Using the Snapshot Feature in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom’s Develop Module
Lightroom’s Snapshots panel tends to go unnoticed by many Lightroom users, but I find it an incredibly useful feature. Basically, a “snapshot” is a version of your image that you like and way want to revert back to later on. After you’ve made a snapshot of your image, you can continue to experiment with different develop settings, knowing that you can always go back to the version you liked.
To fully understand the way that snapshots work in Lightroom, you may want to review the following articles:
- Understanding Lightroom’s Nondestructive Image Enhancement System
- An Overview of the Lightroom History Panel
The important thing to remember here is that snapshots are not additional copies of your photos. Because Lightroom makes no actual changes to your images until you export them, snapshots take up very little hard drive space on your computer.
The Snapshots panel is located on the left side of the Develop Module in Lightroom. By default, all images enter Lightroom with one snapshot called “Import.” Clicking this snapshot, not surprisingly, will show you your image as it looked when you first brought it into Lightroom.
Making additional snapshots couldn’t be easier. Once you’ve made some develop changes to an image, simply click the plus sign (+) at the top of the Snapshots panel. The keyboard shortcut to create a new snapshot is Cmd/Ctrl+N.
Click the plus sign to create a new snapshot.
Once you’ve created your new snapshot, give it a useful name.
Name your snapshot.
Once you’ve created a snapshot, you can right-click (or Ctrl-click) on it for some more options.
Right-click on the name of the snapshot for more options.
- Copy Snapshot Settings to Before – This has to do with the “Before and After View” feature in Lightroom. Keep an eye out for a post coming soon on Using Before and After Views in Lightroom’s Develop Module.
- Rename – Allows you to rename the current snapshot.
- Update with Current Settings – Changes the snapshot to whatever develop settings are currently being applied to the active image.
- Delete – Well…take a guess. (You can also delete a snapshot by selecting it and clicking the minus sign (-) at the top of the Snapshots panel.)
As you mouse over your snapshots in the Snapshots panel, you’ll see a preview of the image in the Navigator panel.
Snapshots stick around with your images. If you’ve saved the metadata to the image files (or their sidecar files), you’ll even see snapshots available if you view your originals (“negative files”) in Camera Raw 5 (available with Photoshop CS4).
Snapshots available in Camera Raw 5
Uses
Snapshots can be used for a variety of reasons.
- “Saving your progress” as you work in-depth on a particular image. Sure, you can always go back in the History panel, but it can be hard to remember which step you liked best. (Hint: Right-click on a history step for the option to save it as a snapshot.)
- Keeping a black and white and color version of an image.
- Prepping versions to be shown to clients for review and approval.
- For images you’re printing, make snapshots of different aspect ratios (i.e.-4×6, 8×10, etc). Crops stick with snapshots, as well.
Another Lightroom feature that is somewhat similar to snapshots is virtual copies. Virtual copies allow you to see what appears to be multiple versions of a photo in your library without actually having multiple copies of the original file. Cool, eh? We’ll talk more about that soon.
Here’s a short video on working with snapshots in Lightroom.
Working with Snapshots in Lightroom from Scott Rouse on Vimeo.
Filed Under: (05) Lightroom Image Enhancement (Basic) • Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Tutorials
About the Author: Scott Rouse is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), photographer, teacher, and graphic- and web-designer in Missoula, MT. His photography focuses on wildlife and adventure sports and can be viewed at 
Why isn’t there an option for automatic automatic snapshots upon import of the pictures?
Dear Tvir,
A snapshot is a way to save a modified set of Develop Settings. Pressing the Reset button is essential the same as creating a snapshot for the original imported image. Pressing the big reset button in the Develop Module sets the image back to its default settings.
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David Marx
My question is the same as Chris’ above…
I’d really like to make a snapshot for multiple photos at the same time. For example, I’d like to ‘label’ an entire collection as “4×6 version given to customer.”
When you select multiple photos in the Develop module, then name a snapshot, it only does so for the one bold/selected photo.
Thanks for your article!
Paul
Dear Paul,
Great minds think alike. Plugin master Jeffery Freidl had the exact same thought a few months ago and he designed a simple solution. Check out his wonderful “Snapshot on Export” plugin.
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David Marx
Paulo,
Thanks for the compliments. There are some definite crossovers between snapshots and virtual copies. Basically, I use Virtual Copies when I want to see two or more different versions of an image side by side for comparison purposes or when I’ll be exporting multiple versions.
For example, it’s pretty easy for me to select a group of images, create virtual copies for all of those images, then turn those virtual copies to black and white. Then, I could easily batch export the color and black and white versions simultaneously for some outside use (i.e. – showing to a client).
Hope that explanation helps.
