Christina Keddie

I'm so very sorry for your loss. What do you mean by take out the background? Cut out each of these superheroes and leave them on a transparent background? (That might be tricky with the Batman pic, with the flames blending into the background.)

Oh! Wait! This is just the import dialog box, isn't it? Those black border strips come up sometimes when you're viewing the embedded JPG preview from your camera. What do they look like once LR has actually imported them and generated its own previews?

How do these files look in fullscreen mode, or in the Develop module? How about when you open these files in any other program? Like just looking at the file folder in Finder and seeing the thumbnails there? Or if you open one of these raw files in ACR in PS? And how about old files that you know you didn't get these black bars with (imported prior to your update) -- how do they look when you look at them in this grid view in LR?

Regardless of how they were in real life, I still think this dug-into-the-ground composite would make more sense (to my brain, at least) if you were shooting down on the mannequin -- you expect it to be shorter than you, so that would help translate the concept of being dug into the ground better. I'm mostly just agreeing with Tony that that would be worth trying, if you're really going for verisimilitude here. Which you probably aren't, given that it's a headless mannequin and a very stylized edit. And also noting that he commented that you shot it from too low a perspective, and your response that you shot from below suggested that you'd misunderstood his comment.

No, that's exactly the problem. It looks like you shot the mannequin from too low a position (from standing or lower). If you shot it from *above*, then this composite would make a lot more sense visually.

@Momof3, did you get this all worked out?

Hey, don't feel silly! I'm glad that fixed it, and definitely keep that document profile indicator on so you can always check your files' color space at a glance.

Jess, do you need help following the second troubleshooter to fix the color space problem?

OK, repeat after me until it sticks: there are no photos "in" LR. All that the LR catalog contains is the sequence of edits you've done on the photos, and it links back to the images as they're saved on your hard drive. Once you moved the files from one drive to another, you broke that link. That's why all the files say LR can't find them -- because you moved the files without telling LR where you moved them to. Right-click on the folder in the folder tree in your LR Library module (which should now have a question mark on it), and choose "Find missing folder," then navigate to the external hard drive and the folder on it where these files can now be found. And the next time you want to move files or folders anywhere, MOVE THEM WITHIN LR. Go into your Library module and drag and drop folders to the appropriate drives there.

This file is fine. http://www.damiensymonds.net/2010/11/colour-modes-vs-colour-spaces.html And here's how to make sure all your LR and PS color space settings are correct: http://www.damiensymonds.net/color-space-settings-for-the-lightroom-user.html

Chantel, HAVE you gone through the color space troubleshooter? All the screenshots you've posted in this thread have shown that your image is still in AdobeRGB, which is the reason why it's looking terrible and washed out online. Make sure MAKE SURE that when you order your new prints, you send them files in sRGB!!

Just to confirm -- you did learn that Image Processor will take your final edited files and resize them all in one go, in a matter of seconds, right? Easy and fast, and no starting all over again required.

You've got to show us some photos. Can you show us he image you're working with, and a screenshot of your entire PS screen when you see this problem (including your layers palette and options bar)? Thanks!

How do your old test prints compare to your monitor? The ones you used to calibrate in the first place? You've got to rule out lab error on this set of prints before you start freaking out about your calibration.

Might it be easier to swap in dad and little sister into the other shot, and then mom's head?

If you're just confused about what a clipping mask is and how to use it, there's some basic info here, starting at step 5: http://www.damiensymonds.net/2011/12/simple-clipping-mask-and-storyboard.html

Hi Erica, Please familiarize yourself with the posting guidelines for this subforum: Thanks!

For all your future files: http://www.damiensymonds.net/color-space-settings-for-the-lightroom-user.html For these files: http://www.damiensymonds.net/art_tscs2.html

You would keep them in raw format (either the native raw format that comes out of your camera, or DNG if you want to convert them), and just leave them like that on your hard drive (internal or external, and backed up). When you bring them into PS to edit them further, you'd save the layered PSD file that you created in editing. Then when you're producing output files, you'd save those outputs as JPGs. More on this workflow, and on disposable JPGs: http://www.damiensymonds.net/2010/02/trash-those-jpegs.html And note: when I say you keep them in raw format, I mean you keep the actual raw file and the XMP sidecar file that contains all of your raw processing steps. As you now know, having read the first article I linked.

Here's some good basic reading on this question: http://www.damiensymonds.net/2012/02/to-dng-or-not-to-dng.html Also, make sure MAKE SURE that you've got this setting changed in LR, so your XMP files are being written separately from your raw files! http://photographyconcentrate.com/lightroom-tip-turn-automatically-write-changes-xmp/

The 87GB free is a big part of your problem -- you want to keep your hard drive at least 1/3rd free at all times. I'd strongly recommend clearing off a ton of space -- get files off of your HD and onto externals, etc. Also note that the Mac OS treats all files saved on your desktop as open and active files, thus eating up all your RAM, so if you have any files saved in folders directly on your desktop, move those elsewhere. Clearing enough space on your hard drive will also enable you to cull faster -- because you really should be downloading all your files onto your computer, and *then* going through and culling. You can do it through LR if you'd like -- when you import your files, set it to build 1:1 previews while importing, and then you'll be able to zip through the files in your Library module and flag rejects with keyboard shortcuts. Or you can get dedicated programs like PhotoMechanic to make culling lightning fast. But this requires having the space on your hard drive to download all your files, and also to not overtax your system RAM.

Let me first state: I think it's a little insane that you're using the LR import window to cull. That's like the slowest possible way to cull. But I've never experienced the pixelation you're showing here. I even just opened my LR to test it out again, and whether I double-clicked the thumbnail or clicked the fullscreen preview button, my large previews were crystal clear. So can you tell us more about your computer health? http://www.damiensymonds.net/thread1.html

Have you seen the source photos of her mother that she's thinking about using for a "hologram" effect yet? Can you post any of them here? (And do you have any idea what she means by "hologram"? We've seen a lot of low-opacity "ghost" or "shadow" effects with loved ones who have passed, but I'm not sure what she means by a "hologram" effect.)

OK, but the files you posted here are untagged grayscale. How did that happen? Can you include your document profile indicator in your next screenshot? (And please use the Snipping Tool to create your screenshots.)