After hitting reset in LrC, the image still looks edited. How can I restore the exact original?

[ntmoolman]

Hi.

I am using LrC V14.0.1 on a mac, and it seems like I cannot revert an image back to the original. Even after resetting the image, there is still a big difference between the before and after.

The above screenshot was taken after I reset the image. Is there any way that I can get the original back, because I prefer that edit over the non-edited 'after' image.

Thanks!

[GoldingD]

What does the History Panel show?

[ntmoolman]

It just shows the import, I haven't done a thing.

[ExUSA]

Do you have any presets that are assigned at import time?

[ntmoolman]

No, all of the "Apply During Import" settings are at "None".

[ExUSA]

Try looking at the files in Bridge, which doesn't read the Lightroom catalog. You can fully revert to the out-of-camera file by deleting the XMP sidecar (if you use them) which will get rid of any adjustments, then open from Bridge into Adobe Camera RAW.

[ntmoolman]

Thanks. I am not familiar with using any of those. I was more hoping for a solution or at least a reason for why it is happening than a work-around.

[ExUSA]

Bridge is another Adobe app. And its not a workaround. Its a way for you to figure out what is going on. At this point its impossible to tell what the actual original might be or what edits were applied.

I suppose you could remove and reimport the file and see what you get. But we really can't help you without you knowing what happened along the way.

So I recommend doing what I suggested, load the file in Bridge and open it into Camera RAW, which is the same processing engine as Lightroom, and see how it looks where you KNOW there aren't any adjustments.

[johnrellis]

You may have changed the Camera Raw defaults, globally or per-camera.

Go to Preferences > Presets > Raw Defaults.  Have you set Global to something other than Adobe Default?  Have you checked Override Global Setting For Specific Cameras?

[JohanElzenga]

Contrary to popular beliefs, clicking the Reset button does not reset the image to no edits at all, but to the camera defaults. So @johnrellis is correct suspecting that might be the cause of this difference.