To the fast lane of time-lapse with Photoshop Lightroom
- Rajeev Kumar Tiwari
- 12th Jan 2017
- 3
- 80226
- Lightroom CC photography time-lapse template time-lapse video tips for time-lapse video creation
Get Over 200 Free Lightroom Print Templates HERE! What is a Lightroom Template for? Well you can make Collages, Facebook Timelines, Pinterest posts, and Wall Previewsall in Lightroom. The Timelapse Workflow Suite. Turn Adobe Photoshop Lightroom into a powerful time-lapse editor. The Timelapse Workflow plugin is a suite of four essential tools for time-lapse post-processing in Lightroom. Automated but not controlling; all tools have confirmation dialogs before applying changes, explaining what it's doing and why.
Graphics by Kalika Arora
Have you ever seen a time-lapse video and wondered how it is made? Well, if you are a Lightroom user, you can create your own time-lapse video using Lightroom. The advantage of creating a time-lapse video in Lightroom is that you get more flexibility while editing the images, including RAW images.
In a time-lapse video, you speed up contiguous photos (also called ‘frames’) shot over a time period to show the video faster than the normal speed.
So how do I know how many photos do I need to capture? How long will my time-lapse video be when I create one? Well, these are the questions that you should have in mind before you begin your shoot and they are the essential part of planning. We’ll get into further details later.
For now, let’s take an example of a video of clouds floating over mountains. If the video is shot for a duration of 30 minutes at 30 Frames per Second (FPS), it will have a total of 54,000 frames (30 frames x 1800 seconds). At the normal speed, the movement of the clouds will be slow in the video. Now consider making a time-lapse video of the same scene. If you shoot photos at an interval of five seconds for 30 minutes, you will have 360 frames to compile in your video. The final output will be of 12 seconds (360 frames at 30FPS). So with the time-lapse technique, you can show the 30-minute movement of clouds in a 12-second video.
You can use time-lapse to show sunrise/sunset, movement of the clouds, star trails, the transition of the moon, movement of traffic, construction of a building over a period of time, the blooming of a flower, etc.
The workflow of creating a time-lapse video is broken down into the following phases:
This blog post benefits from the insights shared by Adobe Community Professional Sean McCormack here on his blog. We thankfully acknowledge his contribution.
Planning and shooting photos
Plan and shoot the photos for your time-lapse video. If you’ve planned and shot your photos well, you’ve already won half the battle. Always keep the final output in mind when you plan your shoot. Take care of the following things when you plan the shoot:
- Shooting for time-lapse takes a lot of time. Ensure that your camera battery is fully charged for a long shoot. It will be better if you have some spare batteries with you.
- Depending on the file format setting (RAW or JPEG), the memory required for the shoot will vary. Ensure that you have sufficient memory for the shoot.
- You need an intervalometer to shoot photos at a specific time interval. You can use an external intervalometer if your camera does not have an in-built intervalometer.
- You need a good-quality tripod for the shoot. Having a sturdy tripod ensures that you get stable frames for your time-lapse video.
- Always take some test shots and check your composition and setting for the shoot. Once you are sure about the ideal settings, use the same settings for shooting photos in manual mode. This ensures that the camera doesn’t set exposure and metering for each frame automatically. It is advised that you turn off the auto-focus feature, shooting with auto-focus takes additional battery and may create glitches in the video clip.
- You can decide the interval between two shots depending on what you are shooting. For example, if you are shooting fast-moving clouds, you may choose to have an interval of 5-10 seconds between each shot. However, if you are shooting a slow process like a blooming flower, the interval between two shots could be a few
- You need to calculate the total number of frames required for your time-lapse video based on the interval between the two shots. Here’s a blog by Julieanne Kost that can help you calculate the frames for your time-lapse video.
Importing photos to Lightroom
After shooting your photos, import them into Lightroom.
If you need help with the procedure, follow the instructions in these articles:
Note: Select and import only the contiguous photos into Lightroom to ensure that you import photos in the correct sequence for the time-lapse video. You can use the Sort feature to arrange the photo while importing.
Editing photos
If you want to fine-tune the photos (for example, crop, fix exposure and white balance, adjust saturation etc), you can use the Develop module of Lightroom.
Do the following to edit the photos in Lightroom:
- Edit the photos in the Develop module of Lightroom. For more details on editing photos in the Develop Module, see Edit photos in develop module.
