Adobe Lightroom Classic

Solutions / Fixes

Lightroom Classic (LrC)

Lightroom Preferences & Settings

XMP Sidecar Files stores a record of edits and the metadata of each RAW image, separate from the Lightroom Classic Catalog.

RAW defaults in Lightroom Classic allows you to customize how a RAW file looks when it’s imported.

Change the RAW Profile from Adobe Default to Camera Settings, which keeps the settings of the camera the raw image was made. (Color Profile)

  1. Go to: Edit (Win) or Lightroom Classic (macOS) then the Preferences menu
  2. Select the Presets tab
  3. From the Raw Defaults: Master drop-down, select “Camera Settings”

Import Module: Apply During Import

Camera Matching Profiles

If your RAW photos SOoC, before any post-processing, look dull or different from what you see on the camera, try changing from “Adobe Color” to a Camera Matching profile.

  1. Select the Develop module of Lightroom Classic (LrC)
  2. Click the Profile selector in the Basic section
  3. Click Browse… to open the Profile Browser, which shows the grid of “Camera Matching” profiles
  4. Click the “star” in the upper right of the profile you want to use.
Camera Matching Abbreviations
  • BW: For shooting images in black and white monotone.
  • FL: Creates an image with moody finish by applying sharp contrast to the calm coloring as well as the impressive sky and colors of the greens.
  • IN: Creates an image with matte textures by suppressing the contrast and saturation.
  • NT: The saturation and sharpness are lowered for shooting images in subdued tones. This is also suitable for capturing image material to be modified with a computer.
  • PT: (Portrait) For capturing skin in a soft tone, ideally suited for shooting portraits.
  • SH: Creates an image with bright, transparent, soft, and vivid mood.
  • ST: Standard finish for a wide range of subjects and scenes.
  • VV: The saturation and contrast are heightened for shooting striking images of colorful scenes and subjects such as flowers, spring greenery, blue sky, or ocean views.
  • VV2: Creates an image with bright and vivid colors with rich clarity.

Denoise in Lightroom Classic (LrC)

  • Denoise Demystified by Eric Chan for Adobe.com – Explains what Denoise is, how it works, and how to get the most from it
    • “Order matters. I recommend applying Denoise early in the workflow, before healing and masking. AI-driven, image-based features such as Content-Aware Remove and Select Subject can be affected by noise, so it’s best to use those features on a clean starting point. If you do run Denoise on an image that already has Content-Aware Remove settings or AI masks, Denoise will automatically update those spots and masks. This is handy, but be aware that the content of those spots and masks may change unexpectedly, so it’s best to review the results carefully.”

Tethered Capture with Lightroom Classic

Lightroom Classic v13.3 (May 2024 release) added direct tethered capture support for select Sony cameras. If you do not have one of the supported cameras, you’ll need to use Sony’s Imaging Edge Desktop software.

Lightroom Cloud

  • Lightroom Downloader downloads all of your Lightroom cloud (CC) content to your desktop computer.
  • Use this as a means to switch to using Lightroom Classic and/or a local backup.

Lightroom Classic Catalog

A Lightroom Classic catalog is a database which stores the location of your photos and information about those photos. The photos themselves are not stored in the Catalog.

The information tracked in the Catalog are:

  • The location on your system where each photo in the Library is located. e.g. The drive and folder/directory where the photo is located.
  • A list of the edits/changes made to each photo.
  • Metadata, such as flags, ratings, and keywords.

The directory/folder where the Lightroom Classic Catalog is located, also contains: Previews, and by default, Catalog Backups.

The Lightroom Classic catalog must be located on a local drive, internal or external directly connected via USB/Firewire. Lightroom Classic does not allow a catalog to be created or stored on a network drive (NAS).

The photos can be stored on external and/or network drives.

Enable “Automatically write changes into XMP” as a backup in case there’s a problem with the Catalog, so your edits won’t be lost. The XMP Sidecar Files (containing Edits, Metadata) will be saved in the same location as the corresponding image.
Go to: Edit (Win) or Lightroom Classic (macOS) then Catalog Settings > Metadata tab

Organizing the Lightroom Classic Catalog

Backup Your LrC Catalog

Enable Catalog Backups, and configure the catalog backups be saved on a different physical drive than the drive the catalog is on. If the drive the Catalog is on fails, you’ll be glad your backups are on a different drive.

Keywords and Filtering in LrC

Syncing Keywords with Lightroom (a.k.a. Lightroom CC or Lightroom Cloud)

  • By design, keywords do not sync from Lightroom Cloud to Lightroom Classic (LrC).
  • A one time, and one way, sync of keywords from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom Cloud is done, when keywords are written into XMP in Lightroom Classic, and when the image is added to a synced collection.

Lightroom Collections

The following applies to a collection. Not a smart collection.

  1. Adjustments to the look of an image via the Quick Develop panel or the Develop Module, will appear on the images in the collection.
  2. Changes to metadata (ratings, flags, keywords, title, captions, etc.) will appear in the images in the collection.
  3. If you move an image, using the LrC Folders panel, to a new folder, the images will stay in the collection.
  4. If you remove or delete the images from the folder, it will be removed from the collection.
  5. If you delete an image from a Collection, the image is not deleted from the Folder in Lightroom Classic or drive.
  6. If you add new images to the folder they will not automatically appear in the collection.

Post Processing with Lightroom Classic

Post Processing: Adjustment Sliders

Post Processing: Masks

Editing Photos using a Graphics Tablet / Pen Tablet

For photography, a small graphics/pen tablet (10.6 x 6.7 in) works well with photography, as we’re usually working with a smaller area of the screen. Wacom isn’t the only maker of good graphics tablets. Do your research.

Film Scanning

Negative Lab Pro

Setups & Tips

Lightroom Plugins

Validator: A Lightroom Plugin for Verifying Image Files by Stephen Bay

  • This plugin for Lightroom allows you to validate images and check for file corruption or “bit rot”. It works by computing a hash for each file and then comparing it to a previously stored value to see if your file has changed unexpectedly.
  • Note: Read the section about writing XMP to Metadata before using this plugin.
  • The commands for Validator can be found under Library > Plug-in Extras
  • View the hash fields by setting the Metadata panel to display “Validator”
  • stephen-bay / Validator
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