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]]>This may seem silly, but you would be surprised at how often I encounter people who don’t know where their catalog is located at all or discover that it is not where they expected. Part of the reason for this is that under normal operation you don’t actually need to know where it is. You just open Lightroom Classic, and it opens the last catalog that was used. The issue is when there is a problem, and then you’re not in your best frame of mind for a search and rescue mission. So, here’s my advice for finding where your catalog is located. Hopefully it is right where you thought.
Now that you know or confirmed where your catalog is located, make sure it is set as the default catalog when you open Lightroom Classic. Don’t rely on the “Load most recent catalog” setting that is configured by default. You want to be in charge of this important decision.
With your catalog located, possibly renamed, and set as the default, you want to ensure that all of the work you do in Lightroom Classic is also backed up with an integrity check on a regular basis. Sure, you are probably using some sort of full system backup, and I applaud you for that. But there is a good reason to use the built in catalog back up function too, which is that it saves a new copy of your catalog up to that point in time, then compresses it into a zip file to reduce size. Should your working catalog become corrupted or if you suffer a drive failure you’ll have a series of recent catalogs to fall back on. However, a far more likely scenario is that you’ll do some sort of self-inflicted injury on your catalog (like delete a saved book collection, or accidentally remove a folder from the catalog and lose all edits on those photos, or some other own goal), and by having a recent backup copy of your catalog, you can just shrug it off and get the important information from the most recent backup. So, go ahead and set up the automated catalog backup function.
There are some good reasons why you might have offline/missing photos in your catalog, such as the drive they are stored on is disconnected at the moment. In a case like that all you need to do is reconnect the drive, and all is well again. However, there are also situations where photos are considered offline/missing because of actions we took without being aware of the consequences.
One of the most common actions we take to cause our photos to become “missing” as far as Lightroom Classic is concerned is when we move, rename, or delete them outside of Lightroom Classic. All Lightroom Classic knows is the complete path, from the volume name (PC: drive letter) to the individual file name (and every folder in between). If we make even the smallest change to that path outside of Lightroom, it results in the affected photos being considered offline or missing.
The first thing to note is if you have any drives showing as offline, and if so, plug those in. Give it a moment, and those should automatically reconnect and show up in the Folders panel. Once all drives are connected and you still encounter offline/missing folders or photos, here are the ways to resolve those issues.
The Folders panel is not sexy, but it is one of the most important panels in all of Lightroom Classic because it is your direct link from Lightroom Classic to where your photos are stored on your drive. You can use it to move your photos between folders, to add/create new folders, to move your photos between drives, to rename folders, to import photos directly to a given folder, and so much more. So much that I wrote a two-part article on how to get the most out of this lowly panel. Start with the fundamentals of the Folders panel, and then move on to the essential tasks you need to know.
While you can use the Folders panel to move photos between drives, I do want to point out another command found in the Folders panel called Update Folder Location, which is my preferred method for moving large amounts of photos between drives.
Ok, that should put your Lightroom Classic world in a good place for moving forward, and hopefully you’ll agree it is time well spent. Be well!
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]]>The post Lightroom in 60-Seconds: How to Get Rid of One of Lightroom’s Most Annoying Features appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>And yes, that is “Handsome Dave” Williams, British love machine, and author of the “Travel Tuesdays with Dave” column on my daily blog. Stop snickering — I know nobody’s traveling now, but don’t tell Dave.
OK, gotta run — check back tomorrow for Rockin’ Rob Sylvan’s column (always excellent). Catch ya then.
Stay safe, healthy, and keep those hands super-clean (20-seconds).
-Scott
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]]>The post Lightroom in 60-Seconds: Flipping Your Crop From Wide to Tall appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>Pretty handy, right? I hope you found that helpful.
Killer new KelbyOne online course from Dave Cross (Photoshop Hall of Famer and one of the original “Photoshop Guys”). You will learn a ton, and Dave makes it all so easy and understandable for anybody.
Here’s the link to the course (if you join to watch this course, you also get access to all our online courses, including more than 50 full-length in-depth Lightroom courses. Totally worth it (of course I would say that, but it really is).
Everybody stay healthy out there (wash those hands for 20 seconds), and we’ll see you here tomorrow.
