7 Exporting from Lightroom

How to export files from Lightroom and work in harmony with Photoshop

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The best way to understand the Lightroom/Photoshop relationship is to think of Lightroom as a program for managing and processing lots of images, which are filed in the catalog, and regard Photoshop as a program for retouching individual photographs.

Although there is a fair amount of overlap between Photoshop Camera Raw and Lightroom, it is clear that Photoshop will continue to remain the program of choice for serious retouching and layered image editing. The question then is, what is the most efficient way to work between these two programs? In this chapter, I will show you some of the various ways you can take photographs from Lightroom and edit them in Photoshop, as well as how to use the Export module to process single images or batches of photographs. I also show how to use the post-processing section of the Export module to integrate complex Photoshop routines as part of an export.

In Figure 7.1, ProPhoto RGB was selected as the color space, with a bit depth of 16 bits per channel, saving to the TIFF file format using no compression. An opened image will display the same raw file extension as the master (e.g., .nef, .cr2, .dng, or .heic), and it is only when you choose File Save in Photoshop that the file format and other settings configured in the External Editing preferences come into play. The edited image is then saved to the same folder as the original master and added to the catalog. Basically, the Edit in Adobe Photoshop command provides you with a means to open raw or HEIF catalog images in Photoshop without generating new edit copy versions of the master each time you do so. You can open a raw or HEIF file in Photoshop to make some edits and then decide whether to save it or not. If you prefer, you can choose File Save As to save the image to an alternative folder location without adding it to the catalog and, if you wish, save using a different file format or different save settings.

If you open a non-raw image such as a TIFF, PSD, JPEG, or PNG from Lightroom using the (Mac) or (PC) command, you will see the dialog shown in Figure 7.2, where the Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments option is usually selected by default. If you choose a non-raw image that has Lightroom adjustments applied to it, these are read and applied to the image before opening in Photoshop; but in making a copy, this will flatten any layers in the original pixel image. You can choose Edit a Copy if you want to create an edit copy of the file in its original state (ignoring any Lightroom adjustments that might have been applied). Or, you can choose Edit Original. Both these options are useful for editing layered masters or derivative versions of a master where you wish to carry on editing the source photo, but do not wish to generate a new copy version. This preserves the original file without applying Lightroom adjustments. But the adjustments will be applied when saved back to the Lightroom catalog.

The main difference when opening a raw image via the “Edit in Other Application” option is that it uses the Lightroom raw processing engine to render a pixel image copy of the catalog image. With HEIF files, these don’t need to be rendered. The new copy image is added to the catalog before opening it up in the selected program; you also have the opportunity to override the file format and other settings before the image is opened. So, when you use (Mac) or (PC) to open a raw image, instead of the photo opening directly, you will see the dialog shown in Figure 7.4. On the face of it, the only available option here is to Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments. If you click the disclosure triangle at the bottom of the dialog, however, you can expand the Copy File Options and use these to override the file format, RGB space, and bit-depth options set in the External Editing preferences (but if you have selected a program other than Photoshop or Photoshop Elements as the external editor, the PSD file format option will not be available). Photos opened this way are automatically stacked with the original catalog image (see Step 3 on page 441), although you can turn this option on or off via the External Editing preferences (Figure 7.1).

To summarize, the main difference here is that the External Editing options allow you to open your catalog photos using a program other than the latest version of Photoshop (as set in the External Editing preferences) and edit the Copy File Options. Plus, you have options to edit the original or a copy of the original master.

The Color Space options are limited to ProPhoto RGB, Adobe RGB, Display P3, and sRGB. ProPhoto RGB is capable of preserving all the color information that was captured in the original raw file after it has been processed in Lightroom. This can prove useful when making high-end print outputs where you need to preserve rich color detail. Adobe RGB is a more commonly used RGB space among photographers and perhaps a safer choice if you are sending RGB images for others to work with. The Display P3 color space matches the display gamut of the latest wide color gamut Retina iMacs and recent MacBook Pros. It is roughly the same size as Adobe RGB, although the color gamut range is different. It is not identical, but can certainly contain more colors than sRGB. The sRGB space is a standardized RGB space that is suitable for web work and sending photos via email. It is also a suitable “best-guess” choice if you are unsure whether the recipient is using a properly color managed system or not.

