P: auto stacking by capture time

[Andrew22590856aehd]

It would be incredibly useful to have the auto stacking by capture time ported over from Lightroom Classic into the cloud version, at least on desktop. Many people still shoot in JPEG+RAW, and this relatively simple organisational tool can be a great help. Even better would be the ability to choose a max capture time delta to stack by, since that would also help organise burst shots.

[TimvHerpen]

I'd love to be able to Auto stack bracketed exposures. With the addition of HDR editing support to Lightroom it becomes even more needed to take bracketed exposures to maintain the details in both the highlights and shadows.

Although LRC has auto stacking by capture time which kinda works, stacking based on Exposure Bias would give me a more satisyfing result because the difference in capture time gives a lot of manual correction. Since the Exposure Bias values of pictures are rhytmic this should be reasonably easy to implement.

This feature would both benefit Lightroom CC aswell as LRC.

I'd love to fully transition to the cloud version, but missing auto stacking costs me a lot of time since I usually take bracketed exposures.

[johns40282744]

Currently, the Lightroom (Cloud) SDK is limited in its stacking capabilities, particularly when compared to Lightroom Classic. One critical missing feature is Auto-Stacking by Capture Time, which is invaluable for workflows involving bracketed exposures or other sequential photo sets. I propose introducing a feature that automates the process of stacking and merging images within a folder, streamlining workflows for photographers working with large batches of images.

Proposed Functionality:

• Auto-Stacking by Image Count:
  Enable users to select a folder containing images and automatically group them into stacks based on a specified number of images per stack. For example, if I have 150 photos that consist of three exposures per bracketed set, the feature would automatically stack them into 50 groups of three photos each.

• Batch Photo Merge:
  After stacking, provide an option to batch-merge the groups. Users could apply their preferred merge method (e.g., HDR or Panorama) to all stacks simultaneously. This would produce one final merged image per stack. For the above example, I would end up with 50 HDR images after merging.

Workflow Example:

1. Select Folder: The user selects a local folder containing images (not limited to cloud-stored files).
2. Specify Parameters:
   • Number of images per stack (e.g., 3 for bracketed HDR sequences).
   • Merge type: HDR or Panorama.
3. Execute Merge: Lightroom automatically stacks and merges the images, creating one final output for each stack.

Additional Options:

• Time-Based Stacking (optional): Allow users to auto-stack images by a configurable capture time interval, similar to Lightroom Classic's Auto-Stack by Capture Time.
• Error Handling: Notify users if the number of images in a folder does not evenly divide into stacks (e.g., 152 photos with stacks of 3 images would leave 2 unstacked).

Benefits of This Feature:

1. Improved Efficiency: Automating stacking and merging drastically reduces manual effort, especially for large-scale projects involving hundreds of bracketed images.
2. Broader Appeal: Enhancing Lightroom (Cloud) with features commonly found in Lightroom Classic increases its utility for professional and advanced users.
3. Alignment with Existing Tools: This feature brings parity with Lightroom Classic while remaining accessible and streamlined for the cloud-based interface.

I believe this functionality would be a significant enhancement to Lightroom (Cloud), particularly for users who rely on local storage workflows or handle large volumes of bracketed or panoramic images. Thank you for considering this suggestion, and I’m happy to provide additional details or examples if needed.

[Joshua24887842n5t7]

I wish that we had automatic, time based stacking in the cloud based lightroom.  Two use cases/issues for me:
1. exposure bracketing

2. any time I use burst shooting, e.g., capturing my children

#1 came up for me recently -- I am not a professional, but I was helping out in taking some photos of a house for sale.  I bracketed each photo.  The stacking and merging became extremely tedious.