Category Archives: iPhone

Adobe Lightroom 2.4 Cloud-Centric Photo Service | August 2019

The latest update to the Adobe Lightroom Cloud-centric suite of applications was released to customers on  13 August. This update mainly focuses on a feature that enables users to recover deleted photos. It also includes support for new cameras and lenses, and bug fixes.

Recover Deleted Photos

Recovery of ‘accidentally’ deleted photos, which includes entire photo libraries, has been a long standing request (demand?) from customers since the early days of the mobile ecosystem. With this latest update, all applications within the Lightroom cloud-centric ecosystem now have a folder called ‘Deleted’. Basically, any photos deleted by the user are transferred to this folder, which at time of writing, does not count against cloud storage capacity. The photos will remain in the ‘Deleted’ folder for 60 days or until they’re permanently deleted or recovered.

Using the following series of screenshots and text I will go through the process of deleting some photos, then recovering them.

Adobe Lightroom 2.4 (Desktop)

  • As mentioned above, when photos are deleted we’re notified of how many and given the choice to cancel out or proceed.

Delete Photos Dialog

  • In below screenshot, I show that the 41 photos have been moved to the ‘Deleted’ folder in the desktop application and Lightroom on the web. This is also repeated on my mobile devices (i.e. iPhone and iPad).

‘Deleted’ Photos folder on Lightroom Desktop and Web

Having deleted the photos I realise that I’d really meant to remove them from Lightroom rather than put them in the trash. In previous versions of all apps within the Lightroom cloud-centric ecosystem the deleted photos could not be recovered, but Adobe has now provided a recovery tool that can be used with the desktop application, the web based application and our mobile devices. It’s also relatively simple to use.

Now to recover the deleted photos, but first let’s also check out the options available.

  • First, I right mouse-click on the ‘Deleted’ folder.

‘Deleted’ folder context menu

  • For this example, I choose ‘Restore All’

Restore deleted photos

  • In below screenshots we see that the 41 photos that I’d deleted earlier have been recovered and even put back into their original album.

Recovered Photos (Desktop application)

Recovered Photos (Web application)

  • The number of days left before the photos are permanently deleted is also shown.

Days left before permanent deletion

As can be seen from above, the process of recovering deleted photos is relatively fast and simple when using only those applications that are part of the Lightroom cloud-centric ecosystem. If, on the other hand, you’re also using Lightroom Classic, which Adobe actually recommends against, then the process of recovery is somewhat more complex and time consuming.

What’s Changed?

Support for New Cameras & Lenses

For a full list of supported cameras and lens profiles for Lightroom desktop and Lightroom for mobile (iOS and Android), see these resources:

For more information on the latest updates to Lightroom Cloud-centric Ecosystem go to What’s New – August 2019

Adobe Lightroom CC | October 2018

The last major update to Lightroom CC  was back in October 2017 (v 3.0). This latest update (v 4.0) includes several new features that customers have requested over the last 12 months.

So, what’s new in Lightroom CC | October 2018?

People View

(Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS)

People View allows you to quickly find and name people in your photos. It’s powered by Adobe Sensei. Using this machine learning technology from Adobe Lightroom CC automatically tags people in photos and provides you with an easy way to see all the photos the person appears in.

Adobe Sensei-powered People View in Lightroom CC for mobile (iOS)

Improved Search

(Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS)

Searching has always been one of the stronger features in Lightroom CC. This is mainly due to the advanced server side technology (Adobe Sensei). Search suggestions are presented as you as soon as you start typing in the Search bar, recommending things like cameras, lenses, shutter speeds, apertures, ISOs, keywords, locations, and more.

Example of autocomplete suggestions when using Search in Lightroom CC for mobile (iOS)

For example, you can type ‘car’ in the Search bar to quickly search for all photos that have cars in them. You can also search your photos using ‘facets’. With facet’s you type a name (e.g. ‘camera’) followed by a colon ‘:’ to display a list of camera models used. I’ve included a list of currently supported facets below:

  • keyword:
  • camera:
  • lens:
  • location:
  • rating:
  • flag:
  • flash:
  • orientation:
  • iso:
  • type:
  • f-stop:
  • ss:
  • edited:
  • media:

The Filter UI in Lightroom CC for the Desktop has also received some attention.

Improved ‘Filter’ organisation and layout Lightroom CC Desktop

Additional sharing options for Share to Web

Sharing photos has some useful improvements. For example, you can now choose to only share images that are flagged or have a particular star rating while also providing control over the display theme and appearance.

Display options when sharing collections on web in Lightroom CC for mobile

Guided Tutorials

New guided tutorials for First-Time Adjustments and Healing Brush have been added to iOS and the Android versions now has tutorials for First-Time Adjustments, Target Adjustment Tool, and Guided Upright. The new guided tutorials can be found under Help & Support in Lightroom CC for mobile. If you’re not sure what guided tutorials are or don’t use Lightroom CC on a mobile device, then below screenshot shows how they can be accessed in Lightroom CC (Desktop).

Guided Tutorials on Lightroom CC (Desktop)

HEVC file support on macOS

Lightroom CC now supports Apple’s HEVC video format (High Efficiency Video Coding, also known as H.265) on macOS High Sierra (10.13) or later.

For more information, see HEVC video files support.

Camera and Lens Support

A full list of cameras and lens profiles supported by Lightroom CC can be found at:

Adobe release Lightroom mobile 2.4 for iOS

lr-mobile-100I normally don’t get too excited when a new version of Adobe Lightroom mobile comes along, but 2.4 is different. Why?