The Bit Depth can be set to “16 bits/component,” which preserves the most tonal information (as much as Lightroom is able to). The “8 bits/component” option reduces the number of levels to 256 per color channel and allows you to save smaller-sized files. These settings are crucial for opening raw images, but with non-raw files, it is important to realize that the file settings options will be limited by the file properties of the master images. For example, if the source image is, say, an 8-bit, sRGB JPEG and you choose Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments, you will not gain anything by saving it as a 16-bit ProPhoto RGB TIFF.

The main thing to understand when editing a raw image in Photoshop is that Lightroom always wants to open the image using the Camera Raw plug-in contained in Photoshop itself. This allows an opened image to remain in an unsaved state until you decide to save it. When there may be compatibility problems (because the version of Camera Raw or the version of Photoshop you are using is unable to interpret the Lightroom settings), you can always choose the “Render using Lightroom” option to override the default Lightroom behavior. The downsides are that this must always create a rendered copy first and you lose the option to close without saving. To be honest, this situation is less likely these days because CC subscribers will always have access to the most recent and compatible version of Camera Raw.

2. With the image opened in Photoshop, I was able to retouch the photo. When I finished, I chose File Save and closed the image.

3. Back in Lightroom, you can see how the edited version was added to the same folder as the original and appeared highlighted in the Filmstrip. You can see the selected image identified as number 2 of 2 images in the stack. The modifications made in Photoshop were also reflected in the Filmstrip and main preview.

4. If I needed to re-edit the image in Photoshop, I could use either (Mac)/ (PC) or (Mac)/ (PC) to open the Edit Photo dialog, where I would want to choose the Edit Original option.

1. I started here with a raw image. Highlighted alongside it is the TIFF edit copy that I had created previously and edited in Photoshop.

2. I selected the edited TIFF version and created a virtual copy using (Mac) or (PC). The virtual copy was selected here.

3. I then went to the Develop module and carried out a number of color and tone adjustments. I mainly adjusted the red and blue channels in the Tone Curve point curve editor and combined this with a Split Toning adjustment.

4. Returning to the Library module Grid view, you can see the Develop adjusted virtual copy version next to the unadjusted TIFF original.

5. I chose Photo Edit in Adobe Photoshop and continued editing the original image selected in Step 4. As you can see, here I was carrying out the retouching work on the full-color version of the photo without the coloring effect.

6. Meanwhile, back in Lightroom, I could preview a combination of the Photoshop-edited image and the Lightroom-applied adjustments. But I had to remember to keep saving the image in Photoshop in order for the most currently updated version of the photo to appear in the Lightroom window.

7. At this stage, I could simply toggle between the Photoshop and Lightroom windows to compare the two image previews. Because I had the luxury of a dual-display setup, however, I was able to view the Photoshop image on one display and the Lightroom window on the other.

1. Here are two photographs I wanted to merge together in Photoshop while retaining control over the Lightroom/Camera Raw adjustments.

2. I began by selecting the Spitfire photograph and chose Photo Edit in Adobe Photoshop Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. This opened the selected photo as a Smart Object (see the () icon bottom-right in the layer thumbnail).

3. I double-clicked the Smart Object layer, which opened it via Camera Raw. This allowed me to edit the Develop settings. Here, I decided to apply a warmer white balance.

4. I then opened the second image (see Step 1) as a Smart Object in Photoshop and used the Move tool to drag it over to the first document window. This added it as a new layer above the Smart Object layer of the Spitfire.

5. In Photoshop, I created a mask of the Spitfire and added this to the sky layer to reveal just the Spitfire and the grass.

