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A
AxlV
Participating Frequently
July 12, 2016
Question

Lightroom: Import RAW only, not JPG

  • July 12, 2016
  • 9 replies
  • 12585 views

I shoot RAW+JPG.

For the more casual stuff, I can import JPG straight into Apple Photos.

When wirelessly transferring photos from my A6000 to my phone, JPG offers better quality.

For the more serious stuff, I import RAW into Lightroom 6.

The problem is that Lightroom imports both.

I have no use for JPGs in LR when I have the RAW file.

My library is full of JPGs that I do not want and I can't figure out how to only import the RAW and leave the JPG on my SD card.

This topic has been closed for replies.

9 replies

H
hash71
Participant
December 6, 2018

I have another issue is that i shoot raw and when i import my image on Lr on iphone its jpeg, how to solve this issue so that i can have my raw format, thanks

C
cooldaddyluke
Participating Frequently
March 9, 2018

I have a macbook pro; this is a solution after you import:

While you can't import RAW only, once the import is finished (in Library > filter > any searchable field > contains all > [Type] jpg and ENTER/RETURN

This will separate all your jpgs; simply select all and delete. All that remains are your RAW (DNG).

S
stevemcgf
Participant
February 5, 2017

I have exactly the same issue as a workaround I made a little script to delete JPGs after I import or even later.

$dngList = Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Users\Steve\Pictures\ -Filter *.dng -Recurse

foreach ($dngFile in $dngList) {

        $jpgFilename = $dngFile.FullName -Replace "[Dd][Nn][Gg]$", "jpg"

        if ( Test-Path $jpgFilename)

        {

                $jpgFilename

                Remove-Item $jpgFilename

        }

}

This code look for all *.DNG files on a directory recursively. Then it test if the same name but with .JPG exists then it delete the .JPG

Change the path to whatever location you're using. You must run this under Windows PowerShell.

I hope it helps you. It's very annoying Lightroom doesn't have the option to not import the JPG.

M
Moblin
Participant
August 25, 2016

I am trying to import BOTH raw and jpg images BUT oddly only the RAW files are showing up, even though they are different images altogether.  See screenshots showing the entirety of the folder with both raw and jpgs, but LR only showing the raw files. I am sure I am doing something stupid.  I called Adobe support and after going through 10 prompts and leaving my call back number and holding for a person, it hung up on me.

Is there a LR expert out there I can rely on?

Scott

Thanks!

ssprengel
ssprengel
Inspiring
August 25, 2016

The answer is in the forum thread you’ve added your reply to, so click over to the web version of the forum message, and read down through the messages.

Just Shoot Me
Just Shoot Me
Legend
July 16, 2016

I think you are missing the point of LR.

LR is design to handle all your images not just some of them.

Using 2 different image management and editing software programs is counter productive to having a well managed image collection and being able to sort and find images you might need, for whatever reason.

I suggest you pick one, LR or Apple Photos, and stick with it for all your image management.

A
AxlVAuthor
Participating Frequently
July 16, 2016

I'm happy with my current setup and choosing one over the other is not an option. They're nothing alike and serve very different purposes.

Its just that not every picture needs RAW processing. If LR insists I import everything in order to fish out the files I need, I'm basically creating my own junk only to clean it up afterwards. If that's the way it is, fine. But it's not the philosophy I'd expect from an advanced image library manager.

A simple option in the preferences as to which filetype to import if both are available would make sense to me personally.

    ssprengel
    ssprengel
    Inspiring
    July 16, 2016

    There are no JPG sidecar files in LR. LR writes any changes to the JPG file itself in a special section that does not change the original image file. That is "IF" the option is turned on to "Auto write changes to XMP". If that options isn't enabled then LR write the changes to the catalog file only. Again not changing the original file. So in either case if you view the original JPG file with some other viewing or editing program the edit you made in LR aren't displayed.

    You have to actually Export a file from LR to have the edits included, burned, into the new file.

    I have no idea if the Apple Photos app uses a separate JPG XMP sidecar file.

    I do agree it would be nice to have an option to filter out File Types in the import dialog and for that option to have a Multi Select system where you can filter out or filter in RAW, DNG, JPG, TIFF and PSD files.

    As it is now you can still do that with a little work by clicking the Uncheck All button then manually selecting the images you want to import or just go through them and uncheck the image you don't want imported.


    Bob is talking about JPGs as sidecar files of RAW photos if you shoot RAW+JPG and disable Treat RAW & JPG as Separate Files, not that JPGs have an XMP sidecar file.

    The purpose of JPGs as sidecars of RAWs is so you can delete or move both by doing that to the RAW.

    The purpose of having a JPG around but not available in LR is for when you might need something quick to view or show or give to someone, perhaps a client, without even running LR.  Nowadays the OS, perhaps with the help of a codec, or a program like PhotoMechanic, can show the embedded preview, so this is less important, if you're just reviewing images and don't need to give someone the JPG.

    A
    AxlVAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    July 16, 2016

    Not every setting is able to produce RAW files.

    In-camera HDR for example and some of the apps save to JPG.

    So even if I filter to JPG I have to then manually filter out the ones that do not have a RAW copy.

    That you can save both formats doesn't mean you'll always need both.

    I think it would be neat if LR offered more control in the import dialog.

    A
    AxlVAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    July 12, 2016

    I have JPG files in my LR library without a RAW substitute, how should I filter those out then?

    My camera has 1 SD slot.

    It seems very strange to me that LR is unable to deal with this.

    Abambo
    Community Expert
    AbamboCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 12, 2016

    Recent imports come in a own collection "previous import". You can use here a filter on the JPEG file format. Also, I suppose that your imports go into a folder structure, that allows you to easily select pictures from a specific date.

    AxlV wrote:

    It seems very strange to me that LR is unable to deal with this.

    I don't shoot JPEG at all and do not see use into that. When I need JPEGs I just create them from my RAW files. But that's my workflow...

    ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
    JoeKostoss
    Community Expert
    JoeKostossCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 12, 2016

    Depending on your camera, there is a way to do this in camera.  On my Nikon D7000, there are 2 card slots.  I can program the camera to put NEF (raw files) on one card and JPG on the other.

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    July 12, 2016

    There is no function in Lightroom to import RAW only in your case.

    You probably need to pre-sort the photos using your operating system (RAW in one folder, JPG in another) and then import just the RAW.

    Abambo
    Community Expert
    AbamboCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 12, 2016

    Or you simply delete the JPEGs after the import.

    ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
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