This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Stacking Photos
Lightroom’s stacking feature lets you gather a bunch of similar images and “stack” them, much as you might bunch up slides on an old light table to concentrate on the remaining photos. You can even automatically stack photos, which is particularly useful for tidying up contiguous, same-subject photos such as bursts of motor-drive shots, panorama sequences, or bracketed high dynamic range (HDR) exposures.
To stack/unstack photos:
- In the Filmstrip or Grid view, select the photos you want to stack A.
- Right-click (Control-click on single- button Macs) one of the selected images and in the pop-up menu, choose -Stacking > Group into Stack B. The selected photos are rearranged as one photo with a small number showing how many photos the stack contains C.
- To unstack a group of photos, right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the number atop the stack and choose Unstack in the pop-up menu D. The stack disappears, replaced by all the photos previously in the stack.
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A Select the photos you want to stack.
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B Right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the selected images and choose Stacking > Group into Stack.
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C The photos are stacked as one photo with a number indicating how many photos the stack contains.
D To unstack a group, right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the number atop the stack and choose Unstack.
To expand/collapse a stack:
- In the Grid view, a stack is marked not only by a small number in the upper-left corner but also by vertical bars down each side of the top photo E. Press the S on your keyboard or click the bar on either side of the photo. The stack expands, with each photo in the stack showing a slightly darker background than other photos in the grid.
- After you’re done looking at the individual photos, press the S on your keyboard or click the vertical bar to the left of the stack’s first image or to the right of the stack’s last photo to collapse the stack F. The stack collapses down to a single photo.
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E To expand a stack, click the bar on either side of the top photo.
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F To collapse a stack, click the bar on the left side of the first photo.
To add a photo to a stack:
- In the Grid view, click on the photo you want to add to the stack G. Drag and drop it on the stack and a thick, black border appears H. Release the cursor and the photo is added to the stack, reflected by the updated small number in the stack’s upper-left corner I.
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G In the Grid view, click on the photo you want to add to the stack.
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H Drag and drop the photo on the stack and a thick, black border appears.
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I Release the cursor and the photo is added to the stack, updating the small number in the stack’s upper-left corner.
To remove a photo from a stack:
- In the Grid view, expand the stack and find the photo you no longer want included in the stack. Right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the small number in the photo’s upper left and in the pop-up menu, choose Remove from Stack J. The photo is no longer included in the stack of related images.
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J Right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the upper-left number of the photo and choose Remove from Stack.
To change a stack’s top photo:
- By default, a collapsed stack displays the first photo in the sequence. To use another photo in the stack, expand the stack, right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the small number in the photo’s upper left, and in the pop-up menu, choose Move to Top of Stack K. That photo becomes the stack’s cover photo.
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K Right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the upper-left number of the photo and choose Move to Top of Stack.
To auto-stack photos by capture time:
- Select the photos you want to stack. You can stack an entire folder, a single photo session, or the results of a photo search L.
- From the Menu bar, choose Photo > Stacking > Auto-Stack by Capture Time M.
- Set the Time Between Stacks slider anywhere between 0 seconds (the far right) and 1 hour (the far left) N. The number of stacks (and unstacked photos) based on the setting appears in the lower left of the dialog. Adjust if necessary, and click Stack.
- In the Grid view, all the photos remain expanded (unstacked), but their borders have changed to indicate whether they belong to a stack O. Light-bordered photos are not part of any stack; dark-bordered ones are part of a stack. The beginning of each stack shows a small number for how many photos belong to that stack. Roll the cursor over any dark-bordered photo and you’ll see a number for its position in the stack sequence P.
- To collapse a particular stack, double-click the small number of the first photo in the stack Q. The stack collapses. To re-expand it, double-click the first photo again R.
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L Select the photos you want to auto-stack. If you want, you can select entire folders using the Folders panel.
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M Choose Photo > Stacking > Auto-Stack by Capture Time.
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N Set the Time Between Stacks slider anywhere between 0 seconds and 1 hour. Adjust the time based on the stack count in the lower left and click Stack.
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O The photos remain unstacked, but those with dark borders now belong to a stack.
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P Roll the cursor over any dark-bordered photo to see its position number within the stack.
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Q To collapse a particular stack, double-click the small number of the first photo in the stack.
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R To re-expand a stack, double-click the first photo again.
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To collapse all the stacks, right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the small number in the upper left of any photo and choose Collapse All Stacks in the pop-up menu S. All the selected photos collapse into their respective stacks T. To re-expand all the stacks, right-click (Control-click on a single-button Mac) the upper left of any stacked photo and choose Expand All Stacks in the pop-up menu.
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S To collapse all the stacks, right-click (Control-click on single-button Macs) the number in the upper left of any photo and choose Collapse All Stacks.
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T With all stacks collapsed, the numbers tell how many photos each stack contains.