P:(Masking) Add auto update recompute to subject /sky masking after copy/paste

[rhp3]

Love the auto subject detection in the new lightroom classic update.

Idea: add an auto recompute feature to the subject masking when working with multiple images.

Observation: I'm a wedding photographer. When working with multiple images and auto sync is turned on, all of my edits to one image are synced across all selected images. When working with the auto mask subject selection, LRC basically creates a mask "preset" for the visible image but won't apply that "preset" to all other images until you manually select the  "recompute subject" button on the mask pannel. 

Why not have LRC do this automatically across all selected images? Seems like a nice improvement.

[Thilo5F9D]

The new masking is really great but the sync / recompute / update feature for selected images would just be amazing. With an alert "do you really want...." and a cancel option should be fine I guess.

[shutterwentclick]

If I as wedding photographer truly need to sync a 100 images, then I would understand the time it takes - after all, I can see it takes time based on just one image alone. Also, even if it takes an hour, (or finding all people on all images 10 hours overnight), it would still be so much more efficient than clicking...waiting...clicking...waiting - a hundred times! The feature is amazing, can't wait to have a the sync on top of it, I really see it as a must! A warning about time would be fine, that's just one extra click compared to what we have right now.

[AmandaLH]

I'm running into a related problem. I edit for other photographers by sharing smart previews and catalogs. When they send a pre-edited "anchor" image, the subject masks appear on my end with no errors. I can match other images in the catalog to those anchors and calculate the subject for each, no problem. However, when I close the catalog and send it back to my client, none of the subject masks are applying. They're all showing errors and the subject is having to be re-calculated manually on each individual image. We can't seem to find a way around this.

[johnrellis]

@AmandaLH, I replied to your post in the other thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-smart-preview-workflow-amp-ai-masks-w...

[Bardioch]

Hey there!

Yes, this is missing and would be nice to have if you are editing lots and lots of portraits or product shots. In the meantime you could do it with AutoHotkey but it takes some time if you go through 10+ pictures.

Please add a "recompute all" button with a status bar and a warning that this could take some time...

[redwoodlover]

I use the new AI Masking features in 90% of my images. My most common use is to lighten the subject and darken the backgriund just a bit. Once the AI Masking can be auto computed , AI masking needs to be added to preset,  so that the masks don't have to be made from scratch over and over again.

[johnrellis]

Presets already are allowed to contain masks, including Subject and Sky:

So if/when Adobe makes it possible to copy Subject/Sky masks to a  batch of photos and have the masks recomputed automatically, that will also work with presets.

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with the existing Idea:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-ideas/p-masking-add-auto-update-recompute-to-subjec...

[thehearth]

I love this feature so much that the lack of a batch operation feels almost as frustrating as the feature is amazing. I had wondered whether it would have to do with compute times. Personally I'm at a cross seection of portraiture and volume photography, and in my opinion I really don't care how long it takes as long as I can see the progress and have the option to pause or cancel the operation (speaking of which, I really wish Lightroom had a pause feature; I literally have to use Terminal to pause the Lightroom process occasionally. I digress). I hope the sheer enthusiasm for these new features gives Adobe the incentive to find a way to satisfy the desire for batch control.

I do have a few extended thoughts about this though:

- Lightroom already has a system for dealing with processor intensive tasks that take a long time. The progress bar that indicates exports, imports, previews, moving files around, etc, could be repurposed to manage a user's expectations about finding subjects and skies.

- Lightroom already prompts a user if they're deleting more than 1000 images, warning them that the action cannot be undone. A  similar warning could be provided when making or recomputing masks in batch: "Computing AI masks for more than 50 images will require a lot of time. You can cancel the operation at any time. Continue?"

- Lightroom needlessly recomputes the subject every time, which is wasteful both when masks are created and when they have to be recomputed. Since when a user creates a subject or sky mask, the mask is always exactly the same, or virtually the same, each photo could simply have one "subject mask" and once it's computed any time a subject mask is summoned it pulls up that one. If masks need to be recomputed for any reason, the user would only have to click recompute in one place, rather than on each and every mask that uses a subject mask.

- If the Lightroom team is concerned about batch processing AI masks debilitating a user's system, just offering a way for all the masks on a specific photo to be recomputed at once would be a MAJOR quality of life improvement. In fact, even if each mask must be recomputed one at a time, allowing the button to be clicked without clicking into each individual mask would make a huge difference when working with hundreds of photos.

- Creating sky and subject masks really, really feels like something that a user should be able to do during import, like building previews or applying presets. In this case, it would make a lot of sense for the system to only create one subject or sky mask for each photo and repurpose it over and over for however many iterations that a user needs.

[redwoodlover]

Until there is a way to update all AI masks that have been pasted or synchronized from another photo, it would save a huge amount of time to add a keyboard shortcut to update the AI masks on the current photo. I would strongly prefer a keyboard shortcut to update ALL the masks on the current photo, as opposed to having  to select the particular AI Mask for updating.

