Meaning of Thumbnail Badge Icons in Lightroom Classic

In Lightroom Classic you may have noticed that some photos display one or more tiny icons at the bottom-right corner of the thumbnail. These “badges” can be displayed on thumbnails in the grid view display or on the filmstrip on the bottom panel. The options for hiding or revealing these badges can be found on the menu under View > View Options for the grid view display, or on the Interface tab of the Preferences dialog for the filmstrip.

But what do these badge icons actually mean?

There are six of these badge icons, and the meaning for each is as follows:

The enhance badge indicates that the image has been processed with one of the Enhance features in Lightroom Classic, which includes Denoise, Raw Details, and Super Resolution.

The keyword tag badge indicates that one or more keywords have been added to the metadata for a photo. If you are in any module other than the Library module you can click on this badge for an image on the filmstrip to be taken directly to the Library module.

The map pushpin icon indicates that GPS coordinates are included in metadata for a photo. This could be because you used a camera with a built-in GPS receiver to capture the photo, or that GPS coordinates were added to a photo later such as by dragging the photo onto the map in the Map module. Clicking on this map pushpin badge will take you to the Map module showing the location on the map where the photo was captured.

The collections badge indicates that an image is included in one or more collections. You can click on this badge to see a popup showing the collection(s) the image has been added to, and you can click a name of a collection on that popup list to navigate directly to that collection.

The crop badge indicates that the image has been cropped in the Develop module. Clicking on this badge will take you to the Develop module with the crop tool view enabled.

The adjustment badge indicates that any adjustments have been applied in the Develop module. In other words, at least some adjustment settings have been changed from their default values.

The embedded preview badge indicates that you are only seeing the embedded preview from the source image, not a standard or 1:1 preview. I always recommend building at least the standard previews when importing photos into Lightroom Classic, in which case you would not see this badge. Note, by the way, that unlike the other badges listed above, the embedded preview badge will appear at the top-left rather than the bottom-right of the image thumbnails.

Keep in mind that these badges will only appear on photos that meet the criteria for each badge. Some photos might not have any badges associated with them at all, some might have one or two badges, and some photos could show all six of the badge options.

Note: This article has been updated from the original post to add the new badge associated with the Enhance features in Lightroom Classic.

Online Workshop: Organizing Photos in Lightroom Classic 15 (December 2025)

Live Online Workshop
December 1-12, 2025

In December I’ll be teaching an online workshop focused on helping photographers organize their photos with a streamlined workflow using Lightroom Classic. This will include coverage of the latest new features of Lightroom Classic 15, such as the Assisted Culling Feature.

In addition to being able to get answers to their questions directly from me and access to recordings of all sessions, participants will also receive “Cheat Sheet” PDF handouts covering the key aspects of an organizational workflow as part of this workshop. For a limited time you can get the full online workshop experience for just $79 (normally $99).

Get all the details and sign up to join me here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/online-workshop-organizing-photos-in-lightroom-classic-december-2025

Lightroom Virtual Summit 2025

I am happy to announce that I will be presenting three classes as part of the Lightroom Virtual Summit 2025, which is a free online event that will be held September 15th through the 19th.

I’ll be teaching classes on “Defining Workflow Strategies”, “Backing Up Your Photos”, and “Photos on the Map”. The full event features 46 classes from 18 great instructors. You can attend all of the online classes for free from virtually anywhere with an internet connection.

In addition to the free registration there is also a VIP Pass option, which provides you with lifetime access to recordings of all presentations, and a variety of special VIP bonus content and benefits.

You can register for free and learn about the special VIP Pass, by following this link:

https://timgrey.krtra.com/t/WBNmS5VZolXc

I hope you’ll join me for my three classes as part of the upcoming Lightroom Virtual Summit!

 

Online Workshop: Optimizing Photos in Lightroom Classic (October 2025)

October 6 – 17, 2025
Six Live Online Sessions
One-on-One Support

In October I’ll be teaching a completely updated online workshop focused on helping photographers master the craft of optimizing their photos to perfection in Lightroom Classic.

You can get the full online workshop experience for just $79 (normally $99) if you register now!

This workshop will be focused on helping photographers master the art of optimizing their photos to perfection. It will feature six live online sessions of about two hours each, perpetual access to recordings of all sessions, and the opportunity to get answers to your questions both during the live online sessions and via follow-up email.

