Saving or Exporting (noob question)

[ccdan]

This question is going to sound retarded however I was just turned onto Lightroom and trying to learn the basics. Every video or tutorial that I watch or read never explains how to get your edited photo(s). Seems quick to edit one, create a filter to apply to them all but how to I get them done?!?!?! I see you can export an image; do I need to select all that I want to export and do the same or does Lightroom automaticly save over the original appon closing the program?

 

[Gene McCullagh]

Hi ccdan! Welcome to the forums!

We live for questions here and there is no such thing as a "retarded" question!

LR is a non-destructive workflow. The image information in your original file is never altered when you make adjustments in LR. Until you need an image with all of your adjustments applied it lives in LR. It's "done" when you're done adjusting.

When you need that file for sending to a printer, posting on a website, emailing to a friend, etc. you can export it and "bake in" all your adjustments. This will create a new file leaving your original intact. The new file can then be used for the email, post, etc.

This is the reason LR can operate so quickly on large numbers of files. All you are really changing is a text entry in its database. LR reds those entries and applies the instructions to the view of your image. When you export it applies them to the new file and saves it out. Unless you need that additional file there is no need to export all your images just to save the adjustments. Make sure the database is backed up and you should be fine.

Enjoy the learning curve!

 

[Denis Pagé]

And don't forget to look at The Starter Kit ...

 

[clee01l]

[quote author=ccdan link=topic=7578.msg51895#msg51895 date=125'6'7918]
This question is going to sound retarded however I was just turned onto Lightroom and trying to learn the basics. Every video or tutorial that I watch or read never explains how to get your edited photo(s). Seems quick to edit one, create a filter to apply to them all but how to I get them done?!?!?! I see you can export an image; do I need to select all that I want to export and do the same or does Lightroom automaticly save over the original appon closing the program?
[/quote]Because there is a non destructive nature to the Lightroom process. Original image data is not changed. Instead, LR generates a series of filter adjustments that are numerical and stores those in the catalog. It can also store those with in the image file or in a 'sidecar' file. At the time you want a final version, you use the Export feature to create a "Save As" version including your adjustments. At Export, LR applies your adjustments to the original and writes a new file according to the specifications of the Export Preset being applied.