Digital Focus

Develop Module in Lightroom 2.5  (Last Part)–

Snapshots Panel

he concept of snapshots originated with Photoshop. Prior to version 5.0, there were no multiple undos in Photoshop—you could not go several steps back. As a go-around  in earlier Photoshop versions, you could save important stages of your editing using the Snapshot command. As the word implied, whenever you used the command, Photoshop “takes a picture” of the current stage you were in and saved it as a flattened version of the file.  If you realized you made a mistake along the way and you wanted to go back several steps, then you could use the Copy and Paste commands to copy a particular snapshot and paste it on the current image. The problem was each snapshot that you created increased the file size considerably. The Snapshot command was replaced by the History palette in Photoshop 5.0, which basically allows you to perform “multiple undos.”  The concept of snapshot was retained inside the History palette, allowing you to take snapshots of the different stages of editing development. You can then use any of the snapshots and apply it to the current image using the History brush or the Fill command. Or you can also use the snapshots to give you different editing versions of the same file, e.g., sepia, B&W, saturated, etc. It is this alternative use of snapshot that LR adopted in the Snapshots Panel (Image10).

You can, for example, use snapshops in LR as a way of: a) saving the different development stages when working on a complicated editing; b) keeping different color modes for the same photo, e.g., B&W, sepia, color, etc.; c) saving different editing versions that you can show to your client; or d) keeping the same photo in different cropping versions for printing purposes.

By default, whenever you view a photo in the Develop module, LR creates the first snapshot—Import, which is the original image imported in the Develop Module. You can use this snapshot to view the original or unedited version of the photo. This is a quick way of going back to the original setting if you think you have messed up your editing. (In Photoshop, you use the Revert command to revert to the original state or the last saved state).

Creating a New Snapshot

To create a new snapshot, just click on the Create Snapshot (the Plus sign) button found on the right side of the panel (Image 11) or use the keyboard shortcut Command + N (Mac OS) or Control + N (Windows). The New Snapshot dialog box (Image 12) will appear, prompting you to give the new snapshot a name. Otherwise, it will be named as an Untitled Snapshot. Click Create to close the dialog box and create the new snapshot.

Deleting a Snapshot

To delete a snapshot, select it in the panel and then click the Delete Snapshot (the Minus sign) button. Alternatively, you can also Right + click on the snapshot to delete it or apply other options (Image 13). The other options are:

Copy Snapshot Settings to Before refers to the “Before and After View” feature in LR.

Rename allows you to rename the selected snapshot.

Update with Current Settings changes the snapshot to whatever develop settings are currently applied to the active      image.

Delete: deletes the selected snapshot.

Previewing a Snapshot

To preview the different snapshots, you do not have to click on the snapshots. Simply mouse over on the snapshots and the display in the Navigator Panel changes automatically to show you the settings saved in the different snapshots.

Applying the Snapshot

To change the current photo to a particular snapshot, click on the snapshot in the panel. Automatically, both the document window and the thumbnail in the Navigator panel will display the selected snapshot.

History Panel

As discussed in the Snapshots Panel, the concept of History originated in Photoshop. Unlike in Photoshop,  however, the history steps in LR are saved with the photo when you close the application. LR History Panel shows (Image 14) a listing of all the activities you did to the active photo from the time you imported it. The first history state is logically named Import (indicating the date and time you imported the file in the Develop Module). After all, the first thing you did with the photo was to import it in the Develop Module. From then on, all other activities that you do to the photo will appear in the panel as history steps, with the first activity (Import) appearing at the bottom of the list. Each activity is properly identified, e.g., Snapshot: B&W—indicating a snapshot was applied to the active photo; Exposure  +1.5—indicating an additional exposure setting from the Basic panel was applied; etc.

The function of the History Panel is somewhat different from that of Photoshop. Anything you do in the Develop Module does not get applied directly to the active photo; hence, technically you do not need multiple undos. When you “edit” a photo, LR simply lists down every activity as a set of instructions on how you want the photo to appear in the document window. The final settings are applied only to a version when you export the file; open it in another application; or print it. The original photo remains unedited.

Converting History Step to a Snapshot

You can convert any history step as a snapshot by Right + clicking on the step and choosing in the drop-down menu Create Snapshot (Image 15). The new snapshot will appear in the Snapshot Panel adpting the name of the history step (unless you change it in the New Snapshot dialog box). The other option when you Right + click a history step is Copy History Step Settings to Before.  This refers to the Before and After View option in LR.

To change the display of the document window to a particular history step, click that history step in the panel. Both the thumbnail display in the Navigator Panel and the document window will display the selected state.

Clearing All Steps

Unlike in Photoshop, you cannot delete a history step.  You can, however, clear all steps by clicking on the Clear All (the X) button on top of the panel. This will delete all steps including the Import step. The document window will display the last step your photo is in before you clear the steps. To go back to the original photo, you can either click the Import snapshot in the Snapshots Panel or click on the Reset button found at the bottom of the right vertical panel group (Image 16).

Clearing all history steps, however, does not make sense in the context of LR. Unlike in Photoshop, where each history state

(Photoshop refers to it as history state) adds to the image size, LR history step is stored only as a set of instructions. As such, unlike in Photoshop, there is no limit  to how many history steps a photo can have in LR.

Copy and Paste Buttons

At the bottom of the right vertical panel group are the Copy and Paste buttons (Image 17). You can copy the Develop settings of the active photo by clicking on the Copy button (or choosing Edit > Copy or its keyboard shortcuts Command/Control + C) and applying the same develop settings to other photos in the Filmstrip by clicking on the Paste button (or choosing Edit > Paste or its keyboard shortcuts Command/Control + V).

Note: The Copy and Paste commands in the Library Module work differently from those found in the Develop Module.

Undo and Redo Commands

Anything you do in the Develop Module can be undone or redone using the Undo (Command/Control + Z) and Redo (Shift + Command/Control + Z) commands in the Edit menu. These commands, however, will only affect the last operation you did. So if you unintentionally clear all history steps, for example, press Command + Z (Mac OS) or Control + Z (Windows) to undo the command and bring back all the cleared history steps.

In the next issue, I will discuss the functions of the other panels found in the right vertical panel group.

(Jun Miranda is the first Philippine-based Adobe Certified Instructor,  Adobe Certified Expert for Photoshop CS, and CompTIA’s Certified Technical Trainer. He is also the President and Program Director of the Philippine Center for Creative Imaging, Past President of the Camera Club of the Philippines, the founding president of the Club de Camera Digital and a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.)