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joelh33703351
Known Participant
January 8, 2026
Question

Where are photos or edits stored

  • January 8, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 249 views

I am working with the latest versions of Lightroom Classic and Photoshop on an Acer desktop. I have finally, through watching You Tube videos, learned about the difference between folders and collections. I have been using collections almost exclusively having been told early on to prefer them. 

But what has always mystified me is what happens to various edits. My work flow calls for creating Collection Sets and then nesting a Select connection beneath that. And often I make a number of copies of a photo in a collection so that I can edit them differently and I presume that those remain in that "select" file. But then because sometimes I need to do additional stacking edits in photoshop, will open them in that program and save them. But are they saved in the same original date identifed folder and since I'm not prompted to rename them, does anyone have any suggestions for how to save them so that I can distinguish them, and am I, lastly, safe to assume these too are to be found in the same "selects" collection along with the other edits? As always thanks to the community upon which I rely. Best Joel

 

1 reply

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
January 8, 2026

Not clear what all of your explanations about how you use collections have to do with the subject line which says "Where are photos or edits stored?" However, photos are stored on your hard dısk(s) or SSDs wherever you put them, or wherever you told Lightroom Classic to put them. Edits are stored in the Lightroom Classic catalog file. 

 

I think you have other questions, but its not clear to me what they are.

 

 

    J
    joelh33703351Author
    Known Participant
    January 9, 2026

    I replied to this yesterday but apparently it was not recorded. I, of course, know that files are stored on hardrive. My question has to do with the software. I work exclusively in Collections. And of course I know that the edits are stored in the catalog but wanting to be clear, what I am trying to understand is whether when I edit a photograph that I have found in a collection, will those various edits also be stored along with the original in that collection and then, secondarily , in a situation where i have needed to open a photograph, again found in a collection, into Photoshop to do something like photo stacking is that Photoshop file also saved in the same collection, and if I were to make various different Photosho edits would those be also saved in the collection. Lastly, are all these saved files mirrored in the folders? Hope this makes it clearer what I am confused by. Thanks

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 9, 2026

    Collections are just lists, like a membership list. There is only one image, regardless of in how many collection that image is listed. The images aren't "saved" in a collection, they are only saved in a folder. Edits are stored in the catalog with the information of that image. That is a database record, and there is only one record per image. That means edits are not saved per collection, they are only saved in one place in the catalog.

     

    You can compare this to an address book. Your address book (Lightroom catalog) contains the information about your family and friends (your images). They physically live elsewhere, in a house (image folder). Your address book may contain different lists, for example a list of people who get a Christmas card, or a list of people who are invited for your birthday party (collections). That means one and the same person can be on multiple lists. If that person gets a haircut (image is edited), then that person obviously has that new haircut in all lists.

     

    If you send an image from Lightroom to Photoshop, then a new image is created by Photoshop. That image is stored in the same folder as the original. If you were in a collection when you did this, then this new image will be added to that collection, but only to that particular collection. It will not be added to any other collection the original image is listed in.

     

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
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