[garrettl6607875]

I think syncing the select subject masks would be ideal! I think this feature would be great if you are able to stop it if the processing is taking too long. But having the option to recompute the subjects for multiple images in a batch would make things so much easier. I don't mind it taking long as long as I can cancel the sync if it ends up taking way to long.

[lukehasselbring]

Even if for now I could click one button per photo to recompute the multiple subject and sky masks on that one photo, I'd be happy.

I use on average 2-3 computed masks on my photos. Way too many clicks (and waiting!) to update them. And, after clicking the update button, I can't click on another mask while the first is still updating. If I do that, the first one stops updating.

[Alight6598]

Love the new masking features but not having the ability to auto calculate is rather odd. Looking forward to having that implemented. Still, great work, Adobe 👍

[SharonCarter]

I love the auto masking feature, but having to click on each one and "update" is completely frustrating and killing my workflow. I would much rather have it run while I go do something more productive with my life then click on each individual image and update. 

[sascham50596366]

Would absolutely love that feature as well. I do a lot of timelapse and this would be the best thing ever and such a huge time saver. I would have no qualms waiting a bit - or even 20-30 minutes for that to compute if there were a quick warning along the lines "This process requires considerable ressources and thus may take a while and/or slow down your computer in the meantime".

[johnrellis]

"I do a lot of timelapse"

For timelapse sequences, where the location of the sky and subject are often fixed, you could use the Copy Settings plugin to copy masks with the Original Sky And Subject Masks option to copy the exact masks to all the photos in the sequence, which would be very fast. This would give imperfect results if, for example, an object moves into the sky in some of the photos.

[Tammy Howell]

100% This! This new feature is amazing and incredibly well thought out. But the ability to auto update would be mind-blowing. I wouldn't care if it took 2+ hours. I could just do something else or let it run it overnight. A pop-up with an estimated time or just a "this could take a while" pop-up would be sufficient. Right now I swap between programs to make use of my wait time. 

Another thing, and this may be a separate topic, but it would be great if there was a way to "assign a subject mask." That way when you use the subject on multiple masks, it wouldn't have to recalculate, and also, if it gets the mask a little wrong and you make some brush adjustments, you wouldn't have to make those same adjustments on other masks. 

[kidago]

Also a wedding photog here - I'm fine with heavy process times. I can let the AI run on a wide selection of images and go do something else around the studio. Having to do it manually (while amazing) is just utterly painful. I hope it gets implemented regardless of the compute resources it takes because it will never be worse than the time it takes to manually do it. Plus if it's too much for a user, they just wont use it... fine.

[Jao vdL]

It's fascinating how this only just introduced feature has become so indispensable so quickly that it needs a batch feature immediately. The new masking is incredible indeed.

[naestyoh]

Regarding the computer resources, I've been advocating for quite some time for a Resource Manager similar the one found in Final Cut Pro X. In that editor, background renderings happen when the user has either switched away from the app or when they have left the computer. The moment the mouse moves across the UI, the Manager halts all background work and gives the user full CPU bandwith for more editing. The time it takes between the user stopping and the background processing to begin is set in the Preferences. 

Within LR Classic, the Resource Manager would be very similar. I'd autosync mask settings to many files and the settings would copy over but the mask updating would be queed into the background. When I go get coffee, LR goes full throttle working on the masking updates.  This resource manager would be global and also apply to queued up exports, 1:1 renderings, etc. LR would pause the queue while I'm working and chew on the queue when I am away from desk or have switched apps away from LR to read emails or web browsing. 

[Florian Reisinger]

As suggestions are wanted: Why do not do the batch computing in the background / on image change (if recalculation is needed).

Maybe ask if we want to calculate for every picture.... Or at least give us a similar option like for 1:1 previews (build / disacard) --> I guess masking might get better in future version so a discard might be necessary in the long run as well - However "Update / Recalculate" might be sufficient

[RAD Films]

That is a future that will save some time in the workflow. Of course, there will be considerable computing involved. It will take time for the computer to recognise the subject/sky in every image, but selecting each image and clicking on every AI mask to Re-Compute is not any faster. Automating this great AI feature is the answer. I suggest adding an Estimate Time warning pop-up with Cancel and Continue buttons, so the new Lightroom users don't get stuck for half an hour on their unresponsive laptops.

[Mathew224001318hto]

This should be 100% essential. Man this would save my life and time drastically.... 

[Justin22485725awbl]

Adding this option to be toggled on/off, adding a warning pop up as well as cancel/continue buttons are all great ideas. BUT having the feature is essential. Manually clicking the recompute each time on a series of wedding photos or portraits has to take more time than it automatically doing it. Especially for those of us who recently upgraded to maxed out M1 Max machines.

[aberbob]

I am a wedding photographer and I definitely need this feature... but only using an on-demand setting and not automatically after pasting masks. Rikk, I totally understand your question about it taking 20-30 mins, but it takes me (at least) double or tripple if I select each individual photo and click the udpate button. 🙂 Having the feature on-demand will also allow you to give a warning about the time it will take to re-calculate.