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PastaRhymes
Inspiring
October 19, 2017
Question

Batch HDR now possible?

  • October 19, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 27855 views

As soon as Lightroom Classic came out I immediately looked for a batch HDR feature but only found this in the feature summary on the adobe website:

"Better handling of multiple batches of merge operations (HDR/ Pano) improving GUI response". What exactly does that mean?

Do we still have to manually start the HDR process on each bracketed set? How many batches were able to successfully merge at once?

I usually can't get past 4 or 5 sets at the same time. Did that at least improve? Anyone here who created HDRs in the new Ligthroom Classic?

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4 replies

J
JoshuaCSpooner
Participant
December 11, 2019

Hi! I just found this great youtube about auto stacking your bracketed images and then doing shift+ctrl+H to initiate a qued set of merges. I just did 77  bracketed sets of photos in about 20min. Such a huge time saver! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncGCAdxphzQ

    bmcassagne
    bmcassagne
    Participant
    March 14, 2020

    That worked absolutelp perfectly combined with autostacking!!!  Thanks Joshua!!!!

    S
    sg36631682
    Participant
    September 11, 2018

    I have been using this tool to batch my photos to HDR TIFF files, for many years. It's the best tool for me that I found after spending countless days on Google search. You can drag & drop entire folders, select the bracket count and it automatically selects sets.

    Both Windows & MAC versions called EnfuseGUI, EnfuseGUI

    Hope Adobe wakes up and gets that function added. HDR has only been around for over a decade!

    alexanderr46028961
    alexanderr46028961
    Participant
    August 4, 2019

    Id did not want to wait longer and wrote a script with AutoIT myself: HDR batch processing for Lightroom Classic CC - YouTube

    Hope it can reduce your time sitting in front of your PC clicking CTRL + h

    blackcatimaging
    blackcatimaging
    Participant
    May 8, 2018

    I've decided to write a script to automate the process of merging thousands of LDR sets into HDR dng, have a look :

    Select all LDR photos and run the script. It is still a work in progress.

      jaredm51608022
      jaredm51608022
      Participant
      May 22, 2018

      blackcatimaging​

      I would be very interested in your script. Have you posted it anywhere yet? I prefer the HDR image lightroom produces for its flexibility and quality over options like Enfuse or Photomatix. I shoot real estate and this would make a such a difference to my work flow!

        B
        brianh65849661
        Participant
        June 30, 2018

        For OSX users with Automator

        Launce application - adobe lightroom

        pause 1 second

        watch me do

           bring window adobe lightroom to the front

           Press Shift, Control, H

        Pause 15 seconds

        run apple script

        tell application "System Events"

          key code 124

          key code 124

        end tell

        loop automatically

        stop after __ times

        I have minimal knowledge in creating steps in Automator so this is a still a work in progress.  I am seeking the collaboration of others with any tips or suggestions to make this better.

        I open Lightroom

        Auto stack by capture time (this groups the three images together)

        collapse all stacks

           might be worth moving solo images (non-stacks) to the start or end temporarily to avoid skips

        Then deselect everything (command D)

        click on the first stack

        open Automator with my script

        the bottom action loop - changes the value to the number of stacks you have per session.

        press Run

        it should

        auto switch to Lightroom

        press control, shift, and h to start the HDR merge

        the script will pause for 15 seconds to allow processing for the merge (if your computer processes slower or faster you can adjust the pause time.) Mine takes about 11 seconds on average so I added a few extra seconds of pad.

        The new merged image will show up next to the stacked images.

        Then the script will press the right arrow twice skipping the new hdr image and selecting the next stack

        Loop will then kick in and run the script X amount of times. Whatever value I manually put it.

        Then in the library filter, I clicked on text, selected filename, contains, type in hdr and all the new images are in one spot. To meta tag and export as needed.

        It would be ideal to have a pop up asking for a value that then fills into the loop time number filed.  Then this script perhaps could be exported as an application.

        I found my apple script key code or keystrokes would not work with shift, control, and H in Lightroom so I had to record a watch me do action.

          Sean McCormack
          Community Expert
          Sean McCormackCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          October 19, 2017

          Shift-Control-H will run the HDR process with no dialog box using the last settings used. You still need to select the sets manually and start each one individually though. The batch just means you can run more of them at a time. It still bogs down eventually, just not as quickly as LR6.

          Sean McCormack. Author of 'Essential Development 3'. Magazine Writer. Former Official Fuji X-Photographer.
          P
          PastaRhymesAuthor
          Inspiring
          October 20, 2017

          Thank you for your answer Sean.

          I know that Shift-Control-H does that, which is why I mentioned that I usually can't do more than 4 or 5 sets at the same time.

          My hope was that now you're really able to batch-process entire folders at once...

          johnrellis
          johnrellis
          Legend
          October 22, 2017

          I know that Shift-Control-H does that, which is why I mentioned that I usually can't do more than 4 or 5 sets at the same time.

          My hope was that now you're really able to batch-process entire folders at once...

          LR 7 almost lets you start a batch merge on an entire folder but fails due to a bug.  Please add your me-too vote and detailed opinion to this bug report: Lightroom: "Internal error" when initiating multiple headless merges | Photoshop Family Customer Community

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