6. I then double-clicked the sky Smart Object layer and revised the Develop settings via Camera Raw. Here, I also applied a warmer white balance to match that of the Spitfire image layer.

7. Here is the finished composite, where the two Smart Object layers preserved the source files in their raw state and remained fully editable via Camera Raw. With this technique, it remained possible to open the Smart Object layers and continue editing the Camera Raw settings. For example, in this step I added a localized adjustment to remove some of the green tint on the underside of the aircraft wings.

Also, if you -drag a raw file from the Lightroom Grid view to a Photoshop document, it will be placed as a linked Smart Object layer. As you update the source raw image in Lightroom and choose Photo Save Metadata to File, the edit changes will be updated in the Photoshop Smart Object layer.

1. Here, you can see that I filtered the photos in the catalog to select just the favorite photos from a series shot in Treia, Italy.

2. I used the Export command ( [Mac] or [PC]) to export these eight photos with a custom TIFF reimport preset that used the same Export Location settings as those shown in Figure 7.11.

3. Once the Export process was complete, the exported photos were added to the catalog and stacked after the raw masters.

When selecting the TIFF format, you can select a compression option. I normally prefer to save uncompressed TIFFs, but you can use ZIP or JPEG compression to make TIFFs smaller to economize on data transfer times. However, it will take longer to save TIFF files that have compression and including compression may, in some instances, cause compatibility problems with third-party applications.

All your catalog files will have been edited using the Lightroom internal RGB space, but when you choose to export as a JPEG, TIFF, or PSD, you can select an output color space, which can be sRGB, Display P3, Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB. If you are exporting the photos for photo editing, your choice will boil down to Display P3, Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB. Adobe RGB is a safe general choice, as it is a widely adopted space for general photo-editing work in programs such as Photoshop. Display P3 is a new addition. It is roughly the same size as Adobe RGB and closely matches the gamut of the latest iMac displays (you could select this if exporting images to be viewed in a slideshow on an iMac). ProPhoto RGB is, in many ways, better than Adobe RGB, because the ProPhoto RGB color gamut is a lot bigger than Adobe RGB and is more or less identical to the gamut of the native Lightroom RGB space. With ProPhoto RGB, you can guarantee inclusion of all the colors that were captured in the original raw file, whether your display is able to show them or not. For this reason, ProPhoto RGB is a favorite photo-editing space for high-end print work for which you want to preserve the maximum color gamut to achieve the best print results. The downside of using ProPhoto RGB is that you must view the files in a color-managed application in order to see the colors displayed correctly. If you view a ProPhoto RGB image in a program that does not recognize profiles (such as most web browsers) or where the color management is switched off, the colors will look terrible. If you are familiar with the basic concepts of color management and are using Photoshop with the color management switched on, it will be safe for you to export using Display P3, Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB. If any of the preceding information confuses you, then perhaps you should stick to using sRGB. In fact, I would definitely advise choosing sRGB if you are exporting images as JPEGs for web use, for client approval (especially if you are unsure how well the client’s systems are color-managed), or when preparing pictures to email friends. For the time being at least, sRGB remains the most suitable lowest common denominator space for web work and general use. The Other menu option lets you choose a custom RGB profile to export to. This option might be useful when you wish to export using a custom print RGB profile. For example, some commercial print labs provide profiles for the printers they use, which you can download. So, if you are able to access these profiles, you might want to export your photos using their profile color space.

You can set Bit Depth to 16 bit or 8 bit. One of the reasons so many professionals advocate working in 16 bit is because you can make full use of all the capture levels in an image when applying your basic tonal edits. If you start out with an 8-bit image and carry out major edits, you will end up needlessly throwing away a lot of data along the way. Keeping your images in 16 bit throughout helps preserve all the levels. In Lightroom (and this is true for any raw processor), you are making all your basic edits in 16 bit regardless of how you export them. So, at this stage, you will already have taken full advantage of all the deep-bit levels data in the original capture. Therefore, choosing 8 bit at this stage is not necessarily such a damaging option, especially if you have carried out all the major edit adjustments to the raw file in Lightroom. If you think 16 bits will help you preserve more levels as you perform subsequent editing work in Photoshop and you feel the extra levels are worth preserving, then the safest option is to choose 16 bit.

