Preview 0.30.3 · Updated 25 October 2026

This is the guide for the current Bracket Studio preview. The app is still being tested; there is no public download yet. If you are looking for the Lightroom workflow without the app, the original tutorial is here.

Setup

The preview is for macOS 13 or later and Lightroom Classic 14 or later, using English menus. It includes Apple silicon and Intel builds. Live testing has used Lightroom Classic 15.5.1; other versions still need testing. It does not run in Lightroom desktop, Lightroom mobile or Windows.

If you have received a preview installer:

  1. Finish any running job, then quit Lightroom Classic, Bracket Studio and its helper.
  2. Open the supplied .pkg installer and follow the installation steps.
  3. In the setup window, check that Lightroom Classic has been found.
  4. Allow Zynopsis Bracket Studio Helper in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Approve the helper’s Automation requests when macOS asks.
  5. Return to setup, check that access is working, then reopen Lightroom.

You have to approve these permissions yourself; the installer cannot do it for you. The preview is not yet Developer ID signed or notarized. Keep your usual backups and start with a small copied shoot in a separate catalog.

Process a shoot

  1. In Lightroom’s Library module, select the shoot’s folder or Previous Import. You do not need to select every photo.
  2. Open Library → Plug-in Extras → Bracket Studio. It reads the shoot and suggests bracket groups.
  3. Choose whether to Create stacks and HDRs, Create stacks only, or Merge existing stacks.
  4. Check the groups shown in the filmstrip. The default view only shows those that need your attention.
  5. Choose any adjustments you want under After HDR Merge, then press Start.
  6. Keep Lightroom in front while processing. When it finishes, Back to editing closes Bracket Studio and returns you to Lightroom.

If the review filmstrip is empty, look at the ready count: all the brackets may already be ready to process. Use the view menu to see all groups, single photos, skipped groups or those saved for later.

How photos are grouped

Auto-pilot uses capture times and exposure settings to find brackets. It can work with brackets and single exposures in the same shoot. Ordinary singles are left unchanged.

You can also use a fixed count of 2, 3, 5, 7 or a custom number of photos. Capture time & exposure uses capture-time order; fixed-count grouping can use Lightroom’s Grid order. Be careful with a fixed count if a frame is missing, as it can shift the following groups.

The middle exposure does not have to be 0 EV. The app also accounts for long shutter times when checking gaps between photos. Uneven exposure steps, extra shots or missing camera information may still need a look.

Previous Import includes the full current import. If a stack reaches into an older import, open its complete folder to review it.

Changing settings after reviewing

Switching between stacks only and stacks with HDRs keeps your approvals. After HDR settings do too. Settings that change the grouping need Update Preview; review-policy changes use Apply settings.

Refresh and Recheck HDR files retain choices for unchanged groups. Manual repairs are kept when the shoot has not changed. If a group’s photos or relevant camera information change, check that group again. Approvals belong to the open review session; to continue a saved processing run, open it from History & Reports.

Check and fix groups

Compare the exposures and make sure they show the same scene. The app’s previews help with grouping; use Lightroom for a closer RAW inspection.

A bracket has more exposures than the app found

For example, you may have taken six exposures for one scene and the app shows them as two groups of three. Select the second group and choose Fix group → Join with previous group. Or select the first and choose Join with next group.

The menu shows the neighbouring filenames. These are the neighbours in the whole shoot, even if the review filter is hiding them. Check all six exposures in the combined group, then approve it. You do not need to change the bracket count for the rest of the shoot.

A skipped neighbour must be restored before joining. Existing stacks and groups with HDR results need to be checked in Lightroom first.

Fix the stack in Lightroom instead

  1. In Fix group, choose Select these photos in Lightroom….
  2. If a stack is wrong, use Photo → Stacking → Unstack.
  3. Select all the exposures that belong together, including any from the previous or next group. Choose Photo → Stacking → Group into Stack.
  4. Return to Bracket Studio and choose Refresh shoot. It reads and keeps your corrected Lightroom stack.

