Enable HDR editing by default for HDR photos

[joesao]

I'm running LRC 14.1 with ACR 17.1 on a Mac M1 Ultra and Apple XDR Pro Display

A question for the community:

When the checkbox "Enable HDR editing by default for HDR photos" is checked in LRC settings (see first image) does this mean that the HDR button in Develop should be automatically pressed for HDR photos (see second image)?

Because this is NOT happening for me... even though I have that option checked, I still have to manually hit that HDR button in Develop for photos with HDR content.

And if that's the case... what's the point of that checkbox?

Thanks.

[GoldingD]

[joesao]

Yeah, I just re-read it... disappointing that it doesn't work on native RAW files that have HDR content.

Why can't LRC read the histogram, determine that it has HDR content, and automatically press the button for the user, with RAW files?

[GoldingD]

disappointing that it doesn't work on native RAW files that have HDR content

Ah, that brings up the question, what camera, what sort of file stored by the camera onto the card?

[joesao]

In the case above it was a Fujifilm GFX 100 II and an RAF file (Fuji RAW).

[GoldingD]

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100 II

so, from:

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/cameras/gfx100-ii/specifications/

• File Format Of Still Image (RAW): 14bit / 16bit RAW (RAF original format)
• File Format Of Still Image (HEIF): HEIF 4:2:2 10 Bit
• File Format Of Still Image (JPEG): JPEG Exif v2.32
• File Format Of Still Image (TIFF): TIFF 8bit/16bit (in camera conversion)
  File Format Of Still Image (DCF): DCF2.0

Now, I do not think that the RAF is HDR, but what about the HEIF? I state that because in the Adobe document, For some Canon, and some Sony, the HEIF is mentioned as supported: And looking at Canon System Info, the HEIF appears to be same spec (4:2:2 10 Bit)

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/hdr-output.html#enable-hdr-output\

[joesao]

The broader point is that I'm asking LRC to automatically enable HDR editing when there is HDR content in the photo.

This camera has a dynamic range of 15 stops and a lot of these photos have HDR content.

Would be nice to be able to enable all of them for HDR editing through that checkbox, rather than having to do it manually.

[Jao vdL]

Agree actually. Every single raw image from cameras from the last decade or more is inherently HDR. It is confusing to me too that the buttin doesn't automatically enable it for raw files too. My preference would be a separate switch though for raw images. For now, you can actually already accomplish what you want by setting the raw defaults (preferences->Presets) using a preset that includes the HDR button.

Do be aware that support for HDR images outside of the lightroom ecosystem is very spotty and the viewer experience is still very hard to control. It is unlikely that you will be able to share these in a way that most people will see what you see in Lightroom. So be careful with this. HDR images look absolutely amazing if you have a display that supports it but can really fall flat (pun intended) when the viewing platform or the sharing platform mangles it which is unfortunately still very common. 

[joesao]

Thank you @Jao vdL this is helpful.

Which preset would you use that includes the HDR button turned on? It's not obvious to me from the list (see below).

By the way, I tested, and copying the "Treatment & Profile" from one HDR photo to another group in Library does NOT copy over the HDR button being turned on, which is annoying.

So I still can't figure out how to turn the HDR button "ON" for a group of 200 photos at a time for instance without having to do it one by one.

As far as sharing, I have found for now (and I just started exploring this) that creating a collection in LRC and then choosing "Make Public" on the top right creates a URL in Lightroom web that actually displays the HDR photos properly when viewed in Chrome on a Macbook or similar device. Kudos to Adobe!

(It does NOT work when published via Adobe Portfolio, as the photos are not HDR there -- boo!)

Any other ideas and suggestions are welcome, thanks.

[Jao vdL · Accepted solution]

What you do is create your own preset that just sets the HDR toggle:

This preset will allow you to set the toggle over a range of images by for example using the quick develop preset panel:

Another thing you can do is to select all images you want to be HDR, go into develop, hit the auto sync button and then hit the HDR button. Now all selected images will have the HDR button set:

By the way it turns out that the HDR preset doesn't work in the raw defaults popup. Not sure why. But these methods should allow you to do this faster.

[joesao]

Excellent @Jao vdL, thank you!