Group photos into stacks (2024)

You can create stacks to group a set of visually similar photos together, making them easy to manage. Stacks are useful for keeping multiple photos of the same subject or a photo and its virtual copies in one place, and they reduce clutter in the Grid view and the Filmstrip.

For example, you may want to create a stack to group multiple photos of a portrait session taken with the same pose, or for photos taken at an event using your camera's burst mode or auto-bracket feature. When you take photos this way, you end up with many similar variations of the same photo, but you usually wantonly the best one to appear in the Grid view or the Filmstrip. Stacking the photos lets you easily access them all in one place instead of having them scattered across rows of thumbnails.

When grouping photos in a stack, the photos are stacked according to their sort order in the Grid view, with the active photo at the top of the stack.

A stack is collapsed when stacked photos are grouped under the thumbnail of the top photo in the Grid view or the Filmstrip. A stack is expanded when all photos in a stack are visible in the Grid view or the Filmstrip.

Stacks are specific to the folder or collection in which they were created. The photos in a stack must all be from the same folder or the same collection; you cannot create stacks while in a smart collection or a published collection.

You can only view a stack in a folder when that folder (or other folders) is selected as a source, or when All Photographs is selected. You can only view a stack in a collection when just that one collection is selected as a source. Stacks are not visible when a mix of folders and collections is selected.

Here are a few tips for working with stacks:

• Any Develop adjustments, ratings, flags, or color labels applied to a collapsed stack affect only the photo at the top of the stack.

• If you select a photo in a stack and add it to a Quick Collection or collection, only the selected photo—not the entire stack—is added.

• When you search for photos, the top photo in a stack shows the number of photos in the stack in the upper-left corner.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip inthe Library module, select the photos you want to stack.

   Note:

   Stacked photos must be located in the same folder or the same collection. You cannot stack photos while in a smart collection or a published collection.

2. Choose Photo> Stacking> Group Into Stack.

   The stacked photos are arranged contiguously anddisplay stacking order numbers in the upper-left corner of theirthumbnails. The top photo in the stack is "1," the next photo is"2," and so forth.

Note:

If you select two stacks and choose Photo> Stacking> Group Into Stack, only the top photo from the second stack is moved into the stack you selected first.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip inthe Library module, select the thumbnail of a collapsed stack. Or,if the stack is expanded, select any photo in the stack. You don'thave to select all photos in the stack.

2. Choose Photo> Stacking> Unstack.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip inthe Library module, select the stack and one or more photos thatyou want to add to the stack.

2. Choose Photo> Stacking> Group Into Stack.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip in the Librarymodule, do any of the following:

   • To expand a stack, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (MacOS) a collapsed stack and choose Stacking> Expand Stack, or click the stacking number displayed in the upper-left corner of the photo. You can also select a collapsed stack and choose Photo> Stacking> Expand Stack.

   • To expand all stacks, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (MacOS) any photo and choose Stacking> Expand All Stacks, or select any photo and choose Photo> Stacking> Expand All Stacks.

   • To collapse a stack, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (MacOS) a photo in the stack and choose Stacking> Collapse Stack, or click the stacking number in the upper-left corner of the photo. You can also select a photo in the stack and choose Photo> Stacking> Collapse Stack.

   • To collapse all stacks, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (MacOS) any photo and choose Stacking> Collapse All Stacks, or select any photo and choose Photo> Stacking> Collapse All Stacks.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip in the Librarymodule, expand a stack.

2. Select one or more photos in the stack and do one ofthe following:

   • To remove photos from the stack, choose Photo> Stacking> Remove From Stack.

   • To delete photos from the stack, choose Photo> Delete Photos. You can also right-click (Windows) or Control-click (MacOS) a thumbnail and choose Delete Photo from the menu.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip inthe Library module, select a photo in an expanded stack and do anyof the following:

   • To make it the top photo, choose Photo> Stacking> Move To Top Of Stack.

   • To move it up in the stack, press Shift-Left bracket, or choose Photo> Stacking> Move Up In Stack.

   • To move it down in the stack, press Shift-Right bracket, or choose Photo> Stacking> Move Down In Stack.

1. In the Grid view or the Filmstrip in the Librarymodule, expand the stack.

2. Select the photos you want grouped in a different stack.

   Note:

   The Split Stack command is not available if you selectonly the top photo in a stack.

3. Choose Photo> Stacking> Split Stack.

Lightroom Classic can automatically stack photos in a folder or a collection based on their capture time. You specify a duration between capture times to create a new stack. For example, suppose you specify 1minute for the duration. All contiguous photos with capture times less than 1 minute apart are grouped in one stack. A new stack is created when the next contiguous photo has a capture time that is 1 minute or more later than the previous photo's capture time. In turn, the new stack groups contiguous photos with capture times less than 1minute apart from each other, and so forth.

You can specify a duration between capture times of 0 seconds to 1 hour. Specifying shorter durations creates more stacks. Specifying longer durations creates fewer stacks.

1. Select a folder in the Folders panel or a collection in the Collections panel.

   Lightroom Classic auto-stacks all photos in the folder or collection regardless of which photos are selected in the content area or the Filmstrip.

2. Choose Photo> Stacking> Auto-Stack By Capture Time.

3. In the Auto-Stack By Capture Time dialog box, drag theTime Between Stacks slider to specify the minimum duration betweencapture times that creates a new stack.