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ColinMcD
Inspiring
April 27, 2015
Released

P: Ability to batch process Photo Merge (HDR and panorama)

  • April 27, 2015
  • 218 replies
  • 6469 views

Now that we have HDR inside Lightroom, with virtually no user input, the next step is surely a batch facility for a folder full of bracketed images.
Please!!!!

    218 replies

    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Legend
    July 1, 2023

    The Auto Stack command is in the plugin's Library > Plug-in Extras menu, not File > Plug-in Extras, since it only works in Library.  

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    Douglas291457447gwc
    Participant
    July 1, 2023

    Many thanks john that is exactly what I was looking for. However I donwloaded the latest version and it isnt showing the stacking feature in the drop down menu. I am on a mac and all the other anysource options are there other than this one. Any ideas?

    Thanks again!

    johnrellis
    johnrellis
    Legend
    June 30, 2023

    @Douglas291457447gwc, you don't need a script with current versions of LR to merge multiple sequences in a single batch operation:

     

    1. In Library, select the folder or collection containing the multiple sequences.

     

    2. Do the command Photo > Stacking > Auto-Stack By Capture Time. 

     

    3. Select all the photos in the folder or collection and Photo > Photo Merge. 

     

    If you have long exposures, then Auto-Stack By Capture Time might be confused -- the Auto Stack command of the Any Source plugin as an alternative.

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      Douglas291457447gwc
      Participant
      June 29, 2023

      Hi @FeedbackCommunityMember would you possibly be able to share the script that you use for this? I dont know much about scripting unfortunately, however this would massivly help me out if it is still possible. 

      Many thanks!

        F
        FeedbackCommunityMember
        Inspiring
        January 1, 2021

        This can be easily done by a script that imports a fixed number of pictures into an empty catalog by using the catalog:addPhoto function.  By using the stackWithPhoto parameter of that function you can create stacks with a fixed number (equal to the number of pictures in a bracket) of pictures in it.  By processing a complete folder automatically in this way, we have a number of stacks than can be processed further. 

        You need to collapse all stacks manually (still no stack functions in Lightroom SDK) and then you can start HDR merge for the complete folder

        I have this now in use for batching HDRs and it saves quite a lot of time.

          JohanElzenga
          Community Expert
          JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          August 17, 2019
          You also asked this in a separate thread and I also answered it there, but for the sake of completeness: use auto-stacking by capture time. HDR series are usually shot with auto-bracketing, meaning that the capture time of each shot is very close to the capture time of the other shots. For panoramas this may be a little different, but it’s still worth a try too.
          -- Johan W. Elzenga
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          cjonesmn
          Inspiring
          August 17, 2019
          I'm assuming you mean "now available". This feature could be greatly improved for batch processing. If I have 50 brackets that I need to merge, do I really want to Stack all 50 manually? Can't Adobe create an option where all photos can selected for merging with a little popup asking how many photos per bracket and just automate the process from there? Other bracketing apps do this step automatically.
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          bry2k
          Participating Frequently
          August 15, 2019
          Holy $#**! 4 days after I added my vote to this 4 year old feature request thread, we got it? I need to go buy a lotto ticket, I'm on a winning streak here....  😄
          Rikk Flohr_Photography
          Community Manager
          Rikk Flohr_PhotographyCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          August 13, 2019
          With the release of Lightroom Classic 8.4 the ability to batch process HDR and Pano images is  not now available. 

          Enjoy!
          Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
          B
          bry2k
          Participating Frequently
          August 11, 2019
          Add my vote for this feature.

          I think it could be implemented quite simply. Since we already have auto stack by time, which works reasonably well, we just need to be able to select all stacks and Merge HDR to create one DNG per stack. When more than one stack is selected, the Merge HDR dialog should appear and inform the user: "Photos will be merged per stack. You have selected ### stacks". Then the user sets the settings as appropriate, and the process starts. That would be the easiest solution.

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