-Scott
P.S. If you’ve been waiting for Part 2 of my photography assignment that helps you discover something very important about your own photography, I posted part 2 on my daily blog today. Here’s the link.
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]]>The post Julieanne on Keywords in Lightroom Classic appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>Note: Check my blog today for an update on the Coronavirus and my live seminars coming up in Houston and LA.
Adobe’s own Julieanne Kost did a really nice post this week on using Keywords in Lightroom Classic, and there’s a lot to it, and totally worth checking out her post today. Here’s the link.
This is such a weird time — I’ve been around for a while and have never experienced what we’re all experiencing and going through. I wish you good health, clean hands, and be careful out in public. Brighter days are ahead, have a good weekend (stay home), and let’s ride this thing out together.
All my best,
-Scott
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]]>The post The March 2020 Issue of Photoshop User Magazine Is Now Available! appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>The March 2020 issue of Photoshop User is now live on the KelbyOne site and KelbyOne Mags for iOS and Android.
In this issue, learn how to get your work done faster in Photoshop so you can enjoy the finer things in life, plus two superfast ways to enhance the colors in your images, exploring the new Capture from Image feature, illuminating lights in old photos, and so much more! Check out all the latest magazine articles with our Search Articles feature on the website.
This issue’s cover image is by KelbyOne member, Darren Herlihy
KelbyOne Pro & Plus members have access to more than 80 back issues of Photoshop User magazine all the way back to January 2012, plus all 58 issues of Lightroom Magazine. Not a Pro or Plus member yet? Click here for more information.
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]]>The post Large Document Format (PSB) Support in Lightroom Classic appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>The first consideration is what you have set on the External Editing tab of the Preferences. By default it is set to 16 Bit ProPhoto RGB TIF, but it is possible to change that to PSD as well, as I have done. Both TIF and PSD support layers and all the things you would want to do in Photoshop. I have found that layered PSD files tend to be smaller than layered TIF files, but I really think it is more a matter of personal preference. My understanding is that TIF files have a file size limitation of 4GB, while PSD tops out at 2GB.
In the past, once you hit that file size limit you’d have to save the file using Photoshop’s Large Document Format file type, which has a PSB extension. Photoshop can do that just fine, but the problem was that the resulting PSB file would not import back into Lightroom Classic, which was not ideal. Thanks to this new update, those PSB files can be imported back into Lightroom Classic. However, PSB still face the same limit for import as any other photo, which is that it can’t be more than 65,000 pixels on the long side or more than 512 Megapixels total.
I started out with 33 frames I captured in Yosemite National Park a few years ago. We were out scouting locations in the morning, and all I had in my hand was a Nikon D5300 with a 105mm lens on it (everything else was back in the car). We came into a field and there was Half Dome looking just beautiful. I couldn’t stand back any further, so I just shot a pano of sorts, hand held, of the entire scene, and kept walking. Later on I threw all 33 frames into Lightroom Classic’s merge to pano function, and it resulted in a 138 megapixel DNG photo of the scene. That was pretty cool! A good reminder to always take the shot.
After processing the resulting pano in Lightroom Classic I sent it to Photoshop to test out the improved Content Aware Fill to fill in the transparent pixels and then apply some sharpening to finish it off.
That all went well enough, but when I went to File > Save, to save this new edited copy to the same folder as the source photo and have it added back to Lightroom Classic I was confronted with a dialog informing me the copy could not be saved as a PSD because I exceeded that 2GB limit.
So, I went to File > Save As, and chose the Large Document Format from the Format drop-down menu, and saved it to the same folder as the source photo. Saving was slow, but successful.
Once I was done editing and the file was done saving, I closed it out of Photoshop and returned to Lightroom Classic. I was pleased to find the new PSB file had imported successfully into my catalog and was already selected just like it would if it had been the normal PSD (or TIF) file. The resulting PSB file ended up being 3.19GB.
As a final step, now that I can have PSB files in my catalog, it was time to add a new smart collection to my “Catalog Dashboard” by using the rule File Type is Photoshop Large Document (PSB), and including it in the existing collection set.
I’m very grateful for this addition to my workflow. Has anyone else started taking advantage of PSB support yet?
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]]>The post Turning a Standard Upside Down appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>Sponsored
For those of you who don’t know my background, I’ve spent my life in the photography industry. And in all those years, I’ve never been involved with any company or products I didn’t honestly believe in.
