Earlier this month Adobe released an update to Lightroom Classic CC (v. 7.3). If you haven’t already installed this update I would wait, as many people are experiencing problems. It’s not unusual for a software update to have some issues, but this release has more problems than usual.
Most of the issues relate to presets, so if you never use presets you’ll probably be fine. If you use presets I would definitely wait until the next update. If you’ve already updated and are experiencing problems, it’s actually pretty easy to revert to the previous version (7.2) of Lightroom Classic.
Many people are reporting that their presets have been reordered and lost their folder structure. In this latest update Adobe changed the file type for presets (from .lrtemplate to .xmp), and moved their location on your hard drive, so that’s what led to these structuring problems. Here’s one forum thread that delves into this issue.
Another issue, less commonly reported, is that applying a preset may also change the profile, and therefore change the appearance of the image in unintended ways. This problem relates to the new enhanced profile feature included in this update. This new feature has promise, and I’ll delve into it in a future post after Adobe fixes the problems with this release (or at least most of them). For now the easiest workaround is to apply a preset, and then, if the profile gets changed erroneously, change it back to the correct one. And if you apply another preset… you may have to change the profile back again. Yes, it’s a pain. Though again, if you don’t use presets you probably won’t have any problems. (Here’s another forum thread that discusses this profile issue.)
Sorry I didn’t warn you about this earlier! I was in Death Valley when Adobe issued this update, with no internet access, so I was only able to delve into this stuff recently.
— Michael Frye
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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
Thanks Michael for your heads up. Unfortunately I had already installed 7.3 and my problem has been Lightroom (Windows 10) will not close properly (crash) and requires a forced shutdown with task manager. I uninstalled and reinstalled with no success. It seemed if I left the Program in the develop module instead of the library it would close properly but I have not thoroughly tested that. I am reverting to 7.2 for now in any case. Loved your Death Valley images!
Sounds like reverting to 7.2 is a good plan, given all the problem you’re having. Glad you liked the Death Valley images!
Michael, slightly different question, if I may ask. Is the accompanying Dogwoods photograph recent? How is the Dogwoods bloom coming along this year?
Not recent Arup, and I haven’t been to the valley in weeks, so I’m afraid I don’t know what’s happening with the dogwoods.
Thanks, Michael!
Some news: Adobe released another update this morning (7.3.1) which is supposed to fix many of the problems people are experiencing. Since I didn’t experience any crashes, or having my presets reordered, I don’t know if these problems were indeed fixed. I can see that some of the issues with incorrect profiles being selected when applying a preset have been fixed, but not all.