply some, but not all, of the settings from one image to a batch of images? Then you use the Sync Settings option at the bottom of the righthand panel. Figure 3-110
Figure 3-110. Figure 3-110
Make your corrections to the active image. Then select one or more other images. Click on Sync Settings. When the Synchronize Settings dialog box appears, choose only the settings you wish to apply to the other images and then select Synchronize when you are done. Figure 3-111
Figure 3-111. Figure 3-111
