# Lightroom 4 Image Stretching &/or Adjustment Brush Changes Moving Position



## jackjohn777 (Sep 26, 2014)

I have been working in both Lightroom 4 and Photoshop for a couple of years without any issue, and then suddenly yesterday I noticed an issue that I don't know how it occurred or how to fix it, so I'm hoping someone can help.

I had originally developed a family portrait image from a virtual copy of the original DNG file in Lightroom 4 which included elements such as brightening eyes etc. I then wanted to adjust some hue/saturation levels in Photoshop.

I don't know if this next bit is at all relevant but I'll go through the steps I followed just in case. 

I first accidentally clicked 'edit in Photoshop with Lightroom adjustments' on the original DNG file showing in Lightroom rather than the virtual copy I had wanted to edit, so I went back to Lightroom and selected the correct image, and opened that up in Photoshop as well. In my haste I then closed down (without saving) that virtual copy image I had wanted to edit instead of the original, so ended up working briefly on the wrong version before saving it as a .tif. As per usual it then reappeared back in Lightroom next to the other similar images, which is when I spotted I hadn't altered the virtual copy. This ordinarily wouldn't have been a big deal BUT...

when I then clicked on the virtual copy intending to then edit in photoshop and make the exact change I had just down on the other file, I noticed that all my adjustment brush changes & pins had slipped by the same amount to a different position, & the image itself also looked a little stretched. As an example, the previous eye brightening via an adjustment brush was now showing as bright spots on peoples foreheads etc. 

I then spent an age trying to find out why that image could have altered. I hadn't even saved it when closing it down in photoshop, so wasn't sure why that last step was relevant if indeed it was, and I could not see any settings in Lightroom I may have accidentally turned on or off. I also couldn't find anything via google to inform me that anyone else had ever experienced e.g. the pin/adjustment slippage, hence my query here. 

However things did get a little more weird. I gave up trying to fix the virtual copy and started to make all the Lightroom changes I had made to that virtual copy on the original file, when suddenly about 20 minutes into my efforts I noticed that the only adjustment brush change I had made on this file (teeth whitening) had now also slipped position and was now appearing across the person's nose! 

Does anyone have any idea what is going on? I have made similar changes and followed a similar workflow across Lightroom and Photoshop 1000s of times without issue, so I'm totally stumped. I'm also now worried to spend time working on other files without knowing why this is happening in case the same thing keeps occurring.

Sorry for the long thread!


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## JimHess43 (Sep 26, 2014)

I don't know why things happened the way they did. I suggest that you review the history for that image and see if you can isolate where the problem was introduced.

I'm probably a little out of line making the following suggestion. But it isn't really necessary to create a virtual copy to send to Photoshop if the only reason is to prevent editing the original raw file. After that image has been modified using Photoshop it will be saved as a new image, leaving the original raw file (or any file for that matter) exactly as it was.


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## jackjohn777 (Sep 27, 2014)

JimHess43 said:


> I don't know why things happened the way they did. I suggest that you review the history for that image and see if you can isolate where the problem was introduced.
> 
> I'm probably a little out of line making the following suggestion. But it isn't really necessary to create a virtual copy to send to Photoshop if the only reason is to prevent editing the original raw file. After that image has been modified using Photoshop it will be saved as a new image, leaving the original raw file (or any file for that matter) exactly as it was.



Yes I'm aware it creates a copy thanks (particularly as it's saved in a different format) as I'm a regular user of both Photoshop and Lightroom over the 2 years I referred to, and I didn't create the virtual copy to 'send the image to Photoshop'. I created it as I was experimenting with a different look to the original that I had already developed my standard way and didn't want to alter that one at this stage.

The first thing I did on spotting the problem was to go through the history (apologies I should have mentioned that above as it's an obvious thing for someone to suggest) to see when the adjustment brush movements occurred but they just randomly appear at a stage in the history for no apparent reason, as that pt in the history is not a change that would cause such a thing. The issue was also not visible a few minutes earlier prior to the brief move in and out of Photoshop, and yet the pt in the history when the issue suddenly appears was way back down the list. It's really a mystery.


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## jackjohn777 (Oct 1, 2014)

I've now realised that the image is distorted in Develop mode for some reason, so when I view the image in Library mode it looks normal, but as soon as I click Develop the image goes thinner and the people are elongated upwards. The develop image is not the same aspect ratio either e.g. the library view is 4:3 which is also the original, but in Develop mode the aspect ratio says 'original' although when you then select 4:3 the image would be cropped at the top and bottom. The distortion in develop mode is obviously why all the adjustment pins suddenly now appear in the wrong places, so it's almost as if the base image is being distorted not the overlaid adjustments. Does this help anyone diagnose the problem or more importantly how to correct it?


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 2, 2014)

Any chance of a screenshot of the Library vs Develop difference?  That might give us a clue.


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## jackjohn777 (Oct 4, 2014)

Sorry Victoria, but I got frustrated spending so much time trying to work it out rather than just starting from scratch, so I've now deleted it the problem file. The adjustment brush movements i.e. the brightening appearing on the foreheads of people when it was on their eyes, still showed in the Library mode as well as the Develop module, but the width of the image changed from Library to Develop, and it wasn't just the width as the people were slightly stretched vertically. Nothing showed in history as the items appeared on the foreheads at the exact time as the adjustment brush changes were originally added to the image, so it's very confusing.


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 4, 2014)

That's one way of solving it!


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