When asked to join the Platypod team last September, l accepted because of two things—the owners of the company and the quality of the products. While I wasn’t involved in Platyball’s design, I’ve been part of the team every step of the way, helping to educate the industry, starting with why the world needed to be turned upside down.
Tripods haven’t changed since the 1820s. Years later, tripod heads came along, and it wasn’t until the 90’s that Arca Swiss set the standard for release plates. So, for all those years, artists have been leveling from the ground up with a never-ending flow of evolutionary redesigns, but never revolutionary.
Time to turn the tripod world upside down!
“Dr. T” came along and, as he’s done with Platypod, felt there was a better solution. If leveling is from the top, instead of the bottom, the horizon will always be level. It’s especially apparent when panning.
Next on his list was to redefine the meaning of “ergonomic design.” We’ve all worked with tripod heads with multiple buttons and dials, and everybody has had one not line up in the direction you want when tightening it down.
Wanting to give photographers more control, the process needed to be streamlined. Dr. “T” chose to bring technology, simplicity, and efficiency together with a ball head that had just two buttons and could be adjusted with only one hand, even while wearing gloves in winter!
As Scott Kelby demonstrated in his video, two buttons with a new standard of quality manufacturing and material was all “Dr. T” needed—one to loosen the ball head, the other to tighten it. Next, bring in the best materials, weather sealing and the strength to hold 22 pounds of gear in place and *poof* Platyball was in the news.
Now, add in the patented electronic indicator on the Elite model, powered by an easy to find over-the-counter A23 battery, with the ability for photographers to level outside the camera’s system. There are no blocked bubble levels and based on the position of the ball head, it can be viewed from the front of the camera or back. This is especially effective in tight spaces for meeting the demands of architectural photography, shooting at night and simply expanding creativity.
But there was one last addition, the Arca Swiss release, complete with an Arca twist locking collar and 360-degree indicator plus a quick release safety lock.
Remember, where I started in this post? I said two things made me want to be part of the Platypod team. Well, the first was the attention to detail and design of all their products like Platyball. The second was the quality and integrity of the people.
I’ve never met anybody more focused on Customer Service, quality, and keeping his promises than “Dr. T.” This is Platypod’s third Kickstarter campaign. He’s always delivered on time with products exceeding expectations—precisely what he’s always committed to doing.
We call him “Dr. T” because he really is a doctor, not of engineering but a full-time working pediatrician with a practice in New Jersey. Fortunately for our industry, photography became a passion for him forty years ago, and he never does anything halfway.
He told me a story once about his interest in photo. His father gave him a book about photography and told him to learn everything in the book BEFORE he could have his first camera. Everything under the imaging umbrella became a passion, and as the industry changed, so did “Dr. T’s” focus.
Whether it’s his love for medicine and finding answers to health challenges that set the standard or his passion for solutions and engineering contributing to Platypod’s reputation, he’s created a company built on listening to its customers.
Platyball’s arrived, has turned the tripod world upside down, and in the process, our lives as artists are about to get better. We’re all about to have more time to create and waste less time in setup.
With just four days left in the Kickstarter campaign, this is the community’s last chance to save 20% on the new Platyball. That’s a significant saving on the Ergo of $50 and $76 on the Elite. But in addition to the savings, you’ll be part of a revolutionary new approach to leveling and using a ball head.
Visit www.platyball.com for more information.
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]]>The post How to Install LUTs (Color Lookup Tables) In Lightroom appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>I wasn’t kidding was I? OK, go find some LUTs; get in my Lightroom, and start adding those looks!
My full-day “Ultimate Photography Crash Course” seminar next stops are in Houston on Monday, March 23, and then Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 25th. Hope you can come out and join me for the day. Tickets and info right here.
Here’s to a kick-butt week!
–Scott
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]]>The post Here’s How to Get Up and Running Fast Using Lightroom Mobile appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>…and on Monday I did a location portrait of a ballerina in a classic theater using two Profoto B1x’s and a Profoto D1. It’s an intermediate level course on lighting, and it’ll be coming out in just a few weeks on KelbyOne (more details when it launches). Here’s a Behind The Scenes shot and one of the finals from the shoot below (we did six shoots in all — but we started here in the dressing room. Quite a challenging location — mirrors all over, low solid black ceiling, small confined space, but we got there:
But for today, I’ve got a really fantastic video from Terry White on getting up and running with Lightroom on your mobile device, and if you’ve inch to start using Lightroom on the go, you will LOVE this! I’ve embedded it below — it part of Terry’s new weekly photography master class live-streamed podcast.