The Needs Review smart collection is another way to find affected photos. You do not have to use it to repair a group.

By default, ready groups can process while unresolved groups stay untouched. Choose Review every bracket, or wait for required reviews, if you want to check everything first.

Adjust new HDRs

After HDR Merge applies optional adjustments to newly created, verified HDRs. Existing HDR edits are kept. Stacks-only mode does not apply these adjustments.

The order is Auto Settings, preset, lens corrections, Upright, crop, then labels and keywords. A preset can override Auto Settings. Check the finished images, particularly perspective and cropping. Adaptive AI masks, AI looks and Lens Blur presets are not supported in this preview.

HDRs that already exist

The app checks for earlier HDRs before sending another merge. If it finds a file on disk that is missing from Lightroom, check the named file, import it through Synchronize Folder or Lightroom’s import tools, then choose Recheck HDR files.

If several HDRs could match, compare them first. If an earlier merge has an uncertain result, open that run in History & Reports and use Check & Resume. Approving the bracket does not clear an HDR conflict.

Stacks-only mode can organize the originals without resolving an earlier HDR submission. The earlier record is kept for when you return to merging.

Storage and interrupted runs

The default batch size is 25 groups. The app continues with further batches until the eligible groups are processed; it is not a 25-HDR limit.

Storage is checked before starting and before each batch. If a drive becomes unavailable, read-only or too full, new submissions stop. Reconnect it or free space, then open the saved run and choose Check & Resume.

Stop safely stops further submissions. Lightroom may still finish HDRs it has already received.

After a pause or crash, reopen the same catalog and choose Library → Plug-in Extras → Bracket Studio — History & Reports. Select the run and use Check & Resume, called Reconcile & Resume in some views.

If the app cannot confirm whether a merge finished, it holds that group. Check Lightroom’s progress and the output folder before allowing a retry.

Reports and starting over

You can close the completion window and go straight to editing. The report stays in History & Reports, which can be opened directly from Lightroom without analyzing the shoot again.

Reports show counts, affected groups and filenames. Detailed troubleshooting reports may include private file paths; check them before sharing. Nothing is sent automatically.

Archive hides a run from the main list. Clear moves eligible records to Trash. Photos and edits are kept; unresolved processing records remain protected.

Start over clears review choices for the shoot and archives related runs. It keeps the originals, Lightroom stacks, HDRs and Develop edits. It does not unstack or reimport photos. Let Lightroom finish or cancel any earlier processing before resetting a run with unresolved submissions.

If something is not working

Start does not seem to do anything

Check the ready count and status message. Apply pending settings or update the preview if requested. Bring Lightroom to the front and close any open dialogs. Check helper access in Permissions & Setup. If there is an unfinished run, open its report before starting another.

Accessibility is on, but the helper cannot work

macOS can keep a stale approval after an update. Open Permissions & Setup and follow the repair steps for the Bracket Studio helper. You may need to remove its old Accessibility entry and add the current helper from Applications, then check access again.

Lightroom has disabled a command

Let Lightroom finish what it is doing, close its dialogs and keep the intended catalog in front. Then Check & Resume the saved run.

A detected bracket still needs review

Read the reason beside the group. It may have uneven steps, extra exposures, missing information or an HDR conflict. Detection suggests the group; your approval confirms that these photos belong together. A base exposure above or below 0 EV is not, by itself, a problem.

Only part of the shoot finished

Open the report to see which groups need review and which were held by storage, permissions or an earlier merge. The next step depends on that reason.

If you need help, send your app, macOS and Lightroom Classic versions, the processing mode and the exact message to hello@samirzarrouk.com. A saved report helps explain which files were affected.

Wider field testing is still underway. Keep Lightroom in front while processing, and check your results before moving on to the edit.

Made by Zynopsis Studio. Bracket Studio is independently developed and is not an Adobe product.