Printing in Lightroom with Virtual Copies
If you do a lot of printing from Lightroom, there are situations where using Virtual Copies (VCs) can streamline your process.
A VC exists only in the Lightroom catalog; it’s simply another instance of the original photo within the database. When you make a VC, there’s no file actually saved on the hard disk unless you Export the VC as a “real” image file. The key benefit of VCs is that you can make multiple variations of an image without taking up any additional disk space.
In general, once you have “finished” a master photo and applied all the adjustments to make it look the way you want, any further modifications for specific purposes (such as printing) should be done using VCs.
For example: many printer/paper combinations produce printed output that is darker and less saturated that what you see on screen. You can make a VC with adjustments to compensate.
To make a VC, right-click or control-click on the photo, and from the popup menu, select Create Virtual Copy. Or press cmd’/ctrl’ (apostrophe). Or choose the command from the Photo menu. The VC will be created in the same Folder and/or Collection as the original with the same adjustment settings as the original. And you can make a copy of a copy with no loss of quality.
In the Library Grid, a Virtual Copy is indicated by a “page turn” icon on the thumbnail.
Once you’ve created your VC, you can adjust it for the print job. Using the previous example, you might increase Brightness, Fill Light and Saturation to improve the printed output.
TIP: Use Quick Develop in the Library module to apply adjustments for print. Quick Develop adjustments are relative, meaning they are applied on top of the values of any existing adjustments.
You can also use VCs for alternate crops/aspect ratios, making triptychs and multi-image layouts, etc. … all without affecting your original master photo.
About the Author: Nathaniel Coalson is a photographer, instructor and author based in Colorado. Nat teaches photography and digital imaging and provides training and consulting for private and corporate clients. Nat is an Adobe Certified Expert in Lightroom and Photoshop and is the author of Lightroom 2: Streamlining your Digital Photography Process published by Wiley in 2009.
Great idea!
Why didn’t I think about it before?!
Nat.
I am an amateur photographer with a question about colour space.I think I understand the basics and calibrate my own monitor however there are some things I do not quite understand.I appreciate that each pice of equipment sees colour differently and certain colour spaces offer advantages in terms of the amount of colour they reveal for printing,the web etc.My question is should you be using the same one throughout the process from camera to monitor to print ie if the camera gives an option of sRGB you choose it then view it in sRGB on the monitor but want to save it and export it from Lightroom as adobeRGB what effect does it have on the final image.Should I be using adobe RGB throughout?
Hi Sheila-
Thanks for your question. You’ve got the idea: each device translates color differently. That’s why we use color profiles; the internal color management system on your computer uses the profiles to synchronize the color output from each device.
Where many people get confused is about which profiles to use. Here’s the lowdown:
1. Working color space – this is a profile assigned to the image file itself. If you’re working in both Lightroom and Photoshop, they need to be set to use the same working color space. Adobe RGB is a good choice here. In LR, it’s under the External Editors preference. In Photoshop, it;s under Edit > Color Settings.
2. Monitor profile – your display settings should always be set to use the custom profile generated by your calibration kit.
3. When exporting files from either LR or PS, you’ll need to consider it’s intended destination. If you’re preparing a file for inkjet printing, usually it’s good to keep it in Adobe RGB. If you’re sending it to a lab, like mPix, WHCC, etc. they usually want it as sRGB… but some will provide custom profiles for you to convert to.
When saving files for the web, always use sRGB.
4. Now, about converting between color spaces. Here’s where things differ between Lightroom and Photoshop.
If you export a file from Lightroom, and pick a color space other than the current working space, LR will automatically convert to the destination color space and embed the profile. You’re done.
But if you need to save out a file from Photoshop into another color space, you should first use the Edit > Convert to Profile command to convert the file, then do a Save As… making sure to embed the profile.
If you follow these steps consistently (and your display is well calibrated) you should see predictable, accurate color that is approximately the same in all scenarios. However, keep in mind that different monitors will appear different, a print will look a bit different than the monitor, etc. all due to the nature of the physical differences between them.
One other thing – if you capture raw (you do, right?) the color space setting on your camera doesn’t matter. If you capture JPG I recommend you set it to Adobe RGB, as that will be your working space.
Hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any other questions, and thanks for participating!!
- Nat
Nat.Thankyou.That is very useful.I do take my photos in RAW as I am trying to get the best quality and versatility.I then convert to a DNG in Lightroom.
I hope you don’t mind but I have some other questions which are related to this.When I move a PSD file between Lightroom and Photoshop Elements for editing I notice Elements has only limited support for 16 Bit files and wants to convert it to 8.When the file goes back into Lightroom again after editing does it automatically become converted to 16 Bit? Have I lost any of the file data in the process.Is this just a limitation of Elements or is CS4 the same?
Hi Sheila-
No, if you convert a PSD or TIF to 8 bit during an Edit In… operation, back in Lightroom it will remain 8 bit.
Yes, you’ve lost data. And no, this isn’t a problem in any full version of Photoshop.
However, understand that even within full Photoshop, not all functions, plug-ins etc. work on 16 bit images.
Honestly I don’t know much about 8 bit vs. 16 bit in Elements. I would not have expected it to be an issue any different than CS4.
What version of Elements are you using?
What are you needing to do in Elements that needs to convert to 8 bit?
Happy to help -
Nat
Nat.
Thankyou.
I regularly export photos from LR to PS Elements 6 to do panoramas.These are not usually a problem.I use the export command in LR,send them over to temporary holding folder then reimport them into Elements to do the conversion.It is a little long winded but seems to work!
Yesterday however I also exported a single photo for further editing in PS via the LR drop down menu on the toolbar so I could try and use levels on it.This was the one that when I tried to use levels became the file that PS had issues with.Only auto levels was available and a note came up saying that the program was restricted with what it could do unless I converted it to 8 bit which I did. I was then able to add a layer and use the levels command.I still have the original copy of the file so maybe I should try again?
Sheila – in Photoshop and Elements there are some operations that only work with 8 bit files. In most of these cases, using 8 bit won’t cause any problems.
Nat.Thankyou for your reply.
I think I am going to try an upgrade to Elements 8 first.From what I have been able to read recently it seems this supports RAW files better than version 6 and Photomerge has been upgraded.Hopefully this will resolve the problem.I don’t see the point of spending all this time taking RAW files to preserve data and then lose it again through something I am doing in processing.I wanted to cut my teeth first in Elements rather than the full version of Photoshop but maybe I should stop being so cautious and acquire the full version in time.I use Lightroom a lot and like the results but there are times when photoshop is useful.
Nat.
I have updated Elements 6 and am now working with 8.I have redone what I tried to do before and the whole process has allowed me to be more specific in the questions I need to ask you.
1.If you make a vitual copy of a DNG and edit this copy with CS4 can you work on it in full layers and use levels (I wondered if it is the copy of the file which is the problem rather than a limitation of the programme).The bit depth remained at 16 this time which is great!
2.In Photomerge panorama can you work in CS4 on 16 bit PSD files as Elements only wants to work on 8 bits again.I wondered if this is just a limitation of Elements or is a common feature to both programmes because of the ultimate size of the file.