-Scott
Dear Scott and Paulo,
The plugin master Mr. Jeffery Freidl recently posted a new export plugin for the Lightroom 3 beta v.2 that you might find interesting. This cool new plugin makes a snapshot for you every time you export a file. It certainly doesn’t replace the uses for virtual copies but it makes it easy to return to a particular set of settings even if you have completely reset the file and then reworked it in an entirely different direction. Check out The Snapshot on Export Plugin.
Remember though that Lightroom 3 Beta v.2 is still experimental and not bug free.
David
Hi Scott,
I am pretty new to LightRoom and loving it so far. Your instructional videos are excellent and already my workflow is starting to get much more streamlined and less laborious.
I have a question about snapshots. I understand now how snapshots should be used but I see a lot of crossover with the virtual copy feature. Could you explain (or point me in the direction of a resource) when it is advantageous to use one method over the other and what the pros and cons are of each.
Thanks for taking the time to produce these high quality productions, I really appreciate them.
Can you make snapshots for multiple files at the same time? I use snapshots to mark my progress as I edit a shoot. I would like to be able to make a snapshot for all the files in a shoot after I color balance and make my lightroom adjustments before some go to photoshop. This would also be helpful for printing sizes and color and black&white versions as you stated in your video.
Dear kukuq,
I think we need to be clear on what the word “export” means to Lightroom. Lightroom uses this word where most other programs use “SAVE AS.” So if you want to create a new file that looks like one of your snapshots try this.
1. Go to the develop module and click on your snapshot of choice.
2. Go File > Export.
3. In the Export Dialog select the apporpriate location for your new file, if needed give it a new name, and then select the appropriate file format.
4. If you have more than one snapshot, and want more than one new file, repeat as needed.
5. Press the letter G on the keyboard to return to Ligtroom’s Grid View in the Library Module.
how the hell do you export your snaps to JPG/RAW files????
Good point, Mark. I can’t think of an easy way to transition over to Virtual Copies from all those snapshots. I know it’s not the answer you’re looking for, but if you have 10,000+ images with Snapshots, I’d just start using Virtual Copies from now on rather than trying to go back and change.
Best of luck,
Scott
I use snapshots but now want to make them all into virtual copies. As I see it at present the only way I can do that is going through each photo one by one..(10,000 ++ !!). It would be nice if we were able to filter out snapshots and then just batch create virtual copies.
Great question, JD. Clearing the history has no effect on the Snapshots. You have to specifically delete Snapshots by selecting them and clicking the minus sign above them or by right-clicking on the Snapshot and choosing delete.
Thanks,
Scott
Hi,
Sorry – a bit late to comment, but I have a question I hope you can answer: If you choose to clear history, will all your snapshots be gone?
Thanks for all these great articles!
–
JD
Kyle,
You can’t go directly to Camera Raw from Lightroom, but I couldn’t think of any reason you’d want/need to anyway.
If you choose to open an image into Photoshop as a Smart Object, then double-click that layer in Photoshop, it will open the image in Camera Raw.
You could also, of course, right-click an image in Lightroom to “Show in Finder” or “Show in Explorer” then drag and drop that image onto Bridge or Photoshop for the ability to open in Camera Raw.
The moral of the story is, though, that there’s really nothing you can do in Camera Raw that you can’t do in Lightroom.
-Scott
Is it possible to open files into Camera Raw from Lightroom or is that pointless?
Thanks guys. I do love Snapshots, but believe Virtual Copies also have their place. I’ll have an article on Virtual Copies in the future.
Scott . . . awesome . . . I knew snapshots were there but never used them . . . . I love them now . . . I see this replacing some of my use of virtual copies – or maybe all virtual copies?
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Thanks Scott, as always your posts are brief, bright, and beautiful. This one told me something that will save me hours for less than 5 minutes of my time invested. Thank you.
Thank you very much. I tried a few different options for video embedding, and I’ve been really happy with Vimeo.
Scott:
I really like your video tutorial style and quality production. Your videos look very clear at full screen view (unlike the blurry ones at *dobe TV). Furthermore, the magnified view of pointer clicks makes what you are explaining perfectly clear to me. Keep up the good work.
Reg
Thank, Arno, for pointing out that my first embedded video had some serious audio shortcomings!
I’ve re-uploaded and re-embedded it, so the audio should be good to go now.
-Scott
Well, that audio thing is embarrassing.
I’ll get a new one up shortly.
I’ve never used snapshots. This is a great tip. Thanks!
Hey Scott!
I was looking at the vid for the snap shots. Don’t know if it’s my computer making trouble, but at about 55 seconds in the sounds gone, all the way until 4 minutes.
Great vid, otherwise