Merge to HDR now works with Smart Previews – A huge Adobe Lightroom CC improvement for me


HDR Merge with Smart Previews – The less publicised new feature in Adobe Lightroom CC

So all the noise was about guided upright (which I will write about tomorrow), but for those of you who read down the Adobe press release, there was something else,

http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2016/06/lightroom-cc-2015-6-now-available.html

“Merge to Panorama and HDR now works with Smart Previews.”

Previously, Lightroom required the use of original images for the Merge to Panorama or HDR features.”

I actually asked Adobe representatives at the Photography Show at the NEC this year why I couldn’t do HDR Merge with Smart Previews. And if this feature was going to be introduced. They didn’t exactly say no, but they didn’t say it would be out in three months from when I asked!

Why is this so important to me?

Because my Lightroom Catalogue is on my laptop, and my images are on my external hard drive. I have built Smart Previews for every image, and on import I create Smart Previews for each and every image.

And in my architectural photography and interior photography work I use HDR.

The reason for this is that I ran out of hard drive space. I have written about this extensively earlier on this year – you can find the posts on my blog if you want to read about this, or get in touch with me and I can send you links. And having run out of drive space I obviously had issues going forward.

So I had to do something else – make the break from one hard drive – I couldn’t just buy another laptop with a larger hard drive, as at some point this would fill up too. And once hard drives get to a certain percentage full level they begin to slow down…

And that something else was to move my Lightroom images to an external hard drive, but keep my catalogue on my laptop.

Smart Previews allowed me to carry out any editing I want to a photo on my laptop anywhere I might find myself. This is pretty awesome, considering I do not have the actual image files on my laptop.

Everything but HDR Merge and Panorama Merge that is. Or was.

Until now.

So thank you Adobe for the final piece of my Lightroom jigsaw. Well not true – if you could give me a way of automating mass HDR Merge that would be great. But I am happy with this new, not that well publicised, feature in Lightroom.

I am not paid by Adobe (I wish) – I pay them every month for my Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe are regularly bringing out meaningful, valuable new features such as this, making the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Subscription such excellent value

Rick McEvoy

I am Rick McEvoy, an architectural and construction photographer living and working in the South of England. I create high quality architectural photography and construction photography imagery of the built environment for architects and commercial clients. I do not photograph weddings, families, small people or pets - anything that is alive, moves or might not do as I ask!! I am also the creator of the Photography Explained Podcast, available on all major podcast providers. I have a blog on my website where I write about my work and photography stuff. Rick McEvoy ABIPP, MCIOB

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