P: using arrow keys to navigate through images an image gets merged with the last one

When going through photos in the details view, when clicking or pressing the arrow to scroll through photos, it will randomly merge a photo with the previous photo without any prompting (beyond clicking through to the next photo).

This started approx a month ago and has been getting progressively worse. The issue is amplified by going through photos quickly so you cannot look through a large gallery of photos at a fast pace or it will start merging far more random photos.

It ends up looking like a terrible double exposure where one of the merged photos goes black and white and the other ends up extremely oversaturated.

It does not rectify itself upon export rather it exports as the incorrect, merged version.

The only way to get the original photo back is via the versions tab and selecting a previous version however it does not recognise the merge as an action as you cannot control or command z to undo it.

I do have photos and screenshots demonstrating the issue however will not attach in this forum for privacy reasons.
I confirm that I am working on the latest version of Lightroom (there are no outstanding updates available) and am working from a MacBook Pro.

Any assistance with rectifying this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! :)

Hi ​@EthanR6iii 

Thank you for reporting this. I understand how frustrating it can be when edits carry over unexpectedly to the next photo. To help the team investigate this properly, could you share a few details:

• System Info from Lightroom Help Menu (Help> System Info> Copy paste it here)
• Whether this happens consistently or only after certain adjustments or tools
• Whether this happens only with certain files. 

If you have a short screen recording that shows the delay and the edit applying to the next image, that can also be very helpful.

Thanks again for taking the time to flag this. We appreciate the clear explanation you’ve already provided.

Lightroom is auto applying (or copy / pasting) edits to my next photo if I switch too fast.

I am running Lightroom v9.3.1 on a MacBook Pro M4. Editing RAW photos from a Canon R6 Mkiii. This is a new bug since the update this week.

When I make any micro adjustment on a photo, and use my arrow key to switch to the next photo, all of the edit settings from the photo I was on get auto applied to that next photo. 

Sequence of the bug:

>Editing in Detail

>Finish editing photo A, (adjust exposure by one click of the arrow pad)

>quickly use the arrow key to switch to the next photo: photo B

>all of the edits from photo A are automatically applied to photo B

>if I try to reset the edits (command R) they will not go away. Only leaving photo B and going back to it can I reset the bugged edit.

BONUS:

>tapping back to photo A with arrow pad, that last exposure adjustment I made is not applied.
 

Further investigation:

In the instance of making a one click exposure adjustment brighter with the arrow pad, I notice that the image reflects that change instantaneously, however I notice the curves take about one second to show that exposure bump… If I wait that one second for the curves to change, then move to the next photo in sequence, there is no auto-apply, and the photo will be untouched, as it should be. I’ve developed a very fast workflow over the years, and waiting one second for a micro-adjustment to apply before going to the next photo will add more time than it sounds. I edit, export, and deliver to clients over 1,000 photos daily.

UPDATE:

I notice if I use my trackpad to slide on exposure it will release the control of the slider dot when I take my finger off the trackpad.. and I am able to switch to the next photo without issue..

Using the arrow keys on the built-in keyboard seems to be where the bug is… I hover my cursor over the slider and just use the arrow keys for my workflow.

The circle on the exposure slider, will stay selected for almost one second after making a change. So even though the photo has shown the edit, it isn't locked in until the slider is deselected. And for some unknown reason, this is causing the edits to apply to the next photo. 

Having the same issue. Photos are starting to “overlay” each other. Also, when trying to look for a photo by the file name, lightroom shows a different photo under this name.

Another thing that happened to me is when im pressing the \ key to view the original photo, it shows me a completely another photo.. 

I have the newest  version updated 

I'm experiencing this and the random rotations on the latest version of Lightroom as well. I'm using a Dell with AMD chips. Happy to upload photos. 

The exact same thing is happening to me. Is there a solution?

I just bought a brand new MacBook Pro M5 (18-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 64GB, 2TB SSD). When I picked it up, I installed LR (cloud version)and tried using it. The computer kept crashing repeatedly right out of the box. It was determined to be a hardware issue and Apple provided a replacement.

When I got the replacement, I downloaded Lightroom cloud again (using version 9.3) and tried to use it. No crashing this time, but every time I try to use a preset, it adds a ghosting image from the last picture I tried to edit on the old machine which looks like a double exposure. It’s every preset - the Lightroom default ones and my custom presets. I’ve tried deleting my main custom preset and recreating it on my new computer. Same issue.

Looking up the issue chat GPT says to disable the processor, but isn’t that the whole reason I bought the new computer? I’m not seeing anything online with anyone having similar issues. Can anyone help? I was so excited about my new MacBook Pro and it’s been nothing but a nightmare. Thanks for any advice this community can provide.

Hello,

To be further confirmed: in my early tests version 9.3.1 seems to have fixed the ghosting issue (and maybe other issues).

Best regards,

Arnauld Le Carbonnier.

I’m also seeing random images get rotated. I see them when scrolling in grid view and I have to open and rotate them back. So far I seem to be able to avoid the transfer of settings by going back to grid view after editing a photo. The thumbnail will quickly show the changes for a moment, revert to the previous settings, then update again to show the correct settings. Then it’s safe for me to open the next image.

​@plaiditude ​@alcdlm ​@Christian300812339wlx ​@redisred ​@nilkes 

Curious if any of you are using an a7R IV/V, a7CR, or similar high resolution (60+ MP) camera?

Additional information: I’m using Lightroom Desktop 9.3 on a MacBook Pro (Apple M1 Pro) 32 GB of RAM and operating macOS 26.4.1.