Browse and compare photos

You can restrict, or filter, the photos displayed in the Filmstrip and the Grid view to photos with a specific flag status, star rating, color label, or kind of file (master photo, vitual copy, video).

Apply filters

Control filter behavior for a folder or collection

By default, filter behavior is not sticky. If you apply a filter to a folder or collection and then navigate away from that folder or collection, the filter is cleared when you return to the original location.

• To control filters for a selected a folder or a collection, choose File > Library Filters and any of the following:

  Enable Filters  Turns on the last-used filters that were applied to the folder or collection.

  Lock Filters  Applies the current filters to subsequently selected folders or collections.

  Remember Each Source's Filters Separately  Available when filters are locked. Applies the last-used filters for the selected folder or collection.

• To make filters "stick" so that they are active when you return to a previously filtered folder or collection, choose File > Library Filters > Lock Filters and then File > Library Filters > Remember Filters.

Select photos in the Grid view and the Filmstrip

You select photos in the Grid view that you want to work with in the Library or other modules. The photos you select are reflected in the Filmstrip. Likewise, the specific photos selected in the Filmstrip are displayed in the Grid view.

When you select a photo, it becomes the active photo. You can select multiple photos, but only one photo at a time is the active photo. Selected photos are indicated in the grid and the Filmstrip by a thin white border and a cell color that is lighter than unselected photos. The lightest colored cell indicates the active photo.

When you have several photos selected, you can click any selected photo to make it active without deselecting the other photos. If you click a photo outside the selection, it becomes the active photo, and all other photos are deselected.

When you have more than one photo selected in the Grid view and you make changes such as applying ratings, labels, or adding metadata, those changes are applied to all of the selected photos.

When you have more than one photo selected in the Filmstrip and you're in Loupe, Compare, or Survey view, changes such as adding ratings, labels, or metadata are applied only to the active photo.

Compare photos in the Library module

Lightroom Classic lets you view large previews of one or more photos for tasks like picking out the best photo in a series. You can view side-by-side previews of two photos in the Compare view, or view tiled previews of two or more photos in the Survey view.

In the Compare view, one photo is the select (active) and the other is the candidate. Using controls in the toolbar, you can swap the select and candidate photos, zoom in and out of one or both views simultaneously, and specify when you're done comparing.

In the Survey view, the selected (active) photo has a white border. You can designate the active photo by clicking it in the image display area. All photos have a Deselect Photo icon  in the lower-right corner for removing the photos from the Survey view. (On Mac OS, move the pointer over the photo to see the icon.)

Both views provide access to rating stars, color labels, and Pick or Rejected flags for each photo. Both views also let you deselect photos to narrow down the images under consideration. See Flag, label, and rate photos.

You can always switch between the Compare and Survey views while comparing photos. You can also display Compare and Survey views in a second window on a second monitor. See Displaying the Library on a second monitor.

Compare photos in the Compare view

Compare photos in the Survey view