Seriously, ya gotta love that guy! Thanks, Terry!
All the details and a trailer for the workshop are over on my blog today (here’s the link), or you can jump right to the workshop sign-up page if you want to grab one of the last spots (it’s limited to just 15 photographers total). Hope I’ll be seeing you there (I’ve got an incredible workshop planned from start to finish).
Have a great weekend everybody, and I’ll be back on my regularly scheduled blog-a-roonie schedule next week, so head on back by then.
-Scott
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]]>The post Lightroom Classic Interface Mac vs. Windows appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.
]]>Thankfully, there really aren’t that many differences, but I know that when they come up and when are not called out, it can be very frustrating for the reader (I know because I hear from those people). I’ll start with the most common place I hear about, and then move through the rest.
The place that seems to trip people up the most is in the Print module. On a Mac, there is a Page Setup and a Print Settings button on the bottom of the left panel group.
On Windows, there is only a Page Setup button.
Side note, that little hand icon under Page Setup is for jumping into the “Touch Workspace” that only shows up on Windows tablet computers (bonus difference!).
It is really easy for a Mac-centric author of tutorials to forget that difference, which can really confuse Windows users who think they are somehow missing a button.
The reason there is a difference here, and really everywhere that there is an interface difference, is because the operating system gets involved. When printing, Lightroom Classic has to involve the operating system and the printer driver to get the job done. On a Mac, clicking the Page Setup button opens the Page Setup dialog box where you select the printer, the paper size (borderless and non-borderless options for each size), and the paper orientation.
On Windows, clicking the Page Setup button opens the Print Setup dialog box that also allows for selecting the printer, the paper size, and the paper orientation. Depending on the printer, there may also be a Source drop-down menu for choosing where the paper is fed from.
Notice on the Windows Print Setup dialog box there is also a Properties button? Clicking that takes you to the advanced properties of the printer driver where you can select things like Media Type, Print Quality, Mode, and a host of other advanced settings (the contents of this dialog will vary with the printer you are using). Those are the same types of settings a Mac user would access via the Print Settings button that appears on the Mac interface and not on Windows. That’s all there is to it. So, if you are following a tutorial showing a Mac interface and are instructed to click Print Settings you now know that means you need to click Page Setup and then click the Properties button to access the same settings. Ok?
This little cluster of menu options lives in under the Lightroom Classic menu that exists on the Mac operating system (on a Mac, every program has a menu with its own name that houses things like preferences).
On Windows, there is no special Lightroom Classic menu so that little cluster of menu options are found under the Edit menu.
The most well known differences between Mac and Windows is the keyboard. Here’s the decoder ring:
Mac CMD key = Windows Ctrl key
Mac Option key = Windows Alt key
Along with keyboard shortcuts there is the old throwback to when the Mac mouse did not have a right-click button on it, and so on a Mac it is possible to invoke contextual menus by holding the control key and clicking on something. These days Mac users either have a multi-button mouse or just use the track pad or some other input device. The “right-click” convention could involve a two-finger tap on the Trackpad or a press of a button on a Wacom pen, so I feel it is finally time to let go of saying “control-click” for Mac and “right-click” for Windows. Don’t we all know that right-click means open the contextual menu however you do that? Anyway …
The award for the most unused difference between the operating systems goes to the Shadow control in the Overlays panel of the Slideshow module on a Mac. I have no idea why this does not exist on Windows (except that no one uses it?), but for all the many years it has existed on Mac I can’t recall anyone asking about it. So there you go.
The other time you will encounter a visual difference in the interface is if you have to interact with the file system by either adding a new folder in the Library module or exporting to a location on your system via export. In those circumstances you will see an operating system specific dialog box for navigating down through the folders to find your destination or add a new folder.
Those are all the places I can think of that look and act differently depending on the operating system you are using (or the author of whatever tutorial/video you are viewing was using). I apologize for any time I may have left out one of those details that caused confusion for anyone. Now you have this Mac to Windows translation guide to help you out.
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]]>