Well, version 2.4 includes two features that I, and I suspect many other photographers, have long been waiting for. These are Raw support  and Local Adjustments. Unfortunately, they’re only available to ‘Adobe Creative Cloud’ subscribers.

Other minor features introduced in version 2.4 that all users can avail of include:

  • support for keyboard shortcuts. This feature requires an external keyboard, and is activated by pressing down on the ‘Cmd’ key,
  • the ability to add your own copyright to photos, and
  • support for the latest Camera Raw version.

New features are all well and good, but unless instructions on how to use them are provided then users will likely struggle to understand how they work. So, taking each of the new features in turn I’ll try to explain the workflow.

Raw Support

Raw support allows you to import and edit Raw photos taken with your digital camera. These photos can then be synced back to ‘Lightroom CC’ on your desktop computer. Of course the Raw photos must first be imported onto your iPad, and it is here that things get a tad complex.

To import your Raw photos on to your iPad you’ll need to use an Apple ‘SD Camera Card Reader’ or ‘iPad Camera Connection Kit’. Depending on which version of the iPad you have you’ll need to import the Raw photos directly from the memory card or directly from your camera into the Apple Photos App ‘Camera Roll’. Either way, the SD Camera Card Reader or Camera Connection kit is essential.

Apple Photo app Import

Apple Photos App Import Camera Roll

When the Apple Photos App import process is complete you then switch to Lightroom mobile. Here you should notice that a ‘Raw’ badge overlays part of the thumbnail for each Raw photo.

Lightroom mobile - Import to 'Camera Roll' complete

Lightroom mobile – Import to ‘Camera Roll’ Complete

Next, make sure that you have enabled support for Raw photo import in Lightroom mobile. Below screen grab shows where this can be done.

Lightroom mobile - Enable Raw Photos

Lightroom mobile – Enable Raw Photos

At this point you can either select all of the imported Raw photos or a smaller number. In below example, I selected all of the Raw photos.

Lightroom mobile - Select All Raw Photos

Lightroom mobile – Select All Raw Photos

When all of the photos have been added to Lightroom mobile you’ll find that an additional badge (Lr) overlays each of the photo thumbnails.

Lightroom mobile - Completed Raw Photo Import

Lightroom mobile – Completed Raw Photo Import

If you’re satisfied that all of the Raw photos have been imported into Lightroom mobile you can delete the originals from Apple Photos App, thus saving some space on your iPad.

When an internet connection becomes available your Raw files will be synced to the Adobe Cloud and ultimately back to Lightroom desktop. If you have any other mobile devices with Lightroom mobile installed smart previews will be synced to these devices.

Local Adjustments

As with Raw support, Local Adjustments has been on my list of must have features for a very long time. In this version Adobe have chosen to include what they call Linear and Radial Selections (in Lightroom desktop these are called Graduated and Radial filters). Personally, I don’t see why Adobe didn’t stick with the names that users already know. If name changes were deemed essential then Linear and Radial Gradients are more meaningful, at least to me.

Okay, so having got my rant about naming conventions out of the way it’s time to look at each local adjustment in turn. I’ll start with the Linear Gradient, uhh, I mean Selection since it’s the default.

To activate Local Adjustments switch to Edit mode and tap on the ‘Local Adjust’ button. A new button appears on the lower left and tapping on this results in a menu popping up. It has two options at present with the top one (Linear Selection) selected by default.

Activating Local Ajustments

Activating Local Adjustments

Next, you tap on the photo where you want the centre of the gradient to be located. The width of the gradient is adjusted by dragging the top or bottom line up/down, and the centre of the gradient can be reposition by dragging the black dot up or down the screen. Additional gradients can be created by tapping on the ‘+‘ button at top left of screen, and the ‘trashcan’ is used to remove a gradient.

Local Adjustments - 'Linear Selection'

Local Adjustments – ‘Linear Selection’ Tool

Next up, the Radial Selection tool. I find this tool is particularly useful for edge burning portraits, although it has its uses in other types of photo.

Radial Selection Tool

Local Adjustments – ‘Radial Selection’ Tool

The Radial Selection tool is activated and the gradient positioned in the same way as the Linear Selection. At top left of screen you’ll see an additional button. This button allows you switch the gradient from inside the selection to outside and vice versa. To increase  the feathering (soften edge) of the gradient drag the larger handle point on the selection counterclockwise, and clockwise to to harden the edge. (Note: in above and below screen grabs the handle point is on top edge of photo.)

Local Adjustments -

Local Adjustments – Reduced Exposure Outside of Selection

Both Linear and Radial  selection tools support the full range of slider adjustments currently available in Lightroom mobile.

So, having described the two new features I was so keen to see introduced I posed myself a question –  Do I think Raw support and Local Adjustments means that Lightroom mobile is now ready for the ‘big time’? Sadly, I don’t believe so, at least not just yet. Sure, both features are very welcome and certainly make Lightroom mobile more useful to me than before. On the other hand, some photographers might have a different workflow or less demanding requirements. For example, if your iPad has sufficient space to store the imported Raw photos then leaving your laptop at home while on a short vacation might be OK. For longer holidays or large professional photo shoots I think many will likely find the iPad short of storage capacity. Also, syncing photos to the ‘Adobe Cloud’ and later Lightroom on your desktop computer means that sufficient bandwidth will be essential both on location and at home/office. This means that if you’re a professional or advanced amateur  photographer you’ll likely find that  taking a laptop on location/holiday still provides a much more productive and efficient workflow than mobile. To be fair, I don’t think the Lightroom mobile development team see it as the ‘laptop killer’ yet, but it’s certainly getting closer.

Disclosure: As an Adobe Community Professional I receive a free subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud.