Do you export all your pictures?

[flashmcswif]

Hi!
I started using LR quite a lot, but I am stuck, because I dont know how to organize my picture: do you export all your pictures to a new folder after having developped them? Or do you stay only with LR to SHOW your pictures through a slideshow? What I mean is: I would like using other programms (like faststone or Irfanview) to see my pictures or to show my pictures to friends. But These programms do not read all the modifications made to the raw file.
So, should I develop all my pictures, and put them in a new folder?
After that, what would be the new structure? Like:
year x
a. originals
b. developed
year y
a. ...
b. develped

Or is it dump: should I keep stuck with LR, have just the original w the modification inside LR. And use LR slideshow to show my pictures to friends. That mean, no more other programms, like irfanview or Picasa. Is it a good solution?
thanks

 

[hnn]

I am exporting all my good and valuable pictures for several reasons:
- I am distributing them to friends and relatives as appropriate
- I want a processed backup in case LR catalog and all its backups fail.
- Most important, I really want a processed jpg backup of all my pictures for "long term storage" (I may not use LR for the rest of my life, and also, for my children to enjoy when I am dead and gone)

I am not exactly mirroring the folder/collections of LR. I am instead exporting "themes/events", which might be interesting to look on in the future. I have a separate top level folder, named "Exported JPGs", which is the one important to save for the future. It looks somewhat like this:

Exported JPGs
2''8
2''9
2''9 Summer holiday
2''9 Birthday x
2''9 Christmas
2''9 Jenny growing up
etc

 

[flashmcswif]

Thanks for your informations.
Just wondering if there is other opinions over there?

 

[perottol]

I never export my pictures, except for when I want to email them, print etc. I think of the jpegs as "use-and-throw". The originals are fine inside Lightroom.

Lightroom 3 Beta offers a new feature that can keep a folder with jpegs in sync with a collection. This is the new "Publish"-feature.

 

[dj_paige]

I don't export all pictures. I don't think that's an efficient use of my time. The developed photos are always accessible, even if I don't specifically export them.

The only time I export is when I need for non-Lightroom purposes, like upload, e-mail or send to commercial printer. I agree with perottol, once I am finished with the upload, e-mail or send to commercial printer, I delete the exported photos as they serve no further purpose.

IMHO, exporting all of your photos is a bad habit, it is extra work that doesn't need to be done, and is left over in people's minds from using a more traditional photo editor, like the full Photoshop, where you have to save your edits. In Lightroom, you don't have to save your edits, so a change in thought patterns is in order to take maximum advantage of the power and capability of Lightroom.

 

[flashmcswif]

with other viewer?

OK, but it means that you are really stuck with LR. You are never going to use any other software, like picasa or irfanview. Is that correct?
And that you are going to use only LR if you want to show your pictures to your friends using a slideshow presentation??

Any help is appreciated!!!

 

[MarkNicholas]

[quote author=flashmcswif link=topic=8398.msg56917#msg56917 date=1258379'18]
OK, but it means that you are really stuck with LR. [/quote]

I think "Stuck with LR" is not the correct way to put it. If anything better and greater came along then it will always be possible to seemlessly migrate. I am currently happy with LR and what it does for me. No other software that i am aware comes close at this time.

 

[dj_paige]

[quote author=flashmcswif link=topic=8398.msg56917#msg56917 date=1258379'18]
OK, but it means that you are really stuck with LR. You are never going to use any other software, like picasa or irfanview. Is that correct?
And that you are going to use only LR if you want to show your pictures to your friends using a slideshow presentation??
[/quote]

Not sure what "Stuck with LR" means.

I don't use Picasa, Irfanview or even Windows to browse my photos. Yes, I do browse all my photos in Lightroom, and this is superior to using Picasa, Irfanview, etc. because LR shows my edits, and LR can show my metadata at the same time; whereas Picasa, Irfanview will not show my edits and will not show my metadata. I don't see a need to use several pieces of software to view my photos, when I can use LR and see more than those other pieces of software can show.

I can always export my photos whenever I want to use them elsewhere.

I create slideshows, upload to flickr, e-mail, etc. Anyone who wants to view my photos can do so with whatever software they have. I used Lightroom to make a slideshow for a lunchtime presentation at work, where I didn't have Lightroom, no problemo.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I only export as I need them, and I ditch them when I'm done, because I can always reexport. If, at some point in the future, I wanted to switch to another program, I could do one huge export. Can't see that happening any time soon though.

 

[Brad Snyder]

Personally, I stick with Lr for *My* usage of the photos. For clients, I'll export in whatever format's needed downstream and delete post hoc. For family and friends I'll export directly to Flickr via Jeffrey's tools.