Changes I make in Lightroom

mrbez

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Hi Guys,

I have a couple of questions regarding Lightroom if somebody could help.

I have created a catalogue in Lightroom and imported my images into it.


I flagged the images that I wanted to edit, and then changed most of these in the develop tab. Is there anyway that I can filter just the edited images from the flagged ones, so I can select all when I go to export. Rather than selecting all, and then deselecting the flagged images that I have decided not to edit?

Also, the original raw files on my mac look like they did straight out of the camera. When I make changes in Lightroom, does this not change the raw file?

Or is this something you do when you export?

Finally, if I have exported to JPG, and then make a change to a file later on, is there anyway to update the exported JPG to the most recent one?

Thanks,

Craig.
 
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The way I work when it comes to editing some images is to put the ones I want to edit into a quick collection. Simply select the ones you want to work on and then press "B" on the keyboard. You can then edit this quick collection.

When you edit the file within Lightroom it should change to show the edits. However the original file is never changed. What you see in Lightroom is a representation of how the image will look. Exporting re-renders the file with these adjustments. Lightroom doesn't work like Photoshop. The changes you make are put into fields within it's catalog. Only on export are these changes applied to the rendered image. This way you can undo adjustments without damaging the original file.

Updating the exported JPEG can be done by simply exporting it to the same location with the same name. You'll get a message saying that the image already exists and do you want to overwrite it or let Lightroom assign a slightly different ident to it, usually the suffix -2
 
Chappers, Does Lightroom create a file then which has all of the change settings within it?

So if I decide to back up my images, but I have changed them in Lightroom, can I back up a file that I can later restore to keep all of the changes I have made, without having to export every changed file.
 
If there some you are not editing and don't want to export, just don't flag them to start with.
 
My workflow is to import, adding keywords at this stage.
Then I go quickly through the photo's flagging those for delete with a x, scoring those I want to work on with a 2 or 3
I can then filter by score for the ones I want to work on and further refine the scoring. Usual workflow is 3 is a publish, 4&5 are kept for outstanding shots (which makes them easy to pull out at a later stage when you are searching all).

Lightroom doesn't changed the raw image but keeps the changes as metadata. You then export the image as a final article into a new file. If you want to change this then re-export, overwriting the file with the new version (or depending on the options set, with a subversion number etc).
 
Chappers, Does Lightroom create a file then which has all of the change settings within it?
Yes, an xml file. All changes are made to this file, not the RAW file.

So if I decide to back up my images, but I have changed them in Lightroom, can I back up a file that I can later restore to keep all of the changes I have made, without having to export every changed file.

Lightroom backup only backs up the XML files and not the original RAW or image files. It keeps a copy of the catalogue file, so that it knows where the images are. If you move any of your images, ensure you do this from within Lightroom.

If you make a separate backup of your RAW images to somewhere, then edit the original RAW files (i.e. to make an updated XML file), as long as you restore the RAW to where LR is expecting to see the file then any changes you make to the XML will be retained and you will see those changes to the RAW file. If you restore a LR backup however, and changes made since the backup will be lost.
 
What is the difference between a 'catalogue' and just using the photos from the folder in the library where you imported them to on your hard drive?
ie.. what IS a catalogue!!
 
Hi Janice - a Lightroom catalogue is simply the current gallery/stock of photos i.e. it is made up of images from folders/collections etc . and can contain any number of images, all searchable via each individual (or combination) of EXIF and any image data.
 
Hi Janice:

My understanding is as follows.

A catalogue holds a number of folders or files, eg if you have a catalogue named 2009, this could/should hold all the folders and files for the year 2009, the same for 2010 and so on. Of course you can name the catalogues to suit your method of filing your pictures.
 
Hi Janice:

My understanding is as follows.

A catalogue holds a number of folders or files, eg if you have a catalogue named 2009, this could/should hold all the folders and files for the year 2009, the same for 2010 and so on. Of course you can name the catalogues to suit your method of filing your pictures.

My folder system is like that on my hard drive. landscapes, animals, RAW etc and inside RAW there is 2008, 2009, 2010 and inside those are january, february etc. etc.

so is there no need for me to make a catalogue?
 
so is there no need for me to make a catalogue?

Yes there is - because you can use LR to search the catalogue to find pictures - by keyword - date taken - lens used - aperture - anything you want almost! One of the most useful features in LR!! You don't make a catalogue anyway - LR does that when you import pictures - it adds pictures to the current catalogue automatically.
 
Lightroom doesn't make any changes to your original Raw file, it simply add's a file that tells lightroom how it should look after the ajustments, it doesn't actually alter your original at any time, it's all still there even the bits you cropped out.
 
Yes there is - because you can use LR to search the catalogue to find pictures - by keyword - date taken - lens used - aperture - anything you want almost! One of the most useful features in LR!! You don't make a catalogue anyway - LR does that when you import pictures - it adds pictures to the current catalogue automatically.
ah i see..thanks! :thumbs:
 
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