You can export images from Lightroom in their original format. For example, when burning a DVD, it will be quicker to export and burn photos to a disc when files are kept in their original format. After all, if your files have already been converted to DNG in Lightroom, there is no point in converting them to DNG all over again. When exporting TIFF or PSD files, you will need to select the original format option if you wish to preserve any layers. Also, because Lightroom supports the managing of CMYK images and video files, you can only really use the Original format option when exporting these types of files from Lightroom.

If you check the Use Lossy Compression option, you can also check the Resize to Fit option in the Image Sizing section. This gives you the option to choose either Megapixels or Long Edge from the menu. When you limit by the number of megapixels, the pixel dimensions of the final image will adapt to fit the number of megapixels entered (the compression amount remains the same). When Long Edge is selected, you can specify the exact number of pixels you want along the longest edge. Whenever you resize a DNG in this way, the image data has to be demosaiced but is still kept in a linear RGB space. This means that while the demosaic processing becomes baked into the image, most of the other Develop controls, such as those for tone and color, remain active and function in the same way as for a normal raw/DNG image. Things like Lens Correction adjustments for vignetting and geometric distortion will be scaled down to the DNG output size. As a safety measure, the Image Sizing for lossy DNG output always resets to “off” each time after you carry out an export.

Just as you can convert any supported proprietary raw file to DNG, you can also save non-raw files as DNGs. One advantage of doing this is that the DNG file format can combine the XMP data alongside the pixel image information in a single file document. You can also store the Lightroom-edited preview in the DNG file, which can help when viewing DNG-converted JPEGs in other non–Camera Raw aware programs. Having said all this, it is also important to point out that saving a JPEG as a DNG does not convert a JPEG image into a true raw format image. It must be stressed that once you have converted a raw image to a TIFF or JPEG, there is no way of returning it to its raw state again.

Exporting files and converting them to DNG is also quicker than converting to DNG internally. This is because the export process can make use of multiple threads. When you select Library Convert Photos to DNG, the process is single-threaded. The expectation is that users will want to keep working in Lightroom and, therefore, need the program to remain responsive.

If you deselect the Don’t Enlarge check box in the Image Sizing section, you can use the Resize to Fit settings to create output images with bigger pixel dimensions than the original. If the Don’t Enlarge check box is selected, this resizes the photos to the desired output dimensions, but if the source photo is smaller than this size, it will output the photo at its native pixel size rather than try to make it bigger. The Resolution box lets you set the number of pixels per inch or pixels per centimeter for the resolution.

If you choose to export photos as JPEGs, the File Settings section allows you to specify a file size limit for the exported JPEGs, where you can let Lightroom auto-calculate the appropriate amount of JPEG compression that is required.

In the Sharpen For menu, you can select Screen (for outputting to a web page or external slideshow presentation) or choose between Matte Paper or Glossy Paper for output to inkjet and other types of continuous tone printers. However, there are no sharpening options available specifically for halftone CMYK output. The Amount settings are Low, Standard, and High. The Lightroom output sharpening here is based on routines that were originally devised by Bruce Fraser and were all coded with the Standard setting. The Low and High settings, therefore, allow you to make the sharpening effect weaker or stronger. Whether you need to adjust these or not depends on a number of things. For example, if you are inclined to apply heavy amounts of capture sharpening, you may find the Low setting works better for print output. If you are interpolating an image at the export stage to increase the output size, then you may find a High setting works best. For most situations, I recommend leaving Amount set to Standard.

The Write Keywords as Lightroom Hierarchy option is checked by default. This ensures keywords are always written to a file’s XMP space so the keyword hierarchy is preserved when the keyword metadata is previewed on another computer running Lightroom, where perhaps the keywords used are unknown or do not share the same hierarchy. It also exports a flat list of keywords at the same time to ensure compatibility with applications that don’t support hierarchical keywords.