- Apply the same editing on all the photos in a collection. Select all the photos and click Sync in the Develop This ensures a smooth transition of the frames in the final video. For more details on Sync, see Synchronize settings across multiple photos.
Note: You can use the Reference view to compare the editing with one image as a reference point. For more details on the Reference view, see Reference View.
Importing time-lapse templates
Before you start creating your time-lapse video, click here to download templates required to create time-lapse video. You can skip this if you already have time-lapse templates in Lightroom. These templates are customized for creating time-lapse videos at 15, 24, and 30 FPS.
![Free Free](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126259011/467011255.png)
Do the following to import the Lightroom templates for time-lapse:
- Go to the Slideshow module in Lightroom.
- Right-click User Templates in the Template Browser panel on the left and click Import.
- Browse to locate the downloaded templates and click Import.
You have successfully imported the time-lapse templates in Lightroom.
Creating a video
You are now ready to create the time-lapse video. Do the following to create the time-lapse video:
- Select a time-lapse template from UserTemplate under TemplateBrowser in the Slideshow.
Note: Make sure you don’t change anything in the panel on right for setting layout and playback options for the slideshow. - Click ExportVideo to save the video.
- Enter file name, select VideoPreset, and click Save.
You have successfully created your time-lapse video. You can now publish it and wow your friends.
Do share your views and stories about creating time-lapse using Lightroom.
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One of the most exciting features of the GH5 is its ability to shoot a high-resolution time-lapse, in-camera without any additional gear or software.
Note: This timelapse tutorial is based on GH5 Firmware update v. 2.4
In the second part of our tutorial on the time-lapse workflow for the GH5, we’ll go over how to ingest and organize photo sequences in Adobe Lightroom, create an .mov of your time-lapse in After Effects, and output that file for editing and a final grade in Premiere.
In this workflow, we’ll use three separate applications to create a final time-lapse:
- Lightroom: used for media management, clip naming, and color grading.
- After Effects: used for generating the time-lapse sequence and applying stabilization.
- Premiere: used for editing and applying a final grade.
To learn the entire post-production workflow for creating time-lapses from the GH5, check out our tutorial:
Since you’ve already checked out part one of this tutorial, you’ve already captured a time-lapse photo sequence with your GH5 and are ready to ingest your media for post-production. To begin, make sure that you back up your shot footage in at least two locations to prevent potential media loss.
Step 1: Organize Your Time-lapse Folder
Create a folder to house all of your project’s time-lapse files. Within this folder, create two subfolders, and name them accordingly:
- Source: this folder houses your original media shot on the GH5. (Note: dump all of your time-lapse photo sequences within this folder. You can manage media within Lightroom in Step 3.)
- Created-TIFFs: this folder houses the TIFFs that you’ll output from Lightroom.
Step 2: Create a Project in Lightroom Classic CC
Note: This tutorial uses Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, Release 8.0
Create a new Lightroom catalog by navigating to File > New Catalog.
Navigate to the location where you’d like to save the catalog, and name it using a descriptive name (such as “Mountain Time-lapses”) and select “Create.”
(Note: for quick reference, save your Lightroom catalog in your time-lapse project folder next to the subfolders you created in Step 1.)
Step 3: Import and Organize Photo Sequences in Lightroom
With the catalog created, import your photo sequences into Lightroom by navigating to File > Import Photos and Video.
Lightroom will open a dialog box so you can import your desired photos. Navigate to your project folder, and select your photo sequences from the “Source” subfolder.
Select “Import.”
Once the thumbnail previews generate, organize your photo sequences by location and shot.
Create a subfolder within the “Source” folder for each shot you captured. For example, if you shot three separate time-lapses on a recent project, you should create three separate folders within your “Source” folder — one for each shot.
Name your shot folders using a logical description such as “subject_fieldOfView.”
Step 4: Create a Look
At this point, you have the option to create a look for your time-lapse. Some shooters edit and color grade a single photo and apply the look across all of the photos in their sequence. This is a traditional post-workflow for time-lapses, usually performed at this point.
The strategy for color grading a time-lapse photo sequence is simple:
- Color-grade a single image from the time-lapse photo sequence.
- Paste those attributes across all photos in the sequence.
Resize and adjust your shot however you want. If you shot your time-lapse at a 4:3 aspect ratio, you’ll need to crop the photo for 16:9 — or whatever aspect ratio you’re using in your larger Premiere project.
Once you’ve created your desired look, right-click the graded photo and select Develop Settings > Copy Settings. A dialog box will open asking which attributes you would like to copy. Select all that apply, and click “Copy.”
