You can also choose to export the photos as email attachments, burn them to a CD/DVD or export them to a plug-in. The Export to menu at the top defaults to Hard Drive. Then go to File > Export to start the export process and bring up the Export window. Start by selecting the photo, or photos, to be exported.
Now that you understand why you have to export photos, let’s see how to do it. Note: Export in Lightroom simply means: Save As! Just like in MS Word or any other program. These files can be opened successfully using Adobe Camera Raw in Photoshop.
xmp file in the same folder as the original file.
If you go to Catalog Settings > Metadata and tick the Automatically write changes into XMP box, Lightroom will save the Develop settings in a. Exporting image filesĪll this means is that if you want to view or use your photos in a program other than Lightroom, you need to export them first and save them in a format that other programs understand. This is important to note, because it is different from the way Photoshop and Photoshop Elements work. This only happens at the export stage, where you create a new version of the file that incorporates the changes. Lightroom saves the edits you make in the Lightroom Catalog, and doesn’t change the original file in any way. JPEG and TIFF filesīy the way, it’s a similar process if you are processing a JPEG or TIFF file. This is where the Export function comes in. This means that (a) the Raw file itself remains unchanged and most importantly that (b) at this stage even though you can see it on your computer screen, you haven’t yet converted the Raw file into another format that other programs can use.
The key thing to understand here that Lightroom keeps track of every single edit you make in the Develop module by storing them as a series of text commands in the Catalog. Open the Raw file in the Develop module and process the photo Lightroom keeps track of the location (where it is saved on your hard drive) and metadata of each imported Raw file. The Catalog is a database containing information about all the photo files you have imported into Lightroom (for further clarification on this process read my article How to Import Photos into Lightroom). Lightroom adds the Raw files to the Catalog So let’s start by recapping the process that a single Raw file goes through when you import it into Lightroom.ġ. I think the confusion is caused by not completely understanding how Lightroom works, especially when processing Raw files. Reader feedback tells me that some people are confused by Lightroom’s Export process.