Older photos

[N+13]

Operating System

1. macOS 15 Sequoia

I have JPEG photos that are more than a decade old in my 14.4 Classic catalog. When I try to edit them, the most recently added masking options (e.g. subject or object) are greyed out. Is there anything that can be done that allows me to make use of the advanced tools?
Thanks ahead of time.
Chuck

 

[Jim Wilde]

It's likely that the older Jpegs will be using an older Process Version (check for the lightning symbol below the histogram in Develop). If that's the case, you need to update the PV to current level in order to get access to all the latest tools (click on the lightning symbol and you get the option to update the PV).

 

[N+13]

It's likely that the older Jpegs will be using an older Process Version (check for the lightning symbol below the histogram in Develop). If that's the case, you need to update the PV to current level in order to get access to all the latest tools (click on the lightning symbol and you get the option to update the PV).

Jim, thank you for the help. It is very helpful.
Best,
Chuck

 

[Gnits]

We often do not think of adjusting the Process Version for older photos…. because the PV options are at the very bottom of the right hand panel… out of sight and out of mind. Despite familiarity with this feature… we often have to pause for a second or two to re remember the PV settings.

This is especially relevant now when so many specialist options are available for Ai / filter related settings.

 

[Jim Wilde]

We often do not think of adjusting the Process Version for older photos…. because the PV options are at the very bottom of the right hand panel… out of sight and out of mind.

Agreed, though there is an indicator at the top of the right hand panel. A "lightning bolt" icon will appear below the Histogram if the PV for that image is not at the current level.

Hover the cursor over the icon will tell you what PV it is using, and clicking on the icon gives the option to update it.

 

[Gnits]

Good to know. Thanks.

There is so much good stuff within the overall Lightroom app. And we all keep learning new things.

It is such a pity that some vip bits (I am thinking of Import Module, filter by date and type, Print Module…allow placement of metadata, Slideshow module.. allow font and size of metadata text box to be adjusted and allow a smaller min font size.).

These are bread and butter items for Adobe.. require no changes to the core functionality… but make a massive difference to overall usability.

Anyway.. that’s a good tip. Will watch for in future.

 

[N+13]

Yes. I think understanding of what will make an operation more useable ramps after 10s of thousands of photos edited - something few developers have likely accomplished.

 

[RickTucker]

Agreed, though there is an indicator at the top of the right hand panel. A "lightning bolt" icon will appear below the Histogram if the PV for that image is not at the current level.

View attachment 26933


Hover the cursor over the icon will tell you what PV it is using, and clicking on the icon gives the option to update it.


View attachment 26934

Agreed, though there is an indicator at the top of the right hand panel. A "lightning bolt" icon will appear below the Histogram if the PV for that image is not at the current level.

View attachment 26933


Hover the cursor over the icon will tell you what PV it is using, and clicking on the icon gives the option to update it.


View attachment 26934

Today I discovered that 62,388 photos out of 74,486 in a particular catalog of mine are in a previous process version (PV). Not necessarily a surprise!

It looks like there are 6 levels of PVs, from 1 to 6 (most recent per the 2024: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/develop-module-options.html, though on that web page, some PV levels are year numbers and the newer ones are not). I can see the PV level number for the selected photo in the Develop | Calibration panel and change it to another PV value from 1 to 6 (both down and up).

And as Jim Wilde noted, the lightning bolt icon in the Develop | Histogram panel shows the PV level of the selected photo, and once clicked, permits updating the PV, but only to the current PV (6 right now), though with the ability to Review Changes via Before/After, in other words: compare the same photo in its original PV and in the current PV before committing to changing to the current PV. The dialog box also has a button to Update All Filmstrip Photos.

All that said, my question is: Is there a way to show/select photographs from a selection (which might be the entire catalog) that are at a particular PV level (or range of levels)?

In the Develop module, I periodically encounter a photo and see "Recovery" in the Tone panel with multiple current Tone panel sliders missing. Updating the PV for that photo results in adding the missing sliders. I'd like to find all photographs at the PV level associated with having a "Recovery" slider and update them to a higher PV level.

On a related front, in the Metadata panel, in the Default set, I looked to Customize the Default to add Process Version, but I don't see it in the list of available metadata attributes.

- Rick

 

[Gnits]

I cannot find it either. Using the menu… it is possible to select all older versions… but in real terms that is almost useless, because as soon as you import a single card with a new Process Version…. 99% of your catalog falls into the category of old PV.

I do think that the PV should be in the Grid and Smart Collection filter options.

Perhaps there is a Pro tip or plugin that will do this.

In reality…. I only ever consider changing a PV for an image when I have a good reason to revisit an image… either a high quality reprint or a request for a legacy image. Partly .. because my 2-5 star images are only a small percentage of my catalog and I do not see any sense in bulk updating such volumes of largely unprocessed images to bring them up to the current Process version.

 

[clee01l]

In reality…. I only ever consider changing a PV for an image when I have a good reason to revisit an image

I have yet to find any of my (best) images that can't be improved with an updated process version re-edit. I don't go out of my way to reprocess all of my images but when I have cause to revisit an older image and notice the PV is out of date, I will usually take the time to re-process it. To do, I create a virtual copy of the original to be able to compare with the re-processed image and then discard the older version when done.