Shouldn't Auto Tone analyze individual photos when synching settings on multiple files?

[Billiams]

I noticed that when I click on multiple images and then apply auto tone and then synch to all files, the exact same settings are applied, regardless of the individual image characteristics. Why isn't it analyzing each individual photo and then applying the appropriate adjustments??

[effeegee · Accepted solution]

The answer is Yes - Autotone analyses individual pictures and adjusts relative to the original in Library module. No Autotone synchs to the absolute settings in Develop module.

There's some method to this madness. If your goal is to 'Autotone' a batch relative to their original exposure Select All or your selection in Library and then click on Autotone in quick develop. (It's easy to reset individual shots later if you don't like the results. All adjustments are relative in Library/[Quick Develop] and absolute in Develop.

[john beardsworth]

Billiams  wrote

Why isn't it analyzing each individual photo and then applying the appropriate adjustments??

It's about performance, and yes it seems imperfect. But Auto isn't a simple objective treatment, it's more like an educated guess which, despite the compromise, produces an acceptable time-saving starting point.

[Billiams]

But it's only an "educated guess" on the first image. What about the other

678 that were synched it to? That educated guess is wildly off on a good

percentage of the other images!

On Sun, Sep 30, 2018 at 1:58 PM john beardsworth <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[johnrellis]

But it's only an "educated guess" on the first image. What about the other 678 that were synched it to? That educated guess is wildly off on a good percentage of the other images!

Let's step back:

Effeegee explained above how to apply Auto to a batch of photos. In Library, select all the photos and do Photo > Develop Settings > Auto Settings (which has a keyboard shortcut), or in the Quick Develop panel, click Auto. Alternatively, use Quick Develop > Saved Preset to apply a preset that has Auto Settings checked.

All of those methods will analyze each photo separately to compute auto settings, as if you had clicked Auto on each photo individually.  However, when Auto is applied to a batch of photos, for performance reasons LR computes the settings using a low-resolution version of the image, and the resulting settings usually differ a small amount from what you'd get when clicking Auto on each photo individually. For example, the batch Auto might set an exposure of +1.29, while the individual Auto gives +1.26.  Very infrequently, the differences can be somewhat larger (e.g. +0.86 versus +0.64).  

It's not clear from the discussion -- have you tried using one of the methods for correctly applying Auto to a batch of photos?  If so, which method?

[john beardsworth]

Then don't apply it to dissimilar images, or accept the performance hit of making Lightroom calculate each individual image.

[Billiams]

I tried this in Library mode. I then checked what parameters were applied

and every image reflected the exact same tone settings; no difference

whatsoever. So I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly or you're

misunderstanding what I mean. I need each image to be adjusted according to

it's own unique set of characteristics, not a one-size-fits-all adjustment.

Does that make sense?

On Sun, Sep 30, 2018 at 4:02 PM john beardsworth <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[JohanElzenga]

Billiams  wrote

I tried this in Library mode. I then checked what parameters were applied

and every image reflected the exact same tone settings; no difference

whatsoever. So I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly or you're

misunderstanding what I mean. I need each image to be adjusted according to

it's own unique set of characteristics, not a one-size-fits-all adjustment.

Does that make sense?

You can do this by using a preset with Auto Tone. When you apply this preset to multiple images, Auto Tone will be calculated for each image separately. You can also do this in the Quick Develop block in the Library. Select multiple images and press the Auto Tone button. What does not work (neither in Library or in Develop) is to use the 'Synchronize' button. From what you said in your initial post, I think that is what you did.

[johnrellis]

I tried this in Library mode.

What are the precise steps you did?  Here's a screen recording of these steps previously described:

Dropbox - Auto-demo.2018.09.30.mov

1. Select all the photos.

2. In the Quick Develop panel, click Auto.

3. Examine each photo in turn to verify the Develop settings are different.

[effeegee]

Autotone is a one-size fits all attempt at finding an appropriate middle of the road result. It will not yield a suitable result if you want a bleached out look or have little in the way of highlights. If it helps think of it as trying to produce a 'balanced' image just like an overall exposure setting. There's no real understanding of what your intention was.  

Autotone in either module is, in JB's definition an educated guess, or an algorithm driven compromise across parameters to yield a best guess histogram. Namely a sensible white point, a minimum of black cut-off, plausible highlights and shadows for a usable exposure at contrast which is appropriate for the statistical analysis of the image - it is actually more sophisticated than that.

Of course, if these are what you refer to as tone settings, in some cases they may be the same because the original has the same characteristics with no difference in overall content from a statistical perspective.  But not the same result for all images across different subjects. The result of Autotone (in Library) might appear similar but the underlying (Basic panel) readings of the sliders when you look in Develop module should vary. Exposure adjustment should vary considerably as will contrast across subjects.Yes you might see the same figure in shadows and highlights e.g. +50, -50 because it is an 'unsophisticated' optimisation of the histogram further compromised by the batch aspect which JB explained.

If all the numerical readings of the basic panel sliders after using Autotone in the Library module are the same across varied subject matter you have a different problem. Have you reset all the images before applying Autotone?

[Billiams]

To explain more fully, this worked in the Library module. I was working with an enlarged thumbnail and attempting to synchronize the autotone from there, which applied the settings from that image to all other images. Once I hit "G" and went to thumbnails, I selected a bunch of images and then hit "auto". The images were then individually auto corrected. Once again, thank you for your super-detailed and thoughtful reply!

[Billiams]

Ok, being in the Library module is what I was missing. Apparently the synch process only applies a particular set of adjustments globally, so that's the wrong way to get each photo individually analyzed. Thanks for your help!

[Todd Shaner]

You can also apply the Auto Tone function in the Develop module using the 'Auto Sync' button.Just another option!

1a) Select all of the image files you want to apply Auto Tone.

2a) In the Develop module click the small switch in the lower-right panel area to turn ON the "Auto Sync' button (see below).

2b) (Optional) If you want to return ALL of the Develop settings to their default settings as your new "starting point" click the Reset button shown below. It has no effect on the actual Auto Tone settings calculation so it's your decision.

3) Next click on the 'Auto' button in the Basic Tone panel.

4) Finally click the small switch in the lower-right Develop module panel to turn OFF the "Auto Sync' button.

5) With all of the files still selected go to the Library module menu Library> Previews> 'Build Standard-Sized Previews.' You need to do this BEFORE applying any further settings to the image files. Here's why:

Lightroom: Applying Auto Tone to a batch of photos loses subsequent develop settings | Photoshop Fam...