Inspiring

Answered

Shouldn't Auto Tone analyze individual photos when synching settings on multiple files?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
September 30, 2018
4 replies
1313 views

I noticed that when I click on multiple images and then apply auto tone and then synch to all files, the exact same settings are applied, regardless of the individual image characteristics. Why isn't it analyzing each individual photo and then applying the appropriate adjustments??

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer effeegee

The answer is Yes - Autotone analyses individual pictures and adjusts relative to the original in Library module. No Autotone synchs to the absolute settings in Develop module.

There's some method to this madness. If your goal is to 'Autotone' a batch relative to their original exposure Select All or your selection in Library and then click on Autotone in quick develop. (It's easy to reset individual shots later if you don't like the results. All adjustments are relative in Library/[Quick Develop] and absolute in Develop.

Todd Shaner

Legend

You can also apply the Auto Tone function in the Develop module using the 'Auto Sync' button.Just another option!

1a) Select all of the image files you want to apply Auto Tone.

2a) In the Develop module click the small switch in the lower-right panel area to turn ON the "Auto Sync' button (see below).

2b) (Optional) If you want to return ALL of the Develop settings to their default settings as your new "starting point" click the Reset button shown below. It has no effect on the actual Auto Tone settings calculation so it's your decision.

3) Next click on the 'Auto' button in the Basic Tone panel.

4) Finally click the small switch in the lower-right Develop module panel to turn OFF the "Auto Sync' button.

5) With all of the files still selected go to the Library module menu Library> Previews> 'Build Standard-Sized Previews.' You need to do this BEFORE applying any further settings to the image files. Here's why:

Lightroom: Applying Auto Tone to a batch of photos loses subsequent develop settings | Photoshop Family Customer Communi…

B

BilliamsAuthor

Inspiring

Ok, being in the Library module is what I was missing. Apparently the synch process only applies a particular set of adjustments globally, so that's the wrong way to get each photo individually analyzed. Thanks for your help!

john beardsworth

Community Expert

Billiams wrote
Why isn't it analyzing each individual photo and then applying the appropriate adjustments??

It's about performance, and yes it seems imperfect. But Auto isn't a simple objective treatment, it's more like an educated guess which, despite the compromise, produces an acceptable time-saving starting point.

B

BilliamsAuthor

Inspiring

But it's only an "educated guess" on the first image. What about the other

678 that were synched it to? That educated guess is wildly off on a good

percentage of the other images!

On Sun, Sep 30, 2018 at 1:58 PM john beardsworth <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

johnrellis

Legend

But it's only an "educated guess" on the first image. What about the other 678 that were synched it to? That educated guess is wildly off on a good percentage of the other images!

Let's step back:

Effeegee explained above how to apply Auto to a batch of photos. In Library, select all the photos and do Photo > Develop Settings > Auto Settings (which has a keyboard shortcut), or in the Quick Develop panel, click Auto. Alternatively, use Quick Develop > Saved Preset to apply a preset that has Auto Settings checked.

All of those methods will analyze each photo separately to compute auto settings, as if you had clicked Auto on each photo individually. However, when Auto is applied to a batch of photos, for performance reasons LR computes the settings using a low-resolution version of the image, and the resulting settings usually differ a small amount from what you'd get when clicking Auto on each photo individually. For example, the batch Auto might set an exposure of +1.29, while the individual Auto gives +1.26. Very infrequently, the differences can be somewhat larger (e.g. +0.86 versus +0.64).

It's not clear from the discussion -- have you tried using one of the methods for correctly applying Auto to a batch of photos? If so, which method?

effeegeeCorrect answer

Inspiring

The answer is Yes - Autotone analyses individual pictures and adjusts relative to the original in Library module. No Autotone synchs to the absolute settings in Develop module.

There's some method to this madness. If your goal is to 'Autotone' a batch relative to their original exposure Select All or your selection in Library and then click on Autotone in quick develop. (It's easy to reset individual shots later if you don't like the results. All adjustments are relative in Library/[Quick Develop] and absolute in Develop.

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