Next, select all photos in your photo sequence, excluding the image you’re copying. With the photos selected, right-click and select Develop Settings > Paste Settings. The thumbnail images in your sequence will begin to update.
The process for color-grading a photo varies greatly depending on the subject, the lighting, and the photographer’s intentions. The video tutorial accompanying this article offers step-by-step instructions for color-grading an image in Lightroom.
With the GH5’s firmware update v. 2.3, shooters with the V-LogL activation code can now shoot photos with the V-Log photo style. Not only does this give shooters more flexibility in grading their images, it also lets them postpone grading until they ingest a time-lapse .mov into their non-linear editing software.
Step 5: Export
Adobe Lightroom includes a powerful export feature that allows for batch exporting photos with set parameters for file destination, naming, and quality or compression settings.
When you’re ready to export the photo sequences of a particular shot, select all the photos within that shot’s subfolder, and navigate to File > Export.
Export Location
In the export dialog box, designate an export location within the “Created-TIFFs” subfolder you created in Step 1. For each shot, create a matching subfolder in your “Created-TIFFs” folder by checking the box “Put in Subfolder” and naming it accordingly.
If you’re working with multiple time-lapse shots, do this for each shot.
Ensure that the “Created-TIFFs” subfolder structure matches the structure of the “Source” subfolder. This is especially important for large projects that include many time-lapses.
File Naming
Furthermore, under the File Naming tab, check the box “Rename To,” and select “Edit” from the dropdown menu. In the dialog box, input a naming structure:
Sequence # (0001) – Original filename – Version #
For instance, the first photo in my time-lapse sequence might read:
0001-P1044967-v01.jpg
File Settings
Lastly, under the File Settings tab, select “TIFF” from the “Image Format” dropdown menu.
Under the “Compression” dropdown menu, select “None,” and specify the “sRGB” Color Space. This is to preserve the highest-quality image for export and ingest into After Effects.
Otherwise, if space is an issue, select “JPEG” from the “Image Format” dropdown menu, and select 100 from the “Quality” slider.
Select “Export.”
Step 6: Import Images into After Effects
Once the export is complete, open After Effects, and import the sequence by navigating to File > Import > File.
Navigate to the shot subfolder folder within your “Created-TIFFs” folder, and select the first photo of the sequence.
With the first photo selected, check “TIFF Sequence” and “Force alphabetical order.” Click “Open.”
With the image sequence in your After Effects Project Panel, right-click the sequence and navigate to Interpret Footage > Main.
Select the “Assume this frame rate,” and select your desired frame rate.
24fps is appropriate for most projects. For a faster speed, select 48fps. Select “OK.”
Step 7: Create a New After Effects Composition
Create a new composition by navigating to Composition > New Composition.
Name the composition to match the shot name, and set your desired parameters for resolution and frame rate. Generally, the UHD 4K 23.976 preset in After Effects will work for most projects.
Set your desired composition duration and select “OK.”
With the composition open, drag the TIFF sequence to your After Effects timeline.
Step 8: Stabilize Your Footage
Remove jitter from your time-lapse sequence by applying the Warp Stabilizer VFX to your composition.
Step 9: Export .MOV
Set output settings to QuickTime format using the Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 codec, specify a destination within your time-lapse project, and export the composition.
You can also choose the ProRes 422 codec to save time and hard drive space. Regardless, if you’re editing your time-lapse in Premiere, you’ll want to export the least compressed file possible.
Step 10: Import the .MOV into Your Premiere Project
Once the composition has finished exporting, import the .mov into your existing Premiere project.
Apply a final grade using a LUT or by adjusting the grade in your Lumetri Panel. Edit the time-lapse as you would any other clip in Premiere.
If you’re working with an uncompressed UHD .mov, you may need to create an ingest setting in Premiere. The 1280×720 GoPro CineForm preset works for most 16:9 projects.
Interested in the tracks we used to make this video:
- “Rise and Rhyme” by Eternity Bro
- “Weeknight Jammies” by Eternity Bro
- “The Speed of Life” by Vincent Tone
- “Telesto” by Bedlake
- “Midnight Coup” by Bedlake
- “All From You” by Simba Music
- “What You Got” by Luciano Music Co.
For more information on getting the most from your Panasonic GH5, check out these articles:
- Video Tutorial: Improving Your Time-lapse Workflow for the GH5 (Part 1)