Beginner question

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honsbeek

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Hi ,

Another beginner question if you don't mind too much <

When I add a new folder from the hard disk and start mending the photo, what do I do with them? I mean how to the originals get changed, How do I save over the originals, or am I suppose to keep the originals and create
copies (Export) or is it my choice. I don't really understand the principle of
using the database - based software I guess. I just noticed that when I made changes in the develop section or Library section and after quiting the program , the originals still remain the same.

I'm sure it's a stupid question , but i don't mind asking stupid questions...^^

Thanks a lot
 
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Hi honsbeek. Welcome to the forum! There's no such thing as a stupid question question around here - we've all been starting out at some time.

Lightroom works on the basis that it will never touch the originals without your say-so, so it doesn't just save over the top. Any changes you make are simply saved to metadata - held in the catalog to start with, and later in an xmp section of the file's own metadata if you choose. Those edits aren't applied to the image until you export to a new file, so you can always go back and undo the changes you've made. Once you're happy, you export to a new file. I'd suggest keeping the original - think of it as your digital negative.
 
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Honsbeek, the thing that gets most folks on the first try, is that there is no 'Save' function. This is a very Frequently Asked Question.

Any changes you make in LR are automatically 'remembered' as soon as you make them. As Victoria points out, there are changes you can make as to how the editing data is stored, and you can always export to other file types. And, we'd be happy to tell you more about this if you're interested in the details.

In general, the pixel data of an original source file is never changed. LR automatically keeps track of your edits in a completely separate manner.

....brad
 
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You mean I can keep asking you more stupid questions ^^ ?

Well for example , when you add a folder so the program only reads the
the meta info , and shows the thumbnails, then you change the exposure , clarity , color tint etc, then you Export the file to another folder?

Then what ? won't I have double the amount of photo's on my disk .
By the way , my original (L) jpeg from my 4'canon are about 3-4mb , but the
exported JPG read about 5''kb , is this a good thing? Won't the general
quality of the picture be less because of this change in size?

that's all for now ,

Thank you for your kind indulging ...

Ralph
 
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You've got the idea Ralph. If you then export the files, you will have double the amount of photos on your disc. For that very reason, I rarely bother to export until I find a use for the file. I keep my originals, and make sure they're backed up elsewhere too, of course. And I make sure my Lightroom catalog file is backed up, so I don't lose my corrections if that hard drive dies. And then when I want a corrected jpg to send to granny, I export it straight to the right size, and then quite often delete the exported file once I've sent it. I can always export it again if I need it.

The difference in your export size sounds odd - probably down to the settings in the export dialog. Try putting it on 1'' quality and see what size an uncropped image exports as.
 
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Yes, do verify the quality setting on the .jpg export. The main thing about LR is the 'non-destructiveness' of the edits. Unlike other software, successive .jpg exports won't degrade the quality through re-compression.
Your original remains untouched.

You might want to take a minute, and think through what you intend to do with the exported files. To a large degree you will have to manage those yourself, so don't add to your workload unnecessarily.

Personally, I often need:
1. Full quality AdobeRGB jpg's for one pro/commercial print lab.

2. Full quality sRGB .jpg's for other pro/consumer print labs, plus for sharing family photos on home network. (There has been a lot of user interest in a LR Reader, (like Adobe's Acrobat Reader) for read-only sharing of LR catalogs, but I feel that's pretty far down on the developers' priority list.)

3. Downsized sRGB .jpg's for web galleries/email.

4. Full-quality TIFs or PSDs for exchanging with PS or other editors.

Fortunately, no matter how big a confused mess I make of all those exports, LR keeps my originals all organized, backed up and secure.

....brad
 
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To really get your had around this visit Jeffrey Friedl's Blog under Digital-Image Color Spaces. It goes into excellent but understandable detail.

:)

Don
 
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