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Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter

October 14, 2026

Providing Answers to Photographers for Over 24 Years!

 

Next Week: Smoky Mountain Photo Fest

The Smoky Mountain Photo Fest is next week, and I'm very much looking forward to presenting at what promises to be a fun and informative event. At the event I’ll be sharing several presentations, participating in a panel discussion, answering questions from photographers, and much more. I’m very much looking forward to participating and I hope you are planning to join us. You can get all the details on the Smoky Mountain Photo Fest website here:


https://www.smokymountainsphotofest.com

 

Today's Question

You've talked about the ability to synchronize adjustments for multiple images using the Auto-Sync feature in Lightroom Classic. But how do you deal with a situation where you want to synchronize some but not all the adjustments applied to the first image?

Tim's Quick Answer:

If you only want to synchronize certain adjustments across two or more images in Lightroom Classic there are two basic approaches I would recommend. The first would be to start with Auto-Sync enabled while applying only the adjustments you want to synchronize, and then disable Auto-Sync and refine each image individually. The second option would be to apply all adjustments to the first image and then synchronize after that, selecting only the specific adjustments you want to apply to the other images.

More Detail:

When it comes to synchronizing adjustments across multiple images in Lightroom Classic, you can either synchronize in real time or after having applied the adjustments to the first image. Both options can be used when you want to synchronize some but not all adjustments to other images.


The first option would be to synchronize adjustments in real time. This involves selecting all the images you want to synchronize adjustments to and turning on the Auto-Sync feature by clicking the toggle switch on the left side of the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module. You can then apply only the adjustments you want to apply to all selected images. Then turn off Auto-Sync and continue with individual adjustments for each image.


The other option would be to apply all adjustments to the first image, but then only synchronize some of those adjustments to the other images. After optimizing the first image, you can select that image along with the other images you want to synchronize some of the adjustments to. Click on the thumbnail for the image you have already adjusted to make sure it is the active image. Then click the Sync button (make sure Auto-Sync is off), and in the dialog that appears make sure that the checkboxes are only turned on for the adjustments you want to synchronize to all selected images. Click the Synchronize button to apply those adjustments, and then return to each individual image to update other adjustments as needed.

 
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Tim Grey

GreyLearning