Get all the details about the upcoming online workshop here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/online-workshop-optimizing-photos-in-lightroom-classic-october-2025

I hope you’ll consider joining me for this online workshop, which will help you gain confidence in your ability to make the most of Lightroom Classic for optimizing your photos.

June 2025: “Organizing Photos in Lightroom Classic”

Live Online Workshop
June 2-13, 2025

In June I’ll be teaching an online workshop focused on helping photographers organize their photos with a streamlined workflow using Lightroom Classic.

In addition to being able to get answers to their questions directly from me and access to recordings of all sessions, participants will also receive “Cheat Sheet” PDF handouts covering the key aspects of an organizational workflow as part of this workshop. For a limited time you can get the full online workshop experience for just $79 (normally $99).

Get all the details and sign up to join me here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/online-workshop-organizing-photos-in-lightroom-classic-june-2025

New Course: “Cleaning Up Your Mess in Lightroom Classic”

I am pleased to announce that my new and updated course on “Cleaning Up Your Mess in Lightroom Classic” has been published. This course is aimed at helping photographers clean up their catalog and workflow in Lightroom Classic and is currently available with an early bird discount.

You can get the full course (featuring over 7.5 hours of informative content!) for just $59 if you purchase the course before May 5th.

Get all the details about this comprehensive new course here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/cleaning-up-your-mess-in-lightroom-classic-2025

If you’d like to upgrade to my GreyLearning Ultimate Bundle, which includes all my video courses including the new “Cleaning Up Your Mess in Lightroom Classic”, you can subscribe for just $99 per year (regularly $149) by using coupon code ultimate99 at checkout, or by being sure to use this link to get started:

https://www.greylearning.com/bundles/greylearning-bundle?coupon=ultimate99

I’m excited about my completely updated “Cleaning Up Your Mess in Lightroom Classic” course, and know it will prove very helpful to photographers who want help cleaning up their catalog and workflow in Lightroom Classic.

Webinar Recording: Traps to Avoid in Lightroom Classic

In my latest live online presentation as part of the “GreyLearning Live!” webinar series I shared my top tips for avoiding traps in Lightroom Classic that can lead to a messy catalog, a chaotic workflow, and that can put your catalog at risk.

You can watch a recording of the full presentation on my Tim Grey TV channel (be sure to like and subscribe!) on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/live/6c98YeivvwM

Online Workshop: Optimizing Photos in Lightroom Classic (March 2025)

March 24 – April 4, 2025
Six Live Online Sessions
One-on-One Support

Later this month I’ll be teaching a completely updated online workshop focused on helping photographers master the craft of optimizing their photos to perfection in Lightroom Classic.

You can get the full online workshop experience for just $79 (normally $99) if you register by March 14th.

This workshop will be focused on helping photographers master the art of optimizing their photos to perfection. It will feature six live online sessions of about two hours each, perpetual access to recordings of all sessions, and the opportunity to get answers to your questions both during the live online sessions and via follow-up email.

Get all the details about the upcoming online workshop here:

https://www.greylearning.com/courses/online-workshop-optimizing-photos-in-lightroom-classic-march-2025

I hope you’ll consider joining me for this online workshop, which will help you gain confidence in your ability to make the most of Lightroom Classic for optimizing your photos.

 

Digitize Your Analog Photos

A house that has been in my family for over 100 years, and that I was fortunate enough to visit my great-grandmother at when I was a child, was sadly destroyed completely in the recent wildfire in Pacific Palisades, California. This reminded me of the importance of digitizing analog photos in the form of slides, negatives, and prints, and so I put together a video with some recommendations. You can view that video on my “Tim Grey TV” channel on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/d8N7dNBl2tA

Beautiful Landscape Photography in Elements Magazine

I recently learned about ELEMENTS landscape photography magazine, and when I perused my first issue I was quite impressed with the quality of the digital magazine and the photography. Wanting to share this magazine with my readers, I was also able to obtain a discount code for 15% off an annual subscription. I’m also happy to share a complete sample issue so you can see the magazine for yourself.

You can view or download issue #45 of ELEMENTS magazine from November 2024 with this link:

Elements Magazine #45

If you decide to sign up, you can subscribe (with a 15% discount) by following these steps:

1) Point your web browser here:
https://www.elementsphotomag.com/#subscribe

2) Click the Annual Subscription button.

3) Click the “Add coupon” link and enter TIM15, then click Apply to get your 15% discount.

4) Complete the payment details, and enjoy your subscription!