Batch processing

Applying the same image adjustments to a whole batch of photos. For example, you might choose a black and white conversion style and apply it to all the photos from a particular shooting session. Batch processing can save a lot of time, but only if all the images will benefit from the same settings.

Batch processing is a way of applying the same adjustments to a whole batch of photos. You can leave the software to get on with this automated process while you get on with something else.

But batch processing and what it means have changed with the arrival of non-destructive editing software. The traditional meaning is a process that outputs or exports new versions of your images as TIFF files or JPEGs. So this is what you might do if you have a folder full of RAW files which you want to convert into editable or shareable images.

But batch processing can also mean applying a preset 'look' non-destructively in Lightroom, Capture One or Alien Skin Exposure, for example. Here, you're not outputting new files, you're simply changing the appearance of your images. You can output new, processed files if you like, but that's not necessarily part of the process.