For example, let’s say you have two computers that share the same controlled vocabulary (that is, they both share the same keyword hierarchy structure). If you were to export a photo from one computer and import it into the other, the Write Keywords as Lightroom Hierarchy option would not make any difference because the keyword hierarchy for the individual keywords is recognized anyway. If this option is unselected and the second computer does not share the same information, the keywords will otherwise be output as a flat list without a Lightroom-recognized hierarchy. So, if you happen to adopt a keyword hierarchy that uses Places > USA > California, that hierarchy will be preserved as long as either the computer you are importing the photo to already knows this hierarchy relationship or the Write Keywords as Lightroom Hierarchy option has been selected. If it is not, the keywords will only be exported as a flat list: California, Places, USA.

It is also possible to drag photos from Lightroom to a Photoshop droplet. Be warned, though, that Develop adjustments and other settings will not necessarily be transferred with the file if you drag and drop a file from Lightroom in this way.

1. I started by opening an image in Photoshop and recorded a series of steps as an action. In this example, I flattened the image, applied an automated sharpening routine, merged the image, and converted it to a specific CMYK profile, before converting it to 8-bits-per-channel mode.

2. Having recorded the action, I was now ready to save it as a droplet. In Photoshop, I chose File Automate Create Droplet and applied the settings shown here. There was no need to establish an output folder in the Destination section, because I would be using the Lightroom Export dialog to determine where the exported files would be saved. I chose Save and Close, then clicked the Choose button (circled).

3. The Photoshop droplet had to be saved to the Lightroom/Export Actions folder. On a Mac, go to the Users/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom/Export Actions folder. On a PC, go to the Users/Username/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Lightroom/Export Actions folder.

4. In the Export dialog, I configured the settings to save exported files to a CMYK TIFFs folder. In the File Settings section, I selected the TIFF image format with Compression set to None. It did not matter too much which RGB space was selected here because the output files would eventually be converted to CMYK, but I chose ProPhoto RGB as the output color space because this was similar to the native Lightroom RGB space. In the Image Sizing section, I limited the output size to 30 cm along the longest edge at a resolution of 300 ppi. Lastly, in the Post-Processing section, I selected the droplet I had saved previously to the Export Actions folder. It was time to save these customized settings as a new preset. For this example, I saved the Export settings as Export CMYK TIFF 300 ppi. You can adapt the CMYK conversion action routine shown here for any publication. My recommendation would be to create separate droplet actions for different publications using the correct profile or CMYK setting for each. You can then build up different sets of user presets for each client.

Next, Lightroom creates an email-ready sRGB JPEG of the original file and opens in its own email client dialog (Figure 7.25). Here, you can enter the email address of who to send to, and so on. In the From section, you can select the Lightroom Email Account Manager, enter your regular Internet hosting settings, and use this to send photos directly from Lightroom. There is an Address button in the top-right corner that can be used to save frequent sender emails, and in the bottom-left section, you can choose from different preset sizes (or select the “Create new preset” option to make your own). All of this is kind of fiddly to configure. A simpler solution is to select your existing email client program in the From menu. In Figure 7.25, you can see I selected Apple Mail. With this configuration, there is no need to enter an email address in the To section or enter a Subject. All you have to do then when you choose the For Email export option and you see this dialog, is ignore everything and just click Send. This then opens a blank new email window (Figure 7.26) with the image or images you selected copied to the body of the email.

The Export dialog also offers a For Email (Hard Drive) preset for exporting email photos to the hard drive. This creates permanent saved copies to a specified location that you can then use to copy photos to an email. Overall, the standard For Email preset is the best to use to send photos in an email and have Lightroom integrate with your regular email program.

The Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) format is a more specialist, folder-based video format. It is lossless, which means that it produces export folders that are many times bigger in file size than the original video clips. It is really intended as an intermediate format for working interoperatively with professional video applications, such as Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro.