Why no before and after?

QI used to be able to see a before and after version of images I’ve worked on in Lightroom, but now this option has completely disappeared. Has it been removed in an update?

AThe Before and After option is really useful, so it must be frustrating to have lost it, but fear not – it has not been removed in an update.

It sounds to me as if you have simply switched off your Toolbar that sits beneath the image whether you are viewing in the Library or Develop mode. You’ve probably done it by accident, as I am sure many Lightroom users do from time to time.

To get it back, either go to View > Show Toolbar, or simply hit T on your keyboard. In order to switch it off, you also hit T, which might explain how you lost it in the first place!

Live View focusing farrago

QI’ve tried focusing using live View on my DSLR, but I am struggling to get things sharp, so where am

I going wrong?

ALive View is a brilliant option, but you have to understand that it is slower to focus than when shooting ‘normally’ with your eye to the viewfinder. This is because in Live View the camera is using a contrast detection focusing system and not the faster phase detection that’s used for standard DSLR shooting.

This doesn’t mean that Live View is useless. Actually, focusing in Live View is more accurate, but you just have to accept that it won’t always be quick enough for some moving subjects. Use Live View, either with autofocus switched on or in manual focus, when your subject is relatively static, and you’ll start to get the hang of it. If your camera offers touchscreen focusing in Live View, this should help to pinpoint the optimum focusing area within the scene.