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Nick-13
Known Participant
March 27, 2025
Question

Current HDR file formats do not view well in incompatible software or devices

  • March 27, 2025
  • 4 replies
  • 404 views

HDR cannot be saved (in Lightroom) to useable formats for sharing in general. Save to jpeg and it is no use to anyone other than those (very few) with the highest res monitor

Adobe - you need to make HDR creations useable in standard formats such as jpeg. Otherwise it is pointless to just about everyone

I hope this will materialise soon

Thank you 

4 replies

Known Participant
May 23, 2026

am sending you the screenshot here.

Known Participant
May 23, 2026

I edited a photo in Lightroom, then transferred it to Topaz Photo AI, and afterwards sent it back to Lightroom again. After that, I exported the image.

When I look at the exported photo on my computer, it does not appear exactly as sharp as it does inside Lightroom. What am I doing wrong?

Also, there is another issue recently: when I look at the exported JPEG file inside the folder where I exported it, it says “waiting for update” underneath the file. Maybe this could be related to the problem.

I will also send a screenshot of my export settings.

Participant
March 31, 2025

I agree. HDR images view correctly on my Apple Studio monitor in LR Design mode with SDR view option checked. Flip to full screen (press F key) everything still looks good. Press G to go to grid mode, colors are off and hightlights are blown out. Press F and now full screen is also blown with weird colors. Back to design mode with SDR checked and all is good again. Images don't export correctly in ANY format. Haven't tried printing yet. This makes Lightroom HDR worse than useless as you might export image files thinking they were good only to be disappointed later. 

Rikk Flohr_Photography
Community Manager
March 31, 2025

@JimFeet  "Haven't tried printing yet."  HDR would not be suitable for printing as printed media (Paper) can never have the dynamic range of a screen, not to mention an HDR-capable screen. 

I would recommend reviewing @gregbenz material on his website for proper HDR use, tips, tricks, and configuration. https://gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/ 

Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
Nick-13
Nick-13Author
Known Participant
March 27, 2025

This is a valid request as when I save a HDR image from Lightroom Classic to jpeg format, when viewed on my iMac (M1 version), and my iPhone 15, the image appears degraded and poorer than when saving the same image as a non HDR version.  

How can I save a HDR image to be viewed to the HDR generated quality to view and share at the same quality.  After all once the additional range is extracted it should be then able to be saved as that !

Lightroom is not saving the image appropriately, to enable viewing on a range of current devices.  I dare not share HDR generated images as other viewers (anf myself) will be disappointed in what they see compared to the oroginal HDR creation !